WEST SENECA, N.Y. — One West Seneca woman is representing all western New York during the 2023 March on for Brain Injury in Rochester.
She will join the festivities September 9 at Seneca Park – Longhouse Shelter, Rochester, NY.
On the surface nothing seems different about Kara Moran.
She lives with her husband and dog, and she enjoys seeing her family when she gets the chance.
“Sometimes people don’t know how long and hard we work to look pretty much fine.”
Moran has been a victim of three different brain injuries.
The first was a serious concussion when she was 16 years old, and the most recent of which in 2020 when her brain became inflamed as a result of contracting Covid-19.
“I thought, ‘I’m 57-years-old, can I come back?’ There was one point where it was very painful, and I didn’t want to fight. I told my husband, ‘I’ll give it 6 months. If it doesn’t get better, I won’t be able to stay on the planet,’ it was so painful.”
After three years and counting of physical therapy, Kara shared that she finally feels like herself again.
However, there’s still a few things that she hasn’t been able to get back.
“I have to write everything down; I can’t remember like I used to.”
She can still take part more in what she loves, advocating for others struggling with brain injuries of their own.
“Kara found us,” said Karen Thomas, Director of Family Services, Brain Injury Association of New York State. “She did a search, and she found our local support group.”
Kara has spent the last few years partnered with the Brain Injury Association of New York State.
She has given speeches and travelled to Albany to urge people and politicians to recognize the injuries more.
“She is a great story of survival,” Thomas said. “No matter how tired she is feeling, she is contributing and trying to give back to make things better for everybody around her.”
Kara is now spending her free time preparing for the statewide march for brain injury. The march will happen simultaneously in Hudson Valley, Long Island and Rochester.
Anybody can join her team of support at https://marchon.bianys.org/team/503676
“That’s why I called it ‘Kara’s team of hope,’ because if I didn’t have hope from other people and myself, I don’t think that I would have made it.”
All donations support the Brain Injury Association of New York State. They said they will used the money to fund the free support hotline, support groups, and to further their mission of helping those effected.
