March: Brain Injury Awareness Month

With March quickly approaching, so does Brain Injury Awareness Month, sponsored by the Brain Injury Association of America.

A Concussion Is a Brain Injury



As it stands, BI is very misunderstood by society and therefore even though 1.7 million people receive Traumatic Brain Injury each year national, which doesn't account for strokes, tumors and other types of brain injuries. With the diagnoses of TBI alone, TBI is 6 times more prevalent than Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injuries, HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer combined. However, the awareness and funding of service for brain injury is disproportional to the prevalence of the disability. 

Brain Injury Awareness Month was established to raise awareness of Brain Injury and to advocate for timely trauma care, rehabilitation and lifelong services for those who are living with a Brain Injury, their families and care givers.

This year there are several events being planned to raise awareness. BIAA along with the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force are teaming up to host a Brain Injury Awareness Day on Capitol Hill  on March 16^th. The focus of this year’s event will be on rehabilitation and re-entry into the community after brain injury.

BIAA is also working on a nationwide public service and advocacy campaign of 'A concussion is a brain injury'. Get the facts' through radio and print ads like the one to the right. The campaign aims to educate the public, educators and law makers about sport related brain injuries, especially among children and student athletes.  

Locally, Brain Injury Association of California will also be hosting 4th Annual Statewide Walk For Thought throughout the month of March.  Walks will be in various locations, including Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia, Chico, Oxnard, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento and San Francisco. The goal, to raise awareness of BI and the needs for persons who have sustained an injury, provide resources and provide prevention materials.

There are many ways for you to participate and get involved! Even just talking to your friends, neighbors and family about brain injury, helps to raise awareness of this disability, one person at a time. Thank you for being a part of raising awareness for Brain Injury.

Into the Fire : Had To Be Productions

This was an impactful, fast pace look at what veterans face when they are trying to reintegrate into civilian life and the community. The begining of the play starts in tribute to the title, Into the Fire.

Monterey Peninsula College, the college hosted Had To Be Productions: Into the Fire as part of their in service training for their faculty and staff, in order to address the more than 600 veterans attending the local community college.

The documentary theater featured actors Carrie Gibson and Anthony Curry, reenacting the interviews and stories of eleven veterans with disabilities and their families. 

Carrie Gibson and Anthony Curry performing Into the Fire. Click on picture to link to their website and to watch a sample of the production.

Carrie: "The average number of rounds shot in any firefight is 33-hundred."

 Anthony: "That's a lot of bullets flying. So you can't expect us not to be reactive. People have been shooting at us and we've been shooting back."

 Carrie: "When they shoot at us, we don't duck and cover."

Anthony and Carrie, together:

"We walk, into the fire."

When a soldier is being fired at, moving toward the shooter is actually the safest thing to do. So, instead of walking away, they walk “into the fire.” This training veterans had, that was essential to survival in the military, leads into many of the misunderstood habits caused by the hidden psychological impact that war when they are reintegrating into society as veterans. 

At the end of the production, Carrie and Anthony provided a workshop to reflect on the message and emotions brought up in the performance followed by a panel discussion by veteran students attending the college. This was the first time these performers presented at an all faculty event. The faculty seemed receptive to learning more about veteran culture and how to create the space in their classrooms and learn about resources and strategies to veterans "come all the way home."