Concussions and Lawn Chairs

Hey y'all, Remember me? I did another guest article for the Brain Energy Support Team and I thought I would share it.  Hugs! - K No More UGHS for this Girl! Editor’s note: BEST welcomes back writer, blogger and BEST guest blogger, Kirsten Short, who shares a terrific and informative article on some helpful tools and strategies to engage your goals and journey forward in 2019. Thank you Kirsten for your important words and support! -- KT Click here to read more.

What. A. Year. Am I right?  Looking back on 2018, a few words come to mind: exhaustion, setbacks, gratitude and perspective.  The last 12 months didn’t come without its share of challenges. I lost my job, broke up with my boyfriend, and moved in with my parents. My headaches, migraines, fatigue and visual snow were debilitating and I spent more days in bed than not.  Conclusion: It was a tough year. BUT, I am tougher (is tougher a word? Or is it like funner? And I should be saying more tough? In case you were wondering, I didn’t learn how to spell in 2018).  Despite the above setbacks, actually I think it’s because of them, I am happier now than I have ever been. I have learned to stop, to feel, and to appreciate the beauty in my day to day life. Before my injury, I was never really present and was so focused on the one or two things I didn’t have. Now, I am just so grateful for every little thing (this includes you!). Thank you for all of your love, encouragement an...

Hi all, I wrote another blog post for the Brain Energy Support Team and thought I’d share it with all of you (‘tis the season for sharing after all).... I was listening to the radio the other day and  The Most Wonderful Time of Year  began to play. You know the one…   It’s the most wonderful time of the year With the kids jingle belling And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer”  It’s the most wonderful time of the year  It’s the hap-happiest season of all With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings  When friends come to call  It’s the hap- happiest season of all There’ll be parties for hosting Marshmallows for toasting And caroling out in the snow  There’ll be scary ghost stories  And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. While humming along to this Christmas classic, an upsetting thought passed through my mind:  Is i...

The theory was developed by Christine Miserandino to explain what it is like living with a chronic illness or disability (the whole spoon thing may seem weird to you, but she was in a diner when she came up with the analogy and my guess is that knives would have been a bit more dangerous to play with):       “The difference in being sick and being healthy is having to make choices or to consciously think about things when the rest of the world doesn’t have to. The healthy have the luxury of a life without choices, a gift most people take for granted.  Most people start the day with unlimited amount of possibilities, and energy to do whatever they desire, especially young people. For the most part, they do not need to worry about the effects of their actions… I used spoons to convey this point.”   A healthy person will have an unlimited number of spoons, but a Spoonie, someone with a chronic illness or disability, will wake up in the morning ...

It's Friday! Lately, I have been sharing important information/facts about concussions, visual snow syndrome and migraines every Friday via Instagram (@concussionsandlawnchairs). Today, I thought (hey!) maybe I should share some of this information here, too. I think knowledge IS power. AND the more you know means you know more, right?  Up this week is a super awesome video by Clifford Robbins and TEDEd about What Happens when you Have a Concussion? Click here to watch. Have a wonderful weekend! -K xoxo

Click here to read my guest blog  Life is Beauti-Fall   that I wrote for Brain Energy Support Team. Hope you like it! - K xoxo

Hi! Remember me? It has been far too long since my last post, and unfortunately (or fortunately?), that means that I have a lot to say now . Don’t get too excited though. This is going to be a ‘junk drawer’ of a blog; a bunch of random items all conveniently located in one spot.  here's a photograph in case you've forgotten me A caveat: I haven’t been too well lately, so I imagine there are far more spelling, formatting and grammatical errors in this post than usual (I really need to work on getting that editor). I’m sorry! GUEST BLOG POSTS   I have been writing for the Brain Energy Support Team (‘BEST’). If you’ve missed reading my blogs (Mom!), you can read two of my posts here: Changing the Language around Self-Care We know self-care is important, but why don’t we practice it regularly? Writer and blogger, Kirsten Short, explores how language impacts our perception of self-care in a fascinating article for the BEST blog. I’m a Brain Injury Survi...