On September 9th, 2017, we will be participating in the Pikes Peak Challenge Summit Hike in support of the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado. They are the go-to resource for help and services for survivors of an injury to the brain, their families, and providers.
TBI is a contributing factor to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States. (per the CDC)
Initially, I joined this challenge after being asked by a life-long friend. Her son had sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at age 13 due to a bicycle accident. He nearly lost his life. Had my friend not pushed the hospital doctors to examine him more thoroughly, he would have died from his injuries. He required a life saving emergency brain surgery. Today he is 33 years old and though he survived the injury, still lives with the long term effects.
After doing a little research I found that TBI is one of the most common injuries suffered by our Military personnel, particularly our combat-veterans. It is one of the most difficult injuries to diagnose and the least well understood. In 2016 alone over 17,672 service members were diagnosed with some level of TBI.
**We are a military family with both veteran and active-duty members. We support the U.S. Military and our Veterans in any way we can. **
Lastly and ironically, I personally suffered an Mild Traumatic Brain Injury MTBI (Aka Concussion) on July 30th, 2017 in a bicycling accident. I am still recovering from the injury but I intend to make it up the mountain!!
The SCARIEST part for me is that the consequences of even a MILD TBI can develop 6 months or more post-injury. These can include seizures, visual-motor disturbances, cognitive deficits, depression, aggression, suicide, progressive dementia, AND Parkinson’s.
MTBI can have long-term effects, known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Those who suffer from PCS can experience significant changes in cognition and personality.
Today I am more acutely aware of how fast and sudden these types of injuries can occur. I upgraded my helmet and now have a healthy fear of those unpredictable pedestrians while riding my bike!
The long-term consequences for moderate to severe TBI are much worse that those I listed above. They include cognitive deficits, psychosis, social isolation, diabetes insipidus, Endocrine dysfunction, Hypopituitarism, Growth hormone insufficiency and unemployment.
TBI in the United States (According to the CDC)
An estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI annually. Of them:
- 52,000 die,
- 275,000 are hospitalized, and
- 1.365 million, nearly 80%, are treated and released from an emergency department.
I’m excited to share my commitment to participate in the 2017 Pikes Peak Challenge Summit Hike. When I finish, I will have hiked 13 miles and 7,400 vertical feet to the 14,110 foot summit of Pikes Peak.
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 and together we can make a huge impact for brain injury survivors and the entire brain injury community.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE OF YOUR CONTRIBUTION!!
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Bonnie S
$50.00 -
Patti Jones
$25.00 -
Lauri Carpenter
$25.00 -
Karen Toronyi
$50.00 -
Michele Kenton
$25.00 -
Becky Obos
$25.00 -
Kenneth Farver
$25.00
