ALBANY — The Brain Injury Association of New York State (BIANYS) held their annual conference June 7-9, bringing together caregivers, service providers and brain injury survivors. Among those honored for their efforts was advocate, photographer and brain injury survivor AnneMarie Todd, who received the Silent Angel Award.
“The Silent Angel Award acknowledges someone that allows for ‘others to be in the forefront.’ This year’s recipient, AnneMarie Todd, embodies this fully,” said Allison Barna, membership coordinator for BIANYS. “It is rare that she is without a big smile and her camera.”
“My jaw dropped,” said Todd, describing the moment when she heard about the Silent Angel award. “My family has been over-the-moon excited for me over this.”
The goal of Todd’s photography is to impart the vital message that “we’re not alone.” Her photography of the people in attendance at the conferences and individuals with various types of brain injuries crucially highlights the “silent epidemic.”.
“Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a silent epidemic,” said Todd. “There are so many of us who don’t show a physical display of injury, and that’s why it is so important to share our stories.”
Todd’s love of photography began prior to her brain injury advocacy. She recalled how her father was a photographer who documented her and her siblings from “the day we were born.” In middle school, her parents gifted her with a small camera.
“Thus began my love affair, my security blanket in high school, with cameras,” said Todd. “A camera has always been by my side. I used to joke that it was my third kidney, because it was always by my side.”
After experiencing several car accidents, Todd felt that there weren’t words that she could use to express the changes that she’d undergone.
“It’s the equivalent of a grieving process,” she said. “You’re grieving the loss of the person that you were before, and you’re being introduced to the new person that you are.”
Todd began rehabilitation in 2002.
“It was brand new for my parents, and it was brand new for my siblings,” she said.
Afterward, she was diagnosed with dysthymia.
“I was a very different kid,” she said. “Emotionally, verbally, and cognitively, I was very different. I was a stranger to myself and to my family.”
Todd described the rehabilitation as grueling but considered the assistance provided the “answer to a prayer.” With her warm sense of humor, she referred to herself then as being like “an angry bear” that had to “emerge from the darkness.”
However, she remarked, “I’ve always been the glass half-full kind of kid.”
Her faith, family, and photography remain at the core of her work. Her photography became a guiding light when “each step forward looked black.”
Attending her first BIANYS conference was an illuminating experience for Todd.
“From meeting other people that were like myself to the workshops, learning, and keynote speakers, it was part of a world-wide community that I fit into,” she reflected. “I’ve been attending ever since.”
Todd brought her camera to photograph the different events and to remember the workshops.
“I started to photograph the new friends I was making,” she said. “Then I started photographing the keynote and workshop speakers. I submitted them to the Association.”
Her photos were included in the BIANYS’ newsletter.
“I ended up becoming their official volunteer photographer. That gave me a new purpose,” she added.
In addition to Todd’s photography, she has become a verbal advocate as well, delivering speeches and speaking up on behalf of others.
“I am known for speaking up and addressing whatever the conversations are,” she said. “I wasn’t just speaking up for myself because there are many others who don’t have the ability to articulate like this.”
Todd said receiving the Silent Angel Award let her know her efforts are appreciated, and it energized her to keep it up.
“Education, understanding, awareness, and compassion are so vital, and I’m proud to help elevate the visibility of this community,” she said.