SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps
SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty Giant Steps will provide a venue for brain-injury survivors and caregivers to shout out their accomplishments of the week.
If you have an Itty-Bitty Giant Step and you would like to share it, just send an email to me at donnaodonnellfigurski@gmail.com.
If you are on Facebook, you can simply send a Private Message to me. It need only be a sentence or two. I’ll gather the accomplishments and post them with your name on my blog approximately once a week. (If you do not want your last name to be posted, please tell me in your email or Private Message.)
I hope we have millions of Itty-Bitty Giant Steps.
Here are this week’s Itty-Bitty Giant Steps.
Beckie (caregiver) and Jerry…An Itty-Bitty Giant Step from a spouse’s viewpoint:
I’m learning to ease off. He is still a man. He can do and think for himself – just differently. And when I do NOT micromanage, we both are better. (P.S. TBI still sucks.)
Joyce Benavidez (survivor)…Today was the anniversary of my twin birth/death. Thanks to the wonderful support and encouragement I have on Facebook, I made it through my first year without a seizure.
Sara Catherine Birch (caregiver)…My husband managed several days last week without a daytime nap. Yesterday our daughter kept him from sleeping after a shopping trip, but he still managed to make it to bedtime without shouting at any of us. Very happy.
Joey Buchanan (survivor)…I’m getting the leaves out of the pool.
Joy Cameron (survivor)…I survived (LOL). It was a hell of a week, and I am still here, fighting and putting one foot in front of the other.
Natalie Elliott (survivor)…Here’s my Itty-Bitty Giant Step: I survived Thanksgiving with family. I put the tree up, but I had to put it together four times because following a sequence is taxing and very difficult.
Debbie Madison (survivor)…I survived Thanksgiving without killing my brother! And I had a great time!
Gena Marie (survivor)…I flew on an airplane for the first time and did OK. I never thought I would make it safely, but I did.
Joshua Puckett (survivor)…Despite being engulfed by a lot of the flooding feelings this week, I was able to maintain calm throughout. I never went St. Helens. So progress. That’s my Itty-Bitty Giant Step.
Kimberly June West (survivor)…I went on a trip and didn’t have a panic-attack!!
Sandra Williams (survivor/caregiver)…I had a successful IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting. I fought back so many flashbacks and tears. When it was over, the staff said they couldn’t even tell if I was nervous. I still battle negative thoughts, but I ate two meals today – so huge for me since I wasn’t eating but a few times a week!
YOU did it!
Congratulations to all contributors!
(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)
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Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury 
Comments on: "SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps" (2)
My itty-bitty step was not giving in to my inner voice who is screaming out in agony over these holidays! I so wanted to simply submit to the urge to end it all and get on with the next stage of eternity. My former spouse was kind enough to remind me that there is some undefined reason why I was allowed to survive my TBI. I still don’t know why…as I am in worse shape now than I was two years ago.
So Merry Christmas all.
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Michael, I am so sorry about the pain that you are in as you live in your TBI world. I know it can be overwhelming and things seem like they will never improve, but if you try to focus on the positive, as you did when you submitted your Itty-Bitty Giant Step to me, you can maybe turn around your thinking and feelings. I hope so. It’s easy to focus on the negative and feel down, especially around the holidays. That’s not uncommon for many people. Can you focus on at least one positive thought each day? Find at least one good thing to smile about. That’s your challenge. For me, today – I made pumpkin muffins.
Donna O’Donnell Figurski
survivingtraumaticbraininjury.com
donnaodonnellfigurski.wordpress.com
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