To the editor:
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Of those individuals, 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.4 million are treated and released from an emergency department.
Despite the staggering numbers, brain injury is called the “silent epidemic” because public recognition and understanding remains extremely low. Consequently, the individuals who have sustained a brain injury are oftentimes misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and under-funded.