January 9, 2016

Hi everyone. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present.

I'm presently still messed up. Imagine this: OK, I've got no balance. Can't stand up. Can't walk. I've got numbness all over my face. Can't see good. Can't talk that well. I'm constantly drooling like a basset hound. I have to be fed like a damn parrot. I have a hard time swallowing. I've got a scar in my throat from my trach. The scar is sensitive. My hands are numb and I can only feel about 50%. My right hand is exceptionally tight, and my right two fingers are like a claw. I've got a wonderful scar that goes from my belly button up to my sternum. That's a bonus, it's also highly sensitive because of the scar tissue. I need help using the bathroom. And have a special chair for that. Isn't that wonderful? The whole right side of my body is very very tight and I constantly get cramps. My left foot is exceptionally cold and I also have numbness in my feet. Other than that, everything's great! I have all these disabilities, but you know what, I sure can love. You see, my little one was here for a week and I love her. And it's cool because despite all these disabilities, she loves me right back. It's cool cause she'll do things like have tickle fights. Stuff like that. It's as if I didn't have any disabilities at all. Anyway, I think it's pretty cool. The bummer is, I took her, my little one, ice skating. Now, imagine this, I'm in my wheelchair and she's skating in the middle of the rink. All these people are going in front of me. The ice is bright bright white, so basically it turned into a strobe effect. So, it's kind of an uncool situation if you have a traumatic brain injury. It's like a strobe effect that could trigger a seizure, but luckily I'm on anti seizure medicine. The whole situation still wiped me out. I'm pretty tired. But you get over it. You learn to live with it. You never know what to expect. Things can pop up and surprise you.

After going back and reading all of the above, all of the disabilities above, actually you have to think about the things you can do. You gotta stay positive, and think, well, things can only get better. I'm telling you, it's important. If you just concentrate on the negative it can really bum you out. I just thought I'd mention that.

Every morning I wake up, I say hello to my daughter, even if she's not here. I reach over to grab my watch. I try to put it on. It's like a comedy show, me trying to put on my watch. I got it from a photographer who taught me a lot. Anyway, the watch reminds me also of a time when I would always look at the watch to see how late my other friend was. One time he told me to meet him at a bar in Sydney Australia. It was in an area called Kings Cross. The street I was gonna meet him on was a real seedy street. A real dodgey area. The bar I was gonna meet him at was even scarier. Anyway, I was at the bar, looking at my watch, waiting for my friend who was late, when I looked over the bar I noticed a small stage at the far end of the bar, a real tiny stage. All of a sudden this couple comes out and they are completely naked and they start having sex on this tiny stage. I thought, where the hell am I? While they're having sex, this cop walks in and takes a blatant payoff from the bartender, has a beer, puts the money in his pocket, watches the couple on the stage, and leaves. Then I look a little closer at the audience and I notice a Japanese family in the front row of the bar watching the couple have sex on the stage. They are taking photos. It's probably the most bizarre bar I've ever gone to. I'd like to see those photos though. I'll bet that eight year old kid got some good stuff.

There's just one other thing I'd like to talk about. You know, when you have a traumatic brain injury, it really limits what you can do. One thing I'm lucky about is I've retained all my ability to taste food. This is great when some friends come by with a full on meal. The other day some friends came by with some food up from the city. It was a great meal. Just thought I'd mention that. Good food is good for the soul.

If you want to hear some other stories, you know, stories from the past, check out my other blog. This is B. Nice signing off. Have a good week. Love, B. Nice

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about my present. At the present I would like to say Merry Christmas to all of you.

I continue to do therapy every day. Like I said, some days are good. Some days are not so good. But you gotta keep going. You know, just the smallest thing like picking out a Christmas present is really difficult. Just the concentration can send you over the edge. But it's challenging as well. So, check this out. My nephew designed a shirt. We have another artist in the family. Watch out. Anyway, here's his link. http://gargoylestudios.storenvy.com So, if you want to see what the next generation is doing, check it out.

I'm gonna leave it there. I just want to wish you guys a Merry Christmas and a great New Year.

Love you all, and miss you. Love, B. Nice

PS Here's my link where I talk about my past

December 15, 2015

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

At the present, I'm watching my health assistant limp around the living room. You see, he cut his foot on a chair at the swimming pool where I do therapy. I'm kind of chuckling to myself because it reminds me of a story. A story, imagine that. Anyway, remember, I said I ran across America? Well, one of our sponsors was Adidas. They gave me a pair of running shoes that were too small for me. As a result, most of the skin on my little toe was pretty much gone. I showed my wound to my coach. He said, "Let me see your foot." I showed him my little toe and he said, "Oh, I'll take care of that for you." And he pulled out a can of spray that looked like gold spray paint. He said, "Put your foot up." And before I could say, "What are you going to do?" He sprayed my little toe. It instantly cauterized my wound. I think they heard me scream all the way in Western Australia. The stuff he used was called Tough Skin, and it actually forms an artificial skin over your wound. Pretty nasty stuff.

