Taylor Diehl, Freshman
Each and every year it is estimated that 1.5 million Americans will sustain a traumatic brain injury. Due to these 1.5 million, it is estimated that over 50,000 lives will be taken due to this, and leave over 230,000 individuals permanently injured. Traumatic brain injury can be sustained by car accidents, strong outside force to the head, serious injuries, and much more. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is an extremely serious condition with a 76%- 89% mortality rate. Not only does TBI have the initial injury, but it also can lead to more serious conditions. This includes commas, amnesia, extended periods of unconsciousness, and in a lot of cases, result in death. The large population of victims that suffer from TBI during recovery need to take the time to build the strength that was lost during their individual battles.
A traumatic brain injury is something that has not been as openly discussed as many other illnesses, so what are things that you can do to help spread awareness to those who need and deserve it? The month of March has been dedicated to helping different organizations over the past three decades. Along with many other organizations, TBI has its own ribbon to help spread awareness and teach more people the severity of it. The green ribbon is dedicated to honoring TBI victims and survivors with hopes in mind to help draw awareness to this life taking sickness. Honoring TBI can be achieved through many different simple acts that you can partake in, without even leaving your home. Something so simple can make such an impact on more people’s lives than you could ever imagine! By taking the extra time out of your day to even just do one of the next 10 things mentioned below, you can change many people’s lives. According to Mentalhelp.net, these are the top ten things you can do right now to help spread awareness, and educate not only yourself but others around you!
Learn more: Many people are truly not educated on TBI and its seriousness. By taking the extra time to inform yourself and others on what it is and how it is caused, you will expand your self-awareness on this subject. If you are wanting to learn more about this, the following website breaks down TBI into different categories and makes it extremely easy to understand! (https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/index.html)
Invite a speaker: If you are in a position to help not only inform yourself but a large group of others, a great way is to invite someone to inform you! By having others who have a professional background or have even experienced TBI themselves, you will be able to learn first-hand information and hear other’s stories.
Post your support: Many of us have a social media account, whether it be Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or anything else, and sharing the word by just a simple post is a great way to encourage others to learn more! Social media has shown to be a great way to spread the word to a younger audience and inform others about topics that they may not be hearing about!
Donate: Donating is always a great option to help spread awareness, but this option isn’t always viable to everyone. If you aren’t in the position to donate, you can share the link on different platforms to help educate others on this open donation. Not only can you donate to different charities for research, but you can also always donate to different TBI victims that may need the extra support during a hard time!
Fundraise: Raising money for these victims is also a great way to show your honor and support! By simply sharing a link to a GoFundMe or starting a fundraiser like a baked sale, you can help change the lives of the struggling TBI victims.
Attend Awareness events: Help educate yourself further by seeing what your community is doing! Find out what you can do in your area to learn more and tell others about these events!
Distribute Literature: On the internet there are thousands of different ways that you can download or access resources to help others, tell stories and share further information!
Volunteer: You can find different non-profit organizations and services you would like to support and take the time to help out! There are many different ways that you can do this!
Help and individual or family: If there is no certain organization that you want to help, help a family! Victims' lives are changed when something so serious is impacting their lives. Find out what you can do to help these individuals or families out to make a difference in their lives and communities!
Share your story: If you or anyone you know personally has ever been a victim of TBI, share your story. Inform others of what it is like and the importance to be aware of the different causes and how they changed your life.
These are just the most basic of ways that you can help spread awareness of traumatic brain injuries! March is known to spread awareness and support, if you have time, use it to try to help inform others on the importance of this and how it is affecting families across the country.
Works Cited
“10 Ways to Honor Brain Injury Awareness Month.” Mental Help 10 Ways to Honor Brain Injury Awareness Month Comments, www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/10-ways-to-honor-brain-injury-awareness-month/.
“Brain Injury Awareness Month: Join the #MoreThanMyBrainInjury Campaign.” Brain Injury Association of America, 15 Mar. 2021, www.biausa.org/public-affairs/public-awareness/brain-injury-awareness.
Klebine, Phil. “What Is Expected in Recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury?” Home - The University of Alabama at Birmingham, www.uab.edu/medicine/tbi/newly-injured/questions-about-traumatic-brain-injury-tbi/what-is-expected-in-recovering-from-a-tbi.
“Severe TBI.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Apr. 2019, www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/severe.html#:~:text=A severe TBI may lead,result in a reduced lifespan.
“Traumatic Brain Injury / Concussion.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Aug. 2020, www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/index.html.
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