12 June, 2015

Hey everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. Every morning I wake up and have a little art show. See the example above. They are pictures I paint every day or so at five with my father. The heart is for my daughter who I really miss.

I'll make this blog short cause it's hot and humid as hell and it really affects me. It seems different things will affect you if you have traumatic brain injury. I think I mentioned this before but, I've been doing the Up n Go almost every day. It helps you learn how to walk again. I highly recommend it. You do have to constantly stand up about every hour or so, you know to get your joints used to weight bearing your body weight. Remember, I've been sitting down a long time. It's also like the 3rd or 4th time I've had to learn how to walk again. It seems like every time I get to walking it's like BANG, back to square one. Let's hope I have a good run this time (no pun intended).

Here's my link to the blog about the past. Hope you have a good week. Love, B. Nice

June 9, 2015

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. You know, I mentioned this before, but every morning I wake up, the first thing I do is say "Good morning" to my little one, even though my little one's not here. I miss my little one. I think about what the lesson of the day would be. And the lesson of the day is, "Nothing worthwhile is easy." You have to work hard. For example, when you have traumatic brain injury, you really have to work hard if you want to get better. Just the other day I was using a device called the Up n Go. I told you before, but it helps you stand up and walk. Man, it's tough. I was exhausted after walking just 200 feet. But hey, it's a start. Once again, I was blown away by my perspective, looking at the world from six feet. Pretty cool to be up there again. Remember, I've been in my wheelchair for the last five years.

The other thing I wake up to is: OK, what's in store for the day? When you have a traumatic brain injury, you never know what's in store for you. You don't think about the future. You don't think about the past. You just think about the here and now. For example, I woke up this morning and my legs were really numb. You know, like when you fall asleep on your leg. It made getting out of bed rather interesting. So, you never know what you're gonna get.

I got an email from a friend of mine. He said something I thought was pretty cool. He was on Bondi beach and he overheard a surf life saver say something. The surf life saver looked out over the ocean and saw a lot of surfers. He pointed at the surfers and he said, "Do you know who the best surfer out there is?" and then he paused and he said, "The one having the most fun." I guess you could apply that to anything.

Have a good week. Love, B. Nice

P.S. I bought this boat. Do you think it's a bit much? (Just kidding:)

Here's the link to my blog about the past.

May 29, 2015

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. You know, I was reading previous blogs and in one I was acting as if I was talking to my little one. I said to her, "There are no shortcuts in life." But actually, there is one short cut that I know of. You see, you can learn through other peoples' mistakes. It will save a lot of time and energy, believe me. That's my profound thought of the week.

A friend of the family stopped by. He had a really secure and awesome media job. He gave it all up to pursue a career he's always wanted to do. Pretty ballsy. I'm proud of him. Remember, do what you love.

You know, I'm doing this blog to help other people. You see, I really believe that everything I've gone through in my life has led to this moment. It's kind of unreal, but I draw upon my past experiences to get through all this. Remember high school? The whole is a sum of its parts. How's that for profound.

Anyway, just to benchmark: I can sit up with some assistance. Still can't feed myself. The other day I walked about 100 feet with some help from a physical therapist. Mind you, it was on my Up 'n Go, which is like a walker, but it felt pretty good. It felt good to be up and around 6 feet tall again. I forgot what the world looked like from that perspective. It's easier to roll over now. I don't freak out when I'm on my stomach anymore. My eyesight is getting better. I still can't hold things, like cups of water. I could, but I'm afraid no one would want to sit around me. I still need help in just about everything. But over all, things are improving. Just gotta stay positive. The side walks in my local town still don't accommodate a person in a wheelchair so I think I'll just go park my ass on a curb. You know, the silent protest thing.

That's all for now. This is B. Nice signing off. Love you, B. Nice

To get back to my website: Click Here (www. briannice.com)

And to get to my other blog about the past: Click Here

May 23, 2015

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. At the present I'm feeling very Victorian. I'm sitting in bed blogging to you. There's a fire going. I have a beautiful woman typing for me. She's at the foot of the bed, and my dog is here.

Not much really to say about the present. Everything is status quo. But I will include the link where I talk about the past. Have a good memorial day weekend. Love, B. Nice

May 19, 2015

Hi everybody. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. Boy, I really miss my daughter, but she'll be here soon. It's pretty cool. We get to hang out. It's nice to be like a kid again, for a few weeks. You know, speaking of escape, it's nice to get out of the house when you're like this. When you have a traumatic brain injury, it's nice to get out of your routine. For example, I went out to visit my friend here the other day. She's got a really cool studio where she makes quilts. It's great to get out. It really is a small thing, but it makes a big difference, believe me. It's funny though, the smallest things can make you really tired. I guess it's stimulus overload. Maybe it was the bar we stopped in on the way back home. Just kidding.

I wanted to mention something. It would be good for anyone with a traumatic brain injury to know. There's a program out there called Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but there are grants available through this program to help you out. For example, I got a grant for my stair chair, so I can sleep in my bedroom upstairs. I'm trying to get a grant right now for a trike, so I can get out and bike with my daughter. It's just good to know about, to help you out. I highly recommend you look into it.

On another note, you know, I increased one of my anti seizure medications. It seems to have helped a lot. I get less, what I call "moments." Medically you could call them auras. You know, everyone's different. You have to find the right anti seizure medicine for you. They were going to put me on one that had a side effect of giving you double vision. That's the last thing I need. I already see double becaue of the last operation. The last thing I need is that times 2. I would be looking around like a fly. "Help me…(in a high pitch)"

The other thing I've been doing a lot of is taking photos and drawing. When you're like this, you know, TBI, you gotta keep doing what you love. Anyway, I'm gonna sign off. My friend here brought up some summer cooler drinks. They're made up of pineapple rum, triple sec, chilled vodka, a splash of chilled gin, half an ounce of chilled top shelf silver tequila, extra chilled, and some ice, in a chilled glass, a twist of lime, a splash of coca cola, a splash of sweet n sour mix and an ambulance. Just kidding. It's really sprite, cranberry juice and orange juice. Very refreshing.

Have a good week. Love, B. Nice