When Life Changes in an Instant: A Father Shares His Son's Brain Injury Journey | E17

May 13, 202539m 07s

Mental HealthCommunity

About This Episode

When Shane Swenson's car was struck by a drunk driver traveling 90mph in a 30mph zone one February morning in 2019, life as he knew it changed forever. His 12-year-old son Brady suffered a traumatic brain injury that would launch the family on an unexpected journey through emergency surgeries, months of rehabilitation, and a complete reimagining of their future.

Shane vividly recalls the moment of impact—feeling "like an explosion" that momentarily paralyzed him before he turned to find Brady unconscious. What followed was a parent's worst nightmare: emergency craniectomies to relieve dangerous brain swelling, 18 days in intensive care, a broken jaw, fractured femur, and months of inpatient rehabilitation. Even after returning home, complications continued, including Brady's body rejecting his skull replacement, requiring a custom prosthetic skull that later became infected.

The most powerful thread woven through Shane's story isn't just about medical challenges—it's about how communities rally during crisis. From teachers showing up at the hospital during surgery to neighbors feeding their dogs and plowing their driveway, the outpouring of support sustained them through their darkest days. Perhaps most touching was how Brady's older brother Jacob, who has autism, stepped up to care for Brady, even waking at 4:00 AM to prepare medications so his parents could sleep.

This experience inspired the family to create the Brady Finn Foundation, which hosts the annual Lucky Brady Swenson Lucky 13 Golf Tournament (named for Brady's favorite number). The foundation supports Sacred Heart Catholic School and Crescent Cove, a rare respite facility that provides the family with crucial breaks from Brady's round-the-clock care. Though Brady remains in a wheelchair, unable to walk or speak, his story has become a powerful catalyst for giving back to the community that carried them through crisis.

Ready to help families like Brady's? Join the Lucky 13 Golf Tournament on October 11th, 2025, or learn more about how you can support the Brady Finn Foundation at Lucky13golf.net.

Facebook Page for the Lucky13 Golf Tournament

Contact Shane Swenson at shane@bradyfinnfoundation.org

Topics Covered

Mental HealthCommunity

Full Transcript

Shane Swenson: 00:00 Brady was on Cefapine antibiotic with the PICC line that he had, you would have to take these little balls like the size of a I don't know racquetball or tennis ball, and they had to refrigerate them. But you had to take them out an hour before you administered them, and so we were on like I don't know what time I can't remember what the times but Jacob would actually get up in the morning and at four o'clock in the morning, come upstairs, grab one of those little balls, put it on the countertop and then go to bed so we, Jenny and I, could sleep. Oh, wow, yeah, I mean, it's just the little things, right, and he did that for two, two months. Wow, Without question, like without question, yeah. So yeah it, it, it takes, it takes everybody, you know. And he. Shane Swenson: 00:45 he definitely stepped up to the challenge. It takes it takes everybody, you know, and he definitely stepped up to the challenge. Dr. Ayla Wolf: 00:52 Welcome to Life After Impact the concussion recovery podcast. I'm Dr Ayla Wolf and I'll be hosting today's episode, where we help you navigate the often confusing, frustrating and overwhelming journey of concussion and brain injury recover…

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