Catherine DiGiovanni recently showed nearly a dozen traumatic brain injury patients at Northwell Health’s Transistions of Long Island in Manhasset, an outpatient rehabilitation program that treated her, how to make a no-bake S’mores treat on Wednesday, Nov. 16.
DiGiovanni was in a near-fatal car accident in 2010, and a key factor in regaining her life and memory has been cooking, which is a passion of hers since childhood, according to a press release from Northwell Health.
“Cooking has allowed me to unlock memories,” DiGiovanni said, as she instructed patient Allyson Wald to fold in graham crackers into a tray of melted chocolate.
Wald, 53, a former EMT, attends a structured day program at Transitions for people recovering from neurological injury or illness.
She is making progress after suffering a heart attack five years ago that led to a loss of oxygen to her brain.
“This makes me feel like I’m back to being me before I got injured,” Wald said.
DiGiovanni was a 22-year-old graduate of Culinary Institute of America with a dream of opening up her own restaurant when a drunk driver crashed into her car on March 19, 2010.
Given a five percent chance of survival, she pulled through, waking from a coma days later in North Shore University Hospital.
Nearly a dozen surgeries followed, and through extensive rehabilitation, she learned to walk again.
In addition to her brain injury, DiGiovanni also suffered a collapsed left lung, lost vision in her right eye and a multitude of other injuries.
Losing her sense of smell was a devastating blow for the chef — but she has slowly regained that back.
At Transitions, DiGiovanni learned to overcome and deal with several physical, cognitive and emotional challenges.
“Catherine had a severe traumatic brain injury. The more severe the injury, the more challenging the journey,” Dr. Jean Elbaum, director of Transitions said. “She’s made a remarkable recovery given the challenges she has faced.”
At 29, DiGiovanni has written a memoir/cookbook titled “Mis En Place of Life.”
For more information about Transitions of Long Island, contact (516) 719-3740.
Cooking up treatment for brain injuries
