Saul Raisin: Raisin Hope

On April 4, 2006, at the age of 23, I crashed in a professional bicycle race. The subsequent effects led me to endure a coma, substantial bodily damage, and a traumatic brain injury. My outlook was bleak. Medical professionals did not know if I would survive, and if I did, what kind of life I would lead. Miraculously I awoke from my coma only to enter a world full of doubt and uncertainty. When asked whether I would be able to do the same things and be the same person I was before the accident doctors admitted they didn’t know because even though there is a lot known about the brain—even more is unknown. For this reason it is impossible to know how the mind will recover after brain injury. During my recovery and rehabilitation I always said that patients with brain injuries had only a few things we could count on: friends, family, prayers, God, and hope. It seemed like all we did was hope: hope to get better, hope to become stronger, and hope that one day doctors would have a better understanding of the brain.

Now fully recovered, I have created the Raisin Hope Foundation to help transform hope into knowledge. My goal is threefold: (1) to raise funding to support brain injury research, (2) to connect individuals and families whose lives have been affected by a brain injury with support and information regarding medical, physical, and emotional recovery and (3) to promote public awareness and understanding of people with disability as a result of brain injury. As a professional cyclist I was known for Raisin Hell, now as a brain injury survivor I ask you to please join me on my quest. It is my dream that, together, we can be known for Raisin Hope for individuals and families affected by brain injuries.

Raisin Hope Foundation Mission Statement:

1. Raise funding to support brain injury research
2. Connect individuals and families whose lives have been affected by a brain injury with support and information regarding medical, physical, and emotional recovery
3. Promote public awareness and understanding of people with disability as a result of brain injury

Contributions go to support charaties such as:

Shepherd Center – www.shepherd.org

Camp Twin Lakes – www.camptwinlakes.org

The Brain Injury Association of Georgia - www.braininjurygeorgia.org

To make a tax deductable donation, mail a check or money order (in $US) to:

Raisin Hope Foundation P.O. Box 6126 Dalton, Ga 30722-6126 USA

Or use the online donations box in the Left column of this site!