These days, marriage in this country does not stay the course. Over 50% of marriages end in divorce. Now if you have a couple in the prime of their lives that has the breadwinner struck down by a traumatic brain injury at the most productive part of his life at age 40, raise the divorce rate to 95%. TBI couples have a 95% chance of getting a divorce.

But we are talking about Mark and Maureen Halvorsen. Mark and Maureen, affectionately known as M&M, were married on September 11, 1981 and have three children. Mark fell from his screened-in porch on May 1, 1999. He was given his Last Rites and was in a coma for 3 weeks. Mark then went through intensive acute care rehab at North Fulton Regional Hospital, a Level 2 Trauma Center 3½ miles from Mark and Maureen’s home in Roswell, Georgia.

Mark had to relearn to swallow, walk, talk, listen, think, and most importantly, slow down and smell the roses. Mark has always been a doer in life. As the brain injury world knows quite well, the injury to one’s brain affects the whole family. It greatly affected Mark’s young family in many ways, since his children were in their adolescent stages of life. Today, Maureen and Mark have grown and mended quite well after this life-changing event. Their children are now 26, 24, and 19, all successful in work and school. Mark and Maureen just celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on September 11, 2009. In closing, you will soon be able to hear their story of how they were able to stay the course.