March Brain Injury Awareness Month: Raising Public Awareness

It’s March Brain Injury Awareness Month. A time to recognize those living with permanent brain injury and those who live with them.

It’s been seven years since my husband’s accident. He was on his way to work on that cold, snowy day. His only memory was a blur of a car coming at him. He tried to get off the road, but the icy snowbanks made that difficult.

It seems like yesterday, as I write this, he had left to go to work, and I was in the kitchen making my second cup of tea. As I scrolled through Twitter, I noticed a notification that DHART had been called out for an accident on our road. It was less than a 1/10 of a mile from us. I stopped for a second and looked at the time. It was a bit after 10:00am, and I thought it couldn’t be him as he was well on his way by now.

But, unbeknownst to me, he had stopped in our barn to check on the horses and left later than I thought. I saw traffic backing up and emergency vehicles going down our road. I then saw the DHART helicopter was called off due to weather conditions. Saying a prayer for those involved in the accident, I went back to getting ready for a conference call. In the middle of my call, my cell phone rang, and it was my husband, telling me don’t worry, but he was in the emergency room, and they were getting ready to do a CAT scan. The blood drained from my face, I felt woozy, and I knew he was involved in the accident on our road. It’s surreal to think I was within walking distance as they cut him from his vehicle.

My husband was unconscious for probably close to 10 minutes. He awoke to a police officer assessing him and asking questions. As you can see from the picture, it was a nasty collision, and firefighters needed the Jaws of Life to cut him out.

His life has changed since then. He’s one of the lucky ones with a permanent TBI; he thankfully can work but has a dull headache almost every day. He forgets things, doesn’t have the stamina he had before, and gets frustrated sometimes. I’m the memory of the household and need to constantly remind him of appointments and schedules. We, I think single, handily are keeping PostIt notes in business. Can I say that every day is a cakewalk? Nope, but every day is a blessing. As I said, he’s one of the lucky ones who survived and lives an almost normal life daily.

We are eternally grateful for each day we spend together because the outcome could have been much worse. His guardian angels were working overtime that February morning. Every day is a gift, and we live our lives now to the fullest, as we know life isn’t guaranteed.

The facts are more than 5 million plus people in the United States are living with some permanent brain injury related disability. They can be injuries from a brain tumor, stroke, infectious disease, and TBI, commonly called concussions. And at least 2.8 million people in the United States annually sustain traumatic brain injuries. Concussions are the most common, and many go undiagnosed. They’re caused when the brain is impacted by blows or wounds; typically, the person feels dazed if they retain consciousness.

This month is a time to recognize and bring public awareness to the incidence of brain injury. A time to empower those who have survived brain injury and loved ones who help them daily. De-stigmatize brain injury through educating the public.

I’m telling our story to bring awareness to Brain Injuries and that when a person sustains one, it’s not just them that are affected. Brain injuries affect all those people around them. Help de-stigmatize this often-invisible disability by sharing this post.

I hope this helps others know you are not alone on this sometimes lonely journey.

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