Reading Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Page 84 of Murder in Mesopotamia. Reading it for umpteenth time. Not one of my favourites; I always have a sense of knowing it without remembering anything past the point of where I’m at in the book. Needless to say, I never solve the mystery (haven’t of any book, familiar or…
Category: Personal
A Friend’s “Accident” Brings it All Back
I got the news yesterday, oh boy. My friend got banged up in her car. Stopped at a red light. Teen boy, a typical teen boy I bet, the kind who knows everything and is immortal, texting and driving. Right into her. Shoved her car into the one in front. Car totalled. Her neck and…
A Hypothalamus Fix: Followup
It’s been about three months since I began what I’ve dubbed a hypothalamus fix. Basically, since no medical professional understood the problem, I decided to figure it out myself and “fix” the brain-injury induced problems of high body temperature, edema (water retention), diabetes, fast heart rate, varying blood pressure, skin irritations: basically an extreme version…
The Hidden Secret of Brain Injury: Hypothalamus Dysfunction
“I’m going to get off the atenolol,” I told my GP, who promptly laughed at me. Well, I might, just might, have the last laugh. I was put on atenolol (a beta blocker) 7 years after I suffered from a closed head injury and began 7 years of 120+ heart rate, of yo-yoing blood pressure,…
Rejection Get Away From Me
The envelope is thin. There’s no return address, but I know. It’s from a literary agent, one of many I wrote asking them to consider representing my latest book. I slit it open. Dear Author, “Dear Author”? Whadya mean “Dear Author”?! I spent hours reading guidelines, and y’all said: read the books we agent, find…
Reading: The Eyes and Brains of It, II
So now you’ve read about the whys of brain-injury created reading problems (and if you haven’t, have a gander at it first), you’re probably wondering: how do I fix it!?! As I mentioned before, going straight to the behavioural model after sustaining a brain injury is an exercise in frustration for the person with the…
Reading: The Eyes and Brains of It
Reading. Once you learn how to do it, the only thing you need worry about is what to read and when to find the time. Until a traumatic brain injury f* it up. As I have discovered over the past few years, reading is a complicated process, mediated by several parts of the brain. It…
Best Two iPad Apps For Organization
As I wrote previously, I bought the Apple iPad for two reasons: to compensate for brain injury-related issues and for my work as a writer. Today’s post is about the former. A huge problem people with brain injuries face is, IMHO, the inability to organize, initiate, and to get things done from start to finish.…
iPad Thoughts
The iPad is a nifty device. Seemingly a toy before you buy, with its bright screen and magazine size, it quickly replaces one’s computer for regular chores like e-mailing, keeping up with Twitter, managing one’s schedule, surfing, reading. It’s more portable and lasts longer on battery power than a laptop. And unlike a computer, it…