Twists & Turns continued...

Pat Brogan



One of the most memorable characters in "Twisted" is Pat Brogan, a basketball coach, athlete, husband to Cathy Brogan, and proud life-long Boston Celtics fan. Pat is one of those people you meet and you never forget. His life, so far, has been full of ups and downs, but he'll always remind you just how lucky he is and how wonderful it is to be alive and kicking.

"When I met Pat," says Laurel the director of "Twisted. "I knew I was in for a real treat. His journey turned into the rollercoaster ride that makes for great drama in my film."

After a hit-and-run car collision on his bicycle left his body traumatized with agony, pain, and his head wrenched severely to the right, Pat was eventually diagnosed with dystonia. The film documented Pat'' deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery, but the immediate results were mixed and questions persisted:  What were the long-term effects of Pat's operation?  Did he return to coaching? The film even left open some personal issues including the survival of his new marriage to Cathy.

Speaking to Pat today, it would be easy to mistake him for the Everready Energizer Bunny. He's a literal burst of positive energy, ticking off his current activities and tipping his proverbial hat to the doctors who have helped him along the way. "I'm feeling pretty good," he says. "I've been going to the Cleveland Clinic several times per year for programming of the neurostimulators, which are implanted in my chest and wired to my brain to help control muscle spasticity.  It takes time and patience to find the best settings to limit some of the twisting and spasms, and it seems to be working. It took about two years after the surgery for the majority of the symptoms and most of the pain to be alleviated, but for the most I'm feeling positive results."

After scoring a "dream job" as a head sports coach at Penn State University, Pat's condition forced him to leave this position. But he was determined to fight dystonia and find a way to move forward in his life. The results were a mix of ironies and sometimes hysterically funny anecdotes, typical of Pat's self-effacing good nature.
 
"I started my own lawn care business," says Pat, "which I figured would be relatively easy, keep me outdoors, and would be free of stress. While working on various jobs, I started noticing the batteries imbedded in my body were going on and off. Anyone that has had DBS knows that that's just not a good thing. In fact, it's pretty dangerous!  As it turned out, it was the electric fences and underground security systems on some of the homes I was working on that were causing these outages. Obviously, I had to put a quick end to my lawn care work."

Pat also tried his hand in bartending, causing some other harrowing episodes. "The magnetized name tag I had to wear started messing with my batteries. I had some rough days behind that bar."

In another attempt to redefine himself career-wise, Pat was offered a radio job. "On my first day, I developed a speech impediment due to a side effect from the brain programming. Obviously, that job didn't last long either."

But Pat did notice that when he was doing any form of public speaking his symptoms would subside. That's when he decided to explore acting.  He auditioned for a conservatory for actors and was accepted in an 11 month program that enabled him to hone skills that helped him with speech and balance problems. Since that time, he's acted in professional theater productions including George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man" and John Patrick Shanley's "Danny and the Deep Blue Sea."

The acting bug has stuck and has encouraged Pat to write and produce his own "monodrama" about his own life which he plans on performing one day.

One of his favorite recent success stories is how he rescued a dog from a local animal shelter.  Now known as Hutch, his dog is a two year old, 115 pound Golden Lab mix that was recently certified as a service dog.  "The next step," says Pat, "is to get his Therapy Certification so I can visit hospitals and share his gifts and provide unconditional love to children and the elderly."

His life with Cathy has survived as well. "My marriage is going great," confides Pat. "I'm so lucky to have Cathy as a wonderful, supportive wife." 

As if he wasn't busy enough, Pat has also started his own charity to raise money and awareness for dystonia. Through various sporting events replete with celebrities and memorabilia donated by friends and acquaintances, Pat and Cathy have raised tends of thousands of dollars for dystonia research. "The event is held each year around the Christmas Holidays and 100% of the money raised goes to DMRF for research in finding a cure."

This year the event is slated for December 23, 2009. For more information, go to www.dystoniahelpfindacure.org

Pat admits that the series of events that have occurred after his accident have challenged him physically, mentally, and emotionally. But his secret is simply attitude.  "I concentrate on what I can do, as opposed to what I can't do," he says. "It sounds crazy, but everything that has happened to me has helped me find a purpose in life."

As for his overall health, he summarizes it like this: "Some days are good. Some days are almost good." 

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