SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps
SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps
presented by
Donna O’Donnell Figurski
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 neelyf@aol.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 is this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps
Janice Tindle – Survivor
Janice Tindle (survivor)…My accomplishment is getting published after my TBI (traumatic brain injury). I have a blog (janicetindle.com), where you’ll find all my links. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I’ve been published in Caregiver magazine, Fearless Caregiver, and TBI Hope and Inspiration magazine. I’m also a contributor to TheMighty.com. I raise awareness about TBI and dystonia (a neurological movement disorder). I recently won the 1pg. Short Screenplay Contest. My entry, entitled Galicia’s Granite, was performed at the Novel Writing Festival. It’s on YouTube. I just fought two spam sites and got them to remove my article, 7 Ways to Support a Loved One with a Traumatic Brain Injury, off their sites. 
Annie Ricketts has it posted (with my permission) on her site, biglobalpicnic.org. I’m very proud of that article. I’m working on a several books and hope to become a PAID writer very soon!
Raine Turner – Caregiver & Author
Raine Turner (caregiver)…I am going to brag – big huge momma brag! My son [my brain-injured son, who was not supposed to survive, never mind thrive; my drug-dealing son, with a federal criminal record; my son, who is now at the University of Calgary studying a dual degree in Business and Actuarial Science (I said I was going to brag) and getting 80s (yes, on a reduced course load and with tutors)] is thriving against all odds. 
This same young man was actually the KEYNOTE speaker at the Brain Injury conference in Ottawa, which is supported by the federal government! So, if you think you cannot achieve, cannot fight, or cannot rise up to be at a higher level than the one on which you are at, you should put on your “big boy” or “big girl” underpants and work hard. You WILL rise up to be at a level higher than the one you are at now. It will not be easy; it will not be fun; but you will improve your life. If you need, I can always “kick your ass” to achieve more, as I did for my son! I am so excited; I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard for so long. My son is my HERO!
Raine Turner, the author of “Only Son… Only Child,” will be a guest on my show, “Another Fork in the Road” on Sunday, August 21, 2016, at 5:30pm Pacific Time, with her son, Ryan. I hope you will join us.
Matthew Vickers – Survivor
Matthew Vickers (survivor)…A huge feat for a traumatic brain injury survivor 
who can’t walk or stand and only has the use of his right arm and hand … For consecutive weeks, I have independently showered, and that includes completing all necessary transfers.
YOU did it!
Congratulations to contributors!
(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)
(Photos compliments of contributors.)
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I’ve been thinking about you again and wondering how life has been treating you.
But I need to be very clear, I am not angry, nor do I hold any resentment. To hold bitterness in my heart is to allow myself to be run over again and again – every day that I breathe.
3. What is the brain-injury survivor’s relationship to you? How old was the survivor when he/she had the brain injury? What caused your survivor’s brain injury?
8. When did your support of the survivor begin (e.g., immediately – in the hospital; when the survivor returned home; etc.)?
20. What advice would you offer other caregivers of brain-injury survivors? Do you have any other comments that you would like to add? 
My injury resulted in 100% loss of taste and smell and other lingering effects. I don’t allow that to bring me down, and I am proud to say that, when all is said and done, my injury has helped me to become a better person by refocusing on life and never taking a day for granted. Recovery from brain injury has its challenges, but with motivation and a positive attitude, there is no path that I am afraid of.
It can happen to anyone, anytime, . . . and anywhere.
The documentary ends on a hopeful note. The veterans who gave the interviews are learning to cope with their PTSD, often with great difficulty. There are volunteer organizations that help, and the film ends by showing several hotlines to call.
Raising Awareness of Traumatic Brain Injury - one view at a time. Thanks for visiting my blog
Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury 
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