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Brain Injury Awareness: What You Need to Know! | The Eye Believe Podcast · The Eye Believe Podcast

0:03
hey everyone
0:04
I'm Megan with The Eye Believe Podcast
0:06
and this month is actually Brain Injury Awareness Month
0:09
so we have two fantastic guests with us
0:12
from Brain Injury Services
0:14
we have Donna and Claire welcome ladies
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thank you so much
0:19
why don't you each
0:20
take a minute to just explain what you do
0:23
sure I'll
0:24
I'll kick us off I'm Donna Meltzer
0:26
I'm the CEO of Brain Injury Services
0:29
we are located in Northern Virginia
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and we have been around since 1989
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we primarily serve individuals who have a brain injury
0:40
anybody in our area who has a diagnosis
0:44
from a medical doctor of brain injury
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can come and find us
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and we have a lot of supports and services for
0:52
individuals who are on their journey to recovery
0:55
so I hope during our conversation
0:57
we can talk a little bit more about
0:59
what those services are
1:00
but let me turn it over to Claire
1:02
because she does actually provide direct services and
1:06
and supports to many of our clients Claire
1:10
yes thank you Donna
1:11
hi Megan
1:11
thank you for having us yes
1:12
my name is Claire Callison Aub
1:15
and I am the manager of child and Adolescent Services
1:17
with Brain Injury Services
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so we have a small team of four of us in total
1:23
who serve young adults infancy toddlers
1:27
children teenagers
1:29
and young adults who are up into college
1:31
who have brain injuries that is fantastic
1:34
so when you started brain injury services
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you said that was quite a few years ago
1:41
has it changed a lot
1:43
with the amount of people coming forward
1:46
realizing that they have a brain injury
1:49
yeah I think so Megan
1:50
you know the
1:51
the story is I understand it from those who
1:55
we're really part of
1:55
the movement to establish this organization
1:59
we're largely a group of parents who had adult age
2:03
children with brain injury
2:05
and I guess their concern
2:06
and rightfully so
2:08
was what's gonna happen to my child when I'm gone
2:11
who's gonna take care of them
2:13
what are they going to to do during their lives
2:17
what what will they be able to do
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what will their lives look like
2:20
so they started this organization
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to really delve into that
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initially
2:25
they were really looking to create more housing
2:28
opportunities for their adult kids with brain injury
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that is one piece of what happens
2:34
but really now we look at our community so differently
2:38
it's it's much broader
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you know we don't have just one program here
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we have eight different programs that we run here
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running the gamut from day programs for um
2:50
adults who have brain injury and in need of a place
2:54
in a space where they can go
2:56
both for socialization
2:58
and that idea of feeling like they belong somewhere
3:01
and that they have friends
3:02
they have a group again but also
3:04
so that they can learn
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or relearn skills that they need
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so that they can go back into the workforce or
3:12
or doing whatever it is in their life
3:14
that makes them happy so we have those programs
3:17
we have adult case management
3:19
we have the pediatric case management
3:22
which Claire mentioned
3:23
we have vocational services supports
3:26
and we have mental health support
3:28
which is a really big light
3:30
in which we're growing right now
3:31
I think as you can imagine
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in today's world when
3:35
who doesn't need some help right
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you know processing what's going on in our world
3:40
and in our lives particularly
3:41
for people who are impacted by brain injury
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they they need to talk with somebody as well
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we also provide occupational support and therapy
3:50
and just a whole host of ways that we help people
3:54
along the way with their journey
3:56
and getting back to
3:57
building the life that they wanna live
3:59
that's fantastic so
4:01
one of the things that I thought was very interesting
4:04
when I was talking to Claire
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was that some people might not realize
4:08
that they have a brain injury
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or that they qualify as having a brain injury
4:13
and there might be services that they are eligible for
