A California couple are 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. They instantly bonded after discovering that they lived only a mile apart back in Los Angeles.
The duo spent several weeks together before Bryant suddenly stopped responding to Woloshen’s messages, leading her to believe that he had ‘ghosted’ her.
However, the reality couldn’t be more different – Bryant had been hit by a car while riding a moped in Ibiza and suffered significant injuries that left him in a coma.
Woloshen made the terrifying discovery after stumbling upon a GoFundMe campaign that Bryant’s friends and family had created to offset the cost of his medical bills.
Cody Bryant and Haley Woloshen instantly bonded during a Hawaii trip in 2022, but Woloshen grew concerned when Bryant stopped responding to her messages
She later learned that her crush had been hit by a car while riding a moped in Ibiza and had suffered significant injuries that left him in a coma
After months of grueling rehab, the pair reconnected. However, Woloshen soon learned Bryant had a traumatic brain injury and he was unable recollect 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.
He was eventually cleared to return to the Hermosa Beach home he shared with his three roommates, undergoing physical, occupational and speech therapy all the while.
The accident had left him with hemiplegia, or partial paralysis, leading doctors to fear that he would never walk again.
However, Bryant was determined to beat the odds. In March, he and Woloshen attended a wedding in Guatemala, and Bryant set out to check off a goal on his bucket list: summiting the Acetenango volcano.
‘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,’ Cody explained.
‘I still struggle with balance and muscle coordination, so descending on slippery, steep, uneven ground resulted in a lot of slips and falls. Thankfully, Haley’s cheerleading skills came in handy to minimize the impact.’
The pair reconnected as Bryant continued to undergo grueling therapy
Doctors feared he would never walk again, but Bryant fought the odds and managed to complete a volcano hike that had been on his bucket list
Bryant used a walking stick and two therapy braces, coupled with frequent breaks. Upon reaching base camp, he and Woloshen watched as smoke poured from the mouth of the volcano, and the fruits of his labor at once became apparent.
‘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 the 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 has retained most of his long-term memories, but the recent years are punctuated by gaps. He cannot recall the fateful Europe trip that left him in a coma, nor 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.’
Woloshen only discovered the harrowing truth after stumbling upon a GoFundMe page
The pair have continued to rebuild their life together, with Woloshen at Bryant’s side every step of the way through his recovery
Woloshen quickly discovered that the accident had left Bryant without any memory of the first time they met
Frustration over his persistent brain fog often manifests in his motor function, Bryant explained.
‘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.’
He 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.
The GoFundMe campaign has raised over $150,000 of its $200,000 goal.