Two years ago this week, four Grinnellians left Mardi Gras in St. Louis at 3 a.m. to drive through the night back to school. Just outside of Iowa City, the student driving fell asleep at the wheel and the car rolled into a ditch, sending Liza Colburn '09 and Yuki Goto (formerly '08) through the car's back window.
While the other students eventually recovered from the accident and returned to school, Goto sustained traumatic brain injury, slipped into a two-week coma, underwent a temporal lobectomy and is still, two years later, in expensive rehab in New York. Knowing his family's insurance money is sapped after two years of intensive rehab, Goto's friends are now organizing a fundraiser, determined to help Goto get the therapy he needs to return to Grinnell.
Goto's friends said that the ultimate goal of the rehab is to help him return to Grinnell as a full-time student. "The goal of this rehab program is basically to get him up to the cognitive ability where he can come back to Grinnell," explained Coburn. "We're hoping to raise as much money for him as we can."
After a year of rehab in his native Japan, Goto's family secured him a spot at the Rusk Institute in New York--a top-of-the-line (and top-dollar) traumatic brain injury facility. One semester at the Rusk Institute costs $55,000, and Goto is currently working through his third semester there.
To help the family and Goto himself, Coburn, Emily Stewart '08, Ben Schrager '08 and Jelal Younes '08, are planning an exhibition of photographs taken by Goto during his time in rehab. The exhibition will be a fundraiser and Goto's friends hope raise $5,000 to $10,000.
"For people who knew Yuki, it's just such a huge part of him. He is always carrying a camera and always taking photos," said Coburn.
During his time at Grinnell, Goto was an avid photographer. "He has a good eye for taking pictures," said Schrager. Goto captured his friends' daily lives and artistic shots, especially of the horizon and train. Goto continued exploring his passion even in rehab by photographing scenes in New York and his hospitals.
Goto's photos are professionally printed and mounted and will be up for sale at Grinnell Coffee Company on March 8. In the week leading up to the sale, the friends also plan to sell t-shirts outside of the dining hall. Schrager is hoping to see the same outpouring of support that Grinnellians made visible in the weeks just after the accident. "There was a lot of public displays of support--counseling sessions that ran way late and people writing notes," said Schrager.
Motivation for the exhibition went beyond merely financial goals as Goto's friends wanted to show their continued support for him. Though it has been very difficult mentally, physically and financially for Goto to recover his cognitive ability, Coburn says Goto has come to understand that "his friends are what really matter."
Coburn and other Grinnellians remain in frequent contact with Goto and earlier this year, Ionnais Loukakis '08, another friend, taught Goto how to play the harmonica over Skype. "Just to see that there was a lot of support here, I think that was an inspiration," said Coburn.
Last November, Director of International Student Affairs Janet Alexander arranged for the college to fly Goto in for a visit. The last time Goto's friends had seen him before this visit was when he was just recovering from the coma in Iowa City in 2006. "He did not look barely alive," recalls Ben Schrager, who, along with the other friends, were nervous about what Goto might be like even after a year and a half of rehab.
When Goto finally arrived back on campus, his friends were blown away. "He made exponential progress ... I was really impressed by his abilities," said Coburn. "His personality really started to come out more."
"People were even joking that his English was better," said Stewart. The friends threw a small party and Goto was, like the old days, the last person to leave. "He still has more energy than everyone else," said Schrager.
The art show and sale will occur March 8 at Grinnell Coffee Company, beginning at 7 p.m. with food catered from the Phoenix Cafˇ. In the mean time, Grinnellians are encouraged to donate money to Yuki's fund through the charity website www.t-birdfoundation.org.
