For twenty-four years, the Brain Injury Association
of Minnesota has worked to enhance the lives of those living with the
effects of brain injury through advocacy, support and empowerment.
When the brain is injured, an individual can undergo a seemingly infinite
variety of changes: physical, cognitive, emotional and functional.
Each brain injury is unique to the person living with it and affects
not only the person who sustained the injury but everyone that person
comes in contact with throughout their daily life. Whether family,
friends, employees, customers or professionals, brain injury touches
everyone.
Because of this, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has proclaimed March
as Brain Injury Awareness Month. Understanding the causes and effects
of brain injury helps build bridges of awareness between the estimated
100,000 Minnesotans living with brain injury and the community at large.
This awareness allows for smoother transitioning of people with a brain
injury back into public life.
Traumatic Brain Injury
(TBI) occurs when an outside force results in a disruption of the
brain’s normal functioning.
This can be the result of a sudden starting or stopping, as in whiplash,
the head being struck, as in a fall, or an object piercing the brain.
Today, falls are the leading cause of brain injury in Minnesota,
with motor vehicle accidents taking a close second.
Brain injury can result in a wide variety of physical and cognitive
changes including reduced memory skills, an alteration of self-perception
and a decrease in judgment. Hearing, vision or speech may be impaired.
Fatigue may also increase, as well as anxiety, an inability to suppress
impulses, decreased self-esteem and difficulty relating to others.
Because the results of a brain injury can be so widespread, a support
network is a must for all people affected. The Brain Injury Association
of Minnesota exists to help build that support network. The Association
reaches out to individuals as soon as they leave the hospital, providing
them and their loved ones with one-on-one support through resource
facilitation and educational opportunities, and helps them develop
the skills to become self-advocates.
The brain, unlike a bone or a muscle, cannot grow new cells to replace
damaged tissue. In some cases, however, it can be rehabilitated or
taught to relearn functions lost from the injury. The Association works
to cultivate a world where people with brain injury are able to realize
their full potential.
For more info, please
contact the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota at 800-669-6442
or online at info@braininjurymn.org ![]()
