‘I was called horse girl and all these vulgar names, but that never stopped me from doing what I love.’

NATALIE FARINA, SEAFORD

“I have always loved horses since I was little. I started horseback riding when I was 6 years old. But my life really changed when I met my horse, Tuscany. My dad was like, ‘Hey, let’s go to the barn.’ So we went, and I saw Tuscany there. It was just like love at first sight for me.

“I was going through a very hard phase in my life. High school wasn’t the best time for me. I was made fun of a lot. I was called horse girl and all these vulgar names, but that never stopped me from doing what I love. You should not listen to what other people think of you. What really matters is what she felt for me and how she expressed that to me. She gives me hugs. She kisses me. She’s just so wonderful. When Tuscany came into my life, it changed because she showed me what it’s like to feel loved.

During the time I got to know her, she healed me through that hard time in my life.

“During the time I got to know her, she healed me through that hard time in my life. Horses are healing. I say that from my perspective because in my heart she came to me, and she healed me. Not a not person, not anything else — it was my horse. She was the one. She mostly saved my life. I sometimes think about if I would be here without her. It’s incredible what she did for me.

“I have ridden Tuscany ever since we were put together. The place that Tuscany is at is a horse rescue called Mother of Gods Horse Rescue. I see my horse as much as I can. I mostly just ride her for leisure purposes, and I am on the equestrian team at my school as well. I won a few a few ribbons at the intercollegiate shows. I hope to win a show with Tuscany one day. I want to give back and heal horses, too. I volunteer for the Town of Hempstead, and I try to really give back. I did clinicals at North Shore Animal League.

“I’m a sophomore college student in my undergrad studying to be a veterinarian, and I want to help my horse and horses in the future. My love for horses also came with love for animals in general. The number one reason why I wanted to go into veterinary was that I wanted to become an equine veterinarian specifically. That’s my future goal. I know there is a big shortage in equine veterinarians. I hope to take care of Tuscany one day, too.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘The ambulance came and had to do the Jaws of Life to get me out of the car.’

Seaford

“I went for a weekend away with my friends to Rochester to stay at a friend’s house and have a home-cooked meal. I went to Buffalo State. When we were driving back to Buffalo, I was in the backseat of the car on the right side. An 18-wheeler tractor-trailer ran a red light and T-boned right where I was sitting. The ambulance came and had to do the Jaws of Life to get me out of the car. I was pronounced dead at the scene. I was in a coma for a month. This happened Feb. 12, 2010, and I woke up March 11 [2010].

“My mom was there the day I woke up. I don’t remember it. She said I was able to blow a kiss and track her around the room with my eyes. But I don’t remember waking up. I only remember waking up when I got to Mount Sinai Hospital. They had to take me on a medical jet to New York City from Rochester, and one of the guys on the plane was an EMT that was at the scene of the accident. He thought I died.

“I get to Mount Sinai, and I was there for about two months and started all my therapies. I was still comatose. I had a lot of surgeries. I was in the hospital for 10 months straight. I got out of the hospital and did outpatient therapy.

“I decided to go back to school. Everyone said I wouldn’t be able to do it because of my brain injury. Of course, I pick Hofstra University, which is not the easiest one. I went there and took classes part time. It took me five years to graduate in 2016. In 2017 I got a job, and I work as a part-time receptionist now. My whole life changed. On top of that, two years ago, I had thyroid cancer.”

People don’t know how to approach people with disabilities or how to help them.

“It was hard because I always was independent growing up. I was also young. I was only 20, 21. All my friends were going out and doing things, and I couldn’t’ do any of that. I was in the hospital. I didn’t think my life was done. That was not the end for me.

“I worked really hard in therapy. I still go to therapy, and I walk with a walker because my balance isn’t good. But from where I was then to now is completely different. It was insanely hard to get to this place. When you’re going through it, you’re so confused. Even today, I still get days like, ‘Why did this happen?’ I just try to push as much as I can.

“I had to relearn everything — talking, eating, things you take it for granted. I’m a fall risk, meaning I could fall at any time. And when I fall, it’s hard for me to get up. So I’m usually not alone. I had a left temporal lobe injury, but I had a broken skull, so it was called a global brain injury. It takes time to recover from a brain injury; your whole life is going to be recovery after it.

“I go to therapy. We talk about a lot of things that have happened in the past. I have PTSD from it and a lot of anxiety from the accident. I don’t drive anymore. If I’m in the car and a big truck comes by, years ago I would have a mental breakdown. But now I get a little nervous; but it’s better. I work on it through therapy. I have a good support system at home.

“I feel bad because when I was younger and would see someone with a disability, and you don’t try to get to know them. Because I have one now, there’s a lot to know about. People don’t know how to approach people with disabilities or how to help them.”

I never thought I could meet someone that would not look at me differently because I was disabled.

“After my accident, I kept saying I’m never going to meet someone. It was really hard for me to make friends. Young guys don’t want to take the time to understand someone. They see the walker, and they want to run away. That’s not the normal view of young girls. I met Sean five and a half years ago. I told him, ‘I want to let you know that I do walk with a walker, and I was in a major accident. I might need help getting up and down the steps. Just make sure I don’t fall.’ And he’s like, ‘OK, no problem.’

