Overview
In his debut novel, Suzy’s Case, Andy wanted to put a human face on a reality he knows so well from his daily working life: the intensity of the experience of traumatic brain injury survivors and their families. And then Andy met Ray.
When Ray Ciancaglini was sixteen, he took a hard blow to the head in a boxing match. With the misconception that you had to be knocked out to sustain a concussion, he stepped into the ring again the following week and suffered a second concussion while still in the recovery phase of the initial one. The injurious effects to Ray's brain from this "second impact" altered the course of his existence forever.
Ray, a native of Geneva, New York, parlayed this tragic life event into becoming an award-winning concussion awareness activist and established keynote speaker.
Ray was instrumental in getting passed into New York State law, The 2010 Concussion Management Awareness Act for which he was honored with the New York Executive Chamber Award and the Rochester Hickok Hero Award. Ray’s mission is to share the mistake he made in ignoring the symptoms of a concussion and the lifelong consequences he has suffered as a result. By telling his story he hopes to raise concussion awareness and to encourage student athletes to be candid with their doctor after a head injury to ensure a safe return to play.
Andy Siegel is a New York City personal injury lawyer who has dedicated his career to representing survivors of traumatic brain injury. He understands the struggle these courageous individuals endure while restructuring their lives to recover a sense of normality in the wake of sudden tragedy. Andy felt it was critically important to communicate Ray’s story to help educate and protect today’s youth athletes from the serious harm that can result by “playing through” a concussion.
Second Impact: The Ray Ciancaglini Story chronicles the account of a young boy’s life whose future had been filled with tremendous promise tragically sent off course by his instinctive competitive spirit. Written in the third person, each chapter ends with Ray’s comments on those life events highlighting the mistakes he made. This unique format allows the reader to follow the story in the form of a novel yet benefit from Ray’s insightful reflections in retrospect. All proceeds donated to Ray’s non-profit organization. Please visit thesecondimpact.com for more information.