Join me as I chat with Dr. Beth Westie about healthy hormones after brain injury.
She’s a ton of fun to listen to, so enjoy!!
3 Key Points Beth covers in this video:
1. Diet
2. Sleep
3. Exercise
Beth’s FREE 2 week challenge: http://2weekkickstart.getresponsepage…
Video sponsored by: www.MNfunctionalneurology.com
If you prefer audio only, here is that version:
Name: Ellen Marie
St. Louis, MO
Date of your TBI: 07/23/2016
How did your TBI happen: I fainted and hit my head on concrete.
What has been your biggest challenge post-TBI: Learning to take breaks and accept them as a necessary part of healing has been a big challenge for me. Coping with my pain has also been a huge challenge for me.
What has been your biggest blessing post-TBI: My biggest blessing has been the support of my family and friends. They are some of the best people in the world, hands down.
What is your biggest piece of advice to other TBIers and loved ones: Don’t sweat the small stuff. Even small things can be difficult with a brain injury. It’s really easy to get frustrated with this. Instead, try to focus on what you can do, even if it’s a really small thing.
What do you do to relax: To relax, I’ll listen to podcasts, do yoga, or drink coffee.
What do you do for fun: The epitome of fun for me right now is watching Married at First Sight, hanging out with friends, or reading books
What is your least-favorite household chore that stresses you out: All of them. Cleaning and laundry all involve moving around a lot in circles, which fatigues me.
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Name: Lynn Julian
Boston, MA
Date of your TBI: 10.1.2006 & 4.15.2013
How did your TBI happen: The first was a stage accident while I was a professional musician and the second was a result of the Boston Marathon bombing
What has been your biggest challenge post-TBI: There have been too many challenges to list because TV is an invisible injury. I feel like I have been on trial with my doctors, my family and my friends from day one. Because there is no external injury for them 2 visually look at, you constantly feel judged and forced to prove that your injury and pain are real.
What has been your biggest blessing post-TBI: The biggest help I have found in treating TBI medically is Hbot, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which heals brain tissue and provided me with very noticeable and immediate results. CBD oil before bed has also made it so that I can now sleep through the night, which makes the whole day easier. The biggest blessing, outside of Medical Treatments, is finding and connecting with other TBI survivors. They understand you and validate you, which allows you to move forward and continue to heal.
What is your biggest piece of advice to other TBIers and loved ones: TBI tribe… find a purpose for your life. Figure out what you’re passionate about and what makes you feel useful. I volunteer with the US pain Foundation, Leaftopia and the Massachusetts resiliency Center. This makes me feel of Youth and good about myself. Loved ones…You must Trust your gut and support a person with an invisible injury just as you would a person who was bleeding. Your support is as crucial as any other medical treatment.
What do you do to relax: My secret guilty pleasure is watching mindless TV. I watch shows of No depth or value so that I do not have to think it all. I also go to the gym every day and find that helps me release anger and calm down.
What do you do for fun: For fun I like to go to events in Boston… Concerts, charity events and dinner with friends.
What is your least-favorite household chore that stresses you out: Anything that forces me to think really stresses me out. Who knew that thinking could hurt? Ie cooking worn recipes that involve any kind of math stresses me out.
Would YOU like to be featured on our blog?? Fill out this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/hgDam3WzvFrNQOaV2
Name: Jeff Squires
Mesa, AZ
Date of your TBI: 9/30/12
How did your TBI happen: A bicycle-car accident. I was on the Bicycle and helmet hit the rode at 25+ mph.
What has been your biggest challenge post-TBI: Staying calm in pressure, anxiety situations. Counseling has helped.
What has been your biggest blessing post-TBI: A helmet donation program recognized by Greg Stanton, the Mayor of Phoenix, AZ.
What is your biggest piece of advice to other TBIers and loved ones: It happened, you cannot change that, turn the negatives into positives.
What do you do to relax: Gym and floatation therapy.
What do you do for fun: I make everything fun.
What is your least-favorite household chore that stresses you out: I enjoy everything.
