March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Brain Injury Awareness Month is dedicated to recognizing and raising awareness about the spectrum of brain injuries, from mild concussions to more severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). March focuses on the prevention of such injuries, the challenges survivors face, and the latest advances in research & treatment.

Every March, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) leads the nation in recognizing Brain Injury Awareness Month, a time to acknowledge and support the millions of Americans affected by brain injury. This year, BIAA is launching a refreshed awareness and advocacy campaign, My Brain Injury Journey.
With the My Brain Injury Journey campaign, BIAA seeks to focus on some of the lesser-known aspects of living with brain injury, including the significant gap between public perception and reality when it comes to understanding brain injury; the often chronic nature of brain injury and the invisible side effects survivors live with, sometimes for the rest of their lives; and that brain injuries can look very different from person to person.

This Brain Injury Awareness Month, BIAA is encouraging everyone affected by brain injury, including survivors, their loved ones, and the people who treat them, to share their unique stories about their brain injury journey.

Every year, at least 2.8 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury. While many people go on to make a full recovery, there are more than 5 million people in the U.S. living with a permanent brain injury-related disability – that’s one in 60 Americans.

Every brain injury is different. There’s an often-repeated adage among the brain injury community: “If you’ve seen one brain injury, you’ve seen one brain injury.” The circumstances leading to the injury, the care that the patient received, the brain injury survivor’s life before and after the injury, how the brain changes over time – these are all aspects that contribute to the unique, dynamic nature of brain injury, making the brain injury survivor’s journey an extremely personal one.

Those who are affected by brain injury – survivors, their loved ones, and the people who treat them – all have their own stories to tell about how brain injury has changed their lives and set them on a different path. The parts of their lives that have stayed the same, and the parts that have forever changed. Who they were before brain injury became a part of their lives, and who they are after.

Living with brain injury is a journey – and it’s not linear. This journey is not one of a straight line, with simple steps. Sometimes, it’s one step forward and two steps back. Maybe even three. Sometimes the path may be hidden, and sometimes the traveler requires assistance getting to the next stop along the way.

It takes a special kind of resilience to navigate a journey like life after brain injury – a journey with no clear end point. And sometimes, when it’s your journey, it’s you – and only you – on that path.

It takes a special kind of resilience to navigate a journey like life after brain injury – a journey with no clear end point. And sometimes, when it’s your journey, it’s you – and only you – on that path.

It takes a special kind of resilience to navigate a journey like life after brain injury – a journey with no clear end point. And sometimes, when it’s your journey, it’s you – and only you – on that path.

***More information on Brain Injury Awareness Month and how to share your brain injury journey can be found: biausa.org/MyBrainInjuryJourney OR Individuals in need of information, resources, and support after brain injury can also speak with a brain injury expert by calling BIAA’s National Brain Injury Information Center: 1-800-444-6443.