TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘SPEAK OUT!’

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Itty-Bitty GIant Steps for BlogSPEAK 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 are this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

Runners+-+Cartoon+4Jeffrey Smallwood (survivor)…This month is Brain Injury Awareness Month in Canada. Last weekend, I ran my first 5K run. marathon_race_male_runner_5k_bumper_sticker-r9dbbd0f42d254ebb8b5c309ad75f5967_v9wht_8byvr_324I did it for brain injury awareness. My local organization raised over twelve thousand dollars, which will continue to fund our clubhouse. My running is not pretty, as I’m a fat guy. I still felt the burn two days later. This was big for me, as I’ve done something I’ve never done before. A shout-out to all my fellow Canadian brain injury survivors!

Dave Villarreal SurvivorDave Villarreal (survivor)…Dave Villarreal joined the competition at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. 11252643_481277165373324_6491726304375694714_nIn this week-long event (June 21–26), Dave took part in many events, including shot put, javelin, handcycling, archery, and rifle shooting.

He is the proud recipient of two medals. He won a silver medal in shooting and a gold medal in archery!

And, he came in the top five for handcycling! Dave Villarreal Survivor 2He says, “That was my best race yet. What an awesome rush!” Dave’s advice: “Get out and LIVE your life. Have fun.”

YOU did it!

Congratulations to all contributors!

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post:anim0014-1_e0-1

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Itty-Bitty GIANT Step

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Itty-Bitty GIant Steps for BlogSPEAK 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 are this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

Gill Evans (caregiver)…Hubby informed me this afternoon that his world is a better place mitzvah-clipart-teapot-clip-art-free-retro-cup-o-tea-valentine-clip-art-old-design-shop-blogfor my being in it. And then, he offered to make me a cup of peppermint tea. Bonus! Unfortunately, he got distracted, and I got black coffee with a peppermint tea bag in it. Ah, well! It’s good that we can laugh, isn’t it?

Don't Ever Give Up 3Lee Staniland (survivor)…Man, oh man! I have been going around and around with Time Warner. The bill was way high, so I called and got it down a lot. Then, when I went to pay the bill, it wasn’t in the system yet. I was told to wait a few days. I did, and the bill still wasn’t in there. So, I bitched and bitched and went through at least three people. I finally got it down some, and I thought it was over. Well, they just called me. The bill was even lower, and I have all kinds of the stations, like HBO and all the good ones. IT PAYS NOT TO GIVE UP!

Linda Wells (survivor)…Exciting news! I will receive this year’s Survivor Honoree Award from the Brain Injury Center (BIC) of Ventura County. This means a lot to me. 1 Linda Wells 10847281_10203718509225374_5703501535919960786_oMy dear late husband, Rex, and I are two of the founders of the BIC. gold-award-ribbon-clipart-RIBBON_AWARDIt started in a living room with six other people. Rex looked and looked for a place for all of us to fit in. That is how it happened to go from a living room to now – “An Evening of Magical Memories.” I am honored that I have been chosen this year. I intend to continue to educate all. Thank you, BIC!

YOU did it!

Congratulations to all contributors!

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.

As I say after each post:anim0014-1_e0-1

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Itty-Bitty GIANT Step

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Itty-Bitty GIant Steps for BlogSPEAK 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 are this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT StepsAdamchcik, Clydeine Caregiver for son 061115

Clydeine Adamchick (caregiver for her son)…My son was six when it happened. His brain injury took away most of his ability to learn. But, it left him more creative. He has overcome so much. He graduated high school, and he is writing a book.

gaoqingqichekuanpingbizhixiazai_385371_11Barbara Wilson Asby (survivor)…I had an awesome visit with Dr. O. today! I’m 100% clear for all my driving needs. I will go through testing to start going back for occupational therapy in September. Sooooo, I think I am going to take the plunge. A newer car is coming soon. I shall start looking next week, I think. It might be hard departing ways from my “silver bullet.” (LOL)

counseling+cartoonNatalie Elliott (survivor)…I went to my counseling appointment.

YOU did it!

Congratulations to all contributors!

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.

