SAN MATEO (KRON) — Five years after Bryan Stow was brutally attacked after a San Francisco Giants versus Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Night baseball game in 2011, he is talking to students about bullying.
“We are gathered here today to stop bullies in their tracks before they hurt other people,” Stow said.
Bryan suffered a severe brain injury that left him in a coma for nine months and took away his life as a paramedic. His recovery has been painfully slow.
“I learned how to walk again. I learned how to write my name again. I had to learn how to read again. I had to learn how to prepare and swallow food again instead of being fed through a tube,” Stow said.
Bryan now gives presentations to school audiences with a message that bullying is unacceptable. He spoke to students at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo urging them to stand up against bullying.
“Don’t just stand and watch. Doing nothing sends a message that the bullying behavior is OK,” Stow said. “Speak up to an adult, you are not a tattle tail you are a lifesaver.”
The young audience was moved by his message.
“You see him saving lives as a paramedic, and you see him now when something bad has happened to him,” student Katiola Fine said. “You still see him saving lives from bullying.”
Bryan Stow’s presentations have also contributed to his own recovery.
“Every time he comes out in the community, to do these things, his walking gets better, his attention gets better, his processing gets, better, his word finding gets better, his memory gets better,” Stow’s speech pathologist Brandy Dickinson said. “It’s just so inspiring.”
He intends to continue to spread his message.
“I want to stop bullies, end fan violence, tell my story around the country,” Stow said. “I want to tell my story around the world.”