“When Sean picked me up, my parents grilled him. They were like, ‘Where are you going?’ They took down his license plate. When he took me home, after our first date, he called me back. I was like, ‘What? He’s calling me back?’ We started dating, and now we’ve been dating since 2017. We got engaged last year and now we’re getting married at the aquarium in Riverhead. I never thought I could meet someone that would not look at me differently because I was disabled.

“Since I went through all of this, and diagnosed with cancer two years ago, me and Sean went through that whole thing during COVID. The fact that someone stood by my side throughout this whole thing — a lot of people would just run away — it’s nice to find someone like that.

“I never thought that I was going to be able to settle down with someone. I’m getting married. I have a family, I have a house, I have a job. Everything’s falling into place. It just takes time.

“I hope my story helps other people. Who knows? Maybe 10 other people in Long Island have a brain injury and they’re young and they’re struggling, they don’t have an outlet to reach out to other people. When I was going through it, there was no one my age. How do I talk about the problems I’m having with an 80-year-old? If I could help other people around my age, they’d feel a lot better.”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘The symptoms came on very strong and quickly, so I struggled to do typical daily tasks. Just making my bed was hard.’

Seaford

“When I was a sophomore in high school, for a few weeks, I had been feeling not myself, in some pain and not sure what was going on. After a few doctor visits, they sent me over to Winthrop [Hospital] and I was diagnosed there with lupus.

“It was a very quick diagnosis, which was actually a very positive thing because lupus is an unpredictable and confusing disease. It presents differently in everybody, and some people will go years without being diagnosed.

“I was very limited right after the diagnosis. The symptoms came on very strong and quickly, so I struggled to do typical daily tasks. Just making my bed was hard. I really couldn’t do any of the sports or activities I would normally do.

“I was feeling more of the mental aspects of it because I just couldn’t be my normal self. In high school, you’re worried about being with friends and going to sports practice. I just couldn’t really do that anymore, and now I had all these other worries with my health, so it took a toll on me.

“In the weeks and months after I was diagnosed, when I was still not physically up to doing much of anything, my sister had made these fleece blankets when she was at college. We got the idea that I would start making these blankets. It was a great activity and something for me to do that was low energy.

“We got the idea to start donating them because hospital blankets kind of suck. At first, it started with donating to pediatric patients, especially those with lupus, but then it expanded. Any case where people wanted some comfort, we had the blankets and we’ve made hundreds of them. It gave me something to do and was a way to give back when I couldn’t do as much.

“Thankfully, over that summer going into junior year, I met the current doctor that I see at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She really changed my whole regimen around and got me back to where I was able to participate in sports and I was able to basically live my normal life.

“So now I’m not really in a remission, but just more regulated, and I’m still able to do mostly everything that I want to. There are still some bad days and tough times, but over all, now I know how to manage it and I have a great support system, my family and friends.”

Just being able to represent Make-A-Wish, tell my story and benefit other kids that are going through that process meant a lot.

“My Make-A-Wish was granted my senior year, soon after I started seeing my doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She was the one that recommended me for the wish, and I talked also with the social worker at the hospital.

“I qualified for the wish since I had a chronic illness that affected the quality of my life. When we heard about it, my family was very apprehensive to take it. But eventually my doctor was like, ‘You have had some tough times. Take the wish.’

“It was a series of back-and-forth with what I wanted to do. Obviously, this is something that is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I wanted to really capitalize on it and pick something that was very memorable and would not be able to do if it were not for the wish.

“After some research, my mom was really the one that proposed the idea of meeting Pope Francis. In the fall of my junior year, I met my wish makers. It took about a year for everything to get organized and set in stone. In October of 2018, we had five days in Rome and then on Halloween, I met the pope.

“Everything about that trip was just incredible. It was something that especially during the rougher times just gives you hope. That is a huge part of Make-A-Wish, giving me something to look forward to and experience for not just me, but my whole family, too. They’ve also been through it. Maybe they are not feeling the physical illness that I feel, but the different doctors and hospital visits, and all the things that come along with it. It held a lot of meaning to me, since my faith is so important to me.

“It was over spring break 2021 that I was approached by the manager of the Wish Alumni program at Make-A-Wish. She reached out to me and proposed this idea that they had for the gala to have two Wish Alumni host it. Immediately, I said yes.

“Just being able to represent Make-A-Wish, tell my story and benefit other kids that are going through that process meant a lot. I think they raised over $1.7 million through the gala, so it was just a huge success. It meant a lot that I could be part of that because the organization did so much for me. To be able to contribute on the other side and help with the donations and spreading awareness really meant a lot.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘I saw how happy people were in fitness classes and how happy it made me.’

Seaford

“I never thought of being a fitness instructor. I was always an athlete growing up. I was going to school to be a teacher and then changed my major and ended up graduating with a communications degree. I worked in marketing in the city. This was around the time when boutique fitness really was becoming very big. I was starting to realize I didn’t like the 9-5, going on the train, being in the city. I worked in social media when it just started, so it was super fun, but I was drained. I was burned out at 24 years old. I saw how happy people were in fitness classes and how happy it made me. I was like, ‘I want to make someone happy like this. So why not make the jump?’ But at the same time, I was nervous because I was like, ‘OK, I switched from teaching to marketing; now I’m going to switch to fitness?’