As I say after each post:anim0014-1_e0-1

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Itty-Bitty GIANT Step

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Alicia Theroux Williams

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Alicia Theroux Williams  (caregiver)

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

 

bigstock-cartoon-face-vector-people-25671746-e1348136261718I want to introduce myself with a short story about my experience with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Last Christmas was the first Christmas in six years that my husband and I spent together. (He is a firefighter/paramedic. Therefore, he is on duty most holidays.) It was the best Christmas yet. I felt complete and whole. I never imagined that in just a couple of weeks my husband would be in a coma and sadly would not remember this glorious holiday. Williams, Eric Survivor 2 061215On the morning of January 6th, my husband was out running, and he was struck from behind by a cyclist. My husband’s first responders were his friends, since we live in the city that he works in. Williams, Alica Theroux Caregiver 061215They (I believe) were the reason that my husband survived. My husband spent fourteen days in a coma, seven days on the medical-surgical floor, and twenty-six days in an acute rehab facility. In a little more than three moWilliams, Eric Survivor 061215nths, he had three surgeries on his brain, plus many moreWilliams, Alicia Theroux Caregiver for & Husband Eric 061215 procedures for other issues. Even though we have just started on this journey, I am thankful to have a support-group to vent to and to get tips from. I feel like I am not in this alone.

Disclaimer: Any views and opinions of the Contributor are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment”anim0014-1_e0-1 below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Faces of Brain Injury

Tagged with:

“Another Fork in the Road” . . . Brain Injury Radio Network . . . Interview: Lisa Dryer

YOU ARE INVITED!

Lisa Dryer Survivor of Brain Injury, MS – Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Epilepsy, and Sjögren’s syndrome

Meet Lisa Dryer

putthis_on_calendar_clip_artIt took Lisa Dryer nearly three decades to put a label on what she knew was wrong all her life. As a child, Lisa, endured learning difficulties and experienced many seizures. She didn’t realize then that they were probably caused by the cardiac arrest and the lack of oxygen to her brain as a premature infant in the Neonatal Care Unit.

When recently Lisa had a computerized tomography (CT) scan that showed an abnormal brain, she laughed and said, “I know that already! Tell me something I don’t know!”

Lisa approaches her life with these thoughts. “Find the beautiful around you and stay calm.”

Come One! Come ALL! 

What:        Interview with Lisa Dryer, BI Survivor

Why:        Lisa will share her story of living with Brain Injury, MS – Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Epilepsy, and Sjögren’s syndrome and how she keeps a happy face.

Where:     Brain Injury Radio Network11 Lisa Dryer Survivor 1 060115 281536_2048711670666_4659924_n

When:       Sunday, June  7th, 2015

Time:         5:30p PT (6:30p MT, 7:30p CT, and 8:30p ET) 90 minute show

How:         Click: Brain Injury Radio Network

Call In:    424-243-9540

Call In:     855-473-3711 toll free in USA

Call In:    202-559-7907 free outside USA

or SKYPE

If you miss the show, but would like to still hear the interview, you can access the archive on On Demand listening. The archived show will be available after the show both on the Brain Injury Radio Network site and on my blog in “On the Air.”

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photo compliments of Lisa Dryer.)

Category:

Events Calendar

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Tony Giglio

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Tony Giglio

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

 

bigstock-cartoon-face-vector-people-25671746-e1348136261718I suffered my traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a near-fatal car accident back in 2004. I live in the eastern Pennsylvania region. I have come a long way throughout the course of my recovery. (I’ve always been in healthy-athletic shape; I played sports up until my second year of college in Florida; I had a few serious relationships in the past; I graduated high school, Prep school, and college on time; I picked up driving fast again, etc.) Giglio, Tony

I still find myself facing the following challenges: balancing money in the best way every so often and seeking romance relationships with women. I’m a truly caring gentleman, and I live independently – in my own apartment. In the coming years, I’m looking to get married, while living a great life. I have recovered well, but I have also made mistakes in the past where I lost certain friends. But, the fact is that I learn and always move forward in a positive direction. I’m always happy and carefree. I learn better from my mistakes, even with my having a brain injury, than do non-brain-injured people.

Giglio, Tony 2Disclaimer: Any views and opinions of the Contributor are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment”anim0014-1_e0-1 below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post

Category:

Faces of Brain Injury

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

SPEAK OUT! Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Itty-Bitty GIant Steps for BlogSPEAK 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 are this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

teacher-writing-clip-art-di6ap47i9

Michelle Lawson (survivor)…I just found out that I now have enough credits to substitute-teach. Woo Hoo! (I am so done with cafeteria work! Only two more days left.)

grad_6_28Hayley Nichols (survivor)…Hello! I wanted to let you know that I graduated this semester. After having my traumatic brain injury occur in November, I returned to school for my final semester. I had to finish my fall and spring classes at the same time. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a concentration in Chemistry. I want you to know that a Facebook support-group helped me stay focused on my goals. I’m so happy to be done!

