Valley woman talks about living with a brain injury

Someone in the U.S. sustains a traumatic brain injury every 23 seconds, and according to the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona, more than 45,000 people in the state have one.

June is PTSD Awareness Month, and a Valley woman with one of those injuries is speaking up about how it happened and why people need to get help when if it does.

"The day of the accident...I only remember the morning part of it," said Vivi, a brain injury survivor.

Vivi remembers dropping her daughter off at school and heading to the gym.

"In the police report, I read that the young man ... was on a cell phone, he was not paying attention and he ran a red light and hit me," said Vivi.

Vivi suffered seizures, memory loss and eventually depression that months later almost led to suicide.

Carrie Collins, executive of the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona, says a brain injury can happen to anyone and can cause a multitude of problems, from headaches to depression.

The nonprofit has been around for 35 years helping victims and family members.

"Sometimes in our quest to be strong and soldier through, people don't reach out and get the help they need after [a] brain injury," Collins said.

Since her accident, Vivi has become a group fitness instructor and personal trainer. She works hard every day to overcome her symptoms and wants to remind everyone that texting and driving can lead to debilitating - or worse - deadly circumstances.

"I was ready to just call it quits," said Vivi.