Thank you for visiting the 314 Brain Challenge page!
I hope that you will join the challenge, learn as many digits of Pi as you can, and donate $3.14 to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Brain Institute. I was introduced to Pi in elementary school and never in a million years would I have imagined it would get me through the most difficult time of my life!
My journey started in the Florida Keys where I got really sick while on vacation with my family. I had a terrible headache and was throwing up a ton. After a CT scan in the emergency room revealed a mass on my brain, I was immediately flown by medical helicopter to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami. There, on Christmas Day, Dr. Toba Niazi performed emergency brain surgery to save my life!
Turns out my pounding headache and vomiting were caused by an infection and swelling in my brain. During surgery, Dr. Niazi removed most of the abscess and together, with her colleagues, they determined what kind of infection I had and how to treat it. Since my surgery I have had six MRIs. Some have been long, some short, none of them have been easy, but I have used Pi during every one of them! While in the MRI machine, I recite as many digits of Pi as I can. This has helped me stay calm and distracted enough to get through them.
So here’s the challenge!
Starting now and through Pi Day, March 14, I challenge as many people as possible to join the 314 Brain Challenge.
Recite as many digits of Pi as you can, post it to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Tik Tok (tag it #314BrainChallenge) and challenge a friend – THEN donate $3.14 to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Brain Institute.
ALL FUNDS will be donated to the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Brain Institute in Miami.
Thank you in advance for your support and participation and a HUGE THANK YOU to Dr. Niazi and the team of doctors and nurses on the Nicklaus Children’s PICU. These people are amazing and I wouldn’t be here without them!
With appreciation,
Matthew Ploszay, Beverly, MA