4:17
but they wouldn't know about it
4:19
tell us a little bit about that
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cause I feel like that is kind of a huge deal
4:23
yeah it is a huge deal and
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and Claire's absolutely right
4:27
you know people who go to see their doctor
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because they have maybe a
4:31
a TBI traumatic brain injury
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they know they have a brain injury
4:35
they have had either a car accident or a fall
4:38
something that was a really defining moment right
4:42
and so they know that something isn't right
4:44
and they're gonna go see their doctor
4:45
and then hopefully
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it is their doctor or somebody at the hospital
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who will say oh
4:49
by the way
4:50
there's this place called Brain Injury Services
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and you should give them a call
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because they can help you
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on the next step of your journey
4:57
but there are a lot of people who
5:00
might not think about what's just happened to them
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so for example concussion is one of those things right
5:06
concussion is incredibly common
5:09
think when we think about concussion
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you know yes
5:12
we think about so being
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being hit on the head
5:15
we often think about those who are athletes
5:18
but sometimes the the concussion is just very simple
5:22
maybe it's from an accident or you
5:23
you know you got hit on the head by a ball just
5:26
you know being outside playing in the
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in the backyard
5:29
sometimes parents will see that and they'll say oh
5:32
I should I should go see the pediatrician with my child
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and see what they have to say
5:37
others are they just kind of get up and say
5:38
I'm fine right
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nothing's going on here
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and so they just go on about their day
5:45
but later other things may start to happen
5:48
and that becomes problematic
5:50
and so it becomes a repetitive kind of thing
5:53
I can't tell
5:54
you how many clients we talk to who will say oh
5:57
I just had another concussion or I had another TBI
6:03
or I fell again
6:05
and I'm back here because this happened again
6:10
and so that's
6:11
part of the beauty of the services that we provide
6:14
is it's not time limited
6:16
people can come back time and time again
6:18
they they might have great progress and
6:21
and go back out into the world
6:22
and then something happens again
6:25
and they need to hopefully not start from ground zero
6:29
but maybe pick up or you know
6:31
just kind of pick up on where they left off
6:32
or get started again with some support
6:35
so that they can get back to their life again
6:38
Claire you brought that up for Megan
6:40
did you have some experiences
6:42
or situations that you wanted to share
6:46
with regards to concussions
6:48
yes so I had a client actually
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I used to work as an adult case manager
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before I was a pediatric case manager
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and one of the clients I worked with
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she actually came to us
6:58
because she had multiple concussions
7:00
and she didn't realize it
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she was actually misdiagnosed with PTSD
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and it wasn't until she saw neuro psychologist
7:07
and he was the one who tested her
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and found out through her history
7:11
because she was in and out of foster care homes
7:15
and was involved in a lot of gangs
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that she had multiple concussions
7:19
from the violence that was around her
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and so
7:22
it was her neuropsychologist who referred her to us
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because he knew about us and it
7:27
she just had this aha moment
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when she realized that her issues were not due to PTSD
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and that's why none of the treatments were working
7:35
but were actually indeed
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due to these multiple concussions that she had
7:38
throughout her childhood wow
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that is so crazy
7:43
that a concussion symptom could mirror a PTSD symptom
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I wouldn't
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personally think that those would be similar symptoms
