Birthdays’ Sammy Yager is someone very close to the Impose family. Through uncompromised optimism and a penchant for making scratchy, uplifting tunes, we’ve been staunch supporters of Birthdays and his extended FMLY long enough to call him a friend. Which is why, on July 26, 2013, it was so heartbreaking to learn he fell into a coma due to a bicycling accident. Sammy eventually awoke, but it was no small miracle, and it’s taken much of the past year to learn the basic fundamentals; from walking and talking to his life passion of making music again.
In honor of this monumental achievement, one of his brothers in life, Noah Klein, pka Cuddleformation, has uploaded a collection of Birthdays covers as done by his friends at “Sammyfest,” one of the benefit shows held to raise money for Sam’s recovery efforts.
“Recorded on my phone,” Klein explains, “So if you don’t mind group crying and rough versions of songs that we each had about a day to figure out feel free to download them here.”
Klein also posted his cover of the Birthdays song “Part That Grows” with an incredibly touching intro that illustrates the closeness the two—along with Emily Reo—share. As Klein told Fader: “The pump noise in the beginning is the breathing tube doing its thing. As I was recording, Emily was talking to Sammy in a coma, which is what the ‘Are you ticklish, Sammy? That’s something the doctors haven’t tried’ is.”
Under normal circumstances that would likely be the most touching thing you’ll read today. Fortunately, it’s not. Because Sammy is able to describe his journey personally, which you can read after the stream below.
I feel like maybe it’s getting redundant but I’m just literally lying in bed crying right now thinking back on this past year.
Thank you so very much to everyone who supported me and sat with me and talked to me while I was in a coma. The only memory I have for August is floating through white space in the fetal position naked moving in one direction for weeks. Then there were two directions to go, one to live and one to die. I opted to travel towards what I understood to be the keep-living path I felt thousands of hands pushing me forwards toward waking up. Later I discovered that thousands of people were sending positive energy and prayers and being by my side during my whole coma!
Thank you sooo much. You guys saved my life and brought me back. You know who you are♥
And thank you to everyone who contributed to benefits for me. I have you to thank for my ability to afford the best care & therapies along my recovery.
I am so wildly lucky to have the people that I’ve had the extreme pleasure of befriending!
THANK YOU!!!
I don’t deserve all these amazing people.
I’m sorry I scared you. It won’t happen again!I’m also really thankful for my super supportive partner Laura for putting up with me crying all night (tears of sadness and happiness) and just drastically improving my life! It can’t be easy!
