TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

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On the Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Another Fork in the Road” meets “Quantum Leap”

Breaking News! Breaking News! Breaking News!

images-1“Another Fork in the Road” and “Quantum Leap” have merged for every 5th Sundays of a month. (August 31, 2014, November 30, 2014, March 29 2015, May 31, 2015, August 30, 2015, and November 29, 2015) Join Julie Sharp Kintz and me (Donna O’Donnell Figurski) in “Another Quantum Leap on the Road” as we explore topics directly related to Traumatic Brain Injury.

The topic for August 31, 2014 delved into how “Life Changes After TBI” from the viewpoints of both survivor (Julie) and caregiver (me).

It was a great show and a great discussion. Some of the topics we covered were:

1. Personality change in the survivor

2. Loss of old friends

3. Making new friends

4. Role reversal. Caregiver becomes dominant partner taking on ALL of the responsibilities

5. Loss of career/job

6. Loss of substantial income

7. Frustration of family and friends not understand the extent of TBI

If you missed the show, don’t fret. You can always listen to the archived show. I’ve included the link below.

Please SHARE!

I hope you’ll tune into my regular show the 1st and 3rd Sunday evenings of every month. The show airs at 5:00p Pacific time and runs for 90 minutes.

See you “On the Air!”

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

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On the Air!

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On the Air – Brain Injury Radio Oops, Glitch Apology

On the Air – Brain Injury Radio

“Prisoner Without Bars” (segment 2) (Oops – aborted show)

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

images-1I’m sorry! Извините! Lo siento! Desculpe! סליחה! Mille Excuses! λυπάμαι! Scusami! Entschuldigung! ごめんなさい! jag är ledsen!

Like I said, “I’m sorry!

Yesterday I was excited to air my second show on “Another Fork in the Road.” I did all my “HOMEFUN” (as I always called it with my 1st and 3rd grade students). My notes were ready at my side. I logged into the studio, opened the chat room, checked my mic, and waited for the countdown. “Your show will start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 second. You are on the Air.” I waited still for the prerecorded introduction music and ad to run down. I waited for the dead space, which indicates that I am indeed live. That is my time to start talking – and I did for a brief second or two – until I realized that a male voice was still talking. I soon realized that a prerecorded show was playing. How that happened – I do not know. (But as my son said to me after the show, “Well, looks like you ran into another fork in the road!”) There seem to be a lot of them, but they just add interest to your life, and you move on.

Anyway, I left the studio to troubleshoot the problem behind the scenes in the tech part of the show, but there was nothing to be done. The prerecorded show was irreversible. And so I apologize to all those who came to find a “dark” studio.

As my son also said, “I bet your next show will be extra good.” And it will. But PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGE OF DAY AND THE NEW DATES. Because of scheduling conflicts, my show is moving to the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month. It will still air at 5:00 pm Pacific time. The show I had planned to do yesterday (segment 2 of David’s and my story) will now be at 5:00 PDT on Sunday, September 7. The final part (segment 3) will be on Sunday, September 21. On my next show (Sunday, October 5), David will be my guest to give his perspective.

Whenever there is a fifth Sunday in a month, I will co-host the show with Julie Sharp Kintz, who is another host on Brain Injury Radio. Julie’s show, “Quantum Leap,” airs opposite mine on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. So every Sunday, there will always be live entertainment from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm by Julie or me or both. (Julie and I plan to co-host the show on Sunday, August 31.)

I hope you will be listening every Sunday at 5:00 Pacific time.

See you “On the Air!“

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

 

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On the Air!

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On the Air – Brain Injury Radio “Prisoner Without Bars” (segment 1)

On the Air – Brain Injury Radio

“Prisoner Without Bars” (segment 1)

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 

images-1When I was asked to host my own radio show, my first reaction was disbelief, quickly followed by “Are you kidding?” Being a radio host is something I had never aspired to. It had never crossed my mind. I didn’t have the least idea of how to go about achieving a goal such as that.

