TBI | Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘TBI’

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!

I 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.)

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.

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! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 are this week’s Itty-Bitty GIANT Steps

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.)

Hayley 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 husband 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.

Timothy 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! NewsBit . . . . . . . . . . . . Domestic Violence in Women May Result in Brain Injury

Domestic Violence in Women May Result in Brain Injury

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Estimate: Every year, domestic violence gives 20 million women a TBI

Maria Garay, CEO Sojourner Center Phoenix, Az

The news media have made people aware of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in soldiers returning from war and in sports, especially football. But, no one has been tracking TBIs in domestic violence cases. Maria Garay, CEO of the Sojourner Center in Phoenix, Arizona, which is responsible for a new program to identify TBIs in victims of domestic violence, said of the failure to identify TBIs in abuse cases, “The fact that no one is tracking this is, to me, a crime.”

The number of victims of domestic violence with a TBI will dwarf military and sports-related TBIs combined. One estimate says 20 million abused women a year in the US will get a TBI. The Sojourner Center is initiating a program to identify TBIs in women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Sojourner Center Phoenix, Az

One issue is that shelters do not routinely test for a TBI, so one objective is to develop tools that allow shelter workers to routinely screen for TBIs. Another objective is to provide every victim who has a TBI with a treatment plan. Soldiers and athletes are often directed to a rehab center. Victims of domestic abuse with a TBI are not currently helped. The TBI may actually make it more difficult for a woman to leave because it may be difficult to find a job. Kim Gandy, president of the National Network To End Domestic Violence, warns that women who are known to have a TBI may be at a disadvantage in child custody cases. But, Kerri Walker, a coordinator for a women’s shelter and herself a victim of domestic violence said, “The one thing that abusers tell us over and over is that we are stupid. The relief factor for so many women is going to be unmeasurable.” (Full story)

(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:

NewsBits

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Brazyl Ward

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Brazyl Ward

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

(submitted by Brazyl’s mother and caregiver, Tiffany Ward)

Hello everyone! I want to share with you the story of my daughter, Brazyl, who is a traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor. Brazyl was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Halloween night 2013, while we were crossing the street after a Trick-or-Treat event at our nearby church. The driver was going 100 mph. He was never caught. Brazyl was in a coma for two months. She had to have a piece of her skull removed to save her life. Almost two years later, Brazyl is still fighting and still healing. I had to quit my job to take care of my six-year-old fulltime. I was fighting my own depression, anxiety, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) due to witnessing my daughter being hit. I decided to write a book about our family’s struggle and testimony. Brazyl was only given a 10% chance of survival, but she fought hard and made it! I’m so proud of my baby girl!

To learn more about Brazyl and her family, go to Tiffany Ward’s website, Tragedy to Testimony: A Family’s Fight to Cope. This is also the title of the book Tiffany wrote to tell Brazyl’s story.

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

I Am Blessed

Brandy Hunter

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

I 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.

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.

Thank 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.)

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! NewsBit . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Namath – Football – Brain Injury

Joe Namath Speaks OUT About Brain Injury and Football

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Joe Namath, former star quarterback for the New York Jets and football legend, said that, now knowing the sport’s likely danger to the brain, he wouldn’t have played football.

Namath’s wake up call happened when he saw a problem with his brain in a brain scan. It revealed that the right side was not getting enough oxygen, whereas the left side was normal. He was worried about the several concussions he had had, but he thought his growing forgetfulness was caused by old age.

Fortunately, after several months of rigorous treatment (1-hour sessions, 5 days a week) in a hyperbaric chamber, in which he was subjected to a high pressure of oxygen, a new scan indicated that both sides of Namath’s brain were normal. (Full story 1 and Full story 2 – with video)

(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:

NewsBits

Tagged with:

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Michael A. Flusche (part 2)

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Michael A. Flusche (part 2) (survivor)

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

On April 13, 1996, I had a near-fatal car accident before my junior prom. Many people thought that I wouldn’t make it to see my seventeenth birthday. I fooled them. The doctors and nurses thought that I had taken my last breath. I fooled them. I pulled through and graduated from high school in May of 1997.

