Friends Gather Thursday To Wish East Hampton Native a Happy Birthday from Afar

Mark Schmitt is recovering from a traumatic brain injury he suffered two and a half years ago, and, in honor of his 26th birthday, his twin brother wants to show that everyone back in East Hampton still cares about him.

Matthew Schmitt organized a fundraiser at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett this Thursday, just one day before they turn 26. Matthew is going to make a video for his brother of people saying, "Happy Birthday!"

"The whole point was to keep it simple and fun and show him that even though we're four hours away and can't see him as much, people still think about him all the time. We all still care," Matthew said. "I know it will mean a lot to him."

The event comes at a difficult time when Mark and Matthew and their friends are reeling from the loss of Pascal 'Sax' Leader, who was found dead in his apartment in New York City on Saturday. He was 25. Mark is deeply upset over the death of his friend, and has written to his brother frequently this week with the message: "Live life to the fullest because you never know what can happen."

Mark is living at the Northeast Center for Special Care in Lake Katrine, where he receives physical and speech therapy daily.

In August 2011, when he was 23, he fell from a balcony in Springs and broke two vertebra, as well as bones in his face and skull. He had brain swelling and was in a coma, spending more than two months in the intensive care unit at Stony Brook University Medical Center. He was diagnosed with neuro-storming, a condition, which is an increase in activity in the sympathetic nervous system that leaves the nervous system in an uncontrolled state of stress.

Mark gets around in a wheelchair and is learning how to walk again since his muscles atrophied, but he has already made great strides in his recovery. "He is, from my perspective, 100 percent cognitive," his brother said. They have full conversations, over Facebook messenger or Facetime on the iPhone. Mark's speech is still a bit difficult to understand at times, but the fact that he has come so far is a miracle, his brother said.

"He's doing well. He's gaining progress everyday," Matthew said. "We all stay optimistic."

Expenses continue to weigh heavily the Schmitt brothers and their sisters, whose parents passed away three years before Mark's accident. A fundraiser in 2011 raised over $18,000, Matthew said. There is a bank account set up at Suffolk County National Bank for donations.

"It's just too hard to tell what his recovery is going to be like, we're just always raising money," Matthew said.

The birthday celebration and fundraiser starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $10. An Open Mic night start at 10 p.m., so after that time there is a suggested donation for Mark. Matthew's band, Soak Hides, will play along with Old Faith and the Montauk Project.