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so that's fascinating you know Megan
7:52
there's so much we don't know about concussion
7:55
in fact for the last year
7:57
we at Brain Injury Services
7:59
have been embarking upon a year
8:01
long effort around concussion
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a year ago at this time
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we did some polling in Northern Virginia of adults
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to kind of
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figure out what they knew about brain injury
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in general and
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you know how they might support a loved one
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or what might they be concerned about
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if you had a concussion
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or brain injury of another type
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and you went back to work
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or your child was going back to school
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and we Learned a lot from that polling data
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one of the things that we Learned was that
8:32
most people were not relating
8:34
concussion to brain injury
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and they didn't know enough about concussion and
8:39
and what to do if they or
8:41
somebody they knew had a concussion and uh
8:44
you know what the basic protocols even were
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so we did a deep dive into that
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this year we hosted a summit back in September
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where we brought together a bunch of leaders
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not just from the Northern Virginia community
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but also from our federal government
9:01
from the CDC
9:02
some doctors with deep credentials and in concussion
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as well as leaders in athletics and schools
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and all kinds of areas
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so that we could really explore this more
9:13
I'm excited to share that
9:14
we have a report that will be coming out this month
9:17
for Brain Injury Awareness Month
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we're getting ready to release that later this month
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actually on March 20 fifth
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we will be doing a webinar to release that report
9:27
and to talk with some of our experts about concussion
9:31
and how it is brain injury
9:33
what it might look like
9:34
and what people should know after having a concussion
9:38
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9:56
that actually is what I would love to ask you about
9:58
next so in our community
10:01
we have a lot of vision issues
10:04
so ocular melanoma is melanoma in the eye
10:07
and most of our patients will either lose sight
10:12
completely in their eye
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or at least very severely impacted
10:17
so falling is definitely a common occurrence
10:21
yes
10:21
so if somebody is to fall and they've hit their head
10:25
when do they need to seek treatment
10:28
what are the signs that they should look for
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if they think they might have a concussion
10:33
I think that anybody who has had a fall like that
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particularly
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if they're struggling to get up after the fall
10:40
if they feel like they're spinning
10:42
if their vision feels impaired
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it is imperative to see your doctor right away
10:48
I think you know what
10:50
and one of the things that we heard from our experts
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during our concussion discussions was
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that's a No. 1 don't just sit there and think oh
10:58
it's nothing it's not a big deal
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I fell down I'm okay
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you know just brush it off
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go get checked out
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because sometimes the symptoms show up later
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we have a client or former client
11:12
I should say really
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who his experience with concussion was
11:17
such an everyday story right
11:19
he was in his house and he was walking down the stairs
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and it was sort of a narrow space between the stairs
11:27
where the ceiling a slanted ceiling was
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and he hit his head on a beam and he fell
