Every 19 seconds, someone in America injures their brain in a slip and fall, car crash or at their workplace. Across the U.S., 1.7 million people sustain traumatic brain injuries each year. The injury can temporarily or permanently disrupt brain function--changing how we think, move and feel.

In the blink of an eye, an accountant may forget how to add numbers or an architect may be unable to draw a straight line. Instantly, a spouse may not recognize his partner or a mother may be unable to prepare a simple meal. Even a fall from the jungle gym may leave a child unable to play with others. For those who survive, a brain injury is not an event or an outcome, it is the start of a lifelong healing process.

Brain injuries can result balance, mobility, and coordination problems as well as loss of hearing, vision, or speech. Fatigue, memory loss, attention, and concentration difficulty are also common after brain injury as are anxiety, depression, impulsiveness, and impaired judgment. Because of the broad range of challenges the individual must overcome, the injury can be physically, emotionally and financially exhausting for both the patient and their families and loved ones.

Brain injury does not discriminate. People of every age, race, ethnic background and socioeconomic status are at risk. Each injury is as unique as each individual. One of the most heartbreaking aspects of brain injury is that most people are aware of what they were able to do before the injury. After the injury, they must live with the day-to-day frustration over how their lives have changed. They must endure costly rehabilitation to regain skills and compensate for the areas of their brain that were damaged. Some people who sustain brain injuries need assistance for the rest of their lives.

Soldiers and athletes who sustain brain injuries receive a lot of press attention and usually have access to good medical care. But what about the individuals who are not heroes or celebrities? How do they return to work or school? How do they rebuild normalcy when their brain is impaired?

For 30 years, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has provided information and resources for brain injury victims and training and education for brain injury doctors and nurses. The BIAA has advocated for life-saving trauma care, improvements in treatment and rehabilitation, and research to prevent and cure brain injuries. For 30 years, BIAA has provided help, hope and healing for ordinary people who sustain brain injuries and their families. 

Please join me in raising awareness of brain injury and money for the critical work of the Brain Injury Association of America. Remember, brain injury victims may appear uninjured on the outside, yet on the inside they bear scars. Scars you can't see. And for goodness sake, always wear a helmet!