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Date: 3/13/2015
EAST LONGMEADOW – March is Brain Injury Awareness Month.
Quilts and Treasures, 56 Shaker Road, will host the third annual “With ‘T’ea There is Hope” event on March 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This fundraiser is to help promote Brain Injury Awareness month.
Many activities are planned including a teacup auction, a quilt block challenge, a raffle for a quilt and a vintage sewing machine. Neighboring businesses Mimi’s Consignment Shop, Pete’s Sweets, Koffe Tyme, Shelburne Coffee Roaster and Pier 525 are joining the effort offering specials to the participants.
Proceeds will be donated to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston to assist in further research and treatment of Traumatic Brain Injuries. Call 525-4789 or 525-6647 for details and to register.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are a serious public health problem in the United States. Each year, traumatic brain injuries contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability.
According to the CDC in 2010 2.5 million traumatic brain injuries occurred either as an isolated injury or along with other injuries. A traumatic brain injury is caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain.
A brain injury can happen to anyone, whether it happens while playing sports, at work, or just slipping on an icy sidewalk. There’s no denying that life is different after a traumatic brain injury. In addition to all the physical changes a brain injury may bring, a TBI can also mean the loss of a career or the disruption of an education. It can also change your plans for the future, alter the way you meet and make friends, and affect the way you think about yourself. Life after a brain injury usually involves challenges, but that doesn't mean life is any less valuable or fulfilling.
A TBI can cause many different cognitive dysfunctions. These may be manifested as a loss of memory, how things are perceived, comprehension difficulties, attention deficit, organizational skills, reasoning and problem solving. There may also be some physical impairments resulting from an injury to the brain. These may include some degree of paralysis, spasticity, lack of coordination, balance and swallowing difficulties. Last but not least there are possible behavioral problems that may be manifested after an injury to the brain. These could be displayed as over aggressiveness, mood swings, violence, lack of impulse control and depression.
Recovery from an injury to the brain often includes extensive rehabilitation – the retraining and relearning, which requires time, consistency, expertise, and a structured and secure environment.
It is a known fact that those patients who do not receive proper rehabilitation will fall short of regaining their full potential.
Rehabilitation is also helpful for the family of a person who has experienced a traumatic brain injury. They will learn how to cope with the new day-to-day challenges which lay ahead for them and their loved ones. More importantly, they learn how to become a caretaker. The most important part of rehabilitation is for the patient to be able to regain their independence.
That is the ability to live, work and to redevelop social and family relationships and to return back into the community.
Massachusetts joins a nationwide network of state brain injury organizations affiliated with the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), including self-advocates, families and volunteers across the nation to mark Brain Injury Awareness Month this March.
“Brain Injury Awareness Month honors the millions of people with brain injury, who with proper acute care, therapeutic rehabilitation and adequate long-term supports, are living with the successes and challenges that each day brings,” said Susan H. Connors, president and CEO of the Brain Injury Association of America. “Our goals this year are to continue to sustain and bolster brain injury programs, increase access to care and preserve vital brain injury research.”
“Since anyone can sustain a brain injury at any time, it is important for everyone to have access to comprehensive rehabilitation and ongoing disease management,” said Dr. Brent Masel, national medical director for the Brain Injury Association of America. “Doing so eases medical complications, permanent disability, family dysfunction, job loss, homelessness, impoverishment, medical indigence, suicide and involvement with the criminal or juvenile justice system. Access to early, comprehensive treatment for brain injury also alleviates the burden of long term care that is transferred to tax payers at the federal, state and local levels.”
Our mission is to be the voice of brain injury. Through advocacy, education and research, we bring help, hope and healing to millions of individuals living with brain injury, their families and the professionals who serve them.