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Local Author Donates Books to Veterans with TBI

Local author Kate Dendrinos-Rickel and her husband, Shawn Rickel, recently donated almost 300 copies of their book, I Am Not Supposed to Be Here to Denver Options’ Operation TBI Freedom(OTF) program. OTF is a statewide program that assists active duty and military veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Kate herself is also a TBI survivor, and the inspirational book she wrote with her husband details her long, difficult road to recovery after a motorcycle accident in 2002.

Kate first learned of Operation TBI Freedom through Rena Thompson, an employee at Denver Options. Rena first noticed the book on a coffee table after being drawn to the cover photo of a woman in a cowboy hat. “Once I picked up the book and saw it was written by a local TBI survivor, I knew I had to contact her,” Rena explained.

Soon after Rena got in touch with Kate and Shawn, she met them at a book signing in Golden. The Rickels explained that for every book they sold, they donated one to a veteran. “After I heard that, I told them about how Operation TBI Freedom is helping veterans with TBI, and they asked if they could donate some of their books to the program,” Rena shared.

Although Kate is not a veteran herself, she chooses to donate some of her books to veterans because of another common thread. As she describes in her book, Kate was one of the first people to receive a decompressive craniotomy, a type of surgery that removes part of the skull to relieve internal pressure on the brain. The surgery is now commonly used to treat soldiers involved in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts who have suffered a TBI as a result of blast injuries.

In addition to their interest in helping veterans with TBI, Shawn and Kate also run an equine therapy program at their Big View Ranch in Golden, where they work with people with physical, mental and emotional challenges.

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Learn more about Kate and Shawn’s book, I Am Not Supposed to Be Here and the Big View Ranch.
Learn more about Operation TBI Freedom.

Kate Dendrinos-Rickel and Shawn Rickel will be speaking at the 2010 National Brain Injury Employment Conference in Denver. Find out more.

Big View Ranch Fund Raiser at the Melting Pot: http://www.iamnotsupposedtobehere.com/Fundraiser_Sept.html