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“My mind is so damaged.”

In 2008, Marco Ferreira was a successful lawyer in Los Angeles.

One November day he went out for a ride on his motorcycle. He hit gravel in the road, crashed his bike, and suffered major brain damage.

At StoryCorps in San Francisco, Marco and his wife, Wendy Tucker, talked about how their lives changed after Marco emerged from a six-week coma.

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Recorded in San Francisco, CA.

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Credits

Produced by Katie Simon.

Facilitated by Sophia Simon-Ortiz.

Transcript

Click here to read the transcript for this story.

Interview transcript

Wendy Tucker (WT): You didn't walk, you didn't talk and you couldn't feed yourself for seven months. Since then, it's just been getting better all the time. But, you don't feel like you're getting better, right?
 
Marco Ferreira: [Laughs] To be honest, no. My mind, I feel, is so damaged; it's kind of made my life very hard to live, really. I tried to commit suicide, because I thought that I'd lost so much of my life, why be alive? Why? So, I took a drug overdose, but you took me to the hospital.
 
WT: Are you ever sorry that I saved your life?
 
MF: No, not at all. No, you did the right thing. You saved my life and you're still saving it. Everyday you save it. 
 
WT: So, before your accident you were a little sarcastic [laughs].
 
MF: Yeah.
 
WT: You were always the guy known for the quick wit. Do you feel that now you're kinder in some way than you were before?
 
MF: Absolutely, I am. Absolutely...
 
WT: ...I have to say, that when we see our nieces--even though I know you've always loved them--you didn't have the, openness to them before your accident.
 
MF: They bugged me before...
 
WT: Laughs
 
MF: ...All kids bugged me before the accident. That's the weird thing. I wouldn't even invite people to our house because they have kids for Christ’s sake. I wouldn't do it. And now, I love my nieces. I love those girls. This is my second chance to be good and kind.
 
WT: I love you very much.
 
MF: Thank you very much for all your love.