February 9, 2016

Hi everybody. Welcome to the blog where I talk about my present. I presently just got back from water therapy. I gotta get serious. I always joke around. That's not good sometimes. Today I was joking around in the water and I started going under. Everyone was laughing. I thought, when is someone gonna come and get me. It was a long session though. I'm pretty wiped out.

Let's see, what else happened this week. Well, at the end of every day, I walk with my up n go walker. But you've got to keep up with it. It pays off. Believe me. It all does get tiring though. I mean, just the other night I kind of freaked out because you get really sick of all this. When you have a traumatic brain injury they say, once you've see a traumatic brain injury, you'e seen one traumatic brain injury. Everyone's different. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, but basically, it's a drag. Yeah, sometimes you just wish you could take a break, step out of your body and shake it off and go back into it. Hard to describe, but it's all rather claustrophobic.

When I get kind of bummed out I start doing my photography. That helps a lot. Either that or painting. Abstract painting. That helps a lot. And it's a lot of fun. My father's a fine art painter and we paint every day at 5:00.

I was sitting here, trying to think of things to tell you guys. You know, things that are new. There's nothing new. Pretty pathetic huh? Makes me realize I gotta get out more. I mean, I'm talking to the freaking dog. Like I said before, when he starts talking back, I'm in trouble. Who knows, I might be living with The Coconut Man. Check out my other blog.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm gonna go back to work. Love you guys. Remember, if you have a traumatic brain injury, you gotta work hard every day. 9 to 5. It's your job. Love and miss you guys, B. Nice

P.S. The artwork up above is for my daughter. I miss her a lot.

February 5, 2016

Hi you guys. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. I basically tell you what's going on and update people on how I am. It's also for people who have a traumatic brain injury. Some of the information might be helpful to them.

Every day I go to therapy. That is, every day unless it snows a lot. Actually, it's not because of the snow. It's because of my mom's driving. Just kidding mom. She's actually pretty good. So I go to therapy almost every day. When you go to therapy there's a front desk. Now I'm convinced the ladies at the front desk think I'm absolutely looney tunes. Now imagine this: a guy in a wheelchair who rolls up every day and says he wants to leave a message for a therapist. He always starts out by saying, "My therapist is so ugly… Just the other day, I said, "Guys, did you hear about my therapist? Apparently, he took his family to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. and came out with an application." I say stuff like that, and say stuff like, "My therapist is so ugly that… he turns milk into cottage cheese when he walks by milk." You know, stuff like that. Hey, a man has to get  entertainment from somewhere. Right?

It's been a funny week. When you have a traumatic brain injury you're going to go through a whole bunch of emotions. It's like that now. But, you get through it. You know, you always have to push yourself. Little things like trying to feed yourself, or sit up, make a huge difference. It's easy to just sit back and let people do stuff for you, but you gotta really push it. If you don't, you're gonna become dependent on people. The more you do now, the less dependent you'll be on people later.

I've been doing water therapy a lot lately. It's really good. I highly recommend it. I think I've been there too long though. They do stuff like throw beach balls at me. I think I've become a source of entertainment. I mean, just the other day, they gave me a giant blow up dolphin to hold, and started laughing. What's with that?

I'm gonna leave it there. Hey! Superbowl weekend. Get ready. Hope you guys have fun.

Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice

Here's the link to my other blog. I met a rock star, back in the day.

February 2, 2016

Hi you guys. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the Present.

Man, I tell you, when you have a brain injury like this, it's tough. But, you gotta keep doing things to push it a little. It would be easy to just sit in front of the TV and do nothing, but you gotta push it. Just the other day, I went into the city for my birthday. My friend treated me to a birthday brunch. It was cool. It was tough though I'll tell you, because there was still a lot of snow in the city. I had a great brunch though, with my friends, so thank you my friends.

