Frustration After Brain Damage: I Didn’t Like Being Known as the Bitch!
After I had my stroke in 2009, my frustration went through the roof. I knew I had to suppress it when I screamed at the caregivers. That was the "final...
Ultra-Processed Foods, the Brain, and Cognitive Decline
My father had a 10 lb "ultra-processed" salami log dropped off at his auto parts store every month or two by a thankful customer who owned a delicatessen. He brought...
Aphasia and Communication: Speech Happened to Me in Rehab a Month In
My mother was strict, and from 3-years-old until she died, she told us all to say "thank you" even if we loathed what were being presented to us, like pajamas...
Forgetting Things with Brain Damage
In the beginning, when my older son told me that I had suffered a stroke, when I woke up from a week-long coma, confusion set in. I was physically active,...
Stuck? How to Escape the Plateau After Your Brain Damage!
As a brain-damaged individual, I was stuck on a plateau more times than I'd like to count, with falls in between. Mostly, I regressed: one step forward, four steps back....
Reading and Brain Damage: Neuroplasicity in Action!
I have a Master's Degree in Psychology from Temple U but no mention of damaged brains anywhere in the syllabi. (I save everything). Political Correctness arose in the mid 70s,...
Are Headaches Common After Strokes or TBIs, Even Years Later?
I still get headaches, albeit now mild and less often, after 16 years from my hemorrhagic stroke. So I ask you, is that normal? Time for research! Headaches are very...
Can Caffeine Add More Damage to Somebody Who’s Brain-Injured?
I drank at least 4 cups of coffee a day, every day, while I was working for 25 years. Then some nights, I would wonder why, early on in the...
Brushing Teeth with Toothpaste and a Brain-Damaged Person: Messy? Try Alternatives!
Newsflash: You can brush without toothpaste, and it’s actually more effective than you might think, for brain-damaged folks. Eliminating the toothpaste barrier is often the best choice if toothpaste: Slides...
Weather: It’s All Over the Place!
I love a great storm, that is, watching it from my covered porch, not out in it. I used to take my 2 sons, too, so they wouldn't afraid when...