Tonight MTV’s True Life features young people dealing with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), a condition that can range from mild to severe after a person experiences a sudden trauma to the head. TBI affects a younger population, who are less risk-adverse. Men in general are also less likely to avoid danger, and make up nearly 80% of traumatic brain injuries in the U.S. 1.4 million people in the United States suffer a TBI, and 50,000 of those people die from the injury. The CDC estimates that 5.3 million Americans are currently in need of long-term or lifelong help to perform daily activities.
In the preview video below, 19-year-old Neil has suffered a TBI from an automobile accident and now struggles to recognize his own image in a picture and play video games, but thankfully he’s getting better at both activities:
The episode also features 26-year-old Donnie, who was also sustained brain injuries from a car crash.
The music provided for this episode was created by the band Theft (Matt McCartie and Dwayne Larring) who partnered with MTV to create music specifically for this episode. Below you can download their “Fireworks Explode” track for free. Theft was inspired to create music for this episode because they have a close friend who is suffering from a traumatic brain injury. They’re also working with the Brain Injury Association of America to promote awareness about TBI.
Joe Cuello, Vice President, (Creative Music Integration, MTV) noted about the partnership: “MTV has always believed in giving emerging artists the chance to shine and get their music out. We truly believe in Theft’s talents and are excited to support them by using our many platforms to introduce their music to our audience.”
Watch the full episode:
