Memorial Day: a great day/great re-post/great cause

As a society we all too often remember those who've died fighting for our country but fail to remember those who've lived. These survivors will sometimes face the most unthinkable of challenges. One challenge brought to my attention a few years back was that of Traumatic Brain Injury. The UFC did a benefit for guys afflicted with these injuries a year and a half ago and it compelled me to write something about it. Enjoy....

December 10th, 2008
After a long day I turned on Spike this evening to find a Live UFC event. I was immediately captivated by two things:

1. The advertisement across the back of one fighter's trunks.
2. The audience decked out in camouflage UFC shirts.
   

Now, the advertisement was the impetus for this post.....trust me.....funny.....very funny (see: above link).....but my motivation to burn the midnight oil changed very quickly after I saw that it was not only a fight put on for the entertainment of US soldiers but for the benefit of them as well.

Specifically at hand was the issue of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and the infusion of money needed to help these injured soldiers upon returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The event was not limited to TBI however, as the goal was to raise enough money to build a state of the art treatment facility that would cater to all soldiers returning home with life altering injuries. This endeavor is being undertaken by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a not-for-profit organization.

Why keep reading?

The UFC card was interspersed with vignettes about some of our returning soldiers, the challenges they face, and unfortunately the inadequate care they receive. (click "Read More" to continue)

These little life stories had an intended impact and I cried. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. UFC announcer Mike Goldberg (paraphrasing) said that, "If you weren't moved by these stories you weren't a human!" It was not hyperbole.

TBI was first brought to my attention when I saw that ABC anchorman Bob Woodruff suffered a brain injury while embedded in Iraq. The documentary that was created a year after the injury discussed not only the challenges he was facing but the adverse conditions that veterans encountered upon return to the States. To see young men who gave so much only to receive so little from their government was a deplorable thing to view...

Throw politics out the window, it doesn't matter. These are the twenty-somethings brushing by you on a downtown sidewalk who by all accounts are just like us. Their story is still being written though, and it was a mere chapter ago that they were missing 1/3 of their brain encased in a newly created plastic skull and had spent the last year in the hospital wearing a helmet, undergoing intensive physical therapy. The picture I paint pales in comparison to what I saw in the Woodruff documentary and the little clips I watched during the UFC.

The economy is unsteady and our money is tight but I know who I would like to help here at year's end. Everything counts in small amounts (Depeche Mode?...sorry). Money is not always necessary though. Contact your Congressman/Congresswoman or U.S. Senator to encourage them to pass legislation in support of veterans affairs.

At the minimum I would encourage you to educate yourself on what these young men and women are encountering as they try and assimilate back into American life. I think the UFC tag line for the night said it best:

"They fight for us. Let's fight for them."

Intrepid Fallen Heroes Donations...Click Here.

The Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Donations...Click Here.

Identify and Contact Your Representative...Click Here.

Identify and Contact Your U.S. Senators...Click Here.

Godspeed

Isn't it strange that soldiers sacrifice so much yet the suggestion that civilians should make sacrifices of any sort for their country (conservation, curbing discretionary spending, community service, etc.) are often met with contempt and cries of, "un-American-ism!". Sorry. Didn't mean to get political. Enjoy Memorial Day.