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and so at first he thought
11:33
I'm okay you know
11:34
he got up he was
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and next thing he knows he's passed out right
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so he has had a very long journey of recovery
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and it's been up and down
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because this was truly a serious concussion
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that really impacted him and
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and he has told his story to all of our staff and
11:53
and some others as part of our concussion campaign
11:56
he can even describe how it felt for him
12:01
with his vision like he would lose some of his vision
12:04
maybe temporarily it would come back
12:06
and he said it's like being in a fishbowl
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or driving along a highway
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and things are whizzing by you
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but you're really sitting still
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so I think there probably are a lot of commonalities in
12:17
you know
12:18
how different head injuries can impact your vision
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but I think the No. 1 thing that we would all say is
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don't hesitate go get checked out
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let your medical professionals
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determine what's really going on
12:33
yeah so important
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if you're ever on the fence
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just go and get checked out
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and I think yeah
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with everything you know
12:40
and that's something that we
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we talked a lot with some of the
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the leaders in the the schools in our area about Claire
12:47
I'm sure in in your work with
12:49
with children and with teachers and school personnel
12:52
you you come across all the time
12:54
is schools have some united protocols
12:58
in terms of concussion
13:00
and some are constantly influx with it
13:03
or changing how they're looking at things
13:05
you know often I think when a student has a concussion
13:09
they are sent home with the note
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and you know
13:12
we've been kind of looking at this concept of right
13:14
no technology be in a dark room
13:17
maybe need to be there 2 or 3 days
13:20
and now there is some other uh
13:22
school systems that are working with their counties
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and their health professionals that are saying
13:27
that's a little old school now
13:28
right
13:28
because we kind of cycle through these things greatly
13:31
and they're saying that might be right for some people
13:34
depending on the severity or the level
13:37
or the type of concussion they had
13:39
for others they might need to get up and walk around
13:43
maybe they shouldn't be staring at a computer
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but they might be able to
13:47
you know take a walk
13:48
get some fresh air engage with family or friends
13:51
and not feel like they need to have these three days of
13:55
sort of solitary confinement
13:56
if you will so
13:57
I think it's important to know that protocols
14:00
are continuously changing
14:02
because the science is changing
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and we know so much more almost every year
14:07
we learn more from science and research
14:09
there's better testing better evaluations
14:12
and so our our procedures in the way we react to
14:16
whether it's concussion or
14:18
you know traumatic brain injury
14:20
something that has happened
14:21
we can address it differently now
14:23
yeah that makes a lot of sense
14:24
and I know when I was a kid
14:26
you know the football players would get concussions
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and we would always just like oh
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he's got a concussion this week
14:30
or this one's got another one
14:31
and it was very talked about like someone's
14:34
like a badge of honor wasn't it
14:35
yeah and like I got another one
14:37
like it's not a big deal my son just turned thirteen
14:42
and he was playing volleyball with a friend
14:44
and they collided
14:45
and her front teeth actually broke on his forehead
14:49
we took him to the er
14:51
cause we thought he might need stitches
14:53
and he didn't he just needed a little bit of glue
14:55
but the first thing they did was a concussion test
14:58
and I you know
15:00
as the mom who brought him to the hospital was like oh
15:03
I didn't even think concussion
15:05
I went straight to stitches
15:07
but I was so glad that we brought him in
15:09
to have the stitches looked at
15:11
because it didn't even occur to me concussion
15:14
