BRIGHT Foundation – Brain Injury Group, Hope through Treatment
Matt Palaszynski Founder of BRIGHT & Dr. Story Landis, Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
“Every breakthrough starts with hope…”
About Matt Palaszynski
In November 2000, Matt Palaszynski was a young executive at GE Medical Systems. Educated in Engineering and Business, living in Singapore, leading GE Medical’s Asia Wide Marketing Department, and married with a child on the way, Matt was at the pinnacle of his life. Then tragedy struck. His wife, Leslie, had an Amniotic Fluid Embolism. A very rare and often deadly complication were the where amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream, leading to cardio-respiratory collapse, massive bleeding, and potentially death. Leslie beat the odds and fully recovered, but Alissa his daughter, suffered a severe HIE Brain Injury (Hypoxic Ischemic Encepholopy). ( Read Alissa’s full story )
Early months for Alissa
For nearly 1 month Alissa Palaszynski was in a catatonic state struggling for life. When she recovered enough to transport, Alissa was flown first class on a 747 Air Ambulance to Yale University Hospital where cutting edge research was being done focusing on the breathing difficulties that were a daily threat to Alissa’s life. And thus began the journey of discovery for Matt and his family as they visited the worlds best hospitals, explored alternative therapies and sought out advice both from conventional and unconventional sources.
Matt draws strength from friends
Matt was very lucky to have been the college room mate of Nathan Urban, the current Provost of Lehigh University. With Nathan’s help, Matt began to get a very clear picture of just how difficult a problem that he and his family faced. Nathan helped Matt understand exactly what was happening with Alissa’s brain injury and began to introduce Matt to the foremost experts in the field of brain injury research and rehabilitation. With Nathan’s generous support and time, Matt began to understand that only with the passion of a parent fighting for his child could real change be brought about. At about the same time, Superman actor Christopher Reeve broke his back in an equestrian accident and became paralyzed by a spinal cord injury. Much like Christopher Reeve, Matt was not against the medical establishment, but both Matt and Reeve challenged the establishment to embrace a sense of urgency in research and treatment. This is what set them and their foundations apart from others. So while Christopher Reeve focused on accelerating Spinal Cord Injury research, Matt founded the BRIGHT Foundation to accelerate research on Brain Injury and Cerebral Palsy treatments.
BRIGHT advanced quickly, getting its 501(3)c non-profit.designation in 2002 and establishing its core projects which include, CPCare.org and CPCure.org. BRIGHT held its first meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board at the American Academy of Neurology/Society Of Neuroscience Meeting. Michael V. Johnston, M.D. the Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Kennedy Krieger Institute, kicked off the meeting by emphasizing the important of parent run organizations such as BRIGHT and how they provide focus and passion that can get lost in the complexity of running a modern research laboratory or world class hospital.
Dedicated Parents Fuel Progress
With the help of other dedicated parents such as Mary Rose Rubenacker, BRIGHT made fast progress in building a support community for other parents facing similar issues, launching effective fundraising campaigns, and exciting the minds of the best scientists, engineers, doctors, therapists, as to exactly what might be possible if focus and clarity could be brought to the problem.
BRIGHT continued its efforts in the years following but as with most parent led organizations, life’s complications slowed the hoped progress. With parents juggling work and raising a brain injured child, time left for the foundation was limited. For example, in an effort to have more time to focus on Alissa, Matt left GE and founded his own global manufacturing company. The new business and Alissa’s care consumed most of Matt’s time and BRIGHT was dormant for a number of years.
Matt’s Renewed Focus on BRIGHT in Retirement
However, Matt’s business was successful. Matt is now retired and has the time and almost 40 years of global business experience to focus on further developing BRIGHT, thus helping his daughter Alissa and other’s like her. With Matt’s unwavering optimism, he has dedicated his life to uniting researchers and advocates around world with the goal of supporting families in the care of their children and finding an effective treatment for brain injury and cerebral palsy.
CPCare.org‘s focus is providing an on-line and physical community where parents can share information and get support. Ultimately, BRIGHT plans to extend the support provided to physical safe spaces for adults with brain injury to live and interact with neuro-typical peers.
CPCure.org ‘s current focus is around Robotic Assisted Artificial Intelligence guided Exoskeleton Suits that will provide extended training leading to re-wiring of the brain and effectively providing a cure for the injury.
More about Matt
When Matt is not busy with BRIGHT or spending time with Alissa and his other family members, his passions include an unending thirst for further learning on diverse topics such as Neuroplasticity, AI, robotics, economics, and leadership. Matt has always been drawn to sports that demand high mental alertness. As Matt nears the 60 year old mark he is still very active in Downhill Mountain Biking, Motocross, and Skiing. Matt finds that these sports provide a combination of physical activity, immersion in nature, and a focus on the present moment, leading to stress reduction, improved mood, and enhanced mental clarity.
BRIGHT’s Mission:
The BRIGHT Foundation’s core mission is to support families, and to find a cure for cerebral palsy through innovative research, advanced therapies, and global collaboration.
How You Can Help:
Your support accelerates our journey toward a cure. Join us today:
- Donate Now
- Become a Volunteer
Contact Us:
Email: donations @ brightfoundation.org