CMU student learns life lesson at school

“I encourage anyone to think about how much life is worth before taking that first sip of alcohol.  My days of getting drunk are over, it’s not worth it,” says Matthew Herrod. 

As a Central Michigan University student studying, hanging out and going to parties was the norm. It was Friday, April 1, 2011, and Matt was off for an evening of fun.

“We went to a friend’s party and there were close to 100 people crammed in the 2nd floor apartment. Before we knew it, the police came to break it up.  I was turning 21 in two weeks and didn’t want to get in trouble for underage drinking.  So, I did what five other kids had done.  I jumped off the balcony to run away.”

But Matt lost his balance and smacked his head on the frozen ground.  He spent the next three weeks in a coma with a serious brain injury, no one was sure if he would survive.

When he woke up he couldn’t walk, talk, care for himself or eat whole foods.

“I was in pretty bad shape when I was transferred to DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan (RIM).  I was there for five weeks, they got me back on my feet, talking and eating again.”

Matt says he really embraced the help he received at RIM. When he came home, he continued with the exercises they taught him and he pushed himself six days a week.

“I went back to Central in the winter semester and it was great.  My family and friends say I’m such an inspiration but really I credit the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.  They’re the ones that gave me the push to get back to the person I was before the accident.”

Today Matt can run on a treadmill and as a broadcast student he is motivated to get his speech back fully.