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Nearly three years after a pedestrian crash that left him unable to walk or talk, Sarfo says he is 80 percent recovered.
"Keep going one step at a time," is what he tells others suffering from debilitating accidents. "You can do it."
Sarfo, 31, of Old Bridge, was crossing Route 35 in Sayreville in May 2021.
Sarfo's head hit the windshield and pavement causing a brain hemorrhage. He was flown by helicopter in critical condition to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital and the driver stayed at the scene and was not cited.
"I was unconscious for the first two weeks," Sarfo said.
Sarfo suffered fractures to his spine. He wore a halo brace for four months. He had to relearn how to speak and to form complete sentences again.
Sarfo had to have five screws placed in his shattered hip and had to relearn how to walk. He was in a wheelchair for three months and on a walker for four months.
Most of the pain was in his arm and his neck: "It felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife," he said. "I always had a stiff neck."
When he stabilized, he was moved to Edison's JFK Inpatient Brain Trauma Unit where he started his rehab/ physical therapy. From there he transitioned to their outpatient facility a few miles away and started increasing physical therapies to twice a day.
While Sarfo still has nerve damage in his right arm, he has returned to work as an account executive in New York City.
He's also started his own company selling handmade pillows and blankets imported from his native country of Ghana.
The toughest part is not understanding the why. "Understanding why it happened and not knowing," he said.
He appreciates "just being able to wake up and move where I want to move. Just being able to look outside a window and walk."
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