KPLU Local News
(2010-07-04)
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Bret Walker, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1993, at home in Seattle.
Photo courtesy of Cass Walker
She shows me a photo of Bret as a high school kid, lounging in a shopping cart.
"Yeah, he's a goof," he says. "No doubt about it. I found those and I thought they were appropriate for the story for a lot of reasons, just because it's time we spent together and obviously, it's not foreshadowing because that doesn't always happen in real life. But he is in sort of a wheeled sort of chair."
She's always been close to him - before, during and after that fateful night in 1993 when he snorted heroin, overdosed and slipped into a coma.
Photography by Cass Walker |
"I took some photographs after his breathing tube had been removed. One of the doctors left us notes, and in big letters it said, 'Family in denial,' because they felt that Bret would never come out of a coma. So they told us to find a resting home. So one reason I took the photograph was to show Bret what he looked like, later, when he was recovering. Or better. I didn't know what 'better' meant at the time."
After three weeks, Bret woke up out of his coma. He recovered in a nursing home for half a year. Then came another six months at the University of Washington hospital. The physical, mental and emotional rehabilitation was intense and slow.
Cass took photos of all of it. The loneliness of a hospital room. The constant tests and injections. The dependency on a machine as well as on others to get around.
The camera gave Cass some emotional distance as she watched her brother regain some of his previous self.
"I mean if I look at that big one right there -- Bret in the morning. Trying to crawl towards the edge of the bed. Well, you know, it's easier to see when you've removed from it than when you're living with it."
And even though it was difficult, she pushed herself to create images that showed the private process of recovery. And how it impacts a family.
Now some of Cass's photos will hang next to the work of many others who have also pushed themselves to make art. A show at Seattle's Burke Museum is giving voice to those affected by traumatic brain injury.
Some of the work has been created by amateurs in art therapy classes. And some of the work is the product of a lifetime of professional training.
Bret Hart leads me through his Seattle house that's all exposed beams with lots of natural light, and an elevator. He shows me where he paints.
"Yes, my studio," he says. "Back up and at it."
Before the overdose, he was studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, with dreams of going to Yale. The house is full of his earlier work -- expressive, bold self-portraits painted on huge canvasses.
They're very colorful paintings -- he loves color, he says.
"I'm all about color. Yes. Never a dull moment in my life. It's all colorful."
Seventeen years have passed since the coma. He now functions using a powered wheelchair. He can use his hands to make simple meals. He needs help to shower. And when he's talking for long stretches, he needs to take momentary fatigue breaks to recharge.
He started painting again as soon as he could.
"It was something I could do and see in real life. Not just doctors talking."
It was not just in theory that he was getting better.
"Exactly, yes. Cause I could see it."
After a brain injury there's so much discussion and reflection about what's missing. And what's not the same. But organizers of the art show wanted an event that simply acknowledged what is possible.
Dr. Kathleen Bell is with the UW's Traumatic Brain Injury Model System:
"We thought, you know, let's talk about wellness, because our patients move on, get lives, really begin to rebuild themselves as people, and find new interests. And why don't we go ahead and do some celebration of what they're doing? Instead of just talking about problems."
Bret's a good example of someone who has rebuilt himself. Dr. Bell has known him since he emerged from the coma. And she's been able to see his progress through the work he's created.
"Bret's art has been fascinating to watch, Bret's art over the years since his recovery. You know, when Bret could only do minimal activities he was still making art but it was very minimalist art. And now Bret is just, the complexity of his paintings has changed dramatically. Really. And continues to change and it gives you a real window on how the brain recovers."
Dr. Bell is asked if he'll keep recovering. She replies: "He's going to keep changing and I think that's because he's exercising his art muscles."
Florangela Davila, KPLU NEWS.
The 2nd Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Artist Showcase runs July 6 through July 11, 2010 at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. A 2010 show program will be published on the official website, available here
See more the images by Cass Walker displayed previously at Gallery 110 in Seattle
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