“My dad was always his own boss. He always reminded me, ‘You should work for yourself. You should make your own money. If you can, start your own business somehow.’ It was always ingrained in me that I would somehow do something on my own.

“I’ve been in fitness for eight years now. Once the pandemic hit when I made an LLC, I made a website and my on-demand subscription. 2020 is when private training became bigger.

“The Long Island fitness community is a strong, tight-knit community where a lot of people know each other, have worked with one another, taken each other’s classes. It’s nice that when I think of each modality in fitness, I can think of someone to suggest for yoga, Pilates, barre, Zumba, a strength class, a nutrition coach. I love meeting people in the fitness community and creating relationships with different instructors and business owners.

“A lot of time, people are scared to just start. People come in and they want to go in the back corner. It’s like, ‘No, come closer to me so you can actually see what you’re doing.’ They also are already comparing themself to the person that’s in the front, in the great outfit, and doing everything without taking a break. You don’t know how long that person has been doing that. Just pay attention to yourself and your body. You just have to get out of your head and step into the workout.”

Interviewed by Tracey Cheek

‘I’m just one guy doing a little thing each day, trying to make someone’s life a little better.’

Seaford

“I was a shy, introverted child. When I was 6, my grandfather brought me to a magic store and bought me a magic trick. He encouraged me to learn it and perform it for the family, and then took me back once a month to buy another trick. Eventually, magic became an avenue in a way of interacting with people that was comfortable to me.

“When I was a teenager, my dad got Lou Gehrig’s disease. Medical bills depleted my family’s bank accounts. If it wasn’t for donations from the local church and synagogue, my family wouldn’t have eaten. Not knowing when, where or how your next meal would happen made for an unsettling childhood.

You don’t have to dig into your pocket to be charitable; you can give from your heart.

“Having learned the value of charity, I’m now able to share my talents and experience to provide charity for people that need it. I volunteer as a Shriner; Shriners Hospitals treat patients regardless of their ability to pay. Shriners volunteer as drivers or entertainers, and I volunteer as a magician and clown. I realized there were other charities I wanted to be philanthropic with as well, so I started my own 501(c)(3) called Hokey Pocus Children’s FUN-dation Inc. I raise money by entertaining at events, and the donations from the different venues allow me to provide for charitable facilities for free. Recently, I was able to take donations from a birthday party at which I performed and purchased balloons to give out for free at a festival benefiting children in Burma. The charity provides magicians, storytellers, party motivators, clowns — my clown name is Hokey Pocus because of my hokey jokes — and even Santa Claus.

“When I feel something is lacking in my life, I shift my focus to provide for others because I know so many people are dealing with far worse situations than mine. You don’t have to dig into your pocket to be charitable; you can give from your heart. Our motto is, ‘Put your whole heart in and turn some lives around.’ Hokey Pocus has taught me that my capacity to give goes far beyond what I dreamed possible. I’m not doing wonderful things; I’m doing little things consistently. I’m just one guy doing a little thing each day, trying to make someone’s life a little better.”

‘There were numerous times I called the cops because I was so fearful he was going to hurt me…’

Seaford

“We met through mutual friends from AA. At that point, I was a little shy of 8 years sober. We wound up getting our own place together and I was in heaven. When I had originally gotten sober, I was 21 years old. I was just a kid. But now, I felt like I was an adult, like I had found my guy and was living life.

“It was the night before my birthday that he first put his hands on me. We were both drinking at that point, drugs were also part of it. He shoved me hard, onto the bed. Then the next day he was remorseful, apologizing up and down. Ever since that night, it just got worse. I didn’t know what to do. I honestly thought the love we had for each other was so strong that we were going to be able to get through this. That I was going to be able to save him.

“There were numerous times I called the cops because I was so fearful he was going to hurt me so bad because of the state of mind he was in. There were numerous times he got arrested. But then I felt guilty so I would try to recant everything I said and that I didn’t want to press charges.

“We would always have conversations about how we wanted to start a family, get married. We wanted to stop screwing up and wasting time. I wound up getting pregnant. That was probably my biggest wake up call.

I was holding on so tightly to the hope he’s going to do the same.

“He wound up going back to rehab. I was already on track getting sober. I was holding on so tightly to the hope he’s going to do the same. I knew as soon as he got back, there was something not right. He was distant. He basically told me he couldn’t be with me anymore, it was too hard for him. And on top of that, he said I had to leave the apartment.

“I gave birth in April. He was not there at all when I was in the hospital. The night he was supposed to come, he was in a bar getting drunk. He has only seen Maddie three times. The last time I saw him was the end of April.

“Things are very different today. It’s about Maddie and I. It’s about trying to do things that are empowering and support us. It’s not easy. But I’m doing it. I will forever be grateful to him because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have her. She doesn’t need a father. Not when she’s got me.”