I'm doing what people do when they turn 65. I'm retiring. So, for all of you who know me as well as those of you who don't, I am officially announcing my retirement from being disabled. "How can you do this?" some may ask. In fact, I can hear a few of you asking that question right now. Well, I'll tell you, I gave it some thought, and what I focused on was the idea ... Read On
Brain Injury Now: Interpreting My Past, Living My Present, Finding My Future
Here I am, at age sixty-four, about to enter a new phase of my life: forty-five years after my month-long coma, I've reached that age when I can retire. That idea sounds great, so I tell people I am going to retire in a year. Their usual response is, "Well, what are you retiring from?" "I am going to retire from being disabled." Do I really believe that? No. No I ... Read On
This TBI Survivor Doesn’t Care How You Talk to Me
At some point during this 43 year "trip" I've spent living with a brain injury, I got fed up: too much of my mental energy was being spent getting frustrated and angry because of things other people said to me. That was the moment I decided that I should not allow my mental health or my well being be dependent on the words of others. I saw that no matter how much I tried to ... Read On
TBI & Me: If I Die Today
The story of our life starts the moment we are born into this world. Our story is full of what makes us human: joy, failure, triumph, heartbreak, perseverance, love, facing obstacles and learning what it takes to live. As stories go, each story has a beginning and has an end, and we, at some point during our lives, become aware of our mortality and learn to deal ... Read On
Lost My Car & Nearly Fell Into the “Brain Injury Trap”
I get a laugh when I mention to somebody that I lost my car in the parking lot and they respond with, "Oh yeah, I do that all the time." I know they are just trying to be cute and funny or to find a way to make a connection with me, but what these people don't understand is that there is nothing cute or funny about a brain injured individual having to deal with constantly ... Read On