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ONLINE EDITION
THURSDAY DECEMBER 25, 1997
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News Tammy Greenspan's Road to RecoveryBy Eric UsingerIt's been a difficult time for Massapequa Park resident Tammy Greenspan ever since she was involved in a terrible accident which occurred last year. Tammy, a student at Farmingdale High School, suffered a major frontal lobe injury after being hit by a car while walking across a busy intersection in North Babylon during the summer of '96.
Tammy remained in a coma for weeks after the accident, but the road to recovery has been a miraculous one. Her health and her ability to process information have been continually improving in the past year. But, because of her injury, Tammy's ability to remember things has been seriously dampened. Her memory comes back on occasion, but her short-term memory has been impaired. "To learn something new is very difficult," said Lynne Greenspan, Tammy's mother. Otherwise, Tammy is an energetic 17-year-old who, when she isn't at school or at her rehabilitation classes, enjoys listening to music and spending time with her friends. A former Miss New York American Teen beauty contest winner, Tammy has a large number of friends from all over the country like, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. She said that she enjoys hanging out with people who are older than she because, for the most part, she enjoys being with mature people. "I can't go out partying" she said, adding that many people her age don't really understand what it is like to have suffered a frontal-lobe injury. "They will always make fun of something until it happens to them," she said. Since Tammy returned to school last September, she has spoken at several community groups, telling people her amazing story. Tammy's motivational lectures have impressed both her audience and her hosts. Just recently, she was the keynote speaker at the Kiwanis' three day conference in South Fallsburg, NY, a popular Catskill Mountain resort. One of the more difficult tasks that Tammy has to face every day deals with her busy schedule. Since the accident, Tammy goes to constant rehabilitation and training. She wakes up early in the morning and goes to Farmingdale High School. Around 4 o'clock she leaves and attends two to three rehabilitative classes per day to work on improving her complex reasoning skills, critical thinking, and her memory. When Tammy first returned to school in September she often spent close to four or five hours a day on her homework. "I couldn't get it all done and I couldn't remember all of it," she said. Tammy has since been moved into special education classes. Her homework has been much easier for her since. And, even though Tammy spends a great deal of time speaking to local Rotary and Kiwanis clubs, and local hospitals, she said that she doesn't enjoy spending a lot of time thinking about her injuries. "I don't want people to know Tammy as someone who got into an accident. I want people to know Tammy as Tammy," she said. Ever since she was eleven-years-old, Tammy said, she has wanted to be a psychologist. And, when she was 13 she decided that she wanted to become a child psychologist. But, since her accident and subsequent recovery, Tammy's future career choice has been narrowed down. Even though she doesn't yet know what school she wants to attend, she knows that she wants to work with children who have had similar brain injuries as a neuro-child psychologist. "I'll understand somebody if they give me a call and tell me their problems. I've always been a helper," she said Tammy still has more surgery ahead of her. With the family's health insurance, the surgery will cost her parents close to $3,000. A charity fund has been set up to help Tammy Greenspan's road to recovery. Administered by Citibank, donations can be made to:
Miss America NY Teen Tammy Greenspan Miracle Fund |
