We received this email today from one of our Havasu Half registrants and thought it was worth sharing with all of you…..
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Hi there,

My name is Bridget Brager. I am the Team Captain of Team Hopkins.  Eighteen months ago my nephew Kevin Crank was in a car accident, He was 18 at the time. Kevin has suffered from many things but the biggest of all has been the Traumatic Brain Injury. Kevin has gone through a number of relapses, triumphs, and tragedies in the last eighteen months. From the beginning the Doctors gave him little hope. For the first 4 months we could only hope and pray for any improvement at all from a vegetative state.

Faithfully we never gave up on him and neither did he. Kevin spent 2 months in John C.Lincoln Hospital and 2 months in St. Josephs Hospital. He was in a rehabilitation center for about 4 months in Prescott Valley, AZ. and in between had 3 emergencies back to Phoenix. He had Pneumonia 3 times, had a Traek tube for 4 months and a Feeding Tube for 6 months. Kevin had to learn to move, eat, speak, and all of the basic things of living.

Now home Kevin goes to outpatient Rehab during the week. He has come so far. He is learning how to care for himself. He understands what happened and the most amazing part is that He is happy. No depression. He is excited every day to work on improvement. He knows the road is long but, he is on it.

Kevin now lives with a Shunt in his head, (shunt number 3) a Bachlophen pump for his severe spasticity, and where there were shattered bones, there are now rods and bolts. He also has short term memory loss. Dr. Bagley is just one of Kevins doctors and he monitors his B. Pump. He asked Kevin to set some goals for himself. And Kevin has. He told Kevin that in his case he has exceeded in so many ways, doing things they never thought would be possible for him. So when I told Kevin that my husband Michael and I were planning to visit him in April (We live in NYC) we told him about doing this "Walk/Run" in Havasu. Kevin said, "I wish I could do that!". After talking to my family and Kevins medical staff, we posed a question to Kevin. "Would you like to participate in the walk?" He was so excited.

Kevin and most of our family grew up in Mohave Valley, AZ. He now lives in Prescott Valley, AZ with his mother, sister and my parents. He has been training for this since January. Kevin and his brother Tig, and my brother Joey used to race BMX Bikes and participated in Extreme Bike activities in Mohave Valley and Havasu where they formed a group named "Team Hopkins" thus our name "Team Hopkins". Kevin will have a huge support system around him. He will not be alone! I will be to his right and his mother to his left. We are bringing family and friends from all around. Kevin is so excited to do this for his 20th birthday which is April 9th.

We want to raise awareness of Traumatic Brain Injury, and because Kevin has been given so much, He wants so much to give back. We are working on organizing a fundraiser. We should have everything set up by the middle of this month. In writing this, my main point is to just give you a heads-up and to let you know that Kevin, myself and our family are looking forward to this day. Weather by wheelchair, walker or a few steps at a time, he will participate. And THANK YOU for giving us this opportunity!!

Attached are a few pictures of Kevin at various stages of his recovery… in order- as best as I could!!

Sincerely,

Bridget Brager… And FAMILY!!:)