CONCUSSIONS & YOU
The Ontario Brain Injury Association reminds us that more than one million people in Canada are living with a brain injury. In Ontario alone, nearly 45,000 people will sustain a brain injury this year. That's a staggering statistic.
A concussion should never been ignored or just chalked up as part of the game. For decades, we’ve dismissed concussions as part of life or just reality. And we’ve done nobody any favour. Not the injured person. Certainly not their family who often are turned to for daily assistance and support. A concussion is not just getting your bell rung or seeing stars. A concussion is a brain injury. There is no cure and never any easy fix.
“Brain injury in Canada is a silent epidemic. In Canada, brain injury is the number one killer and disabler of people under the age of 44.”
“The social, emotional and economic consequences of brain injury are in fact devastating not only to the survivors themselves, but to family members, caregivers, support workers and the community at large – everyone involved with working towards neuro-rehabilitation and recovery. And currently, there are no drugs or techniques that can cure a brain injury.”
Car crashes, slips and falls and bicycle collisions are among the leading causes of brain injury in Canada.
In fact, the CDC (US National Center for Injury Prevention and Control) targets Falls as the leading cause of TBI (40 percent) in the US.
The Ontario Brain Injury Association also explains“that eighty to ninety percent of all traumatic brain injury is classified as mild (mTBI),” and tragically that “21% of people with brain injury waited more than one year for rehabilitation to begin; 9% waited more than 5 years.”
Too often we overlook, misunderstand or even dismiss the signs of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) in family, colleagues and neighbours. We now understand that the tough, old-fashioned Upper Canada maxim of “get over it and get on with it,” just doesn’t apply to concussions and brain injury.
Any concussion, whether suffered once, or repeatedly over a lifetime, is one too many. If you have suffered a concussion as a result of an injury, call an experienced injury lawyer for advice. A number of regional, provincial and national organizations are also available to provide assistance, information and direction.
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A concussion should never be suffered alone or in silence.