Cindy McFaden Samartino (caregiver)…I love the happiness when my salad_fullhusband is pleased with something he made in the kitchen. His TBI stole both his careers: chef and Marine. Tonight he created a veggie bean salad from his imagination. I just heard him hum to himself.

thTimothy Vanderhoef (survivor)…I had a great weekend. I fished most of the time, and I wasn’t around others much. I didn’t have to fake anything that way.

YOU did it!

Congratulations to all contributors!

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.

As I say after each post:

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Itty-Bitty GIANT Step

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Guest Blogger: Brandy Hunter . . . . I Am Blessed

I Am Blessed

by

Brandy Hunter

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Girl Blogger cartoon_picture_of_girl_writingI am blessed to be truly loved by a man who may not always understand my emotional outbursts. He is a true blessing in my life for even trying to deal with the behavior that is now instilled in me forever. This same man understands how stressful everyday things are to someone like me (a traumatic brain injury – TBI – survivor). He insists that I stay home and work as a housewife because I cannot deal with simple jobs outside of the home. But, if I choose to pursue other opportunities, he fully supports that decision.

I am blessed to have obtained my BA in Communication Studies after my injury and also to have graduated from a university and with a 3.79 GPA. It helped that the TBI made my stubbornness more intense!

I am blessed to have my mom and dad bring me back to life by refusing to accept the surgeon’s saying that I will have to live in a group-home for the remainder of my life. (I was 24 years old at the time the injury occurred. I am 35 now.) My parents put their own lives on hold so I could have one myself.Brandy Hunter Survivor 050515

I am blessed to have two loving canines to help me through the difficult days by simply “listening” or offering a much-needed cuddle.

I am blessed to have the ability to express myself verbally, even if the injury left my once radio-worthy voice with a slurred way of speaking, which makes me have to repeat myself numerous times a day.

I am blessed to still be able to write well. Now, due to the injury, I am focusing on my writing abilities, not my speaking ones.

I am blessed to have an excuse for wanting to nap almost daily.

I am blessed to be able to live on my own – one and a half and two hours away from my parents.

I am blessed to have no visible scars from the car accident in which I sustained my brain injury.

I am blessed not to have lost memories. (I only needed to be reminded of the three years before the accident.)

Eleven years after my TBI, I’m very blessed that things are not as “foggy” as they once were.

I am blessed to still be able to physically write (pen to paper), cumbersome as it may be for me at times. I am grateful for the availability of Post-It Notes.

I am blessed to have both of my grandparents (with whom I grew up) still alive and willing to help me in any way that they’re able to (even though it is my turn to do for them).

I am blessed to have loved ones try to understand the difficulties I encounter daily and for their assistance (and for not doing whatever I’m trying to do). I appreciate that they accept how things may take a bit longer for me to accomplish.

I am blessed to have traveled to New York, lived on Long Island, traveled to California and Nevada (Vegas, baby!), lived in England for three months, and to currently reside in my home state of Alabama (finally back in the “one red light, one locally owned supermarket” town in which I graduated junior high and high schools).

Life is good…no…Life is BETTER for me now than it was prior to the TBI that changed my life.

Brandy Hunter 2 Survivor 050515Thank you, Brandy Hunter.

Disclaimer:
Any views and opinions of the Guest Blogger are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of Brandy Hunter.)

anim0014-1_e0-1

As I say after each post:

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the lower right corner of your screen.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care!

Feel free to “Like” my post

Category:

Guest Bloggers

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Jenn Von Hatten

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Jenn Von Hatten

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

 Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

bigstock-cartoon-face-vector-people-25671746-e1348136261718On Valentine’s Day 2011, I went to work only for a meeting. (I was a nurse at a long-term mental health facility.) Freezing rain struck during the meeting. The treacherous road condition was responsible for my car’s being T-boned at highway speed. That’s how I acquired my traumatic brain injury. The paramedics found me “clinically dead.” Obviously, I was alive. The pressure on my brain was monitored to see if I needed to have surgery. Also my liver was lacerated. Fortunately I did not need surgery for either. I was put into a medically induced coma because, in addition to my brain injury, I fractured a rib and three vertebrae. I was in a coma for over seven weeks. I managed to develop pneumonia and had to have a tracheotomy. I was discharged on July 14th. I Jenn Von Hatten Emma, & Hannasurvived to see my oldest children graduate from high school. Emma graduated in June 2013, and Liam, in 2014.

