June has been declared Brain Injury Awareness Month by the Province of British Columbia, and to celebrate, the Prince George Brain Injury Awareness Group (PGBIG) is holding a car parade on June 30.
Beginning at 3:00 pm, residents are encouraged to gather in their vehicles at the CN Centre parking lot to follow a route into the downtown core and back.
“Brain injury is an invisible injury. When you look at someone who has a concussion or potentially got in a motor vehicle crash (…) you don’t look at them and go ‘Oh, that person has a brain injury.’ They have their regular face on, the injury is internal,” said Sarah McCrea, Executive Director with PGBIG.
“Having this level of recognition raises awareness but also gives the injury more of a ‘face’, that it is something that affects 1.5 million Canadians,” she added.
The organization offers support and advocacy for people and their families living with a brain injury.
It also provides education and a network to help people understand and cope with the effects of a brain injury.
“Awareness actually works two ways. There are people out there who are suffering that may not be aware of what services are out there for them. Then of course, there’s a stigma that comes with brain injury too,” said Roland Lepitre, a survivor of a brain injury and resident of Prince George.
“The more awareness and understanding that comes to those that out there that don’t have (an injury), it creates some slack to those of us that do.”
Lepitre says his family doesn’t completely understand the extent of his injury or what it means for his everyday life.
“That’s where PGBIG comes in, you go down there and people understand. They are very open and accepting of others that have these issues,” Lepitre explained.
“I’ve had the injury for 32 years, but I’ve only known about it for 16.”
When he got into his early 30’s, Lepitre was diagnosed with Conversion Disorder, a disorder where a person experiences blindness, paralysis, or other symptoms affecting the nervous system that cannot be explained solely by a physical illness or injury.
Symptoms usually begin suddenly after a period of emotional or physical distress or psychological conflict.
“I was very angry because this happened when I was 16 and I think I was 32 by the time I was diagnosed. This whole time I was functioning physically and all of a sudden I can’t stand up,” said Lepitre.
“It took me a couple of years to accept the brain injury, it was really hard. I think if you were to lose a limb, or eyesight, or something like that, I think any person would have some term of grieving going on.”
Lepitre now volunteers with PGBIG helping facilitate workshops geared towards people who are dealing with a new diagnosis.
“You need to figure out that you’re not on your own because that’s the worst part of the whole thing. When you figure out you’re not alone, that’s half the battle right there.”