While Darryl Brown has no recollection of a head injury he suffered in 2009, that has done little to slow him down.
Riding a dirt bike during a summer camping trip with his family and friends, Brown crashed.
Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet and full riding gear.
“All I know is that my bike was found on one side of the road, facing the other direction, and I was on the other side of the road,” he said.
He spent three days unconscious, another week in hospital and then was bedridden for another week with migraine headaches.
Once recovered, his parents, teachers and counsellors tried to get Brown to lighten his course load and give up rugby and soccer.
But Brown went full steam ahead.
“I didn’t want it to stop me,” said the now Grade 12 student at Aldergrove Community Secondary School.
“I don’t feel any different now.”
The 17-year-old picked up right where he left off prior to the accident: he has achieved 90 per cent or greater in 14 of his senior courses and in six of those, he has scored final marks of 100 per cent.
A well-rounded student, Brown excels in calculus, math and physics, plus is studying trades courses such as welding and metal fabrication.
He will attend the University of the Fraser Valley in the fall as he studies to become a mechanical engineer.
Brown is also actively involved in the community, helping an extreme home repair team rebuild a local family’s home.