Spastic muscles affected my speeJenn Von Hatten & Liamch, so I went to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. My balance was severely affected. I used to be in a wheelchair, due to the fractured vertebrae. I since “graduated” to a walker, then to a quad cane, and eventually to a mini quad cane. Now I’m a fall risk. My life has definitely changed. I am no longer able to work as a nurse. I cannot say if my life is better or worse. All I can say with certainty is that my life is different.  I enjoy my time with Hanna, my 7-year-old daughter and youngest child. (I have joint custody. I remind myself that not many relationships survive a TBI.) I now have a cat, Spunkster, which I got from the local SPCA. When Hanna’s not with me, I hang out with Spunkster. I miss most my being able to work as a nurse. But as much as I would like to a work as a nurse, I know I would not be safe – physically (because I am a fall risk) as well as mentally Jenn Von Hatten & Hanna(in terms of remembering if I gave a client his or her medication or treatments). I had graduated as a nurse only seven months before my TBI. I had wanted to be a nurse for over fifteen years. At least I can say I turned that dream into reality! I sometimes miss being able to drive. My driver’s license has not been revoked, but my rehabilitation doctor says I still cannot drive, as my reflexes are not up to snuff. My plan is to help others that are TBI survivors or caregivers. I can provide info and support.

Disclaimer: Any views and opinions of the Contributor are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care! Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Faces of Brain Injury

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Dale Christianson

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Dale Christianson

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

bigstock-cartoon-face-vector-people-25671746-e1348136261718It can happen to anyone, anytime, . . . and anywhere. The Brain Trauma Foundation states that there are 5.3 million people in the United States living with some form of brain injury. On “Faces of Brain Injury,” you will meet survivors living with brain injury. I hope that their stories will help you to understand the serious implications and complications of brain injury. The stories on SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury are published with the permission of the survivor or designated caregiver. If you would like your story to be published, please send a short account and two photos to me at neelyf@aol.com. I’d love to publish your story and raise awareness for Brain Injury – one view at a time.

Dale Christianson (survivor) Christianson, Dale 1 050815Thirty years ago, my family was hit by a carload of drunken teens. My life slowly fell apart after that. I nearly gave up. For a long time, I thought that the guy who hit my car was the lucky one. He died in the accident, along with my stepdaughter. The only compensation that I got was $7,000. I have had a hard time holding a job or maintaining a relationship since then. My most successful relationship just ended. My fiancée of five years just gave up on me. She said it was too hard to live with me. My sisters and other family members won’t talk to me. They treat me like I don’t exist, or they wish that I didn’t. I am at another breach in my relationships, and I don’t have a job. I have anxiety and panic attacks. I take Paxil, and it helps tremendously. I understand that I’m difficult, but I haven’t given up on myself.

Disclaimer: Any views and opinions of the Contributor are purely his/her own.

(Clip Art compliments of Bing.)

(Photos compliments of contributor.)

As I say after each post: Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on “Follow” on the upper right sidebar.

If you like my blog, share it with your friends. It’s easy! Click the “Share” buttons below.

If you don’t like my blog, “Share” it with your enemies. I don’t care! Feel free to “Like” my post.

Category:

Faces of Brain Injury

Tagged with:

diemodi jewelry

uniquely hand-crafted jewelry by donna

SueBavey.com

Welcome to Harmony Kent Online

The home of all things books

yvettemcalleiro

Pete Springer

Passionate Teacher and Future Children's Author

HOPE TBI

Helping Other People Excel - To Be Independent

  WriteForKids - Writing Children's Books

For the Love of Books, Old and New

Katie Fischer, Writer and Reader of Stories

Charlie Bown

Children's Author

Jessica Hinrichs

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ― Anais Nin

VIVIAN KIRKFIELD - Writer for Children

Picture Books Help Kids Soar

Mindy’s Writing Wonderland

For authors, parents, teachers & everyone who loves children’s books.

Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez

Literary Agent

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI - Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

The Care Factor

Loving someone with a Traumatic Brain Injury

Brain Injury Blog With Free TBI Information

Montclair Write Group

Brain Injury Support Group of Duluth-Extension

Brain Injury Information and SUPPORT

My blog

Brain Aneurysm Global Insight

Brain Aneurysm, cerebral hemorrhaging, hemorrhage stroke