OneMoreTi.me

This year’s hashtag/motto for Brain Injury Association of America‘s Brain Injury Awareness Month is #NotAloneInBrainInjury. The campaign for 2016~2017 is “Not Alone“: The Not Alone campaign provides a platform for educating the general public about the incidence of brain injury and the needs of people with brain injuries and their families. The campaign also lends itself to outreach within the…

A Lesson in Slowing Down

I am a huge proponent of the importance of “Listening to Your Body.” If it’s tired, I’ve told countless frustrated survivors, it’s not being “lazy” to stop and rest. It’s a necessity. This goes for neuro-, physical- or mental- fatigue. Since I began my recovery process from my craniotomy, I have become keenly aware of the way my body and brain warns me when I have over-exerted myself, mainly…

After my last post (which was the beginning of #MyBrainInjuryJourney project), I was contacted by a few people who were interested in learning about Executive Function Disorder. Today, I would like to talk about this elusive disorder, which could make doing work, getting organized, and being motivated very difficult. It seems like such a “well, duh!” disorder, once you realize that it exists.…

I am beginning to wonder if my body is shooting up red flags that there is something going on again with my body. I am going to record them just so I have something to look back on later. Things have been rocky in the realm of my body in the past few months, so I’m going to list it.

- Weight gain: Okay; so this just happens if I eat and don’t do what I need to do to keep it down/lose it, but it seems to have been really rapid in the past year or so... Or even the past half year. And I haven’t changed much things... As a matter of fact, I started going to the gym and stuff...

- Lactose Intolerance: I think as of a month or so ago, I’ve developed lactose intolerance... Milk and frozen yogurt and creamer in coffee seem to affect me. (Moving onto Soy and Almond Milk products... Slowly...)

- Dermatitis: My skin condition that used to be the size of my thumb on my shoulder has not spread across both shoulders extensively, and inching its way up and down my shoulder/arms.

My Lost “Motivation.” #MyBrainInjuryJourney

Few days after the craniotomy (December, 2012). Half a year after my craniotomy, I stopped taking my seizure medications. For the first time since middle school, I was no longer taking in prescription pills, and we all thought this was a new beginning in my life. AVM Free, Seizure Free, Drugs Free, and on an Express Lane to Recovery. Little did we know that the “road less taken” was a windy and…

2016: Year of ME

2015 was focused on getting my feet rooted to the ground, reestablishing the “new normal” as a working woman after 20 some years spent as a student (quite a few of them spent ill). 2016 will be a year focused on ME; my physical/spiritual well-being, as well as in fostering relationships with those around me. 2015 was filled with chaos, new beginnings, some ends, and constantly running, running,…

My Mindset Challenge for Positivity

My life, all things considered, is going pretty well. Almost half a decade into brain surgery recovery, and I have moved to NYC and began a career, and my mind is at its most peaceful in years. One of the biggest improvements to my life in the is the new found outlook to life, which, until then, had been bound with anxiety and depression. Until recently, depression, anxiety, neuro-fatigue, and…

Four Years After Brain Surgery (Photo Journey)

On December 7th, I celebrate entering 5th year of recovery after my craniotomy to remove 3 Arteriovenous Malformations from my brain. My surgery was on December 7th, 2011. I was 22 years old, a college senior, and had closed my fall semester early after my 3rd and final Grand Mal Seizure. The fact that it has been 4 years already baffles me still. It seems like just last year that I was lying in…

Can you believe it? It’s been 4 years. Four. Years.

Tomorrow is my 4th Annie-Versary. I am baffled. Thankful. Blessed.

I’ve published a PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY of the past 4 Years on my Blog. Take a look? => Four Years After Brain Surgery (Photos)

I found my notes to take into my neurologist from 9/22/2012, 9 months after my brain surgery, and a little after I went back to school for the fall semester.

Very difficult getting up

Wake up extremely disoriented- can't move/open eyes without a huge amount of effort

Can't open eyes without a lot of pain

Sleep paralysis during nap (9/21)

Sleepy/dizzy during the day

Be OK with what you ultimately can’t do, because there is so much you CAN do

Surround yourself with people you want to be around

Support Burgundy for Life and AVM Awareness Project by purchasing a SURVIVOR T-SHIRT! http://teespring.com/burgundy4life

This shirt was designed for survivors of any traumatic or hard events, and for people struggling with chronic illnesses.

Sometimes, it's like my VOICE was taken away from me.

Every time I slur, every time I stutter, every time I repeat words four times before I can move on, every time I couldn't retrieve a word I needed from my brain, every time I can't pronounce a word, every time I can't formulate a sentence, every time I can't express my thoughts and feelings effectively.

Writing was one of my most favorite forms of expression, and now I am often too frustrated to continue by the blockage between the thoughts and the expression.

My thoughts, ideas, stories, and feelings are trapped in my head, with no more modes of efficient expression. I miss my VOICE.

But I know so many people who never had their VOICE to freely use, or even if they did, were not allowed to use it.