April 14, 2015

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Hi you guys. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. I'm gonna benchmark a few things here. For a long time I was having what you would call "moments" or auras. I would control them by meditating. It got to the point where I was having moments in the mornings and the afternoons, so I increased my medication a little bit, my Kepra (my anti-seizure medication). It wasn't much. it was like a 250 ml increase. Not much, but it seems to have worked. When you're like this you have to stay in touch with your neurologist non-stop. You know, everyone's different. There's no set formula. It might be different for you. The bottom line is, you just have to be vigilant.

The other thing that's kind of cool is it's turning warmer here. I've been getting outside more and more. It feels great. I highly advise you get outside more when you're like this. It helps a lot.

One thing I did in this great weather was I went to a show where they had a display of specialized adaptive activities for people like me. You know, like snowboarding, trikes, stuff like that. A friend of mine who works at the hospital offered me a one way ticket to Mars. Just kidding. I always joke around with him. He's so ugly, even the tide won't bring him in. He's so ugly, if ugliness were measured in bricks, he would be The Great Wall of China. Sorry, I just had to throw that in there in case he's reading this. You know what his name is… Ugly. I always joke with him. He's like a big brother to me. You know, like a much much much older brother.

Going back to the adaptive therapy show: there were some great trikes for me to look at. You know, my balance is really bad, so I have to get a trike if I want to get a bike. It's kind of like having a giant Big Wheel. Watch out kids! Here I come. It's pretty cool. I think I talked about it in previous blogs. All in all, the whole show was great. Oh, I want to tell you something. It took a few therapists to get me on the bike, right. So I finally get my feet on the pedals and I try turning them to power the bike and it was really tough. I had a hard time just making the bloody thing move forward. I thought I was gonna blow out my knee. So I thought, "Well, maybe this design isn't right for me." So they got me off the bike and I left the show a little discouraged. Then, as I'm leaving, a therapist comes over to me and he sheepishly admitted the vendor forgot to take the brake off. Like my friend here says, "There's always something."

The other thing that is happening here is Spring has come out, and the allergy season has come around. It's a bummer for me because I'm a little allergic to tree pollen. All the congestion seems to get into my lungs. and I spend a lot of time coughing. Real pleasant, right? Anyway, just another thing to deal with when you have traumatic brain injury. Never a dull moment.

Anyway, I'm gonna stop bitching. I'm gonna end it right here. I'm gonna get back to work. Check out my other blog about the past. Here's the link. Have a good week. Love, B. Nice

March 31, 2015

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Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. And I'm presently bummed out. I mean, give me a break. It's almost April 1st, April Fools Day, and it's gonna snow tonight. It's a never ending winter. My friend here said it's an April Fool's joke. I wish it was but it's not. It's also 84 degrees down in Texas where my little one is. OK, I'll stop my bitching and talk a little bit about Traumatic Brain Injury recovery.

Actually, I'll talk about one other depressing thing. I was in my wheelchair on my way to the dining room when I noticed a distinctive path worn into the floor going from the kitchen to the dining room. I mean, how depressing is that. I gotta get out more. I guess you'd call it Cabin Fever. I should stand up, throw my wheelchair across the room and say to my parents, "April Fools!" I wish.

It's been kind of a bummer 'cause there's been a stomach bug going around. It seems everyone had it. When you have traumatic brain injury and you get something like this stomach bug, it's amplified like 10 fold. It's not easy, I'll tell you. So if you have traumatic brain injury and you get something, watch out. Get ready.

On a more positive note, I think I found someone to fund my book. I'm doing a photographic book on the trip I did across America. It's a pretty cool positive thing.

Every once and a while, I still have, what I call "moments." You know, mini-seizures. They come about when I think of stressful things. I talked about it before. My neurologist always says the same thing. Do you want to increase your medication or meditate? You know, try to relax. I choose to stay at my dosage. I'm on a minimal dosage so I have room to increase my medication if I want. I guess it's up to you what you want to do. I choose to stay away from a lot of medication.

Not much else to talk about. I've been doing more leg work. You know, because I don't really stand that much. It's good to keep the legs strong. I have movement in my legs. I'm not paralyzed in my legs. So, a good work out in the legs. is good. You know, weight bearing stuff. My goal is to start walking again. Not much else to talk about. It's just the same old thing every day. I keep plugging away at it. Go out there and play an April Fool joke on someone. I'm sure it would be highly entertaining for you. I have to think of something.

Talk to you next week. Happy Easter. Love, B. Nice

P.S. Here's the link to my blog about the past. Some good stories this week.

 

March 7, 2015

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Hi you guys. It's a heat wave here! It's 40 degrees! I can finally come out of my cave and go outside. All I need is an ankle bracelet. It feels good to get out.

Hey, check out the photo above. It's from my road trip. Remember? I went across america to show that even though you have traumatic brain injury, you can still do the things you love to do. And I love taking pictures. It's the 50th anniversary of the march on Selma. We had lunch there. I got a great shot. Pretty ironic. Anyway, here's the photo. Hey, you know what else is ironic? Edmund Pettus was a grand wizard of the KKK. They named the bridge after him. I'm sure he's rolling over in his grave and I'm happy about that. Pretty ironic.

Not much else to report on my traumatic brain injury. I'm still the same. Still going through the same shit. But I did play the guitar the other day, and I gave you a song like I promised. Check it out on Facebook. I'm under briandnice.

Have a good week. Love and miss you guys, B. Nice

P.S. Here the link to my blog about the past.

 

 

February 28, 2015

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Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about my present. My present with traumatic brain injury. I'll make it kind of short.

You know what drives me crazy is when someone like my friend shows up really grumpy. He was telling me his problems. Now, I know people don't want to hear this, it's a bit of a cliche, but when someone shows up telling me about their problems like, they stubbed their toe, or something like that, it kind of drives me crazy. I always think maybe I should take this guy to Unit 6A at the hospital and show him people with real problems. You know, there were people I used to hang out with, people that will never get better. You know, people with big problems. Anyway, I just wanted to get that off my chest. You know, get up on my soap box and preach.

It's been a strange week. You know, every day is different. I go to sleep thinking Gee, I wonder what tomorrow will bring. I've been fighting this whole situation for almost 6 years. But, things are becoming more and more clear. I can't describe it, and I think I already did, but it feels bizarre. It's like I said before. It's a never-ending wake up.

You know what's kind of cool is I've been starting to strum my guitar. A local musical gave me a strap to hold the guitar around me and I managed to strum it. I think I'll even give you a song next week. Something to look forward to, right? It'll probably be the scariest video you've ever seen, but hey, what the hell. I'm gonna leave it at that because there's not much more to tell. Actually, I am going to benchmark where I am cause it's cool to look back at previous blogs and you know, see where I'm at.

Right now I still feel like my face is covered in gaffer tape. I can't walk. I'm still in the wheel chair. I can drink, but through a straw. I still have to be fed by hand. I can drive. Just kidding. I wanted to see if you're paying attention. I can't sit up. But little things like, playing the guitar, strumming the guitar and painting are huge steps for me. I am improving but it's taking so long. My eyesight is getting better. I still see double though and my eyes move constantly. I'm basically still a mess. But, it's not so bad.

This is B. Nice signing off from Ice Station Zebra (man it's viking cold here!). Here's my link to my blog about the past. Love, B. Nice