Would YOU like to be featured on our blog?? Fill out this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/hgDam3WzvFrNQOaV2
Amy Zellmer and Sam Black chat in this video about 5 Steps to Reclaiming Your Life After a Brain Injury
In this video they cover 5 basic steps:
1. Honoring your Body’s “Reset”
2. Embracing Tools
3. Balance Your Day
4. Grieve Your Former You and Love the You Now
5. Acknowledge the Beauty Around You
visit Sam’s website: http://www.groundedrootswellness.ca
visit Amy’s website: http://www.facesoftbi.com
Listen to the audio only if you prefer over video:
This fall I was approached by the Communications Department at Gillette Children’s Hospital in Saint Paul. She had heard from numerous patient’s about my book, and was interested in interviewing me for an upcoming feature article for their patient blog which would run sometime in the winter.
Yesterday morning I received an email that the article was live on their blog, and how it was completely ironic as the entire Twin Cities was covered in a sheet of ice that morning — and both myself and the other gal featured in the article sustained our TBIs as the result of slipping on ice! 
The article turned out wonderful and I am so pleased to be a part of it and help spread awareness. Young children who suffer a hit to the head are often overlooked. Either because they don’t understand that they actually injured themselves, or because no one knows how to react. I mean, children fall all the time, right?!
My biggest piece of advice to parents is this: YOU know your child better than anyone. If they aren’t acting their “normal” you need to get them to a doctor. If the doctor seems dismissive, TAKE THEM TO GILLETTE!! (or a hospital near you that specializes in children). Whether they seem “off” to you, or maybe their memory is really bad, or they keep running into things, keep a watchful eye on them. Younger children who are hurt NOT playing sports are often overlooked the most, as they oftentimes don’t tell anyone they hit their head.
You can read the full article HERE.
You can see more about my book and purchase HERE.
I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on all that I experienced and accomplished in 2016. It is sometimes easy to lose sight of all that we have done in the past 12 months, and I wanted to be sure I documented it all for my “memory”!
My year started off pretty amazing as I received a silver medal in the Midwest Book Awards for my first book “Life With a Traumatic Brain Injury: Finding the Road Back to Normal”.
I spoke to about a dozen different local Rotary groups about my experience in an effort to raise continued awareness about TBI.
In March I headed to Washington DC for Brain Injury Awareness Day at the Nation’s Capitol, thanks to my many donors through GoFundMe and offline who helped cover my expenses! I was joined by my fellow TBI friends — new and old. While I was in DC I took the opportunity to speak to about a dozen groups including Argosy University, the ADAPT Clubhouse, and Brain Injury Services. And of course, no trip to DC is complete without a day of fun touring the monuments (thanks Paul!).
In June and July I took an incredible road trip out West where I spent some time with fellow survivor Peter and his amazing wife Sarah in Los Angeles. I spoke to a group in Ventura, before heading to Arizona for a few days where I spoke to the We’re Moving Forward group, Health South, and the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona. (I want to make sure I take a moment to thank those who were generous enough to offer me a place to stay, take me out for meals, and help with many of my expenses on this trip ….. you all know who you are!)
In September I began my journey back to wellness after I started treatment with Dr. Jeremy Schmoe at MFNC Brain Rehabilitation in Minneapolis. Within two weeks he had my vision, dizzy, and balance issues under control!
In October I was a presenter at the Minnesota Bloggers Conference talking about “Blog to Book”.
I launched my second book in November, “Surviving Brain Injury: Stories of Strength and Inspiration” which is an anthology — a collection of 87 stories written by survivors and caregivers from across the globe. This book was published in collaboration with 197 backers on Kickstarter who raised the funding needed to edit, format, design, print, and ship the book!!!
In December I was a presenter at the Texas Brain Injury Symposium in Austin, Texas and met some amazing vendors and fellow survivors, as well as healthcare professionals.
Throughout the course of the year I continued contributing to the Huffington Post, and also had articles published in: Yoga Life Magazine, The Challenge, Wagazine, and I also contributed to three separate anthologies (2 on brain injury, and 1 by a NY Times best selling author!).