There are lots of holiday parties happening now, and I went to one the other night. It's pretty tough for me because my eyes are dilated and there are plenty of christmas tree lights, like points of light. That, on top of all the noise is enough to send me over the ledge. I don't last for long at the parties. Just another fun moment of traumatic brain injury.

It was interesting getting into the house where the party was. It just reminds you that it's a lot of work when you're disabled. It's a lot of work just going to someone's house. Who would think two steps would be so scary? The owner of the house I was at asked me why I was leaving so early. I replied, "Well, I got thrown out of the party. I found their parrot, tried to get it drunk and teach it the words, 'Piss Off.'" I was kidding, of course. Kind of.

I've been using the up n go machine, you know the machine that helps me learn how to walk. I've been using it almost every day now. It's amazing how tired it makes you. I've talked about it  before. I used it in therapy after the first operation and second operation. It's pretty remarkable how much it helps you. I highly recommend it.

Just one other thing you should know, if you have a TBI. I'm not sure, but I think I have little moments, or auras at night. I think my dreams actually bring on auras I don't know about. It's like taking two steps forward and one step back. I feel like I'm constantly feeling like I'm trying to keep up with myself. It's hard to describe, but I wake up some mornings feeling like shit. I just wanted to share that with anyone that might have traumatic brain injury. Never a dull moment.

Anyway, I hope you guys have a good week. Hey, check it out! It's my little one's birthday next week. Let's all wish her a happy birthday. She'll be nine years old. Nine going on twenty eight.

Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice

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

December 8, 2015

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

So I go to outpatient almost every day, for either water therapy or strength building. This is what it's like where I go. It's kind of like that movie, "One Flew Over The Cockcoo's Nest." So, imagine this. Imagine theres an older couple. The old woman stands up and says to the old man, "I'm going to the kitchen. Would you like me to get you something?" And the man replies, "Yeah, some ice-cream would be nice." Tje woman says, "What kind of ice-cream would you like?" And the man says, "Chocolate, but you'd better write that down." And she says, "No, I got it. Chocolate ice-cream. Anything else?" The man replies, "Yeah, some chocolate sauce would be nice, but you better write that down." The woman replies, "No, I got it chocolate ice-cream, chocolate sauce. No problem. Would you like anything else?" The man replies, "Well, actually, I'd like some of those sprinkles, you know, the colored ones, that would be nice. But you'd better write that down." She says, "No, I got it. Chocolate ice-cream, chocolate sauce, colored sprinkles. No problem." Then she goes off to the kitchen. She comes back 15 minutes later with bacon and eggs. The man replies, "Bacon and eggs! You forgot my toast!" Never a dull moment where I go.

Actually, today it's been like two hours of water therapy. I'm pretty wiped out so I'm gonna keep this short and leave it at that. Hope you guys have a great week. Check out my blog where I talk about the past.

Love, B. Nice

December 1, 2015

Hi everybody.. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. My little one came to visit me for a week. It was cool. I remember we were sitting at our country kitchen table and I said, "Run over to the sink, fill up a glass of water and bring it over here." My little one filled the glass of water, brought it to the table. And I said, "Now put it in the center of the table." I said, "Look now, everyone has a different perspective on the water. When I look through it, I see the big window behind it, the table cloth. The light coming through it. When you look at the same glass of water, you have a different perspective. You might see the kitchen cabinets, the dark paint, the table cloth. What I'm trying to say is, there might be one thing, but we all have a different perspective, a different point of view on the same thing. Do you understand wheat I'm saying?" My little one, with a very serious look in her eyes said to me… "Dad, you have a fly on your head." So much for my philosophy course.

I just want to tell you one other amusing thing. This house is crazy. You could do a sitcom on our house. I can't talk, right? I mean, I sound like a drunken sailor. And my dad can't hear a thing so it's rather amusing here. WEll, the other day my dog took a big dump outside, right in front of the kitchen door. Of course my dad stepped right in it and started walking through the kitchen dragging shit everywhere. I yelled to my dad, "DAD! Stop, check your shoes!" He replied, "Yeah, great news! USC won over UCLA!" I said, "NO! Check your shoes!" And then he replied, "Hold on, hold on." Then the dog started barking. He said, "Who's here, who's here?" The whole time, he's tracking dog shit all over the kitchen. I need a vacation. My poor health assistant cleaned up the mess. And the dog shit too.

The other thing that's been happening this week is I have been wearing my weighted vest for longer periods. It really helps in calming down my shaking (Attaxia). It's pretty remarkable. It allows me to do my other therapies in a clearer way. And the best thing that happened this week was I finally got the family back. It had been in storage and repair since 2008. Can you believe it? Anyway, it was worth the wait. It's great exercise for my hands and I can teach my little one how to play. I can't play, but it's nice to listen to the notes and work my hands. My friend here remarked that sound therapy is probably good for me, and it's true because the only thing that works good on me is sound and listening. Everyone's different. This is B. Nice signing off. Love you guys. Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice

Here's my link where I talk about the past.