Disabled vet builds bikes

December 27, 8:54 AMHartford Special Needs Kids ExaminerDanna Mann

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Brian Tinsley 25, of Bloomfield Connecticut left for boot camp after graduating from Bloomfield High in 2001.  Brian was providing special forces support as a mechanic when he was shot.  The bullet entered through one temple and exited through the other.  He has no memory of that day but when he woke up he was in Walter Reed Hospital after a month of unconsciousness.  Tinsley also learned he was now blind.  

Brian went to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center in West Haven to learn how to read Braille.  He even helped Habitat for Humanity build a house in Hartford.  He was going to give up, but decided he would just learn how to do things in a different way. 

In his youth he rode stunt bikes and frequented a local bike shop, instead of searching for parts he was now searching for a job.  The owner, Mike Wolf, couldn’t imagine how Brian was going to be able to do the work.  However, Mike hired him. Since he started in April Brian has assembled more than 220 bikes. 

Al Church, executive director of the Connecticut Chapter of Disabled American Veterans said he has heard many stories of disabled veterans, who want to, and do, go back to work and become valued employees.