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The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal
City News, Sunday, September 4, 2011
BY BRYAN MEADOWS
NORTHWEST BUREAU
A Run To Remember is coming to Thunder Bay.
Run manager Melissa Wild said Saturday that British Columbia resident David McGuire, 38, is running a marathon a day across Canada "to create a movement and change the face of brain injury" in this country.
Besides brain injury awareness, he also wants to raise money for a legacy fund for prevention and specialized services for people with brain injuries.
McGuire will join Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs for a public meet and greet at City Hall Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m.
David's story is a powerful one, Wild said.
In 2005, he sustained a brain injury and was told he may never walk again, so he decided to run instead - right across Canada, she said.
Six years ago, McGuire woke up in a hospital after seven days in a coma. It's not clear whether he had a stroke or a brain bleed, or hit his head. Whatever the cause, he awoke without his memory.
According to the website: www.runtoremember.com, McGuire says he continues to struggle with common day-to-day things; some words like "milk" he is unable to say; and he has trouble remembering and finding his way back home.
"I'm just a guy with a brain injury, but I can run, and I have a story to tell," he says.
McGuire's is just one story of millions in Canada including many of our national heroes, like Sidney Crosby and Matt Dunnigan, who have or are currently suffering the long-term effects of concussion-like symptoms.
They are speaking out about concussion, brain injury, and their personal stories but, Wild said, more people need to know about brain injury and how to prevent it.
She notes that more than 90 per cent of youth brain injuries are preventable by simply wearing a helmet.
A Run to Remember started in St. John's, Nfld. on March 31st, and is expected to wrap up in Victoria, B.C. by the end of October.
McGuire is working with BrainTrust Canada, a non-proÞt organization involved in national injury prevention strategies. The net proceeds of the run will create alegacy fund to promote brain injury prevention and develop new support strategies for people living with brain injury in Canada.
Brain injury has been labeled an epidemic and is the greatest cause of death and disability under 45, surpassing cancer, heart disease, diabetes and all other causes. Over 170,000 Canadians incur brain injury each year - that's 483 people per day, or one every 3 minutes.
McGuire's website blog can be found at www.runtoremember.com .
For more information or donate to the cause, visit the website: www.runtoremember.com.
© 2011 The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal. All rights reserved.
Document number: news·20110904·TD·0Run×1to×1remember×1coming
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