Many people do not realize that when a person suffers a brain injury, the hospitalization is a small part of the recovery. Recovery from an injury to the brain takes years, and involves not only the patient, doctors and therapists, but also the participation of family and friends. Finding a resource that helps the recovery process is invaluable, and I know that the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado has been a big help for our dear friend, Mary Kaye Podschweit.
A big thank you to Mary Kaye for inviting us to join her in the 2017 Pikes Peak Challenge Barr Camp Hike!
At 47, MK suffered a pulmonary embolism and went into cardiac arrest three times, which caused an anoxic brain injury. She was in the hospital for forty days, and continues rehabilitation therapy. Along with the Alliance, her loving and gentle personality, the love, support, and help of family and friends, and many prayers, she is undergoing tremendous recovery. I will be participating in this Challenge with Mary Kaye and family and friends.
I can honestly say that I understand what she is going though. In January 2012, I suffered a traumatic brain injury when I fell off a roof in a construction accident. I spent nearly a month in the hospital. I broke every bone in my face, and had to have titanium plates surgically implanted to hold the bones together. I also broke other bones and had a collapsed a lung, but the longest and most difficult part of the recovery was for my brain. I had memory issues, had double-vision for months, saw colors differently, and couldn’t drive for quite some time.
There are over 500,000 Coloradans living with the effects of an injury to the brain. Life can seem hard and insurmountable without support and guidance. The Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado is the go-to resource for help and services for survivors of an injury to the brain, their families, and providers.
I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge, and offer my support to others who have experienced brain injuries of all kinds. When we finish, we will have hiked 13 miles and 10,200 vertical feet to beautiful Barr Camp and back down.
Even more impressive than this challenge, is the courage and strength it takes for a survivor to overcome day to day struggles that come with a life of living with an injury to the brain.
Please donate now!
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Debbie Schilling
$50.00 -
Lauri Muhonen
$50.00 -
Paula Gendill
$50.00 -
Mary Lindimore
$50.00 -
Renee Steffen
$20.00 -
Matt Nowlen
$75.00 -
Sandi Thomas
$10.00 -
Denise Beausay
$50.00 -
Sharon Mueller
$50.00