Rebecca Hill was medically retired from the U.S. Navy due to an extremely severe traumatic brain injury. It was predicted that she would remain in a permanent vegetative state and would never talk or walk again. Through prayer, therapy and time, Rebecca recovered beyond what her doctors thought would ever be possible. We were blessed years later to connect with the Independence Program of Wounded Warrior Project and with Craig Todd, a gifted and patient artist of Art Without Boundaries. He paints with Rebecca twice per month, and they have had many enjoyable sessions producing some truly beautiful pieces.
Rebecca has ataxia in her left side and as she is right-handed, has not used her left hand to any degree. Craig has encouraged Rebecca to use her left hand randomly for such things as petting our dogs. He has also encouraged Rebecca to use her left hand during their art sessions to paint a portion of her picture. This seems to have given her better control and more confidence to try to use her hand more. She has even used her left hand spontaneously which is amazing considering she didn’t, or wouldn’t, use it for many years post injury. We feel painting has given Rebecca a new outlet, helped her rediscover an old interest in creating, given her more control in using both hands and instilled a sense of pride in her work. We are grateful to WWP and to Craig for the gift of art and painting given to Rebecca.
Rebecca has loved roses ever since she was a child. She used to draw them as a teen. At some point, for reasons known only to her, she added a halo to the roses she enjoyed drawing. She called these drawings ‘angelrose.’ Craig encouraged Rebecca to be creative and to find scenes she would enjoy painting. Rebecca decided she wanted to paint an angelrose with Craig. They worked for several months to get the painting just right. She finally finished her painting and plans to display it in her sitting room. We look forward to more creative pieces in the future, and thank Craig and WWP for making Rebecca’s progress in art possible.