Column: Brain Injury Awareness Month
[Column written by Dr Kimberley Watkins & Helen Souza]
This March, as the world observes Brain Injury Awareness Month, one Bermuda man is marking the occasion in the most extraordinary way imaginable — by lacing up his running shoes.
Five years ago, on 29th March 2021, David’s life changed in an instant. A devastating road traffic accident left him with a traumatic brain injury [TBI] that turned his world upside down, stripping away abilities most of us take for granted and setting him on one of the most challenging journeys a person can face. Today, as that five-year anniversary approaches, David is not looking back in sorrow, he is looking forward to a finish line.
A journey no one prepares you for
Traumatic brain injury is an injury that fundamentally affects how the brain works, with consequences that can range from short-term disruption to lifelong disability. Road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of TBI, and for those who survive, the aftermath can be just as overwhelming as the moment of impact itself. For many survivors, the road to recovery is long, unpredictable, and invisible to the outside world.
TBIs are sometimes called an invisible injury because a survivor can look and sound normal while still dealing with real cognitive, emotional, and neurological dysfunction. For David, those invisible battles were very real, fought quietly, every single day, here in Bermuda. In the weeks and months following his accident, rehabilitation became the foundation of his recovery. Relearning the basics, rebuilding strength, and restoring function required not only the dedication of his healthcare team but an unwavering commitment from David himself. Rehabilitation after a TBI is not a single event, it is a long, often grueling process of setting small goals, achieving them, and then setting new ones.
Brain Injury Awareness month is used to educate the public, reduce stigma, and highlight the challenges faced by survivors. This year’s campaign theme, “My Brain Injury Journey,” seeks to shine a light on some lesser-known aspects of brain injury, its chronic nature and the fact that brain injuries look different for every person.
David’s journey is a powerful testament to exactly that.
Five years on – and running
What makes David’s story so remarkable is not just that he survived, it is what he is choosing to do with his survival. David has set his sights on something that would have seemed unthinkable in those early days of recovery: running a half-marathon.
On 24th May, Bermuda Day, David plans to take to the roads and complete a half-marathon. 13.1 miles of determination, resilience, and proof that the human spirit is capable of remarkable things.
Two Sunday’s ago, David proved that his training is paying off, completing an 8-mile race as part of the Grateful Mile, proudly supported by Digicel. For a TBI survivor, taking up running is no small feat. The physical and cognitive demands of training: the coordination, the stamina, the mental focus required, are precisely the areas that a brain injury can affect most deeply. For David, running has become his rehabilitation and his half-marathon goal his greatest motivator. Having something tangible to work towards gives structure to the recovery process, builds confidence, and provides a sense of purpose vital for both physical and emotional healing. Every mile is a message to others who may be in the depths of their own recovery: progress is possible.
More than a race
David’s planned half-marathon on 24th May is more than a personal achievement. It is a symbol of what Brain Injury Awareness Month is truly about: not just statistics and medical definitions, but real human lives being rebuilt, one step at a time. His story reminds our community in Bermuda that brain injury survivors live among us, quietly fighting battles we cannot see and that with the right rehabilitation, the right support, and the determination to keep setting goals, they can achieve things that inspire us all.
Raising awareness about TBIs and taking steps to prevent injuries can help protect individuals and communities from the serious impacts of brain injury. But awareness must also mean celebrating recovery and recognising the survivors who refuse to be defined by their injury. It must also mean addressing a critical gap that too many TBI survivors face: the funding of long-term rehabilitation. Recovery from a traumatic brain injury does not end after a few weeks in hospital for many, it is a journey that spans years, even decades.
Insurance companies have a vital role to play in ensuring that survivors receive the sustained, ongoing rehabilitation they need to rebuild their lives. Adequate, long-term funding of therapies can make the difference between a survivor plateauing and continuing to progress. David’s story is a reminder that investment in long-term rehabilitation is not a luxury, it is a necessity.
A message to fellow survivors
As his five-year anniversary arrives on 29th March, David’s message to other TBI survivors is one of hope. Recovery is rarely linear. There are setbacks, frustrations, and days when progress feels impossible. But the key, David has found, is to never stop setting goals, however small they may seem. Rehabilitation demands patience, persistence, and the courage to keep going even when the finish line feels impossibly far away. Every goal reached is proof that your brain and your body are still capable of more than you imagine. There are days when you surprise yourself when you do something you were told you might never do again.
For David, that day will come on 24th May, crossing a finish line in Bermuda.
We will be cheering every step of the way.
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