I was a guest on WCCO radio several times, as well as Sun Sounds of Arizona while I was in Phoenix. I had a television appearance on a local tv show: “It’s a Woman’s World” and also had a lot of media coverage in local newspapers.
I was a part of four different online business summits, all bringing my experience of TBI, running my business, and writing a book — with the message of how to turn a trauma into something bigger than myself as an advocate.
In my business, I had numerous new coaching clients that I had the honor of helping achieve their goals, after not being able to work for almost two years!!
My podcast series has consistently had over 1,000 listeners each month, and I had some amazing guests on my show including Ben Utecht and Cyndy Feasel.
Overall, 2016 pretty much kicked ass. My TBI message is being heard across the world through all different mediums, and I know that if my story affects even just one person, I have done my job!!
Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement! It is because of YOU that I keep doing what I do, even when the haters start talking loudly and call me names. I know that I am doing good in the world, and won’t stop until the Universe tells me it’s time to turn over the reigns!!
Look out 2017: Washington DC or BUST!!
https://www.gofundme.com/help-amy-advocate-for-brain-injury
Name: Karla J. Stento
Fort Myers, FL
Date of your TBI: October 3, 2016
What has been your biggest challenge post-TBI: My biggest challenge has been learning to do everything all over again. I’m left hand dominant and my brain injury and stroke affected my left side. I’m a type A personality, always going a hundred miles an hour, doing 50 things at once, very independent and always in control. Now, I have no control over a lot of what my brain is doing and thinking, my speech is slow, my memory is pretty bad and I have no feeling in my left hand, arm, left leg or foot. I’m learning every day how to do everything I was taught as a child. It’s a struggle, but I’m fighting every day!
What has been your biggest blessing post-TBI: My biggest blessing first and foremost is that I’m alive, I survived! Without the unconditional love and support of my amazing fiance and family, I’m not sure where I would be today. I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love, support, cards, emails, texts everyday from even people as far back as elementary school. While there was no underlying cause for my injury, I am beyond blessed for who I am today and the loving people surrounding me daily!
What is your biggest piece of advice to other TBIers and loved ones: My biggest piece of advice is to love yourself no matter what! Be patient and have courage, you got this! Tell your loved ones we may not be the same person we were prior to our injury, and have a different brain now, but love us for who we are today. I would also like other TBIers and loved ones know that you will love this journey and the “new” me, and if you want to see us fly, take my hand and follow along next to me on this journey.
What do you do to relax: I like to laugh and take lots of naps.
What do you do for fun: I like to read, play fun brain and board games.
Would YOU like to be featured on our blog?? Fill out this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/hgDam3WzvFrNQOaV2
Name: Joanne Ritchey
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of your TBI: December 16, 2011
What has been your biggest challenge post-TBI: Headaches, short term memory loss, limited focus and concentration.
What has been your biggest blessing post-TBI: Finding online TBI support groups and learning about TBI’s.
What is your biggest piece of advice to other TBIers and loved ones: Rest. Learn to listen to your symptoms and rest. Loved ones, remind your survivor to rest. Sounds silly, but it easy to forget that your brain needs rest to heal.
What do you do to relax: When I am feeling well enough I go on long walks with my dog. When I need to rest, just sitting on the couch with my pup has been relaxing and healing.
What do you do for fun: It’s sounds strange, but I feel like I have forgotten how to have fun. I am working on it.
Would YOU like to be featured on our blog?? Fill out this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/hgDam3WzvFrNQOaV2
This weekend I had the immense pleasure of being a guest on Roshini Rajkumar’s “News and Views” segment on WCCO 830AM talk radio.
I have been a guest on Roshini’s show numerous times, and it is always such a pleasure to be able to advocate TBI awareness. We talked in this episode about CTE, the NFL, and traumatic brain injury. Jeremy offered a lot of great medical information, and I offered my point of view as a survivor.
Our segment is about 20 minutes long, so go ahead and take a listen below and leave some comment love!!