Today I spoke at the Brain Injury Association of Virginia’s annual conference. My session was a late one so I spend the day meeting speakers, vendors, and most importantly, the attendees. I ate with survivors and their family members. The real side of my work is talking about this law from the point of what I experienced and how I am trying to bridge the gap between laws and lives, so that that legislation provides real help for brain injury and PTSD survivors. My words come from an experience they can identify with, or may know someone who has also had misunderstanding and misidentification come from not knowing how these conditions may present and what to do about them.

The attendance was good and the reviews highly positive. I flew home feeling I had listened and spoken to individuals on all levels, individuals to lawmakers, on this topic. There is work still to do, advocating, talking and staying in touch as we move this legislative possibility closer to a federal level.