Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. As time goes by, I have wanted to become an advocate for this issue. I hope to do so more in the future. I think it is a sign that national Brain Injury Awareness Day is on March 12. That is the same day as my Birthday. Ellen and I have a stronger awareness of this subject than we ever expected to. I understand how it may be difficult to act around someone that is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor. The idea of someone with a brain injury is taboo for many folks. Yet, everyday I get the privilege of witnessing the spirit and determination of a now 9 year old boy that has surpassed so many expectations and works so hard to do things that most people take for granted.

When you google brain injury or tbi, it focusses on so many things that are negative. I know from first hand. When I first researched it, all I wanted was something that would give me hope. I found very little. I can tell you that I am optimistic about our future. Hope is not lost when a family member has a brain injury. So, to start Brain Injury Awareness Month, I want people to know that hope is not lost and that happiness can be achieved after an injury. I have now witnessed numerous examples of that being the case.

You will see more about this topic from us this month. For now, I leave you with a Brain Injury Fact from the Brain Injury Association of America.

• Just as no two people are exactly alike, no two brain
injuries are exactly alike. For some, brain injury is the
start of a lifelong disease process. The injury requires
access to a full continuum of medically necessary
treatment and community-based supports furnished
by interdisciplinary teams of qualified and specialized
clinicians working in accredited programs and
appropriate settings.

Blue sky ahead for us