Kathy Hughes stands next to Lake Erie during a recent trip back to Port Clinton to visit friends. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

A 1979 automobile accident left a former Port Clinton social worker with lifelong challenges that altered her life but didn’t destroy her. Kathy Hughes suffered severe brain damage when she was thrown from a car while a passenger on Perry St. in Port Clinton at the age of 30. Her head hit the street, which broke her skull and left her with permanent disabilities, including aphasia, a neurological disorder that affects communication, including the ability to speak and read.

Doctors believed she would never talk again. Hughes chose to fight her way back.

“In 1979, nobody knew about brain injury,” she said. “I told myself that I could sit and do nothing and be a vegetable, or I could fight. I’m a fighter, and I got better and better and better.”

Hughes spent years in speech therapy. Today, she cannot read, and aphasia still has a slight effect on her speech, but her life is full. Over the past several decades, she used her experience to inform, support and inspire other people who have suffered from brain injury. She started a brain injury support group in Port Clinton in the 1980s and spent many years giving talks on life after a brain accident. On Aug. 24, she spoke by zoom to about 600 people as a guest of Brain Exchange.

Ironically, Hughes’ most powerful tool of inspiration is her book, “God Isn’t Finished with Me Yet!” which details her accident and recovery. The book was written with coauthor Rita Milios.

“After years of speech, I can’t read, but I can write a book,” she said.

The book, originally written in 1990, is now in its fifth printing. Locals will recognize references to Port Clinton in the book, which is available for $10 by emailing Hughes at khughesj@aol.com.

Hughes doesn’t do as much public speaking now because she is focusing on her other passion: being a foster parent. When she was a social worker prior to her accident, she worked with children who were abused and neglected, as well as with foster and adoptive families. She had often thought about being a foster parent and eventually decided to attend foster parent classes to see if she was a good fit.

“I thought, ‘Should I? Shouldn’t I?’ But then, in the third session, they said they really needed emergency foster care,” she said. “I’ve been doing that almost ten years.”

Hughes, who moved to St. Louis with her son to be near family many years ago, provides a temporary home for foster children until they can return home or transition to a permanent foster family.

“Kids come to my house. I have food, shelter and loving arms, and I care for them for a few days,” she said.

Hughes takes annual vacations to Port Clinton to visit old friends. Her fondness for the area isn’t marred by memories of her accident.

“I love Port Clinton. I love Catawba,” she said.

During her trip in August, she sat in a beachside hotel and shared words of inspiration for people who are struggling with brain injury.

“Number one, you have to fight, and hopefully, the Lord is by your side. Being a Christian saved my life,” she said. “Number two, find a support group. People who have brain injuries need the connection and their caregivers need the connection.”

Between her brain injury support work, her family and friends, and her foster care, Hughes has a full life. The woman who could have given up is now a voice of inspiration for thousands.

“Life is good. It’s challenging, but it’s good,” she said.