By Laura Matanah, Executive Director, Compassionate Action for Animals
In May of 2025, I had a bike accident and a serious brain injury. Thanks to time, care, and community, I’m returning to work full-time and doing well as we enter the new year. Here’s what I learned along the way.
Our Community Is Strong
While I was healing and working limited hours, people stepped up to keep our work for animals moving forward. I’m deeply grateful for the many, many hours put in by our staff, board members, and volunteers that enabled Twin Cities Veg Fest — and the fundraising that makes our work possible — to go on without me. So many people reached out personally and brought meals. It was incredibly helpful and heartwarming in a time when I could not do much.
Head Injuries Are Serious and Often Misunderstood
If you or someone you know experiences a head injury or a stroke, reach out to the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance. They have amazing resources. I am deeply grateful to the alliance staff who helped me connect with the Courage Kenny team at Abbott and to members of the CAA community who shared their experiences.
Letting Go Is OK
I tried to keep doing things as before and found I just couldn’t. Letting go wasn’t so much a choice as a necessity. My bandwidth was limited, which — strangely — made it easier to not worry about everything. As the months wore on, I had fewer “freak-outs” and more acceptance. The process of coming back and being able to do many things has been its own teacher. I hope I’ve developed more ability to focus on what really matters and let the rest go.
Energy and Ability Are Beautiful
My energy levels and abilities varied as I healed, and I know they’ll continue to ebb and flow over my lifetime. Right now, I’m grateful to have the energy to work alongside you on behalf of the animals who still need our voices and our actions.
The Power of Community
This experience reminded me — again — that community isn’t just something nice to have. It’s how we make it through. When I couldn’t carry my full load, you carried me. You kept programs running, checked in, shared hard-won wisdom, and showed up with food, patience, and laughter. That collective care gave me space to heal and gave our work continuity when it could have stalled.
Thank you for proving, in so many practical ways, that compassion is a practice, not just a value. We work to build a kinder world for animals, and you modeled that same kindness as you moved our work forward. I’m proud of what we accomplished together while I was out, and I’m proud to be back, linked arm-in-arm with you. The road to making change for animals is long, but we’re not walking it alone — and that makes all the difference.