and luckily he didn't have one
15:15
but
15:15
I was so thankful that they knew to check him for it
15:19
because that was not even on my radar right
15:22
there's so many different ways that concussion can
15:25
happen that we don't always think about
15:27
I wanna mention for your audience
15:29
something that
15:30
we didn't really know about until last fall
15:33
but I find it incredibly frightening
15:36
and really astounding
15:37
and it's something that people are doing
15:40
mostly we see it in videos on social media
15:43
and it's called power slapping
15:45
oh yeah yeah
15:48
I'd never heard of it so
15:49
we started looking at these videos
15:51
and it's basically two individuals who are doing this
15:56
like a sports championship right there
15:58
they stand up and they are face to face with each other
16:02
and they take swings at each other
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and they're basically
16:07
trying to knock the other one down
16:09
so not like in professional wrestling or boxing
16:14
where there's headgear that it's worn
16:16
they're just
16:18
purposefully trying to knock the other one out
16:21
in the head
16:23
and I I really struggle with this fact that in 2025
16:27
when we know so much better
16:30
and we know how dangerous a concussion can be
16:35
why would we do that I
16:36
I mean
16:36
it's perhaps not so different from domestic violence
16:40
where we also know that many people are
16:43
injured in the head particularly women
16:45
and they show up often in the er
16:48
or in their doctor's office
16:50
and that too can be severe concussion
16:53
that can lead to lifelong brain injury
16:58
that's shocking yes
16:59
like it is like
17:01
we all should be incredibly shocked by something like
17:04
that that it is purposefully done
17:07
it's a game
17:09
and when we saw that we're like
17:11
oh my God how
17:13
how can people do that I have no idea that's ridiculous
17:18
wow alright guys
17:20
don't slap each other please
17:22
we won't I promise you that
17:23
yeah
17:25
wow that's that's crazy
17:30
so you know
17:31
brain injury is something that can present
17:33
in different ways whether it's through a stroke
17:36
heart failure heart attack
17:38
power slapping of all
17:42
car accidents
17:44
bumping your head on a beam
17:47
it happens in a multitude of ways
17:50
every single day every single day
17:54
somebody else is diagnosed
17:55
I mean honestly
17:56
it's like every 30 seconds
17:58
somebody is diagnosed with a brain injury
18:01
and we have a lot of work to do to change that
18:05
for the better we hope
18:07
um through prevention
18:09
through a lot of education
18:10
through research
18:11
which hopefully will lead to more testing
18:14
and through better protocols
18:16
of understanding what to do
18:18
when a brain injury actually happens
18:20
whether it's a child in school
18:23
and the school needs to intervene
18:25
or it's somebody who it happens to at work
18:28
and you know
18:29
we hope that whoever is in that same office
18:32
or workplace can help
18:34
we hope that people who are doing manual labor
18:36
like the incredible people you see
18:38
fixing our lights in our roads
18:40
and they wear helmets all the time
18:42
not that we all need to walk around with a helmet
18:44
but if you're working around
18:46
you know heavy materials our veterans
18:49
of course we serve veterans as well
18:51
we partner alongside the VA
18:53
and supporting
18:54
all of our veterans in Northern Virginia
18:56
who need maybe beyond
18:58
but the VA can
19:00
can supply for them or in addition to
19:03
you know right alongside with them
19:04
but so many of them have of course
19:07
experience TBI and we're here for them as well
19:10
to help them get their lives back together
19:13
so you know
19:14
we'd like to eventually not be in business anymore
19:16
because nobody has a brain injury
19:19
but that's not the reality
19:21
so same here
19:22
we'd also like to be out of business
19:24
of course yeah
19:24
of course yeah
19:25
we all would right
19:27
if only we didn't have to
19:28
you know support whatever illness
19:31
injury disability occurs because it just didn't happen
19:34
but it's a real part of our lives
19:36
and we're happy to be here
19:37
supporting individuals and their families through this
19:41
well I'm very glad that you are here
20:14
so one other thing that I did wanna ask you about
20:17
that Claire and I had talked about
20:18
was that sometimes
20:19
chemo can be classified as a brain injury
20:23
and I have never heard that
20:24
now ocular melanoma chemo is not widely used
20:28
but some of our patients also have other cancers
20:31
or reasons that they do have chemo
20:33
so for someone who's going through chemo
20:37
what does that look like
20:38
and are there any things that they should know
20:42
the term that I often hear used
20:44
and people have mixed feelings about it
20:47
is called chemo brain which the chemotherapy
20:50
of course is a chemical that affects the brain
20:53
and damages the brain
20:55
while someone is going through chemotherapy
20:57
and the end result is that
20:59
there's some damage done there
21:01
and it can also alter their
21:05
well can alter a lot of their ability to process
21:09
it can alter their cognition
21:11
they may be fatigued a lot quicker than they used to be
