The "Ultimate Empathy Experience"

Why the radio silence on this blog? Well, I'll tell you: In August 2010, I was felled by a virus that went into my spine, causing swelling in the c5/c6 vertebrae. The culprit: West Nile. That's right, a tiny little mosquito got the best of me, and now I'm going through what my family and I are calling "The Ultimate Empathy Experience" as I embark on my own journey of neurological recovery.

As a result of the nerve damage, I have limited use of my arms (my left is totally gimpy; my right is a little bit better), and I am, as my husband says, "weak as a kitten." Now that I'm out of the hospital, I have physical therapy and occupational therapy five days a week, and I'm dabbling in alternative therapies like acupuncture and hyperbaric oxygen. I feel totally helpless. (My daughter is typing this post for me.)

On an intellectual level, I know from working with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury clients that the Road to Recovery is long, progress is subtle, and patience is critical. But man, are these things hard to accept. Like so many of my clients over the years, I want a miracle. I want to wake up one morning and have everything be back to the way it was "Before." The advice I've given so many clients over the last thirty-five years—"Don't push yourself too hard!" "Adjust your expectations!" "A good attitude goes a long way!"—seems extra hard to swallow, and yet, I'm choking it down. All in all, the experience has validated a lot of the things I understood as a clinician about this type of recovery.

I wrote about many of these things in my NEW book, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: The Guidebook. In a brilliant stroke of irony, I received the first published copy while I was an in-patient at Boulder Community Hospital's Mapleton Rehabilitation Center, where I worked as a cognitive rehabilitation specialist for thirteen years. Life is strange, isn't it?

BUY THE BOOK HERE!!!