Love Your Brain Foundation Inc.

My name is Emily, and I have been recovering from multiple mTBI's for the past six years. My first serious concussion happened in 2019 when I had a bicycle crash. This was followed by a nordic skiing accident in 2021, and a slip and fall on ice most recently in 2023. All of these concussions compounded on each other, leaving me with serious balance, vision, pain, and cognitive deficits. I have been very fortunate to have recovered much of my functioning with much support and hard work.

An essential part of my recovery, along with the many many medical treatments and therapies, has been finding community with others living with TBI (traumatic brain injury). Love Your Brain is an organization that was there for me in the darkest and most difficult moments. I benefited from in person yoga for TBI classes, as well as online classes, and an in person week-long retreat, that put me in touch with others who could relate to my experience in ways that no other loved one in my life could. They also provided me a framework and a vocabulary to understand and communicate about my TBI that I didn't have before. They provide free support programs for TBI survivors and their caregivers, and do it with research backed techniques and a serious love for their work.

Before my mTBI's, I was an avid long distance runner. I have made many attempts to return to this practice, and have suffered relapses of symptoms. I am finally in a place where I feel ready to more seriously return to my favorite sport. I have a return to running plan approved by my PT, and a strong desire to hit the roads once more!

I would like your support in my efforts to return to run, and to give a little something back to an organization that has helped me immensely. I am going to begin my return-to-running program in March, and am hoping to log an average of 5 miles a week as I gradually increase my ability.

Please sponsor my miles! I aim to run a total of at least 20 miles during the month. If you sponsored me at $2 a mile, that would be a donation of $40, $5 a mile would be $100 donation.

I am hoping to raise $1000, and I am hoping to return to running, so if I haven't reached my goal by the end of March, I will just keep it going!

Thank you for helping me support Love Your Brain, and for giving me the boost I need to recover this part of my life post-TBI!

2023 TOP 10 CNN HERO

The Elevate Prize Foundation will be matching donations to all of the 2023 Top 10 CNN Heroes up to $50,000 per hero.

In 2009, Adam Pearce was ready to watch his brother, professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce, go for Olympic gold. Then, everything changed when Kevin suffered a devastating traumatic brain injury (TBI) while training. Adam dropped everything to care for him, helping him learn to walk, talk, and find a new sense of possibility and purpose. Through their shared journey in healing and caregiving, Adam and Kevin discovered how resilience was a necessary catalyst for optimizing brain health and - ultimately - moving forward. In 2014, they founded LoveYourBrain, to improve the quality of life of people affected by TBI and raise awareness about brain health. Under Adam’s leadership, more than 37,000 people have been supported to re-connect to their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive well-being, through LoveYourBrain’s free programs and resources.

Read about Adam on CNN.com.

Watch CNN Hero Adam Pearce's video here.

The names of non-anonymous donors and their donation amounts may be published on air during CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute