The newest issue of The Challenge! is out, the quarterly magazine of the Brain Injury Association of America. 

I have been writing the quarterly column “Brain Injury Advisory Council Corner: Member Spotlight” for the past two years, and my Editor told me to write my own personal essay for this issue! It’s truly exciting to see my own face staring back at me in this magazine!

I am so honored to be a part of this amazing organization! The advisory council is made up of TBI survivors with lived experience, and we work as a liaison between the BIAA and survivors across the country. As a council, we collectively have a global reach of over 91,000 — which is pretty impressive given there are less than a dozen of us on this council!

You can read the full article online HERE or download the PDF version HERE.

Every single day you make choices. You choose what time to get out of bed, what to eat, and what mood you’re going to be in.

Choosing to see the positive isn’t always easy. Nothing in life is always easy. 

But the more you can choose to be positive and grateful, the more fulfilling your life will become.

The hardest part of my recovery journey was accepting “this might be the best i’m going to get.” When I finally had that conversation with myself, and decided to put my big-girl-panties on, it changed the course of my recovery — for the better.

Once we learn to accept who we are RIGHT NOW, we can start to move forward. Living in the past serves NO ONE.

Yes, you may have been an amazing guitar player or an economist. And right now you might not know how to read music or add numbers. But that doesn’t mean you have to be miserable and angry. It’s just a speed bump.

We all need to take time to grieve the old us, and to make sense of the way our world was turned upside down. For me, it took about 15 months. And once I made that shift in my thinking, everything changed.

I realized that this may or may not be temporary. So if  I wanted to help others and make the most of my life, I needed to come to terms with it.

I have touched tens of thousands of lives through my work. Whether through one of my articles, my books, a podcast, or meeting someone in person. There are many survivors who I may never know or meet or know their name, but they have been impacted by my work.

And you know what? Without this injury, I would have never walked down this road.

I am forever grateful for my journey. While I hope to never hit my head again, I know that everything happens for a reason and I was meant to take this journey.

When it feels like the world is closing in around you and you want to scream and cry — GO AHEAD. It’s ok. But when that wave passes: choose happy.

 

 

I have just returned from a two-week advocacy trip to the East Coast and wanted to share a recap with you!

I began my journey in Washington, DC at the Federal Interagency Conference on TBI. I was reunited with a few of my fellow Brain Injury Advisory Council members (Anne, Kelly, Cavin, and Josh) and met some folks I had been following, and made some new friends (hi Elizabeth!).

The first day of the conference the Plenary speakers were outstanding! (if you’re interested in reading some of my notes, I live tweeted — www.twitter.com/amyzellmer). Day two kicked off with Dr. Jeremy Schmoe and I presenting my case study “Brain Injury and the Vestibular System. (You can watch our video on YouTube.)

After the conference I stayed in the DC area for several days with my friend Toni and her service dog, Bud. I spoke at Argosy University to their Neuro Psychology Doctorate students and had a book signing at a local coffee shop (hi Julie!).

From Virginia I traveled to New England where I stayed with my friend, Amy, for a few days. We took a scenic drive up the Maine coast to look at lighthouses, and met up with another of my fellow Brain Injury Advisory Council members — Carole. She joined us for dinner where we waited out a nasty storm, and she brought me some DELICIOUS Maine strawberries that were in-season.

The next day Amy and I were fortunate enough to have lunch with Dr. Stephanie Mills and her daughter, Brooke. Together these two founded National Concussion Awareness Day, with the third annual coming up on Friday, September 21st! Together we did some brain-storming for a few other events we have coming up this year. These two are doing such amazing things for awareness, and I am grateful they had a few hours to spend with me!!

From New England I made my way to Lansing, MI where I was the opening Keynote speaker at their Brain Injury Symposium of Mid-Michigan, put together by Origami Rehab. These ladies were SO fantastic to work with. They made sure I had everything I needed and were incredibly accommodating and kind! The evening before my presentation, they lined up a radio interview with their local WKAR located on the Michigan University campus (which is GORGEOUS, btw), followed by a tour of their amazing facility!! I am super impressed with their rehab center, and am so grateful to know that such a place exists for those in Michigan dealing with brain injury.

My Keynote was well-received and I had amazing feedback. My favorite comment was from the professional photographer who was hired to photograph the event. He came up to me and told me he had been photographing the event for years, and that my presentation was the most engaging talk he had ever heard at the conference. I take that as quite a compliment!!

After Michigan I headed back home to Saint Paul. Pixxie and I are quite happy to be back home and sleeping in our own bed again!! I feel I accomplished a LOT of advocacy work on this trip, and am already looking forward to my next one this fall!

Thanks for reading my update!!

I awoke to exciting news yesterday that my blog has been named “Top 30 Traumatic Brain Injury Blog” by FeedSpot and is listed at #13 on the list of top 30.

You can check out all 30 of them HERE.

Congrats to everyone on the list, I am honored to be included amongst such wonderful advocates!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest on Roshini Rajkumar’s “News and Views” on WCCO radio, along with Neurosurgeon and brain injury researcher, Dr. Uzma Samadani.

We talked about Super Bowl 2018 here in Minneapolis, MN, CTE, football, my recovery, Samadani’s work, and so much more!

Check out my HuffPost article highlighting all of the events and innovators in the Twin Cities that will be featured this week in preparation for the big game! http://bit.ly/2qUrbTO

Listen below and leave us some comment love!

I am thrilled to announce that my newest book is almost ready for birth!

It is currently on Kickstarter to crowdsource the funding for production costs. It will be released in March … and I am planning a Washington DC book launch party — so stay tuned!

In the meantime, I would greatly appreciate your support: please consider backing the project by pre-ordering your copy NOW! If you don’t have my first book, you can grab the “book bundle” and get both books!!

“Embracing the Journey” is a sequel to my original book “Life With a Traumatic Brain Injury” and I couldn’t be more proud of the advocacy work I am doing to raise awareness and help educate those who don’t understand this invisible injury that affects over 2.8 million Americans each year!!

Kickstarter link: http://kck.st/2m8lWuU

The power of essential oils combined with the energy of crystals!! These little beauties are MAGICAL!

——-> SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR THE COMPLETE COLLECTION!!! <——-

All purchases not only help YOU they also help ME continue with my advocacy work — and I thank you <3

Beginning DEC. 1st:
The FIRST FIVE to order a COMPLETE COLLECTION will receive a 1oz “pain relief salve” from Entangled Biome ($20 value) PLUS a roll-on lip balm from me ($8 value). 

 

Available as a body mist or roll-on … these little beauties will help give you added support for daily or supplemental use!!.

How do I use them??
Body Mist: squeeze a couple sprays onto your body and lightly rub in.
Roll-On: Roll onto your pulse points, temples, or bottoms of your feet and rub in.
Both ways offer you aromatic benefits as well as topical!

What do they cost?
2oz Body Mist $15
10ml Roll-On $12
plus shipping/handling of $2.50 each item
(sorry, only available for US shipping)

(the roll-on is made with sweet almond oil as the carrier, so please advise if you have a nut allergy and I will substitute with grapeseed oil)

***************************************************

BRAIN SUPPORT BLEND!!

Amy’s Brain Blend is a combination of Frankincense, Cedarwood, Lavender, and Northern Lights Black Spruce essential oils, along with a bead of Crystal Quartz to amplify the energy!

choose your option

Body Mist $15.00 USDRoll-On $12.00 USD

__________
SLEEP SUPPORT BLEND!!

Lavender is a powerful oil for calm and sleep. Use as a pillow mist before bed, or roll onto your wrists and bottoms of your feet. Includes a piece of Amethyst for enhanced support — which is full of energy for sleep!!

choose your option

Body Mist $15.00 USDRoll-On $12.00 USD

________
ENERGIZING BLEND!!

Peppermint is great for added energy throughout the day, as well as for minor aches and tension. Rub into your temples (careful of the eyes) or directly where you feel tension. Mist makes a great on-the-go boost; and also works as a coolant if you overheat easily!  Includes a piece of Crystal Quartz to help amplify your energy!

choose your option

Body Mist $15.00 USDRoll-On $12.00 USD

_________
MOOD SUPPORT BLEND!!

This blend includes lemon and orange to help with mood. Orange is shown to help take us back to fond memories, while lemon is a natural energy and mood booster. Includes a piece of Rose Quartz to help increase happiness!

choose your option

Body Mist $15.00 USDRoll-On $12.00 USD

________
IMMUNE SUPPORT BLEND!!

This blend of oregano, cinnamon, and lemon is a powerful, natural blend to help fight off germs and keep you healthy year-round. Spray on your body and rub in throughout the day, or roll onto your chest or bottoms of your feet!! Includes a piece of Amethyst for additional immune support!J

choose your option

Body Mist $15.00 USDRoll-On $12.00 USD

________
The Complete Collection!!!

Can’t decide which blend you want?? Get the complete collection, you won’t regret it 🙂
1 spray — Sleep Support
1 roll-on — Brain Blend
1 roll-on — Immune Support
1 roll-on — Mood Support
1 roll-on — Energizing Blend
PLUS receive a Crystal Quartz point — carry it in your pocket, sleep with it under your pillow, or use in any way that you need extra energy or amplified support!
$60 plus $5 shipping/handling

With the holiday season upon us, I thought it would be a great time to highlight some of my fellow TBI authors!

Each week I will host a Facebook Live video chat with an author. We will discuss their book, their journey, and what they’re up to next!

All you need to do is “like” my Facebook page so that the videos will pop up in your newsfeed!! All videos will be recorded and available on my page afterwards as well, however, if you can make the LIVE video you will have the opportunity to ask Q’s of the author and myself! www.facebook.com/facesoftbi 

All times are CST (+ 1 hour for EST and  -2 hours for PST)
Click on book titles to see more about the book.

Mon. Nov. 20th 10:30am 
Cavin Balaster — “How To Feed A Brain”

Tues. Nov. 21 6:30pm 
Cyndy Feasel — “After the Cheering Stops” 

 

 

Mon. Nov. 27th 10:30am
Carole Starr — “To Root and to Rise”

 

Mon. Dec. 4th 10:30am
Dr. Michael Lewis — “When Brains Collide”  

 

 

 

 

Tues. Dec. 12th 10:00am
Amanda Smart — “Grit”

 Mon. Dec. 18th TBD
Nick Dennen — “23: Time to Choose”