21:14
and not have a lot of energy
21:16
and a lot of people think oh
21:17
that's the cancer that made me this way
21:19
but oftentimes it is the chemotherapy
21:22
that has affected their brain in such a way
21:25
where they're moving a lot slower
21:27
they're processing a lot slower
21:28
they may have more headaches
21:29
more dizziness more fatigue
21:31
it might even change them emotionally
21:34
they may be more angry in some ways
21:36
because of the way it affected the brain
21:38
and we always say that no two brains are alike so
21:42
no two brain injuries are alike so
21:44
for everybody
21:45
it's going to look different and be different
21:47
and their journey is going to be different
21:49
I wonder
21:50
if this is something that just needs more research
21:53
we work with the Virginia state legislature
21:56
and we also go to Capitol Hill
21:57
and we talk about the importance of research
22:00
on brain injuries their causes and repercussion
22:04
so you know
22:05
I think this is an area that
22:07
definitely is in need of more study
22:09
I think you know Claire
22:11
you're right
22:11
there's a lot of people that do talk about this chemo
22:14
brain thing kind of maybe similar to
22:17
you know
22:18
so many of the things that were coming out during Covid
22:20
when we were all dealing with new impacts of disease
22:25
that we just don't really understand yet
22:27
and know everything about
22:28
so that is something that I
22:30
I hope might be somewhere in
22:32
in the research down the lines
22:34
that we can understand what
22:37
the chemo drugs are actually doing to people's brains
22:41
yeah that's fascinating
22:42
so if
22:43
you were gonna talk to
22:45
a population that had been through chemo
22:47
are there any things that you would tell them
22:49
to look for and maybe seek out services like yours
22:52
if they were feeling certain things
22:54
or noticing symptoms how do we get our best healthcare
22:57
so when we speak up right
22:59
right so I think if somebody is
23:03
has experienced chemotherapy and is struggling
23:07
and is feeling continued effects of that
23:12
and maybe it's impacting their vision
23:14
it's impacting their headaches
23:15
it's don't just blow it off as oh
23:19
it's just part of the recovery from my cancer
23:24
keep pursuing this with your doctor
23:27
and ask the question
23:29
could there be something going on in my brain
23:32
should I see a neurologist
23:34
should I talk to people in the brain injury community
23:37
the answer should be yes absolutely
23:40
and I think that a lot of the time patients
23:44
when they're on these cancer journeys
23:46
they don't just have one doctor
23:48
they have a team of doctors who have your primary
23:50
your oncologist your
23:52
you know XYZ
23:54
the list goes on
23:55
and on and so to add in a brain specialist
23:58
it might be a good idea when you're building that team
24:01
to have somebody to just kind of
24:03
check in and make sure like everything is going okay
24:06
and if it's not going okay
24:08
having that recognized
24:11
is going to help you get the proper treatment
24:13
and then is there anything that like
24:16
say after you got the right treatment for that
24:18
are there any classifications that would maybe
24:20
help you to acquire the right services
24:24
or anything along those lines
24:27
there could be right
24:28
but we just don't know that yet
24:31
I think what what the research could provide
24:35
is a better understanding of
24:37
are there particular markers for chemo
24:42
leading to brain issues
24:44
and what are those particular brain issues
24:48
if those markers are seen
24:50
or we're seeing you know
24:51
in the scientific research world
24:53
that they have to look at a certain number of people
24:57
kind of
24:57
presenting with the same or similar things to really um
25:00
be able to study it well
25:02
and then make those kinds of determinations
25:04
but I think what we'd be looking for is
25:06
how many people are impacted
25:08
and is it the same drug that's being
25:10
is it different drugs that are being used
25:12
is it length of a particular drug
25:15
is it a particular type of cancer
25:17
you know
25:17
there are so many variables that have to be examined
25:21
before I think
25:22
that they can have any consensus that there's
25:26
brain injury because of chemo drugs
25:30
I personally just don't know enough about that
25:32
how many different drugs there are how
25:34
how it might be metabolized by the individual
25:39
and what else might be happening within the body
25:41
and the brain that leads to those effects
25:44
I it sounds fascinating
25:46
maybe I think I've always been a researcher
25:48
epidemiologist wanna be um
25:51
but that's not my thing
25:53
so I I can't really go deeper into that
25:55
because I just don't have that knowledge
25:57
but I'm fascinated by this
25:59
and I do think it's worth a lot of study
26:01
I'd love to see the NIH and the CDC and other um
26:06
you know national researchers working on this
26:09
because there could be some incredible outcomes
26:13
and maybe a lot of help and support for those who
26:16
I imagine must feel so frustrated
26:20
there's nothing worse than knowing
26:22
something's wrong with your body
26:25
and nobody's listening to you right
26:27
