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Walk for Thought raises awareness for traumatic brain injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are a condition that few people talk about until they have one. The Minnesota Department of Health reports that in 2023, there were 14,000 emergency room visits for brain injuries, 4,400 hospitalizations and 1,000 deaths. This weekend, the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance is hosting the Walk for Thought at Long Lake Regional Park to raise money and awareness.
(FOX 9) - A brain injury survivor's decade-long fight to reclaim her life is now being celebrated at one of Minnesota's biggest events for the brain injury community.
A second chance at life
What we know:
Sharonda Hopkins was 33-years-old when high blood pressure led to a severe brain bleed. She had a cerebral hemorrhage near the back of her brain, which affected her balance, vision and scent. The rupture meant she had to relearn nearly everything, including how to balance, walk and think. She was discharged with a walker and pushed herself every day, sometimes falling and getting back up, using the walker when she needed it and setting it aside when she could.
Still fighting every day:
Hopkins is still in recovery. She gets up at 8 a.m., eats breakfast, rests, then exercises for 30 minutes to an hour a day using a small exercise room in her building. She also walks to a nearby park and does about 10 laps around an indoor tennis court. Her next goals are to get her driver's license back and eventually return to part-time work. She previously worked seasonal concessions at Minnesota Twins Stadium for four years.
Hopkins says looking at her, most people would never know what she has been through.
"A lot of people tell me that all the time," said Hopkins about people not knowing she's had a severe brain injury. "It don't matter how you look, it's the mind," said Hopkins.
More than a decade to a diploma
Her journey back to school:
Hopkins never graduated from high school, having dropped out around 2004. She started working on her GED in May 2015 with the help of a caseworker named Carla at the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance.
She started with in-person classes at Urban League in Minneapolis, then attended a second school and eventually continued online after that school closed. It took her more than 10 years, but she passed all four GED exams on Oct. 10, 2025, and walked at her graduation on June 26 wearing a cap and gown.
Support that kept her going:
Carla from the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance was there every step of the way, including at the graduation, where she brought flowers.
"I mean there were days that I called her crying until I'm having a breakdown. You know, she's like, Sharonda, I know, I can hear it, but just keep going, and I kept going," said Hopkins.
Hopkins says she does not think she could have done it without that support. She also credits her family and a few friends for believing in her. Her mother told her in September 2024 that it was going to be her year, and Hopkins says that stuck with her as she pushed through the final stretch of testing.
The Walk for Thought
What the walk is about:
The Walk for Thought brings together brain injury survivors, their family members and loved ones to honor their stories and raise money for the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance. The money helps the organization connect survivors with the resources they need for their recovery.
Brad Donaldson, CEO of the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance, says the event is like a large family reunion for the brain injury community.
"This community is very passionate, very strong, and very dedicated to supporting each other and this is place to come and celebrate the milestones such as achieving a GED, such as moving forward in life, acquiring new individual skills, new growths, and just celebrate each other," said Donaldson.
Hopkins will be honored:
The Brain Injury Alliance will honor Hopkins at this Saturday's Walk for Thought for her determination. Hopkins says she feels ready to attend and speak out this year in a way she did not feel prepared to do in past years.
"I will take that challenge and take that walk this Saturday on September 19th," she said.
The walk takes place Saturday morning at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton. For viewers in the Duluth area, it is being held at Ugstad Field at Proctor High School. You can register at braininjurymn.org.
Donaldson says the organization supports thousands of survivors like Hopkins.
"Sharonda worked for over 10 years to achieve her GED. And our organization looks to support an individual on their journey. They bring the determination, the passion, and the commitment. And we're there to help support them as they move forward," said Donaldson.
The scale of brain injury in Minnesota
By the numbers:
The Minnesota Department of Health reports that in 2023 there were 14,000 emergency room visits for brain injuries, 4,400 hospitalizations and 1,000 deaths. As many as 100,000 Minnesotans are living with a traumatic brain injury. Donaldson says the organization works to support every one of them.
"Over 100,000 Minnesotans are affected by brain injury and they all look to live very full, passionate, dedicated lives. They have their goals and their dreams and we look to help them support each and every one," said Donaldson.
Hopkins' message to other survivors is simple. "Keep pushing myself, pushing myself. Get myself back better," she said. "Being that having a second chance at life, it totally changed me. There's nothing from the past that's left and gone. I'm a whole new person. In this life I'm going, I always promise myself to do better and live. Live the life."
The Source: FOX 9's Tim Blotz spoke with Sharonda Hopkins and Brad Donaldson, CEO of the Minnesota Brain Injury Alliance, for this story. Additional information comes from the Minnesota Department of Health.