Continuing his mission to spread brain injury awareness, Curtis Anderson spoke at a Neurology Conference in Warsaw, Poland, on October 19. While at the conference, he had the opportunity to share his story of recovery from a bull riding accident at the Ponoka Stampede on June 26, 2002, and the brain injury he suffered as a result. Anderson’s story touched a number of people that he met along the way. “When I was in Poland, I connected with doctors from New York and California, a lady speaking at the same time as me from Brazil, and an inventor from Poland. My presentation went well, and I received good feedback. The doctors were impressed with my recovery,” said Anderson. He went on to enjoy his time in Poland, sightseeing and learning about the history. He enjoyed that a lot of the streets were handmade with cobblestone. “The architecture is pretty amazing and some portions were rebuilt after the war,” said Anderson. On the way home, Anderson experienced a coincidence while speaking with a man at the back of the plane from London. The man asked if he spoke at rodeos because he had heard him at the Bruce Stampede when he had previously been in Alberta. Anderson felt that one of the biggest highlights he experienced while flying with KLM Airlines, was that a flight attendant had taken a copy of his speech and shared it with the pilots. The gentleman had told him that they may be able to pass it along through their Twitter account which has 2.4 million followers. As the last one off the plane, the pilots shook Anderson’s hand saying that he had an incredible story. “Knowing that your story could reach 2.4 million people is incredible. Even if they don’t share it, a chance to get my story to the other side of the world is pretty hard to put into words,” said Anderson. Overall, Anderson couldn’t be happier with his recent journey and said in conclusion, “It’s good to be back on Alberta soil.”
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