The story behind the site.

Who built Wayfinder Medical, why it exists, and what it's actually for.

I've had a lot of lives.

The first time I ended up on the ground not breathing, I was a toddler. I don't remember it. The second time I remember very clearly.

I served as a Navy propulsion engineer. I did diplomatic security and executive protection work. I spent years in library and information systems. I spent a decade as a commercial truck driver — long-haul, dedicated runs, the full physical rhythm of the road. That decade ended one January morning on a patch of ice.

One slip-and-fall on a delivery run produced a Traumatic Brain Injury. The career I had built in my body was over. I was in my late forties. The system had no idea what to do with me, and neither did I.

What came after: a late identification of ADHD and Autism that reframed not just the recovery, but my entire work history. What had looked like instability across a nonlinear career was actually years of high-level masking and creative adaptation. What felt like failure was survival in a world that was never built for how I think.

I work now at a public library, part-time, and I'm building this platform on the side. That's the current chapter. This is what the middle of a rebuild looks like — not a success story, but a working story.

"I've had a lot of lives. The one that ended on a patch of ice in January is the one that made me build this."

Why this platform exists.

Wayfinder Medical began as my story. It grew into a resource for anyone whose life changed in ways they didn't choose.

The YouTube channel is where I share that journey — the TBI, the career loss, the neurodivergence identification, the rebuild. My experience is the entry point. But the platform is built to be useful far beyond my particular circumstances.

The condition resource hub exists because the people who need this most — midlife adults navigating disability, forced career change, and a system that wasn't designed for them — often have conditions I've never personally lived with. The whitepapers, tools, and condition pages are built to serve those people just as directly as they serve someone whose path looks like mine.

This is not a personal memoir project. It is a comprehensive resource that happens to be grounded in one person's lived experience.

Midlife adults facing forced life change.

The core audience is primarily people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s navigating:

• Physical injury or a medical diagnosis that changed what work looks like
• A late neurodivergence identification (ADHD, autism) that reframes your entire work history
• Age discrimination in hiring — the kind that nobody calls by its name
• Structural job market collapse: AI displacement, layoffs, industry shifts
• Caregiving responsibilities that changed your availability and capacity
• Any combination of the above, because these things tend to cluster

A resource hub, not a blog.

Wayfinder Medical is organized around what people actually need when navigating a major life disruption:

• Condition Library — 123+ conditions with workplace impact, accommodation strategies, and benefits information
• Benefits guides — SSDI, VA Disability, Workers' Comp, ADA accommodations — plain language, no jargon
• Free downloads — Templates, checklists, and tools you can use immediately
• State resources — State-level programs for workers' comp, Medicaid, vocational rehab, and legal aid
• YouTube channel — Video deep-dives on conditions, benefits, and the rebuild process

A few things worth naming directly.

• Not a law firm, a medical practice, or a financial advisor — always verify with licensed professionals
• Not a trucking channel, a military nostalgia channel, or a library channel
• Not hustle culture — no "just work harder" framing
• Not toxic positivity — some things are just hard, and this site says so
• Not only for people with TBI, or only for people whose story matches mine
• Not a personal blog — the resource hub serves all major disabling conditions

Not sure where to start?

The Start Here page guides you to the resources most relevant to your situation. Takes about two minutes.