it's kind of like we're among women menopause right
26:31
for how many decades do people just brush that off
26:34
and now we know so much more
26:36
there are very real changes happening in the body
26:39
and the brain and the more research we know
26:42
the closer we can come to having
26:45
whether it's a cure
26:46
or protocols or medications or therapies
26:49
or whatever it might be to help
26:52
going back to
26:53
how could we help those particular clients who
26:56
who do feel like they have chemo brain and issues
27:00
as long as they
27:00
have a diagnosis from their medical provider that says
27:04
you have brain injury we can help them
27:07
but I imagine a lot of them don't have that diagnosis
27:10
because that's hard to pinpoint from chemotherapy
27:13
at this point but
27:14
I think it's great that we're aware that it is a thing
27:18
because now going forward
27:20
if enough patients go to their doctor and say hey
27:22
I think I have this maybe then
27:24
we could get the funding
27:25
and the research to figure it out
27:28
and then if they did get the diagnosis
27:29
maybe they would be eligible for more services programs
27:33
medications whatever it may be
27:36
I couldn't agree more right
27:38
advocacy is how it's all done
27:40
it's how
27:41
we've been working to get the funding that we need
27:44
or other support that we need to serve our clients
27:47
but in any situation it is always when you advocate
27:51
when you talk when you tell your story over and over
27:55
to people who will listen
27:57
to the people who are in the power chair
28:01
you know that place where they can make a difference
28:05
where they can allot funding
28:06
where they can look at a new research
28:08
you know talk to your local universities
28:10
talk to researchers you may know
28:13
talk to your own doctor and tell them over and over
28:17
that this is important to you
28:19
that you know
28:20
something's not right about you or your friend
28:22
or your sister or whoever it is
28:25
always tell the story
28:27
because that's how we can create change
28:29
I couldn't agree more that was so well said
28:32
tell us where people can find you
28:34
you can find us on the web at BrainInjurysvcs.org
28:43
BrainInjurysvcs.org
28:47
we have several different offices in Northern Virginia
28:50
our main hub is in Fairfax near the Mosaic District
28:54
if that is some place you're familiar with
28:58
but we see clients all over the Northern Virginia
29:02
territory
29:03
we have an office in Leesburg for adult case management
29:07
we have an office in Winchester
29:09
we have two day programs
29:11
one is here in our Fairfax location
29:13
and one is in Fredericksburg
29:15
so we really cover a lot of territory
29:18
so if you think we can be of help to you
29:22
please reach out you can call us at 7 0 3 4
29:27
5 1
29:27
8 8
29:28
8 1
29:29
and we will take your call
29:31
we will direct you to where you need to be
29:34
and we'd love to see you come in
29:36
and if you're somebody who
29:37
may not be somebody with a brain injury
29:39
but you're interested in who we are and what we do
29:42
if you wanna see our day programs
29:45
you want to see what it's like
29:46
you want to know more about what we're doing
29:48
we welcome you to come visit us as well
29:50
fantastic
29:51
and we will link all of that in the show notes
29:54
so if you want to find their website
29:55
and their phone number just pop over to the show notes
29:57
and you can grab it there
29:58
ladies this has been wonderful
30:00
I've learned so much
30:01
and I really just appreciate your time
30:04
and all of the expertise that you've shared with us
30:07
well thank you so much Megan
30:08
it's been a pleasure
30:10
and we're always happy to share information
30:13
because a lot of people don't know about us
30:15
and we also would like your viewers to know that
30:19
if you're not in our territory
30:21
but you're in Virginia there are
30:24
similar programs
30:25
throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia
30:27
so if you don't know how to find them
30:29
find us we'll direct you where to go
30:32
if you are not in Virginia
30:33
there are similar programs in some states
30:36
or you can connect through your
30:38
brain injury association
30:40
there's a Brain Injury Association of America
30:43
BIAUSA.org
30:46
and each state has their own brain injury association
30:50
so for us here in Virginia
30:51
it's the Brain Injury Association of Virginia
30:54
BIAV
30:55
but they're also a great resource
30:57
and they can
30:58
point you back to an organization like ours
31:01
or find you what you need in your state
31:04
well thank you
31:05
ladies and thank you to our sponsors
31:08
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31:11
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31:27
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31:38
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31:39
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31:40
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31:42
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31:44
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31:46
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31:49
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31:50
and we'll see you next time
31:52
thank you so much Megan