Florida woman skating across country to bring awareness to brain injury
A Florida woman is lacing up and skating across the country to bring awareness to traumatic brain injury.
Seven years ago Merideth McDonald’s husband nearly died after a motorcycle crash. He suffered traumatic brain injury and now McDonald seeks to bring awareness to the trials and tribulations that TBI patients and their families face.
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From September 12-October 14, Merideth McDonald is skating from New Smyrna Beach, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts, an article by WWAY-TV reads. “After Nate’s accident, Merideth started the non-profit group called BIG Life. It stands for the Brain Injury Group.”
BIG Life is a rehabilitative adventure club for Brain Injury survivors and their caregivers to promote lifestyle wellness, community inclusion, social supports, community service and education. It’s a 501(c)3 tax deductible charitable organization.
BIG Life provides a continuous schedule of regular activities, special events and service projects with an array of adaptive, therapeutic and recreational rehabilitation both on campus and in the community. BIG Life’s objective is to enrich the lives of those affected by brain injury, improving quality of life and overall life satisfaction through fulfilling and rewarding life experiences. .
Every 21 seconds someone in the U.S. sustains a brain injury. At least 5.3 million Americans live with a brain injury requiring lifelong help and at least 400,000 Veterans since 2000 have been diagnosed with a brain injury.
Change in brain function can have a profound impact on family, job, social and community interaction. Astounding rates of isolation, depression, poor life quality, suicide rates, permanently severed relationships and high divorce rates accompany life after brain injury.
On Wednesday, McDonald traveled through Leland, N.C. It’s her fifth stop on the 1,400 mile journey.
“It’s mind blowing to see the people rallying around us in the cities as we come through. But what really drives me is the people I’m skating for and that’s the people that have been impacted by brain injury,” Merideth said in the article. “This is painful, it hurts, every mile, but it pales in comparison to how brain injury impacts somebody else’s life forever.”
McDonald is hoping to raise $500,000 through her skate. All of the funds will go towards creating a facility in Florida for TBI survivors called the Big Life Campus.
“She wants to create a place survivors can find support, care and peace,” the article reads. “It’s something the McDonald knows is hard to come by.”
