January is National Winter Sports Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month. The conversation about impact sports and head injuries has dramatically changed in recent years with new insights into the long-term effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Much like in professional sports, the mentality of playing even after a hard hit to the head is similar to the military culture where warfighters tend to want to "play through" a head injury. This brush it off laissez-faire treatment of head injuries became a concern as the spotlight has been shone on the long-lasting adverse effects of TBI and brain function.

Shawn Springs former NFL player, and CEO of Windpact says, "NFL, military, no matter who you are you can suffer a concussion. TBI is real, and as a society, we can no longer ignore it. If TBI is not properly diagnosed and treated it does have longstanding effects, we all understand the severity, but as a society, we need to be more informed and recognize the signs of TBI to prevent against it."

The leading cause of death from a sports-related injury is TBI. In particular, skiing and snowboarding make up more than half of TBI winter sports injuries each year. Similarly, TBI is a leading cause of injury among military active duty, and veterans. TBI has been a significant source of trauma in military members in Afghanistan and Iraq. TBI which includes concussion, contusion, or penetrating head injury more often than not go unreported. Since 2000, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center has reported 357,048 diagnosed cases of TBI, and the number has continued to skyrocket yearly.

If you are a sufferer of TBI no matter your military or non-military background Help Heal Veterans is an excellent resource for help. Heal Vets uses therapeutic crafting to rehabilitate active military and transitioning veterans that suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, depression, and more. Occupational and Recreational Therapists have coined craft therapy as an essential component of a patient's treatment plan for recovery. Help Heal Veterans kits are designed to benefit the crafter in several ways to improve: impaired motor skills, attention spans, concentration, self-esteem all while creating an environment that promotes comraderies much like a sports team, or a military unit.

Help Heal Veterans provides crafters access to Craft Care Specialists that work one on one with the crafter to prescribe a craft kit that will benefit them the most based on their diagnosis and ailments. The craft kits come at no charge to the veterans thanks to the generous donations from individuals, and organizations such as Southwest airlines, La-Z-Boy furniture, Arise Veterans, and the Elks. Craft kits are available through home delivery to sign up through the HHV website, and at Community Based Arts and Crafts Centers.