Randal Flutur’s TBI Survivor Story

Randal Flutur

I was born in 1948 in Detroit, Michigan. I received my Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree from Michigan State University. I have worked as a college professor and a psychologist. Since the age of twelve, whenever I was not in school, I was working at every paying job that I could find, building that entrepreneurial spirit — saving, collecting, and investing. By age 14, I was playing the piano by ear and have now recorded five CDs. My collecting evolved into buying and selling some of the finest items in existence and being a consultant to others. My many adventures led me to travel the world by the time that I was 30 years old. I married my first love when I was 23. I have had seven children with her and, sadly, only four survived. The STRANGER INSIDE OF ME took away this life that I knew.

I am a brain injury survivor of 27 years from an auto accident that killed my best friend, who was driving, instantly. I have lived with this unending nightmare for all these years and just published my first book. It gives a great insight into TBI and PTSD, and apart from having my awareness and ability to put feelings into words, it is every head-injured person’s story of his/her life.

Brain injury is like having a selfish, cruel, relentless, unforgiving enemy that requires and demands that you be its constant and forever companion. You can succumb or you can survive — I choose survival, and that has made all the difference. All you survivors, always remember that the life that you still have was given to you by a God that has made you a privileged means to a beautiful end.