A Reintroduction 81 posts later
Beginning with this blog’s first ever post, the self-titled, “More Than a Speed Bump”, which went live 2/1/21 on Facebook prior to the websites’ launch, I’ve tried to be open and honest to give readers a true look at this TBI survivors life after brain injury. With that in mind, and since although my ego likes to think readers will go back and read all my prior posts, allow me to give a snapshot of my world just over 4 years since that first post…
Although life has been quite dynamic with births, deaths, struggles, heartbreak, and even some success over More Than a Speed Bump’s lifetime; it’s been the stable aspects that have really made living anything resembling a productive life of purpose possible for me. It’s funny how if I can just pause and reflect, gratitude overcomes me. To be honest, as I sat down at my desk this morning my intention was to vent about my continued struggle with sugar (primarily of the frozen dairy variety) addiction and deep dislike of winter, but I felt overwhelmed with joy. Don’t get me wrong, the 5:15 wake-up whimpers from Cloon and icy stroll along the Portsmouth wind tunnels were by no means blissful, rather I’m able to accept it all.
It’s not lost on me that Valentine’s Day has just passed which would make it the perfect time to announce an upcoming nuptial, other than my two gorgeous nieces capturing my heart, there’s nothing to report as far as that goes. Speaking of Nora and Ruby, it is family along with faith that remains the base from which all that is good begins and grows. Included in family is the amazing community at Krempels Brain Injury Center (KBIC) who have truly loved me as I move towards loving myself! I still attend KBIC’s awe-inspiring programming as often as I possibly can for the reminder that this “New Life After Brain Injury” can be beautiful.
And then there’s RAWZ! Where do I begin? Since our launch at 2015’s Global Pet Expo in Orlando, the RAWZ team, dedicated pet specialty retailers and loving pet parents have contributed over $3.7 million to improving the lives of those living with disabilities, cat rescues, and service dogs through the RAWZ Fund. It’s been an amazing journey that I’m blessed to be a part of with our incredible team whose dedication is inspiring.
Perhaps the thing I’m most proud of that began shortly after my joining KBIC (at the time called Stepping Stones) is the outreach I’ve been able to do in the community. Starting with my involvement with KBIC’s community education group and our member speaking engagements (covered more in depth in “Unexpected Gift”), the opportunity to share my experience to a wide variety of audiences has been a blessing. While public speaking doesn’t necessarily come natural to me, I find if I go into an engagement concerned with helping the audience rather than impressing them, things work out fine.
If I’ve learned anything in nearly forty three years of life it’s that “Everything is going to be ok”, actually strike that, “Everything is already ok!” Does life always go as planned and follow that perfect little script in my head, certainly not, but I would’ve sold myself “short” anyways…