February 11, 2014

Hi everybody. Guess what! It's gonna be Valentine's Day pretty soon, so happy Valentine's Day. I hope you have a great day. I'm gonna attach a heart for you.

My friend here came over to blog and I was driving around my new power chair. It's another milestone. I couldn't have driven it before. It's kind of bittersweet because I never thought I'd be driving a power chair, but it makes me a little more independent. It'll be great for going over to my sister's, and down to the local bar (just kidding about the bar…). Anyway, don't get hung up on the tools. I think I said that before, but it's important. Remember the tools are only stepping stones to help you get better. I mentioned here, to my friend, I'm having what I call "moments." I guess you could say they are kind of like anxiety attacks. They've been happening in the afternoons. It only lasts about 5 seconds, but it could be from the stress in my life, like the power chair, our family friend getting sick, my personal life. You know, boring stuff like that.

I've been visiting our family friend in a sub-acute hospital. It's kind of like a glorified nursing home. I would have been there if not for my parents. Anyway, all the beeping of the machines and the sounds of the hospital were a little much for me. I didn't think it would affect me, but I started getting real anxious. I had to get out of the hospital. Interesting. The other thing I notice is, man, if you have anyone in the hospital you love, you should have someone stay with them 24/7. You really gotta keep an eye on the hospital. It's not their fault. They are way understaffed and way overworked, you know, the nurses and the aides, but you've got to advocate for your relative. I saw them at the hospital try to put our family friend in what I'd call a broom closet. We were all like, "You've got to be kidding me!" Our family friend ended up getting a room with a window. But if it weren't for us, that wouldn't have happened. So, if you have someone you love in the hospital, make sure you stick around for them. At least, get someone to advocate for them. That's just my opinion, and it's also coming from someone that's been in that position many times. You know what? I get kind of bummed out thinking about it all, so let's go over to the other blog. My friend will put the link here, and talk about some fashion confessions.

February 4, 2014

Hi you guys. Hey, I'd like to dedicate this blog to all of my therapists. They've been so important. I'll explain more in a bit.

So check this out. I went to the hospital because a family friend was, well, very sick. I was in the hospital talking to the doctor when the doctor looked at me and said, "What's your deal?" I said, "Well…" I explained I had brain surgery. Mentally I'm all there but physically I'm messed up. I told him I had a slight cough because, you know, it's flu season. Mind you, I've had a flu shot and a pneumonia shot, but I still had a cough. He said, "Brian, OK, off to the ER with you." I said, "What?" He said, "Yup off to the Emergency Room for you to get a chest x-ray." Next thing you know, I'm back in the Emergency Room. Never a dull moment. Well, I had a chest x-ray and everything is OK. I was allowed to go home. Oh yeah, I did get tested for the flu and I did have the flu. Go figure. Anyway, that was a few weeks ago. I'm OK and my family friend is OK. You know, when you have traumatic brain injury, I said it before, but I'll say it again, it's so important to have good therapy. You have to work hard, but therapy is so important. And after spending time with my family friend, I also am reminded that it's so important to have a point person. Someone to look after you while you're in a hospital. You have to have an advocate. Otherwise, you just get lost in the shuffle. The hospital might mean well, but you still get lost in the shuffle. You really need someone there every day, from 7 am to 6 pm.

I'm not sure what to talk to you guys about so I'm gonna have my friend here go in the other room and get one of my journals. Maybe it will trigger a story or two. I know I was going to talk about the present and the future on this blog, but I couldn't resist.

So my friend here went in the other room. She pulled a book about, well, 1997. I was living between Paris and New York. The book went on and on about how happy I was when I lived in Paris. I'll have her include a cartoon or two. The book just reinforces the idea that you should chase your dreams. You see, I always dreamed of living in Paris. And voila! Then I did. Don't be afraid. Just chase your dreams. Even if they seem outrageous. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it there because I'm outrageously tired. I'll include a few photos from my trip. Remember, you're very lucky. This is B. Nice signing off. Love, B. Nice

January 28, 2014

Hi everybody. So, old Pete died today. Pete Seeger was 94 years old and he passed away this morning. He was a cool guy. He used to come to my grade school all the time and play for us. We also went on his ship, the Clearwater, all the time. It was a lot of fun. He was a good guy. Oh yeah, that reminds me. One time I was at the front of the ship with a friend of mine. We went out on the bow sprint. It's  basically a mast sticking out of the front of the ship. There's a chain from the front of the bow sprint down to the water line. A cable going up to the top of the mast. A few other cables here and there and no security net. There is one now, and I'll explain why now.

You see, my friend and I used to like to sit at the end of the bow sprint. It was pretty mellow sailing cause there were no waves, but one day a boat came by and well, the ship started rocking and rolling and next thing you know, my friend fell off and into the water. Next thing you know, I'm climbing down the chain and I see his one arm holding on to the chain, keeping him from going under the ship. I grab him and next thing you know, another shipmate shows up and we pull him up to safety. Not bad for a nine year old. We were both delegated to the center of the ship and we weren't allowed to go anywhere. Gee, I wonder why. Anyway, now there's a safety net. No one's allowed to go on the bow sprint.

Anyway, it was always great when Pete was there, singing as we were sailing down the Hudson River. Good guy.

Sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent there. And remember, this blog is supposed to be about the here and now and the future. I just  couldn't resist telling a story from the past. You know, this traumatic brain injury thing is kind of a drag. I've learned now though I can see better if I close my left eye and look at everything with my right eye. It's kind of like how I do pictures. You see, I look through the camera with my right eye. In the past I would spend weeks looking through the camera with my right eye. So the whole idea isn't so foreign to me. Once again, it's as if the past has gotten me ready for how I am now.

There's been some crazy stuff going on in my personal life. I'll explain more later, but I'll tell you, stress and the common cold can take a lot out of you when you're like this. I feel like telling you a few fashion confessions. Let's go over to my other blog. (Click HERE)

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Hi you guys. Hey, I know it's not my regular Tuesday thing but I was just watching a video on Ted.com. It's a video called, My Stroke of Insight. Pretty cool. You should check it out. Very similar to what I'm going through. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you. Go check it out. Hey, here's another photo from my trip, and don't forget to check out my other blog. Love, B. Nice

January 21, 2014

Hi you guys. Welcome to another week. I'm gonna make this blog short because,well, it's my birthday! That's right, January 21st, 1961, I was born. I'm now 35. Wait, I got the numbers mixed up, 53. No, but I feel like I'm 27. That, despite the fact that I've had a couple of brain surgeries. I actually feel like I'm 103 right now. Anyway, Happy Birthday to me.

I'm gonna include some photos from my road trip I just did. I'm gonna keep this blog short. Anyway, I'll talk to you guys next week. Here's some photos I did from the road.

P.S. When I was born it was like 20 below zero. We're gonna get that tonight, and we're gonna get snow today. How weird is that? Just thought I'd share that with you.

P.P.S. Thank you guys, for all the birthday wishes! You guys are great. Love, B. Nice