December 21, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about my present.

You know what’s tougher than brain bleeds or brain surgeries? It’s living with this stupid condition of a traumatic brain injury. Let me explain.

Now, I used to be really active. I used to do stuff on my own all the time. Now I rely on anybody for everything. Crazy. I can’t do one thing on my own. Maybe I can pick up a sippy cup. That’s about it. It’s frustrating. I don’t blame my friends, but I go through friends like toilet paper. My friend here said, “Nice image.” But it’s true. And I don’t blame them, but I have to call them for rides. Help me do things. Its tough, because on the one hand you need help, and on the other, you don’t want to ask for help. That lazy boy chair and a bag of weed is starting to look good. I guess things have ways of working out. Maybe this all pushes one to become more independent. You know, small things like; get an apple watch so you can talk the telephone number and stuff like that. Little things you’ll learn. But you have to learn how to become more independent.

Ive been walking more and more with a walker. It’s real tough but also real rewarding. It feels great to walk again. But it’s like any other athletic endeavor. You have to keep at it and do it over and over if you want to get good. Same thing with feeding myself. I practice every morning. A good image is of a three year old child on crack. That’s about how I operate. Food goes everywhere. It’s frustrating, but hey, my dog’s happy.

I would like to talk to you guys about something I’ve learned. You know, when we do things, we often make mistakes or there are imperfections in what we do. I found that there are often beautiful mistakes. In other words, you can learn a lot from your mistakes. You can learn to take advantage of them and recognize them as works of art. The photo above is an example of a couple of mistakes that can be seen as a work of art. The light leak on the image is something you can never recreate and what I’ve learned is to enjoy mistakes, recognize them and don’t discard them. Anyway, that’s my philosophical thought of the day.

Anyway, that’s all I really have to report on. Talk to you guys next week. Love and miss you. Love, B. Nice

December 13, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. I’m also gonna draw upon the past to make this blog.

Now, when I was a competitive runner, I would run the 800 meters and then 2 hours later I would run the 1500 meters. It was a brutal combination. Both races you’re running flat out. One for 2 laps, and one for 3 1/2 laps. It was a killer combination. But you know what? The 800 got you ready for the 1500. It got you warmed up. You just needed that 2 hours to recover. Now, the reason why I’m bringing this up, I’m in therapy now, right. I work out on the machine called the NuStep here at home about an hour before my therapy. It helps a lot. It basically loosens you up for your therapy session. And therapy now, I’m on a device called Up n Go. It’s for transition from the wheelchair to the walker. It’s a cool device. Custom made for me. I highly recommend it if you’re starting to learn how to walk. The walker is the next goal. Then, after that, ballroom dancing. Just kidding. Anyway, it’s all hard work, but like they say, the more you put into it, the more you get out. You just gotta put in the hours. There’s no shortcut.

On another note, my daughter is coming to visit me. That’s a form of therapy in itself. And should be fun, and challenging for someone like me as well.

That’s all I really have to report on. This is B. Nice signing off. Love and miss you guys.

Love, B. Nice

December 7, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

I’m gonna dedicate this blog to my friend here. We’ve been doing this blog for about 10 years now. She comes over every Wednesday at 3 o’clock. When you have a traumatic brain injury, it’s awesome when people come over to visit. And, frankly, something like doing a simple blog is like a form of therapy.

Speaking of therapy, learning how to walk is an athletic endeavor. It takes patience, repetitive exercise, and more patience. I’ve been at it for about 10 years now. But, like they say, the more you put into it, the more you get out. My friend and I were just talking about learning how to walk, and it’s incredible whatever you have to put into learning how to walk. When I first started, I couldn’t even move. They had to get the brain used to swinging the arms and the legs. Then they put me in the water with weights on my ankles, and a life jacket on me. That was to get me used to the muscle groups you use in walking. I was cool with the water, because I used to be a surfer. Some people freak out because the water’s right at your nose. Then they suspend you from the ceiling, get you wearing a harness, and put you on a treadmill and move your legs and arms. Now I’m in a harness strapped to a four wheel walker (my friend said, I’m going four wheeling, and I guess I am). Then, every Sunday, an instructor comes over and helps me walk with a walker. This is all the second time I’ve done this. Because, remember, this is a recovery from my second brain bleed. Remember I had two brain bleeds and two brain operations. So, yeah, it’s monotonous, and for sure it’s an athletic endeavor. You gotta stick at it. It’s either this or buy a lazyboy chair and a bag of weed and a bong. Actually, that sounds like a good idea - and it’s legal now, well, at least in some states.

Having some down-time is definitely important. I often sit in my garden and reflect on what my life used to be like. It was crazy. I was on a plane almost every week, for about 20-30 years. It was non-stop travel. No wonder why I like to sit in my garden. Anyway, having some downtime after all the training I do is important, and frankly I don’t mind at all.

That’s all for this week. Don’t forget to check out my other blog about the past. Have a good one. Love and miss you guys.

Love, B. Nice

November 30, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

I’m gonna dedicate this blog to my daughter who I just spoke to.

I mentioned this before, but I’ll do it again. I truly believe my experience in training for cross country and track contributed to dealing with how I am now.

In cross country and track you have to fight your way through incredible pain, monotonous training and loneliness. Those are all factors I have to deal with with this traumatic brain injury. Mind you, the pain isn’t as bad as my initial injury, but the monotonous training and loneliness go on. It’s hard to explain, but if you walked in my shoes you’d know what I’m talking about. There’s a saying. The loneliness of a long distance runner, but - try the loneliness of a traumatic brain injury survivor. Man, I need a vacation. My friend here just reminded me that I’ve been saying I need a vacation for about 11 years, but it’s true. I guess I’ve been needing a vacation for 11 years now.

I’ve been walking a lot with this one therapist. I’ve gotten up to using a walker. It’s pretty cool. It hurts like hell, because you’re bearing all your weight on your hips. I still find it amazing how one gets used to the wheelchair. Walking becomes so foreign. I don’t like that at all.

I really don’t have much else to talk about. I’m still recovering from the show I did. It was a great success and we raised good money for a good cause. Thank you again, for all of you that helped.

This is B. Nice, signing off. Love, B. Nice

November 16, 2022

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present.

This blog is dedicated to all the pregnant women out there.

Apparently, I’m a pregnant woman. That’s what my aide from Ghana says. You see, I have a ferocious appetite. He said, in an accent, “You eat like a pregnant woman.” I’m not sure what that means, but I guess I have a pregnant appetite.

You see, when I was normal, I used to run six miles in the morning. Take my daughter on a walk. Walk around town and then surf in the afternoon. I was pretty active, and I ate a lot. Now I eat a lot but I’m not active. Not a good combination.

I suggest to all you who are new to the wheelchair, that you curb your appetite and try to stay active. If you don’t, your weight is going to catch up to you. Just a word from the wise.

I’ve been walking more and more. It’s brutal on the hips, but I hire someone on the weekends to get me up on a walker. So, basically, I have therapy three times a week. You know, when you’re trying to walk, it’s just like any other athletic endeavor. You have to practice over and over again. It gets monotonous. It hurts like hell, but you got to keep at it. That is, if you want to walk again. If you want to stay in the wheelchair, I suggest you get a lazyboy chair and a bag of weed. Oh, yeah, and a good dvd collection although, you can stream them all now, right?

Anyway, that’s just my opinion. I want to walk again. That’s about all for this week. Remember, if you’re like me, don’t give up. Stay at it. Love you, B. Nice

P.S. Above is a photo I did in my studio. I’m starting a series of photos in my studio.