Learning to Live After Brain Injury

Jeffrey Sebell is a forty year survivor, promoting our abilities, focusing on our strengths through his book “Learning to Live with Yourself After Brain Injury”, blogging, writing for a variety of publications, acting as a Keynote Speaker, and service. See more at his website: TBIsurvivor.com Jeffrey experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in 1975, when, as the result of a car accident, he was in a coma for a month with frontal lobe and brain stem injuries. His goal now is to provide meaningful support to those who have experienced a brain injury by helping them find the means within themselves to live a fulfilled life. Since his TBI, he has had several jobs, but have most always found the time to spend on writing and speaking, and I was on the founding board of directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Head Injury Foundation. Jeffrey is currently an author and speaker, living in Maine. He doesn’t focus so much on re-telling his own experiences, as on what it takes for those of us who have had a Traumatic Brain Injury to live a fulfilled life.

TBI to Epilepsy and Moving Forward

Meg Busing knows that everything can change in an instant. After emerging from a coma with a traumatic brain injury that would lead to a decade long battle with intractable epilepsy, she discovered that the world does not always understand invisible challenges. However, nothing has stopped her from boldly pursuing her dreams. As founder and Executive Director of the Midwest YouCan Foundation, Meg has created Camp YouCan-a unique opportunity for kids and young adults with Epilepsy to come together to see all that they CAN do. See: midwestyoucan.org for more information, and Meg’s TedX Talk.

Concussion Now Classified

Bonnie Nish is Executive Director of Pandora’s Collective Outreach Society a charitable organization in the literary arts, in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. Bonnie is an Expressive arts therapist who has worked with at risk populations for the last 20 years. Her first book of poetry ‘Love and Bones ’ was released by Karma Press in 2013. Her later book, an anthology of concussion related stories was published in August 2016. You don’t have to be in sports or the military, to have a life changing event from concussion. See: bonnienish.com Concussion and Mild Brain Injury: Not Just Another Headline gives clear insight into how the lives of those suffering from concussion and mild brain injury (MBI) are impacted. The individual stories of injury, recovery and discovery document the effect of the survivor’s MBI on immediate and extended family members, and social and work communities.

Radiation from Cells Can Damage Our Brain

Happy Valentine’s Day – Spread the Love! Last weeks show with Dr. Maria was on building quality relationships, so this week Caren and I are spreading the word on damage our cell phones can be inflicting on us. When I read the first article in “The Hill” .. It smacked of the NFL scandal. Studies on the harmful effects of repeated concussions had been around for decades, then buried. AFTER much damage has been done, the truth surfaced. Why had it been buried? The results gave an unfavorable account of the magnitude of the damage possible incurring multiple or just the right blow to the head. Money, power, greed trumps health and safety. Sound familiar? Certainly not the first or last time, or scenario. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has quietly disclosed that it will stop studying the biological or environmental impacts of cell phone radiofrequency radiation. Don’t rush to upgrade, that’s a marketing cue. Read the small print, or call and ask the provider as I did. Radiofrequency (RF) and Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) may literally change our DNA structure or cause Cancer, among other things. As we get bigger and stronger cells, the towers to power them – coupled with the other sources that provide them in concert, WHY would studies cease? RN is a gathering place for anyone seeking recovery from challenges of life on life’s terms.

Building Trust in Relationships

Dr. Maria Romanas will be joining us to discuss protecting others from ourselves, and building trust in relationships. True belonging is about being present without sacrificing our sense of self. With Valentine’s Day next week, some food for thought. We tend to gauge that day in terms of whether or not we have a love interest, and how that’s going for us. We’re “happy” if we have that special someone, and depressed if we don’t .. Feeling lonely and left out. Think back to your childhood. Do your remember those boxes full of little Valentine’s cards we passed out to friends in school? I suppose these days, that gesture if any is made, is an emoji or text. In any case, as a child those cards to we handed out went to “friends,” both boys and girls. We spread the love and happiness to all. We may have shared sweet treats, to those little candy hearts with cute sayings on them. Either way, we spread happiness, joy, and love. It was a fun day. No one felt lonely or left out. How do we generate those feelings in all of our relationships, every day? Not the cards and sweets, but the being present, projecting love and trust? Tune in and see 🙂

