A MESSAGE FROM Codi-Amanda
Hi everyone! Your support of my fundraiser for Team TMF as I prepare to run the Rose Bowl Half Marathon this month means more than I can express.
As I prepare for this race—and for every run over the past 16 years—I do so with gratitude for my ability to move, and for the way movement has served as an outlet for me, a protection from my own mind.
As the global burden of neurological disease continues to rise, it is critical that we forge pathways forward through research that deepens our understanding of the full scope of these conditions and their impact on overall wellbeing. Just as important, may we always strive to be a source of light for those who feel stolen by a diagnosis, panicked by uncertainty, or swallowed by worry for their future—so that through us, they may remember they are still who they have always been.
As our understanding of the physical impacts of trauma to the brain continues to grow, evidence shows that TBIs are a significant risk factor for the development of subsequent neurological conditions. And beyond blunt force trauma, we are learning that stress itself leaves a lasting imprint—its impact extending far beyond the moment it is experienced.
I spent the last few years of my life navigating the immensity of healing my brain and body. I, especially, continue to find refuge in running. On my hardest days, I can only commit to my one mission: to serve, with endurance and perseverance, the purpose set before me by my Father. To love as You love me. To endure great darkness, for in the morning there will be great joy. To be strong, to take heart, to be bold, to suffer for perseverance. In the hardest steps of my race, Lord, I run to You. I rejoice in the path You placed my feet on.
Life is a gift, even on the days marked by exhaustion. May your spirit always triumph over the brain and the body.
Do something today and everyday to protect your future self. All of you have the time, most of you just don't give it to yourself.
"But we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4
