Brian Boyle

It was a horrific car crash. On the way home from swim practice in 2004, eighteen-year old Brian Boyle’s future changed in an instant after a near fatal car accident. He was airlifted to a trauma hospital. He had lost sixty percent of his blood, his heart had moved across his chest, and his organs and pelvis were pulverized. When Brian emerged from the coma two months later, he had no memory of the accident. He could see and hear, but not move or talk. Unable to communicate to his doctors, nurses, or frantic parents, he heard words like “vegetable” and “nursing home.” If he lived, doctors predicted he might not be able to walk again, and certainly not swim. Then, miraculously, Brian gradually recovered after losing a total of 100 pounds. First blinking his eyelids, then squeezing a hand, then smiling, he slowly emerged from his locked-in state. 
 
The recovery continued and in 2007 Brian staged one of the greatest comebacks in endurance sports history when he crossed the finish line at the Hawaii Ironman triathlon just three years after leaving ICU. Men’s Health magazine named Boyle one of its twenty heroes of health and fitness.  A year later, he published his first book, Iron Heart.  
 
In 2015, he published his second book The Patient Experience: The Importance of Care, Communication, and Compassion in the Hospital Room, which is based on the experiences that both he and his parents went through during their time in the hospital.  In 2016, he completed his Master’s degree in Communications at Johns Hopkins University, and he has a column with The British Medical Journal. In 2019, he published his first children’s book about triathlon called Swim Bark Run.

He has been recognized by the President of the United States of America as a “Champion of Change” at the White House, and his story has been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, NBC’s Today Show, Good Morning America, ESPN, and several other programs throughout the country that have earned Emmy nominations and awards. 
 
Brian's story about catastrophe, survival, and transcending all odds has initiated innovative strategies for improving patient safety and quality of care on an international level, as well as serving as a learning experience for healthcare providers of all backgrounds. 

His journey of courage and determination has touched the hearts of many and his story and the message it carries has been celebrated around the world.