How K9 Spirit Guides Transform Our Lives

You thought your dog was here just to be your loving support and joyful playmate! Bet your pup is potentially much more than that according to Heather Leigh Strom. Your pet could be the physical conduit for your K9 Spirit Guide! In her groundbreaking book K9 Spirit Guides: The Healing Power of Man’s Best Friend, Heather Leigh reveals that these unique spiritual energies are here to guide us on OUR journeys of healing, growth, wisdom, transformation, spiritual evolution and ascendency. And the ones that choose to enter your life through your pet are divinely matched to you to teach you what your soul is calling to learn. Heather Leigh would only discover this for herself after having passed through decades of a deeply difficult life, beginning with a verbally abusive and emotionally absent father, then poverty, crippling accidents, loss and more. Fueled by sheer willful determination, pain and repressed rage, she created three highly successful careers, in dog training, physical therapy and cycling. Heather Leigh Strom shares how her canine companions came to her with specific gifts at specific times to move her toward healing and a joyful life. She has become the channel through which the K9 Spirit Guides are bringing their messages and frequency of healing to all of us. See: heatherleighstrom.com & k9spiritguides.com

Vance Breese the Not So Easy Rider

In 1991 I was a successful Harley Davidson Dealer, marketed an onboard dynamometer of my own design for motorcycles and had a successful software company that licensed software to manage a motorcycle business. In 1994/95 He was also aspiring to break the land to speed record (then 318mph). Things were going well .. until they weren’t. His parachutes didn’t open, and a horrific accident occurred. Needless to say, Vance was so seriously injured, that the medical team didn’t expect him to live. He was on life support with a severe TBI, not showing any brain activity. What happens from there are things miracles are made of, and strong message of hope to all who hear his story. For more on Vance see: breeseaircraft.com

Meet New Upcoming Host with the Most

Michele Kauffman is a twice recovered Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor, has years of experience supporting others in positive approaches in healing. Her professional accounting career with the United States Attorney’s Office ended at the bottom of the stairs she fell down, as she could no longer add six and seven without taking off her shoes…… Michele facilitated in person support groups at Harborview Support Group, Swedish Cherry Hill, Benaroya Hall, and West Seattle Senior Center over a decade on Thursdays, growing other leaders in the community. Currently leading a five peer to peer support groups on Brain Network with Dr. Lisa Hirsh, her partner. They offer hope and connect Survivors, friends, families and professionals working on moving forward towards a happy life both physically and mentally. She lives in Seattle with her husband, Tom and Hallelujah, her seven year old service dog,125 lb. Newfoundland /Standard Poodle. For more see: brainnetwork.ngo I AM HOPE: honest, open, proud and enough. Thus the name of her new show, the 4th Tuesday of each month starting Jan 23rd!! Pen her in for next Tuesday and make her feel welcome!

A Life Worth Living

Welcome to the New Year! It is also the first 2nd Wednesday of 2024, when my formidable co-host Caren Robinson joins us. As many could help but notice around the holidays, our platform Blog Talk Radio went (as the military sometimes says) “Tango Uniform”. We’re sorry for that, because holidays can be joyful, but they can also be a time of isolation. We’re in the advocacy business, so we were angry and saddened we couldn’t be there for one another. Thankfully the calendar has changed, and we’re back to spread hope in the new year. This leads in to the topic of our show tonight – TIME – Looked at by a number of vantage points. One in that BOTH Caren & I are upon anniversaries of our original (diagnosed) Brain Injuries. Those were not only game changers, but time changers as well. How we choose to budget, appreciate, reflect, project, and utilize our time weighs in heavy on our quality of life. Join Caren and Kim, call and share how you holidays went as well as any new plans on how you’ll be spending YOUR time this year!