Dear Family and Friends,
On September 12th, 2026, I’m taking the Pikes Peak Challenge, hiking to the 14,115′ Pikes Peak Summit to raise money on behalf of the Brain Injury Association of Colorado (BIAC), a non-profit organization that provides critical support to survivors of a brain injury in our state. This cause is important to me, and I need your help! We hike under the banner “Team Jesse”. Jesse is our son who passed away 16 years ago in a day that will always be uncomfortably etched in my families mind. From the grief came strength; my family just kept moving through hell; it didn’t kill them, it made them stronger…grief turned to giving; helping turned to healing; tears of sorrow turned to tears of joyful memories. I’ve witnessed a transformation that 16 years ago I didn’t know could happen.
We will never know what happened the night Jesse passed or why it happened. The people Jesse loved the most were deeply hurt, angry, confused and searched for answers that were out of reach.
Jesse was a baseball player. He loved baseball – A baseball player is etched on his gravestone; he covered his receding hairline with a Red Sox cap (of note: he wore a Rockies cap to the World Series game between the Rox and Bosox). He was struck in the head by a pitched ball a number of times, lost consciousness a couple times; he woke up and reentered games. He may have had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE…a progressive, degenerative brain disease found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma commonly associated with contact sports like football, boxing, hockey) but Jesse passed before brain trauma was becoming understood, studied, before return to play rules existed. There may be a link between the day Jesse passed and his baseball Traumatic Brain Injuries, but we will never know.
I’m so proud to say that our family has taken the worst day of our lives and turned into something positive. To honor the memory of Jesse, our family and many friends like you, provide fundraising support to the The Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado by donating to the Pikes Peak Challenge. The BIAC is an organization that helps survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury and their families. They have also provided legislative testimony to help to improve helmet safety in youth sports and reentry rules for injured athletes. The BIAC does a lot of good things proactively and reactively to help. We are proud to support them.
Here is a letter from a brain injury survivor, Beverly L:
“From 1980 until shortly after the millennium, I hiked Pikes Peak at least once a week year-round—often more. On average, I climbed the mountain at least 60 times a year, totaling over 1,300 ascents. It was my sanctuary, my stress relief, and my way of staying grounded.
After sustaining a brain injury, I lost the mobility that once carried me up that mountain. Today, I’m no longer able to walk through a grocery store, let alone hike. The absence of that weekly climb is the greatest void in my life. I’ve found no other equal outlet for the peace and clarity it gave me.
I’m writing not out of grief, but to express how deeply I connect with the spirit of your event. For those who can still climb, I hope they know what a gift it is. And for those of us who can’t, I hope our stories remind others of the resilience, loss, and strength that brain injury survivors carry every day.
Thank you for honoring this mountain and the community it uplifts.”
Please consider donating to help a great organization, to help people like Beverly L, to honor the memory of our son Jesse. Do good – feel good! Thank you for your support!
Donation checks can be made payable to the Brain Injury Association of Colorado.
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Anonymous
$141.15 -
Dan Rose
$250.00 -
Cory & Mark Holst
$250.00 -
Jon Terry
$200.00 -
Catherine Clark
$50.00 -
Ann Terry
$200.00
