Woman who thought her new love interest was ghosting her finds out he was hit by a car in a horrific accident that left him in a coma
A California couple is making the most of their lives after a horrific accident almost destroyed their chances of being together.
Cody Bryant and Haley Woloshen met in Hawaii in 2022, instantly bonding after discovering they lived only a mile apart back in Los Angeles. They spent several weeks together before Bryant suddenly stopped responding to Woloshen's messages, leading her to believe he had 'ghosted' her.
However, the reality was far more tragic—Bryant had been hit by a car while riding a moped in Ibiza, suffering significant injuries that left him in a coma. Woloshen made the terrifying discovery after stumbling upon a GoFundMe campaign created by Bryant's friends and family to offset his medical bills.
After months of grueling rehab, the pair reconnected. Woloshen soon learned Bryant had a traumatic brain injury and could not recall their time together.
"Neither of us expected it, but feelings started to build. I joke that she won me over a second time," Bryant wrote in an Instagram post.
Bryant was eventually cleared to return to his Hermosa Beach home, where he lived with three roommates. He continued undergoing physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The accident had left him with hemiplegia, or partial paralysis, leading doctors to fear he would never walk again.
Determined to beat the odds, Bryant set out to check off a goal on his bucket list in March: summiting the Acatenango volcano in Guatemala.
"I tackled many big-name treks around the world prior to my accident, but sadly, I thought I'd never be capable of doing this again," Bryant explained. Despite struggling with balance and muscle coordination, he used a walking stick, two therapy braces, and took frequent breaks. Upon reaching base camp, he and Woloshen watched smoke pour from the volcano, marking a significant achievement in his recovery.
"Each step was a victory, and reaching the top meant more than I can express in words," Bryant wrote in a GoFundMe update. "I am determined to continue to summit mountains like this (literally and figuratively) in my recovery."
With great strides have come even greater challenges, which Bryant detailed in an April update.
"My positivity has gotten me so far, and I don't want to lose that, but I'm going to be more transparent about the invisible difficulties," he wrote. "The sentence 'I wish I was missing limbs instead of having an injured brain' has shown up in my journal more than once. Consciously losing your mind is terrible."
Bryant retains most of his long-term memories, but recent years are punctuated by gaps. He cannot recall the fateful Europe trip that left him in a coma or the year after that.
"My brain doesn't 'auto save' anymore, so I use notes for everything," he explained. "My attention is fleeting, so I often lose track of what I'm doing. I strictly rely on the clock because my innate sense of time is quite poor." Frustration over his persistent brain fog often affects his motor function.
"My foot begins to drag, my toes curl, my hand shakes, or I lean to the side. I can get so 'brain fried' sometimes that I become illogical and struggle to connect cause with effect. Brain injury permeates all of my life."
Bryant continues to focus on his recovery through psychotherapy, memory exercises, meditation, and other treatments. Goals on the horizon include relearning how to write, run, and swim. Above all else, Bryant refuses to relinquish hope.
"I've always believed a person's mindset is so powerful, and my recovery has reinforced that belief," he said.
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