Acres of Hope and Aspirations Wants to Remind Everyone March is Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is not just about Spring is in the air or St. Patrick's Day celebration or Easter. March is also brain injury awareness month. Prevention is the only true cure of brain injury; the silent epidemic that changes, alters, or takes a life every 19 seconds.  Brain injury is one of the most costly medical diagnoses to deal with in the healthcare arena since often it is a life time diagnosis that leaves many with permanent cognitive, physical, emotional, neurobehavioral, social and financial deficits. Brain injury is the signature war wound of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.  More and more people are affected by concussions and mild brain injury and more and more people are living with the lifelong effects of severe brain injury. The medical and nursing care of an individual with a severe brain injury is often too much for families to bear. Much of the burden of the financial deficit from permanent brain injury often relies on public funding such as Medicaid and Medicare and become tax payer liabilities.  With the rising cost of healthcare, any opportunity to bring awareness of brain injury is so important. Anyone is one accident away from a brain injury. Bringing awareness to a possible brain injury is critical to prevention, especially with sports and recreational activities, and education of protecting the head is a crucial key component in the lifestyle commitment of prevention.

Acres of Hope and Aspirations is an award winning rehab home/farm where Healing is truly Nurtured by Nature that features Gardens of Hope and Creatures of Rehab. The animals assist in rehab, love and support and the gardens provide serenity, comfort and warmth to all who enter the grounds.  Located in Muskego, WI, the rehab farm provide hope and healing in extraordinary ways and specializes in rehab nursing and recovery of veterans and people affected by brain injury and animals with special needs.  The mission of this organization is to promote prevention/wellness, hope and resources to people affected by brain injuries in order to provide strengthen and enhanced outcomes and opportunities. The vision is to foster a "Nurtured by Nature" healing process through the use of animals at "Creatures of Rehab" and the use of therapeutic environments "Gardens of Hope" and to integrate their relationships. Acres truly stands for (A)bilities, (C)haracter, (R)estoration, (E)mpowerment& (S)trength which are goals to help improve rehab outcomes. Creative rehab efforts are utilized to help people restore independent functioning, reach maximum potential and return to work, community and assistive living.

The Creatures of Rehab free roam inside the Gardens of Hope and include  fur, feather and reptile friends that are creative cognitive, interactive and vocational teaching tools.  Acres of Hope and Aspirations participates in many community, school, church, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, nursing homes and other events to bring awareness to brain injuries, and many of the Creatures of Rehab help bring understanding of brain injury awareness, prevention and differences. Some of the Creatures of Rehab themselves have disabilities to aide with the recovery process and acceptance of differences and disability.  For instance, Queenie, a blind pony is led around the grounds by a seeing-eye potbellied pig named Batman.  One of farm motto's includes "Restoration of Abilities and Achievements Makes One Proud as Peacocks" to be proud of any small accomplishments in rehabilitation and is further demonstrated at the rehab farm with their great room decorated in the beautiful teals, blues and greens of peacock vibrant colors but also the rehab farm has 8 live peacocks.  

Acres of Hope and Aspirations has been helping veterans affected by brain injury and has been instrumental in reuniting soldiers from the Iraq War and hosting the reunions and is “Proud as Peacocks” to host the upcoming Muskego's Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) picnic in July.  However, a brain injury can affect anyone not just a soldier.  A child at Bay Lane Middle School, Evan Coubal lost his life in 2010 to a traumatic brain injury playing football, and a bench exists in his memory in front of the Waterfall of Hope at Acres of Hope and Aspirations so his spirit can bring awareness of the silent epidemic that can take a life.   

In 2012, Acres of Hope and Aspirations was the recipient of the Community Service Award by the Wisconsin Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (WARN) and honored with a Community Education and Prevention Award by the Brain Injury Association of WI. Acres of Hope and Aspirations previously won a Healthcare Hero Award for Corporate Achievement by BizTimes in 2010. Acres of Hope and Aspirations exists to make a difference to so many people who need it and to educate so many people about brain injury and prevention.  There is no place like home for people affected by brain injury that need support, advocacy and acceptance and Acres of Hope and Aspirations offers just that and more.    

Consider reaching out to Acres of Hope and Aspirations Charitable Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c) (3) tax exempt charitable entity and sponsoring a Creature of Rehab with a monetary tax deductible donation to cover food, vet bills, etc. Volunteer opportunities and community service hours exist all year. For more information, to volunteer and/or to donate, refer to the website for ongoing needs/wish list of the Creatures of Rehab, www.acresofhopeandaspirations.org or email acreshope@yahoo.com or call 414-422-4882 or find on Facebook and twitter. Acres of Hope and Aspirations can bring Creatures of Rehab to schools and community events to provide education, inspiration, and fun to everyone involved. Appointments to tour the grounds at Acres of Hope and Aspirations must be pre-arranged due to patient confidentiality treatment issues and HIPAA. Look for the Creatures of Rehab during Jammin' on Janesville at the Animal Doctor this summer, during Muskego Pioneer 5K Run/Walk at Horn Brothers in June and at the Muskego Historical Society Craft Fair in September.   

Please protect your head in everything you do and make sure your children have and wear their helmets, a gift that keeps on giving.