I’ve never spoken in front of an adult audience, unless, of course, you count Back-To-School-Night audiences of parents who are dying to meet their child’s new teacher and see what their child will be doing for 6 hours each weekday while under my tutelage. My audiences were always 9 years old and under. They made up my “captive” audiences as I taught them to read, ‘rite, and do ‘rithmetic. (I admit some may have felt they were a “captured” audience.)

After I got over my first feeling of doubt, I let the idea tumble in my brain. I felt flattered, and the seed began to grow. “Why not?” I have a story to tell. I know a LOT about Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). I had already written a book, “Prisoner Without Bars: Conquering Traumatic Brain Injury” (searching for a publisher) about David’s and my life living with his traumatic brain injury, and I write a blog dedicated totally to raising awareness of TBI and helping survivors and caregivers. So, I said, “YES!”

Then came the hours and days of preparation. Yes, I knew my story. It’s never far from my mind, but I wanted the show to be organized and cohesive. When the day of the show arrived, so did the butterflies that were doing a jitterbug in my stomach as the minutes clicked down the clock to showtime. “Your show will start in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 second. You’re ‘On the Air.’” There was a second of dead air time before the Brain Injury Radio logo music began. Then there was no turning back…

“We lived a normal life…until we didn’t….”

I hope you’ll tune into my show the 1st and 3rd Monday evenings of every month. The show airs at 5:00p Pacific time and runs for 90 minutes.

See you “On the Air!”

 

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

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On the Air!

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On The Air – Brain Injury Radio Discrimination of TBI Survivors

On the Air

with

Donna O’Donnell Figurski and Julie Kintz

images-1With my first radio stint under my belt (my interview with Kim Justus on her show, “Recovery Now,”) I felt relieved. I’d made it through my first time on “live” radio. Now my new friend, Julie Kintz, another Brain Injury Radio Network host asked me to help her co-host a show. Her computer sound was not working properly and she didn’t want to not do a show.

Though I was nervous, I felt that it would allow me to familiarize myself with the studio and the studio hosting tools, and give me more practice on the air before I took the microphone myself. And . . .  I wanted to help a fellow host. So, I reluctantly agreed.

There were some glitches before the show. We expected to be interviewing a guest, but because communications got twisted, the guest never arrived. Julie and I had only minutes to decide what to do as the minutes ticked down to “On the Air” time. Since we’d planned to discuss discrimination of TBI survivors with the guest, we decided to pursue that topic as our discussion for the evening. I think it turned out well. What do you think.

You can listen here.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

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On the Air!

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On the Air – Brain Injury Radio Donna’s Interview with Kim Justus

On the Air

with

Donna O’Donnell Figurski & Kim Justus

     (interview to tell David’s TBI story)

images-1I was surprised when I got a Private Message from one of the Brain Injury Radio Network hosts one evening while I was browsing through the many Traumatic Brain Injury sites that I belong to on Facebook. The host, Julie Kintz (“Quantum Leap”), asked if I’d be interested in becoming a BIR host too and referred me to Kim Justus, who is in charge of recruiting new hosts.

Of course, I was interested, but I wondered if I could even do something like this. I told David (my husband), and, surprisingly, he encouraged me. (He usually worries that I’ll take on too much.) I was glad for his encouragement, but I wasn’t convinced yet and threw the idea around with several close friends. They also gave me their “thumbs up.” I agreed to do it!

Then Kim invited me to be a guest on her show (“Recovery Now”) as a Traumatic Brain Injury caregiver. She wanted me to tell an abridged version of David’s and my story of our travels in the TBI maze.

I am featured in the first two hours of Kim’s three-hour show. You can listen by clicking the link below. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

My show, “Another Fork in the Road,” will debut on Monday, August 4, 2014, at 5:00 pm Pacific time. It will air the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month. On that show, I will tell a more complete version of our tale based on my book, “Prisoner Without Bars: Conquering Traumatic Brain Injury,” which is searching for a publisher. I hope to see you there.

Subsequent shows will feature interviews with TBI survivors and caregivers and offer brain injury resources and interviews with professionals in the field of TBI. There will also be discussions on current topics of interest.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

Click here for a list of all “Another Fork in the Road” shows on the Brain Injury Radio Network.

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On the Air!

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