Rick Parker was in a motocycle accident in 2016 (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

BRAIN INJURY AWARENESS

Brain Injury Awareness Month hoping to bring light to prevalence of brain trauma

Jun 14, 2019 | 4:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s estimated that 165,000 Canadians suffer a brain injury every year. The trauma can have a significant impact on a person’s daily life.

However, it’s also an invisible injury people can’t openly see. The Kamloops Brain Injury Association wants people to be more aware of how prevalent brain injuries are during Brain Injury Awareness Month in June.

“We see an awful lot of folks,” said executive director David Johnson. “Brain injuries come from a couple different sources, but car accidents are the major source. We are all in these vehicles, so it can affect anybody at any time.”

Kamloops resident Rick Parker lives with a brain injury. He was in a traumatic, life-altering motorcycle crash three years ago that left him on death’s door.

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“I was doing a motorcycle video. We were up by Highland Valley Copper and a deer ran out from the side of the road and cleaned me off the bike at 80 kilometres an hour,” said Parker.

Parker went off the road and down a 40-foot embankment. Emergency personnel at first thought he was dead.

“My helmet was destroyed. I had some bad head issues, some pretty bad head trauma,” said Parker. “I spent 10 days in the hospital. I have no memory from five minutes before the accident to five days after the accident. My brain literally had shut down.”

Since the accident, Parker has worked hard to find his life again. He leans on the Kamloops Brain Injury Association to work on his stain glass projects and bird houses. He also isn’t afraid to tell people he suffers from a brain injury.

“I don’t try and hide it. I believe that the more I educate people that I have a brain injury, the better I’m going to be and the next person with a brain injury is going to be.”

Johnson says it’s hard to tell sometimes that a person is living with a brain injury.

“If someone says ‘I have a brain injury,’ or someone’s fallen off their bike, they’ve taken a blow, pay attention,” he said. “There’s a lot more going on there than you can see from the outside.”

Parker, who now makes presentations about his situation, especially to students, says people just need to think twice before taking risks.

“Make sure you’re doing everything you can to make sure you will be safe if something happens, if that deer runs out from the side of the road. Make sure you have all the proper safety gear so that you will survive.”