BRAINWAVES

Cody Darling only discovered the Brain Injury Association of Arizona a few months ago, but that hasn’t stopped him from wanting him to jump right in to supporting its work.

Every April, Black Maternal Health Week calls attention to one of the most urgent health equity issues in the United States: Black women face significantly higher risks during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period than white women. But within this conversation, one group is too often overlooked—Black women living with disabilities, including brain injury survivors.

Workplace violence can have lasting consequences, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), emotional trauma, and long-term disability. For survivors, recovery can be complex and lifelong.

Distraction isn’t limited to texting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies three types—visual, manual, and cognitive—and notes that anything that takes your attention away from driving increases crash risk.

Specializing in vocational rehabilitation, Christi Porter works with adult clients who are recovering from various types of brain injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and strokes, at Cerebrations.

Jason Lalli may hold a record no one wants to have. In a little over a year and a half he’s sustained three traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs.

Gaby has been creating costumes and has been an avid cosplayer for 10 years, mostly with her best friend, Momo. By day a social worker who works with disabled children, Gaby – alongside Momo – have dressed up as and created content for just about any character in any genre imaginable.

At most, “huffing” is probably something you associate with health teachers warning about in grainy videos from the 1990s. But unfortunately, “huffing” is back, though now it’s called using “whippits.”

Jamie Suppanz, a speech language pathologist at Cerebrations, said she took to her career “like a fish to water.” Though her parents did help guide her to the vocational rehabilitation pond.