WOMAN UP. Adapt, Overcome, Achieve

03/26/2024

Good Morning Albany! Attending the Brain Injury Association of NY Advocacy Day for the first time. Let’s see what it’s all about…. I’m excited.

03/25/2024

There are multiple Peer Support Groups for Brain Injury in our area and virtual meetings throughout NYS and the country. I have tried a few, but not this one.

Maybe it is time to just try them all and see what fits ...

The next brain injury peer support group will be Wednesday April 3rd from 2-3pm EST online. If you're interested in attending, please email [email protected] or call 716-408-3110 and please leave a callback number.

03/25/2024

Today is my 6th Celebrate Life Day. I've started calling it my Re-Birth Day. It was 6 years ago today that our accident happened.

Frank and I had just gotten engaged. Exactly one week ago. He then came with me on a work trip up to the North Country where he got to meet my one of my best friends, Denise Howe-Baker. I did a PD for some teachers up there and we headed back to Buffalo. On the way home we made a last minute decision to stop and view a stunning wedding venue near Letchworth Park. It was perfect, exactly what we wanted, and they had one date in July available. The one we wanted. Everything was falling into place. The universe had my back.

We left, drove a mile away and my life changed forever.

I will tell you that any stories I have of the accident, or the hospital are not my own. I was immediately knocked unconscious and have no memory of my time in the hospital.

I know that when we were hit on the passenger side door, where I was sitting, my seat-back broke backward and I laid back down. I was unconscious so I just rolled with the car. Therefore, I didn’t break any bones from trying to brace myself. Because I was lying down, when the car rolled a few times (and thankfully only landed on my side of the roof) my head was not there when the roof collapsed down. We missed a utility pole but took out a stop sign and the wires that held up the pole. We landed upright in pond snow melt in front of a row of pine trees.

Frank Brombos stayed conscious throughout and miraculously had minor physical injuries. A lot of bruises and glass embedded in his skin but he didn't notice any of that for days.

I am absolutely positive we were guided and saved by our guardian angels and loved ones who showed up to make sure we still had the opportunity live this amazing fairytale life together. I've been searching for a meaningful way to celebrate this day for the last 6 years. So far, the only tradition that has stuck is my visit to Frank's father's grave. He passed many years ago and I am 100% certain he was present that day. I go to the cemetery to thank him and make sure his space there is well cared for.

This year I also went to the intersection where it happened. I've researched and found out there are many accidents there. The traffic signs are not good enough to prevent this from happening. I want to find out what has to happen to get that changed.

Today is a day that means a lot to me. Today is the day I learned to appreciate every-little-thing about life. Every moment. Every experience. Everything.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for being a part of my life.

03/21/2024

Brain Injury Awareness Month Week 3!
More on returning to work - Before you read today's post I want to say that I believe any Acquired or Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor should undergo a series of evaluations and therapies before considering going back to work. Occupational Therapy and Cognitive Therapies are the basic support systems that I think must be in place to ensure success. These services help you become aware of your limitations and needs.
Once you are self-aware (see my work overview post from 3/19) then you absolutely should try. Do not consider it a failure if you cannot do it. It is merely a test to find out where you belong. You're on a new path of self-discovery. Your new self may have a new career path - my new self did! I could not function in my old career. My new self has a new career with new experiences that are guiding me down a path I never dreamed was possible post-TBI.
My best advice - try. Then try again. If you don't like it, try something else. You will eventually find where your new self fits.😃

Brain Injury Association of New York State

03/21/2024

Help Support Brain Injury Survivors and The Continuum of Care Program. Please Open the Link to Endorse and Send a Support Letter: https://letsmakeheadway.org/

A Continuum of Care Program Will:
Ensure that New Yorkers recovering from a brain injury receive the absolute best care and assistance available.
Save the state millions of dollars.
Reduce the burden on state run hospitals, emergency rooms, shelters, nursing homes, rehab facilities, jails/prison, and more.

A traumatic brain injury can happen to anyone! Let’s Make Headway and ensure ALL New Yorkers have a safety net in case they fall.

https://letsmakeheadway.org/

A traumatic brain injury can happen to anyone. Let’s Make Headway and ensure ALL New Yorkers have a safety net in case they fall.

03/20/2024

🥰I will be in Albany for advocacy day next week, making sure the needs and voices of TBI survivors, especially women are heard and the continuum of care continues to be funded. We need more research, advocacy, and education so every one of us can recover and return to a life worth living - our best lives post-TBI.

We are less than one week away from Advocacy Day. It will be a day for our collective voices to come together as one. We will make sure they hear us when we call for funding for the Continuum of Care to ensure adequate services for brain injury survivors throughout the state!

There's still time to register. Hope to see you all there! https://bianys.org/advocacy/advocacy-day/

03/19/2024

A continuation of the conversation on returning to work and school post TBI.
A doctor may tell you that you can return to work and family members may believe you are ready too. You want nothing more than to return to "normalcy" and this often feels like the natural first step. Only you know when and if you are capable.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of questions to ask yourself before attempting to return to work, but it is a start.

Brain Injury Association of New York State

03/19/2024

Female athletes are more susceptible to sport-related concussions and experience worse outcomes compared with male athletes. Although numerous studies compared these outcomes, research pertaining to why is limited. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366411/

Not all TBIs are concussions, but all concussions are TBIs.

Learn more here: https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/concussion/index.html.

03/19/2024

This is one reason why I want to talk about getting back to school and work - because I KNOW it is not easy - most of the time it feels like a crushing and suffocating impossible dream BUT it CAN BE DONE. YOU CAN DO IT. Use my journey as a catalyst to take the first step. Just make a call and ask the question - "how do I start?"

Brain Injury Association of New York State

03/18/2024

So, I recently started sharing by TBI recovery story. If you've heard it, you know that the mantras "WOMAN UP" and "Adapt and Overcome" have been my internal monologue throughout this 6 year journey (and counting).
My plan now is to give back and to eventually help women like me find the support and care they need to beat the odds like I did.
I created versions of my "WOMAN UP" sweatshirts to support the the Brain Injury Association of New York State during Brain Injury Awareness Month.
After March, these profits will be used to set up a college scholarship for women who have experienced Traumatic Brain Injury. Not only will it help fund tuition expenses, but the support services they will need to be successful.
You can learn more about my journey back from Traumatic Brain Injury to earned Doctorate using this link (where you can also order your shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie, or tank) to support this cause https://www.bonfire.com/store/woman-up-1/?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=store_page_share&utm_campaign=woman-up-1&utm_content=default

03/18/2024

Brain Injury Awareness Month
This week I want to talk about going back to work and school.
Do not misunderstand. This is not a fast process. It took me years to be able to get back to these aspects of my life. I do not mean to make any part of this sound easy but there is only so much I can discuss in short daily posts.
Just know that if you are going through it: it will take time - but the time will pass anyway. It is very hard work - but you survived the injury so you can survive the process of recovery.
Today - a few mentions of things that I found helpful at the beginning and I still use them every day. You do not have to be a TBI survivor to use these things to alleviate daily headaches!

Brain Injury Association of New York State