“Play It Where It Lies”: KC Christensen and Life After Brain Injury

In Golf And Life, You Have To “Play The Ball Where It Lies”

KC Christensen and Life After Brain Injury

On December 17, 2008, KC Christensen’s life as he knew it was shattered. KC was a passenger in a motor vehicle that left the road and struck multiple trees. The accident killed the driver instantly, and KC was initially declared dead at the scene -- until an astute EMT double-checked and found that KC was still clinging to life. 

KC’s family was initially told he might live for 48 hours. He spent two months in a coma, and his injuries were extensive, including a punctured lung, broken clavicle, and fractured skull. His family did not know if he would live or what his life would look like if he did survive. When his doctors brought him out of the coma, KC faced challenges that included partial paralysis, memory loss, seizures, and issues with balance and walking. He also struggled with cognitive tasks like visual recognition and sequencing, and the accident left him blind in one eye (which was later fixed with surgery). 

The Role Golf Played In Surviving Brain Injury

KC’s passion is golf, and he was well on his way to his dream of playing professional golf when the accident occurred. Only months before, he had successfully passed the Professional Golf Association’s (PGA) Player Ability Test, and he had been working as an assistant golf professional at the Owl’s Nest Golf Course in Campton, NH. He had been studying for the final certification test prior to his injury. His experience with golf would serve him well, as he learned that just like in golf, in his new life he would have to learn to “play the ball where it lies.”

On the road to recovery, KC faced enormous challenges and many long months of rehabilitation, but he tackled them head-on and with unflinching positivity. With great determination and a marvelous sense of humor, he worked tirelessly on rehabilitation to relearn many basic functions like swallowing, facial expressions, and mobility. Ultimately, KC’s positive outlook and hard work paid off in the best of ways.

KC loves life and is determined to be successful and make the best of his abilities, even if his life doesn’t look quite like it did before. While the accident slowed him down, KC worked towards the goal of playing golf again, and within a few years of his accident, he helped start an adaptive golf program. Now, nearly 13 years later, KC is still an avid golfer, and he teaches adaptive golf through the New England Disabled Sports’ program, works at the Owl’s Nest Golf Course, works with a Wounded Warrior program, and tends bar in the winters on Loon Mountain.  In addition, he is the co-owner of the consignment store, Boomerang in Plymouth, NH. 

KC’s successes don’t stop there. He received a certificate of recognition from the PGA, as well as a degree in teaching from Plymouth State University. The adaptive golf program he helped to start has grown so large that it now has eight volunteers and three different levels of instruction. 

“I love teaching,” said KC. “I love so many things about it: I love the smiles on my students’ faces when they hit a great shot. I love that we are all working together to add something positive to their lives. I know I’m not doing what I thought I might, but I am teaching and playing the sport I love,” he added.

KC has also discovered a love for sharing his story, and he is using his experience to instill hope in others, especially other brain injury survivors. “I want the rest of the world to know that there can be a good life after surviving a brain injury, even a severe one. I know it is overwhelming and difficult, and it does take hard work to rewire the brain, but there is hope,” KC said. He added, “It may be different, and you may have to change your goals, but life can be rewarding.” 

Though KC is many years out from his injury, as with many brain injury survivors, his rehabilitation journey and the challenges that arise from his brain injury are still present. More recently, due to medical complications, he has stopped driving and is anticipating a third brain surgery soon. For KC, however, these setbacks are no competition for his positive outlook and love of life. “I am the luckiest man alive as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

To learn more about KC, brain injury, and his journey, visit KC’s website at kccspeaking.com.