{"id":61049,"date":"2013-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-04-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2013-uri-senior-overcomes-brain-injury-to-graduate-from-providence-campus\/"},"modified":"2013-04-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-04-30T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2013-uri-senior-overcomes-brain-injury-to-graduate-from-providence-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2013\/04\/commencement-2013-uri-senior-overcomes-brain-injury-to-graduate-from-providence-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2013: 溏心vlog免费B站 senior overcomes brain injury to graduate from Providence campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tCranston resident seeks career in health services<\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 30, 2013 \u2013 His workout at Gold\u2019s Gym started out as routine as any other. Matthew McFadden lifted weights, did a few pull-ups, and ran on a treadmill. He was tired, but blamed it on high school graduation jitters.<\/p>\n


\nWho could know? When the fatigue finally overwhelmed him, he asked his friend to take him home. The blood vessels in his brain burst in the car, paralyzing the Cranston teen, a scholar and wrestler with dreams of becoming a doctor. The hospital staff thought he would die, but McFadden proved them wrong.<\/p>\n


\nNot only did he live, he willed himself to a joyful and fulfilling life that includes this milestone: On May 19, nine years after his stroke, McFadden, now 26, will graduate with Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies from the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence.<\/p>\n


\nHis major is health services administration and that\u2019s no surprise since his goal is to work in a health-related field, giving back to those who helped him in his long and sometimes painful recovery. He\u2019d like to work at a physical therapy clinic or a health care agency.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThere was never a doubt in my mind that I would get a degree,\u201d says McFadden. \u201cThe Providence campus was a great choice for me. I had to build up slowly. First one class, then two classes, then three. This semester, I\u2019m taking five.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe\u2019s come a long way since that horrific day \u2013 April 14, 2004 \u2013 when he passed out and was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital. Initially, the doctors thought he had a seizure, but a CT scan revealed massive bleeding in his brain. McFadden\u2019s mother, Donna Corvese, a nurse, recalls the devastating words from the emergency room doctor.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cDo you want us to call a priest?\u201d the doctor asked.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cNo,\u201d Corvese said. \u201cI want you to save my son.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nDiagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation, a congenital defect that entangles the arteries and veins, McFadden underwent seven hours of brain surgery. His friends packed the waiting room, incredulous that an ailment common among older people could strike a healthy 17-year-old.<\/p>\n


\nHe was in a coma for three months and emerged a different person. \u201cI was like an infant,\u201d he says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know anyone or anything.\u201d He had to learn how to talk and walk. He couldn\u2019t remember his mother\u2019s name. He didn\u2019t know his ABCs. Almost overnight, he went from 156 to 117 pounds and lost all his muscle mass.<\/p>\n


\nRehabilitation in a dozen clinics in Rhode Island and Boston was grueling, but he never gave up. As he regained his physical and mental strength, he set his sights on college.<\/p>\n


\nMcFadden was only two months away from his Cranston West High School graduation when he had the stroke. In fact, he had planned on attending 溏心vlog免费B站 in Kingston, taking classes that would prepare him for medical school.<\/p>\n


\nThis time, he chose the Providence campus and enrolled in 2007. He wanted to be closer to home and was also impressed with the flexible schedule for courses. He could pace himself. He also appreciated the close relationships with professors and the ability to tailor his program to meet his needs.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cMatt is truly a unique student, a motivated and hard working individual who appreciates the opportunity to be here and is taking full advantage of what 溏心vlog免费B站 can help him achieve,\u201d says William Springer, an instructor in the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary program and economics department. \u201cRather than letting his health obstacle take away his dreams and aspirations, or feeling sorry for himself because of what he was unable to do, he has worked his way through it, not allowing it to deprive him of earning a college degree, nor of pursuing his dream to work in the health care industry. He has earned our respect in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tMcFadden excelled as a high school student and continued down that path in college. His grade-point average is 3.5 and he made the dean\u2019s list nearly every semester. His senior project is about how small health clinics are dealing with electronic medical records.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI\u2019m really good at analyzing data,\u201d McFadden says. \u201cI like making reports.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThanks to federal grants and a scholarship provided by Alan and Lillian Feinstein through the 溏心vlog免费B站 Foundation, McFadden is graduating without any college debt. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have completed my degree without help,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe stroke left McFadden without peripheral vision in his right eye and some peripheral loss in his left eye, so he is unable to drive, which, for him, is a huge inconvenience. But he can walk, talk, swim, eat, laugh, give his mother a hug, and, yes, even lift weights. His optimism, determination, and selflessness shine through. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cI\u2019m still a work in progress,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m not where I want to be in recovery. I want to get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAlmost dying has taught him how to live.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cMost people take things for granted, including myself before the stroke,\u201d he says. \u201cI could never imagine in a million years that I would not be 100 percent. Clearly, the stroke was a shock to me. You just have to go forward. I\u2019m a very determined person.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHe keeps a photo album of \u201cbefore and after\u201d pictures: the robust high school student with a glimmer in his eye; the unconscious hospital patient connected to a maze of tubes. His mother took the hospital photo to show him when he woke up from the coma. She knew he would.

\n\u201cObviously a stroke is tough,\u201d says McFadden, \u201cbut I\u2019m tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above: <\/p>\n


\nMatthew McFadden, a 26-year-old Cranston resident who overcame a debilitating stroke nine years ago to graduate this spring from the 溏心vlog免费B站’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence.<\/p>\n


\nPhoto by Michael Salerno Photography<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cranston resident seeks career in health services KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 30, 2013 \u2013 His workout at Gold\u2019s Gym started out as routine as any other. Matthew McFadden lifted weights, did a few pull-ups, and ran on a treadmill. He was tired, but blamed it on high school graduation jitters. Who could know? When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}