New group advocates brain injury awareness
Courtney Ragan
Issue date: 9/15/08 Section: News
More than 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) each year, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site. Dr. Gail Stephens and others at Henderson plan to create awareness about TBI. There is an interest meeting scheduled for the organization of a group interested in the prevention of traumatic brain injuries. The meeting will take place in the Garrison Center Cabe Room on Sept. 18. from 5-7 p.m.
One man who knows about brain injuries is Shaun Best, a substitute teacher in both the Eldorado and Crossett school districts.
Best has suffered from more than 35 traumatic brain injuries throughout his lifetime. He had his first brain injury in 1977 at the age of 12. He was riding a three-wheeler that did not meet safety standards without wearing any protective gear. While using a thin piece of string as a throttle, the string became wrapped around the axle, causing the three-wheeler to flip.
What happened next is still uncertain because Best has no memory of the accident.
"[I've] been kind of confused on what really happened. [My] family couldn't agree," Best said. Some family members say that as Best rode down the highway, his three-wheeler flipped over and landed in the path of a big truck in the oncoming traffic. Other family members say that Best flipped the three-wheeler but safely managed to make his way to the shoulder of the highway, where he was sitting and waiting for help when a big truck plowed into him.
After high school, Best attended Southern Arkansas University as an education major. While there, he suffered 24 or 25 brain injuries in the five-year period that he attended college. "They had no rails on stairways or walkways," Best said. "Balance is always an issue."
Since then, Best has been recruited by the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Pilot Club Foundation to assist in assuring that college campuses comply with the Disability Act of 1990.
"I had to be the one to endure this to make sure they complied with the ADA," Best said. "The reason that the Lord spared me is to make sure others don't follow my path."
It has taken more than 30 years to find the right combination of medications to allow Best to lead a functioning lifestyle.
One man who knows about brain injuries is Shaun Best, a substitute teacher in both the Eldorado and Crossett school districts.
Best has suffered from more than 35 traumatic brain injuries throughout his lifetime. He had his first brain injury in 1977 at the age of 12. He was riding a three-wheeler that did not meet safety standards without wearing any protective gear. While using a thin piece of string as a throttle, the string became wrapped around the axle, causing the three-wheeler to flip.
What happened next is still uncertain because Best has no memory of the accident.
"[I've] been kind of confused on what really happened. [My] family couldn't agree," Best said. Some family members say that as Best rode down the highway, his three-wheeler flipped over and landed in the path of a big truck in the oncoming traffic. Other family members say that Best flipped the three-wheeler but safely managed to make his way to the shoulder of the highway, where he was sitting and waiting for help when a big truck plowed into him.
After high school, Best attended Southern Arkansas University as an education major. While there, he suffered 24 or 25 brain injuries in the five-year period that he attended college. "They had no rails on stairways or walkways," Best said. "Balance is always an issue."
Since then, Best has been recruited by the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Pilot Club Foundation to assist in assuring that college campuses comply with the Disability Act of 1990.
"I had to be the one to endure this to make sure they complied with the ADA," Best said. "The reason that the Lord spared me is to make sure others don't follow my path."
It has taken more than 30 years to find the right combination of medications to allow Best to lead a functioning lifestyle.
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