Then I attended college directly that following August. I was there five years, and I earned my BS Natural Science. I may have overcome high hurdles in my life, but they were put there so I could prove to myself that I am here until I die. Nothing is going to destroy me. If you knock me down, I promise you that I will get back up swinging.

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 Jenn Von Hatten

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury – Jenn Von Hatten

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Brain Injury is NOT Discriminating!

On 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 survived to see my oldest children graduate from high school. Emma graduated in June 2013, and Liam, in 2014.

Spastic muscles affected my speech, 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 (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:

On The Air: Brain Injury Radio “Another Fork in the Road” with Juliet Madsen, TBI Survivor, US Troop, Quilter, Author

On The Air: Brain Injury Radio “Another Fork in the Road”

with

Juliet Madsen, TBI Survivor, US Troop, Quilter, Author

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Juliet Madsen has served in the US Army since she was 17-years old. She was involved in Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. While serving her country, Juliet suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury, at least one stroke, and numerous other medical issues, which changed her life forever. On “Another Fork in the Road,” Juliet talked about how she copes with her new life and how she and her family make this new life work for them. I hope you won’t miss her show.

You can learn more about Juliet and read her book at Veterans Book Project. Scroll down the page to find Juliet’s book.

You can also see her collections of more than 50 quilts at Stroke of Luck Quilting.

Here are two of my favorites.

If you missed her interview on “Another Fork in the Road” on May 17th, you are in luck. You can listen to the archived show here.

Click the link below to listen to Juliet Madsen and me.

See you “On the Air!”

On the Air: Brain Injury Radio – Another Fork in the Road”

with Juliet Madsen – TBI Survivor, US Troop, Quilter, Author

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

Category:

On the Air!

Tagged with:

“Another Fork in the Road” . . . Brain Injury Radio Network . . . Interview: Juliet Madsen

You Are Invited

Juliet Madsen – US Troop, TBI Survivor, Quilter, and Author

Come One! Come ALL!

What: Interview with Juliet Madsen, US Troop, TBI Survivor, Wife, Mother, Quilter, and Author

Why: Juliet will share her story of living with brain injury and how she is helping the brain-injured community.

Where: Brain Injury Radio Network

When: Sunday, May 17th, 2015

Time: 5:00p PT (6:00p MT, 7:00p CT, and 8:00p 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 Juliet Madsen.)

Category:

Events Calendar

Tagged with:

	donnaodonnellfigursk… on Smorgasbord Book Promotions…
	ME on Smorgasbord Book Promotions…
	petespringerauthor on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Rob …
	donnaodonnellfigursk… on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Mike…
	petespringerauthor on Survivors SPEAK OUT! Mike…

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘TBI’

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Tony Giglio

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

SPEAK OUT! NewsBit . . . . . . . . . . . . Domestic Violence in Women May Result in Brain Injury

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Brazyl Ward

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

SPEAK OUT! NewsBit . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Namath – Football – Brain Injury

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Michael A. Flusche (part 2)

SPEAK OUT! Faces of Brain Injury Jenn Von Hatten

On The Air: Brain Injury Radio “Another Fork in the Road” with Juliet Madsen, TBI Survivor, US Troop, Quilter, Author

“Another Fork in the Road” . . . Brain Injury Radio Network . . . Interview: Juliet Madsen

You Are Invited

Top 30 Brain Injury Blog Award

Search Blog

Follow Me via Email

Blog Stats

Where in the World??

Categories

Follow Me on Facebook

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Blogs I Follow

Websites I Follow

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

Calendar

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

TBI – Survivors, Caregivers, Family, and Friends

Posts tagged ‘TBI’

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

You Are Invited

Share this:

Top 30 Brain Injury Blog Award

Search Blog

Follow Me via Email

Blog Stats

Where in the World??

Categories

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Blogs I Follow

Websites I Follow

Calendar

Donna O’Donnell Figurski