Lorraine Truong: "Preparing a meal is sometimes like building a new business.

When everyday things become difficult after a heavy fall and you are constantly confronted with pain, but the best treatment options can be found in faraway countries, insurance companies are often unwilling to pay for them. Enduro rider Lorraine Truong experienced this first-hand until an appeal for donations brought the help she needed.

Lorraine Truong was Swiss U23 cross-country champion in 2011. Almost two years later, she switched to enduro racing and soon made it into the top five in the world.
Sure, crashes are part and parcel of a sport like this, and a buzzing head will pass. Really? Truong has had a few falls over the past few years, sometimes hitting her head. She has always felt that she has recovered, but such shocks can leave the slightest damage to the brain. In July 2015, she fell on her head again at an Enduro World Series race - one fall too many - and was diagnosed with brain trauma. Since then, she has been fighting every day to return to the life we take for granted - fighting to be able to live without pain. Every step that brings her closer to her original life, however small, is a long and tiring journey for the former bundle of energy.

Therapy in the USA without the support of insurance

Truong has received good medical care and is doing a little better. However, the treatment options in this country are no longer sufficient. The Romande is therefore seeking help in the USA, where treatment methods are far more advanced than in Switzerland. Lorraine Truong has already traveled across the pond with high hopes. However, there is a financial catch: her health insurance does not cover the treatment costs incurred there.

So that Lorraine can still get the important treatments she needs, her mentor, former downhill world champion Tracey Moseley, has launched a fundraising campaign to cover the treatment costs. Ten Swiss francs is all it takes. Ten francs equates to two minutes of functional neurological treatment - comparable to two beers less at the weekend. So why not use some of our pocket money to help someone from the mountain bike community like Lorraine? That's exactly what many bikers have already thought, and so the treatment costs are already covered.

However, even if the required amount has already been raised, donations can still be made. Because, as already mentioned, an injury like this cannot be rehabilitated within weeks. So it would be ideal if Truong could travel to the USA again in a few months for further treatment. Donating not only helps her, but also gives you the chance to win great prizes, and the higher the donation amount, the higher the chances of winning. A cool idea to say thank you to your donors.

www.lorrainetruong.ch/donate

A look "behind the walls"

We can hardly imagine what it means to live with such an injury. Lorraine Truong therefore answered a few questions for us.

Lorraine, you are currently in the USA undergoing treatment. How are you doing there?
I needed some time to digest the trip and the jet lag. Now I have two days of tests and treatments behind me. However, because of the Thanksgiving vacation, I already got a few rest days. The tests have shown, among other things, that my eyes have improved since the last tests in January. The doctors now have a plan for my recovery. That's great, even if the treatments are very strenuous and painful.

Apparently, the treatment options for brain injuries in Switzerland are not as advanced as in the USA. What do they do differently and where do they get their knowledge advantage from? As far as I understand it correctly, their soldiers, many of whom come home from the war with brain injuries, are one of the reasons why they are conducting more intensive research in this field. There they are not only caused by shocks, but also by pressure waves from bombs. However, sports that are popular in the USA, such as American football and field hockey, also cause a large number of brain injuries. These are possible explanations as to why the treatment methods here are more sophisticated.

Is it sobering that your health insurance doesn't want to pay for the best possible treatment, like that in the USA?
In a way, yes, but I can also understand that insurance companies want proof that such therapies are effective. It just takes time for insurance companies to cover the costs of new treatments that are not available in this country. I hope that my case will enable other affected people to cover the costs of such treatments in the future. The crux of the matter, however, is that you cannot predict the success of such treatments with any certainty. This makes it difficult for insurance companies, which only look at numbers, to quantify and justify expenditure on such therapies.

Simple everyday things give you trouble. Can you give us an example that we can relate to?
Preparing a meal is sometimes like setting up a new business: there's so much to do that it's impossible for me to know what to do and where to start. It's similar sometimes when I want to get out of my clothes in the evening. Getting my body to do what I want is often out of reach.

You are very open about your brain injury and are very cheerful despite everything. How do you manage to stay so positive at all times?
Well, I'm not very happy inside. I feel more miserable than cheerful. My character can't help but grasp at every opportunity to catch some happiness. If there are other people around me, I have the opportunity to hide behind happiness. But I'm not really happy on the inside.

What does luxury look like for you right now?
Pure luxury right now would be to go biking or skiing with my friends for an hour and not feel any effort. Just having fun without having to fight for it.

Is there also something positive about your injury?
As the left side of my mouth doesn't work so well and my stomach often burps up air, I can burp loudly and unabashedly (laughs).

www.lorrainetruong.ch