Ever since my CCAC therapist left, the one provided by community care under medicare, at about the same time my parents left the city, I haven’t succeeded at Camp NaNoWriMo. It was difficult as it was. I worked hard to ramp up to doing both Camps in April and July, in addition to NaNoWriMo in…
Category: Personal
Threads of Basketball Identity
Watching the Raptors ascend to the NBA Finals and, after a heart-fluttering and TV-remote-power-button-workout Game Six, the championship, I began to reconnect to faint traces of my old self. My Junior High self loved basketball. I’d avoid other sports in gym whenever I could. Volleyball locked up my finger joints. Floor hockey was a game…
At The BIST Expressive Art Show
The Brain Injury Society of Toronto holds an annual Expressive Art Show every Spring. This year it’s at Artscape Youngplace at 180 Shaw St. And I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be there with my book Concussion Is Brain Injury: Treating the Neurons and Me! “the intricate details of the author’s experience are riveting and…
Divorce Is A Scream
Divorce is a scream. A scream of one ignited by the unhappiness of the other one looking for salve elsewhere instead of within the two as promised before the reverend in the time when the two joyously united to each other, together. That’s the problem with divorce. Marriage requires both to permit it. Divorce thuds…
Waiting
Something we’re all familiar with — waiting for a call. But after brain injury, it began to be a regular, daily, soul-sucking occurrence. “I’ll call you back.” Did they get my message? “She’s gone to bed.” It’s 9:00 pm. Is my phone connected? Picks up and hears dial tone. “I’m busy.” I feel so stupid,…
Health Takes A Month
I’m being a dutiful and safe adult and getting my shots. I’ve had my pneumonia one, Prevnar 13, and the two Shingrix ones, for shingles. Next up is my tetanus booster, and I’m seriously wondering: do I hafta‽ I will get it, but I need a few weeks of my health back first. Brain injury…
Cold Feet, Ice Creeping Upwards
As regular readers may know, like too many people with brain injury, I have thermoregulation issues. That means I’ve run too hot for over a decade. (I write about possible reasons why in my book Concussion Is Brain Injury.) But I haven’t talked about my cold feet and the strange phenomenon of being far too…
Nineteenth Brain Injury Anniversary
It’s been a year of painted brains, painted masks showing the experience of injured brains, and no change. Awareness gets you nowhere, it seems. It’s been a year of screaming for help, giving up, and only then getting effective reading comprehension restoration and grief therapy. The irritating reality-denying be-positive messaging finally stopped, and the healing…
Eighteen Years, Eleven Months, Three Weeks
flic.kr/p/2bcpboE When I first met a person who’d lived with brain injury for twenty years, it seemed so far into the future for me. I could barely comprehend living with brain injury that long. I expected to be fully recovered by that point, myself. Roll eyes here. I was working hard on improving my health,…