Melvin Arundelli, 34, was born in Italy but has lived in Atlanta since he was just over a year old. Four years ago this month, he crashed his motorcycle into a telephone pole, and suffered severe traumatic brain injury. He was hospitalized at Grady for five months and in a coma for most of that time.
Arundelli now uses a wheelchair, has limited movement in his left arm, is legally blind and can’t smell or taste. But he’s alive, he says, and his sense of humor remains firmly intact.
“Meet Boosheka,” he says, inviting friends to sit on the comfy cushion on his wheelchair.
“She’s my girlfriend. The best thing I got when I left Grady,” he adds with a laugh.