The thing that's a drag though, is, I still have what I call "moments." It seems the anti seizure medicine I'm on works really good. It stops any really big seizures. Anytime you have a lot of stimulation like noise and sight, it triggers these little moments. Kind of a drag, but, hey, it's entertaining.

One thing I pushed myself to do is I walk at the end of the day, even though I'm extremely tired. I use a device called the up N go to walk. I don't go far. Like 100 yards, but let me tell you, it feels like a marathon. But you know what? Each time, each day I do it, I get a little better and better. A little smoother and smoother. So all the hard work does pay off. Hey, nothing worthwhile is easy, right?

Some friends came up for a visit as well. That always brightens the soul. It was a great visit. So, thank you my friends. They brought me some new tools for painting. You see, anything you love to do, you gotta keep on trying to do it.

One thing that's new is I've been cooking more and more with my assistant. I got a bunch of new curries from a friend of mine and we've been using them to cook. I don't cook, 'cause a hot pan and me don't really mix, but I do all the ordering around. Kind of fun. Tonight we're making Chicken Bombay Curry. It's a lot of fun. Anyway, that's about it for now. I gotta get back to prepping for the cooking. Hope you guys have a good week. Love and miss you all. This is B. Nice signing off. Oh, by the way, if you want to check out my blog about the past, go to: www.briannice.com/blogspot.

Love, B. Nice

January 29, 2016

Hi you guys. Welcome to my blog where I talk about the present. The other day I went to see my film I did with Adam and Erin Hall. It was in the Bronx Film Festival (http://bronxstage.com/offset/). It was cool to see the film again. The film's called Offset. Check it out. Anyway, it was interesting seeing the past. I've definitely improved. Man, I was a mess. But, I'm getting better. That's for sure. I promised my daughter I'd get better and I am. It was tough though, I'll tell you, because the theatre was very dark and the screen was obviously light. All of this triggered something I've never experienced before. I felt like I was sinking backwards into my chair. I thought, Great I'm gonna have a seizure right here in front of everybody. (I was in the front row.) If I had a seizure, I should have charged everyone $10 more for the entertainment. It all went good though. People seemed to really like the film and had some great suggestions.

I continue to work with my walker on standing up and walking. It's getting smoother and smoother, I don't go far, cause I'll tell you, it's exhausting but it's getting easier. I still find it ironic I used to run close to a 4 minute mile, and I can barely take 20 steps. But at least I can take 20 steps. I'm gonna leave it at that because I'm pretty tired. Check out my blog where I used to lie in bed and think about the past. My friend here will include the link. Bye for now, and see you next week. Love, B. Nice

January 22, 2016

Hi you guys. Welcome to the blog where I talk about the present. I'm presently blogging to you from a place called The Hudson House. It's a small inn right on the Hudson River. Great views and great food. I'm having an Apple Strudel, but don't tell my mom. Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you.

A woman is old if she starts to look her age. A man is old if starts to stop looking. I say this because I'm one year older, and I'm still looking. You see, it was my birthday yesterday and as a birthday present to myself I managed to get on the train and go into Manhattan where I had lunch with my family. I looked around Grand Central for a while and then got on the train and came home. This might not sound like a big deal, but when you have traumatic brain injury, it's huge. You see, everything you look at, hear, see, experience, is taken in and can be overwhelming. Let me tell you. Anyway, I did it. There was a slight freak out for me, but that only lasted a minute.

I got a bit of bad news the other day, but when you have traumatic brain injury the slightest bad news is nothing because when you go through a traumatic brain injury it makes everything else seem simple. In other words, you stress less about other things. When I get a bit of bad news I just think about what I went through and am going through. Everything else seems like no big deal. You see, there's another benefit to having brain surgery, twice. You know, I'm gonna leave it here for now. My apple strudel just came, and well, it's a little more important to me right now than finishing this blog.

Talk to you next week and heres the link to my other blog.

Love, B. Nice

P.S. Some people want to see Obama's birth certificate. I want to see Sarah Palin's high school diploma.