Artist Ginny Ruffner was in a coma for five weeks, in the hospital for five months, and in a wheelchair for five years. But she never considered giving up her art. "Giving up art is like giving up having green eyes. It's who I am, not what I do."
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I was in an accident, a car accident, which was not my fault.
And I was in a coma for 5 weeks,
the hospital for 5 months, a wheelchair for 5 years.
But that was yesterday's news.
How I felt was like, my mind was an empty house.
A house I used to live in that was bigger, but now it's empty, so it's--
for me it's familiar but it's different, so it's--that way is--the way it was--
I didn't know what I could remember and what I couldn't remember.
I didn't know what I could do and what I couldn't do.
It's pretty scary, but I had great family and a lot of friends to talk to,
that really are helpful.
I have had moments where I felt aggravated
that I had to do certain things a certain way,
but I--and as to whether I ever felt about--I wanted to give up heart,
that's like giving up having green eyes.
I mean, it's just, it's not a choice.
It's who I am; it's not what I do.
Produced by Victoria Tilney McDonough, Ashley Gilleland, and Jared Schaubert, BrainLine.
Ginny Ruffner is an internationally acclaimed artist who lives in Seattle, Washington. In 2012, Ruffner was featured in a feature-length documentary called Ginny Ruffner: a not so still life, which focused on her refusal to let a debilitating brain injury slow down her drive to create art, the film challenges viewers to see the world from a new and unexpected perspective.
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