Eat Clean, Train Dirty

I want to share my latest adventure! I’m participating in the Pikes Peak Challenge Hike for Brain Injury Awareness on Saturday, September 8, 2012. I will be hiking Barr Trail on 14,110 foot Pikes Peak. When I finish, I will have hiked 13 miles and 7,400 vertical feet to the summit to join other hikers and supporters in celebration of brain injury awareness and prevention.

Although this is quite an undertaking considering the altitude and possible weather conditions I might encounter, it pales in comparison to what survivors of Brain Injury face every day. In the United States a Brain Injury occurs every 23 seconds. Based on national estimates, there are more annual incidences of Brain Injuries than Multiple Sclerosis, Spinal Cord Injuries, HIV/AIDS and Breast Cancer put together. We now know that over 20% of our American Soldiers are returning home with a Brain Injuries and some have sustained several.

In this country there are 3 million persons living with breast cancer and public spending is $295 per person, 900,000 persons living with HIV/AIDS and public spending is $18,111 per person but there are 5.3 million persons living with disability from Brain Injury and public spending is $2.55 per person! Research into treatment of Brain Injury receives less than one penny of every Federal dollar spent on medical research. This is why I am involved!

If you would like to support my endeavors to make a difference, there are two ways to donate. You can donate to me online now, or by visiting PikesPeakChallenge.com, clicking ‘Make a Donation’ on the right and then finding my name in the list and clicking it. This is a special event of the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado and you will be able to print a tax-deductible receipt for your donation. The second way is to mail me a check and please send it to the address I have listed below. Please do not mail your donations directly to the Pikes Peak Challenge.

Every dollar makes a difference and I appreciate any help you can give. Thank you for making a difference and I will be thinking of you as I crest the summit!

-Amanda Duplantis