Call to Action for Brain Injury Awareness Month

Today marks the first day of National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

One of the first objectives of this month is probably to make more people aware that there is such a thing as Brain Injury Awareness Month!

Whether or not you or someone you know and love has a brain injury, this call to action goes out to you: Please help raise awareness not only of Brain Injury Awareness Month, but also of the desperate need for research and understanding of brain injuries.

First, an explanation. If you're wondering what constitutes a brain injury, I've cited the following information, available on the Brain Injury Association of America's web site:

"Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
"TBI is defined as an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force.

"Adopted by the Brain Injury Association Board of Directors in 2011. This definition is not intended as an exclusive statement of the population served by the Brain Injury Association of America.

"Acquired Brain Injury
"An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain, which is not hereditary, congenital, degenerative, or induced by birth trauma. An acquired brain injury is an injury to the brain that has occurred after birth. 

"There is sometimes confusion about what is considered an acquired brain injury. By definition, any traumatic brain injury (eg, from a motor vehicle accident, or assault) could be considered an acquired brain injury. In the field of brain injury, acquired brain injuries are typically considered any injury that is non traumatic. Examples of acquired brain injury include stroke, near drowning, hypoxic or anoxic brain injury, tumor, neurotoxins, electric shock or lightening strike."

The statistics for brain injuries in America are shocking. I've detailed them in a previous post, so will only say here that the CDC estimates that 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury annually. This figure only encompasses traumatic brain injuries, not acquired brain injuries.

More alarming than the statistics are the effects of brain injuries on the lives of the individuals who sustain them (if they survive) and those of their families, even if the brain injured person lives.

Sadly, brain injuries seem to escape the notice of most people around the world who are not directly or indirectly affected by them. The only exceptions seem to be when the brain injury is sustained by someone famous who then dominates media coverage for their "five minutes."

Before my own brain injury on December 23, 2009, I was admittedly one of the unaware masses. But a simple slip on our wet kitchen floor changed my life forever, and I learned about brain injuries the hard way.

I would like others to learn about brain injuries the easy way: by taking the time to acknowledge and understand them for the serious medical condition that they are, and realize that there are millions of people out there who desperately need national and global awareness to raise funds, increase research, create better support systems, and help improve medical understanding.

If only people could respond to the cause of brain injuries like they have responded to causes like breast cancer.

In my shoes, it's difficult for me to understand how a cause that injures and kills more people each year than even breast cancer can be so ignored. Don't brain injuries deserve the corporate sponsorships, annual runs and massive foundations that other causes have?

Those of us who have brain injuries think so. But we have to create our own causes and work at a grassroots level to get anyone to notice us. As a result, we move by inches instead of by miles. And we need your help.

A few months ago, I met another brain injury survivor, Anaperla Aureoles, who inspired me deeply. She shared with me her dream to have 1000 brain injury survivors share their personal stories with President Obama. I promised Ana that just as she had inspired me, I would be her voice, so I started a cause on Facebook called Ana's Dream: 1000 TBI Survivor Stories to President Obama and Politicians.

A little over a month since starting Ana's Dream, we already have nearly 300 members of the cause.

My dream for Brain Injury Awareness Month - and my call to action for everyone reading this - is to help us reach our goal of 1000 survivor stories by the end of March. This means not only spreading the word about Ana's Dream, but writing letters to President Obama and your local and state politicians about the importance of brain injury awareness.

Even if you don't have a brain injury or know someone who does, please help us spread the word and raise awareness of brain injuries. Anyone can join Ana's Dream and write a letter to the President or to their politicians explaining just how important this cause is.

You don't have to run, walk or donate any money. Just share the dream, join in building awareness and send an e-mail or letter to your politicians. That's it.

With your help, we can make this Brain Injury Awareness Month a successful one and make brain injury awareness more than just a little known awareness month, but a cause that is readily recognized year-round.