Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) often leave no visible scars, yet they profoundly reshape lives. Evan Folan's story illustrates why brain injury awareness matters: after an 18-wheeler tire crashed through his windshield at over 100 mph in 2019, he survived a broken neck in two places, a skull fracture, significant brain bleeding, and a two-day coma. Today, he lives with chronic migraines and short-term memory loss, yet he looks unscathed on the outside. His experience sparked a mission to help others understand that brain injuries are often invisible.

What Exactly Happened to Evan Folan?

On July 23, 2019, Folan was driving in Los Angeles after closing a six-figure business deal. A tire from a semi-truck barreled into the driver's side of his car's windshield at an impact speed exceeding 100 mph. His heart stopped twice on the freeway. He experienced seizures, lacerations down his face and neck, and a broken hand. Folan was in a coma for two days following the accident.

What made the difference between life and death? Folan credits two critical factors: an off-duty EMT in an empty ambulance just a couple of cars behind him, and the fact that the accident occurred at the exit for the best trauma center in Los Angeles County. Since 2019, he has undergone two hand surgeries, seven neck procedures, and tried more than 120 medications across 19 rehabilitation facilities.

Why Are Brain Injuries So Often Invisible?

Brain injuries range from concussions to strokes to severe TBIs, and every brain injury looks different. Many patients, like Folan, appear completely healthy on the surface while managing significant daily struggles. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, around 2.8 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury every year. Chronic pain affects approximately 60 percent of those with TBI for decades after the injury.

Folan's recovery revealed the hidden nature of brain injury. "Everything was stolen from me," he said, describing how his identity as a driven professional was suddenly lost. He had to rediscover who he was beyond his career, while managing cognitive challenges like short-term memory loss and chronic migraines that persist daily.

How Folan Turned Recovery Into Advocacy

• Clothing Brand: Folan founded Toro and Tides, an educational apparel brand featuring encouraging reminders on T-shirts, mugs, and hats designed to start conversations about brain injury. The brand name represents a bull (toro), symbolizing strength and charging forward, while tides represent the highs and lows of life. Ten percent of the brand's proceeds go directly to patients with brain injuries.
• Podcast Platform: He hosts "Brain to Brain," a podcast where fellow survivors, caregivers, and supporters share their stories with brain injuries, creating a community of understanding and shared experience.
• Published Memoir: Folan spent six years writing "Forgetting to Remember," a memoir capturing his recovery journey despite short-term memory loss. He journaled throughout his rehabilitation to preserve snippets of time, emotions, frustrations, and moments of relief.

"I've been blessed with the ability to articulate and express how I'm feeling. In doing so, I started Toro and Tides as an educational brand, selling apparel, T-shirts and hats that start a conversation," said Folan.

Evan Folan, TBI Survivor and Founder of Toro and Tides

The black dot symbol featured in Folan's brand carries special meaning. A therapist once drew a black dot on white paper and asked what he saw. The tiny dot serves as a reminder that there is so much more to the paper than just the black dot. For Folan, it represents that there is so much more to him than his brain injury.

What's Next for Brain Injury Treatment?

While Folan focuses on awareness and recovery support, researchers are simultaneously developing new treatments for TBI. A freeze-dried blood product called Thrombosomes is showing promise at slowing swelling and bleeding in traumatic brain injuries. Scientists at UC San Francisco tested the product on blood vessel cells, 3D organoid models, and mice after brain injury. Mice given the product either one hour or one day after injury had less hemorrhage, less leakage from blood vessels, and less brain inflammation, which can lead to swelling.

The product was originally developed to control bleeding in battlefield settings and is made from platelets that have been freeze-dried with a sugar called trehalose, which helps preserve beneficial contents. Unlike fresh platelets, which have a shelf life of about seven days, the freeze-dried product can be stored for up to five years. This extended shelf life could make emergency treatment more accessible in remote areas and on ambulances.

"In some cases, surgeons will remove part of the skull to relieve the pressure, but there's no drug that effectively treats swelling, or cerebral edema, directly. We were excited to see how readily this product reinforced damaged blood vessels in the brain," explained Shibani Pati, director of the UCSF Center for Research Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapies.

Shibani Pati, Director of the UCSF Center for Research Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapies

The product is currently in phase II clinical trials for bleeding disorders, meaning it has already been shown to be safe for people. Researchers said this could hasten trials testing it specifically for TBI. The team also found the product contained high amounts of a protein that activates a receptor on blood vessel cells, helping to stabilize them and reduce leakage.

Finding Purpose After Trauma

Despite his daily migraines and ongoing grief and trauma, Folan sees every day as a blessing and opportunity he would have never had before the accident. The injury unexpectedly brought him closer relationships, including a relationship with a woman whose path would have never crossed his without the accident, and a deeper connection with his brother.

Folan is now working on developing a brain training app that will feature short interactive exercises to help users practice cognitive skills like memory, focus, and processing speed. His story demonstrates how resilience and purpose can emerge from life-altering events, transforming personal tragedy into a mission that helps countless others living with invisible brain injuries.