Leuty Parker

Tag: #braininjury

  • Musings

    I got this from a friend, & I couldn’t put it better myself. It really does put what I’m experiencing, spot on. I have edited it so it’s more blog friendly;

    TBI has erased a part of my memory, perceptions and patterns of who I was as a person. All of it has been erased. It is blessing, certainly in disguise , most people never have this opportunity in life to recreate, redesign themselves with the wisdom, intelligence, insights, and lessons learned. This an opportunity to dispassionately study the woman I am. An opportunity to understand what i liked about her, and what you disliked about her. As my memory slate is wiped clean, you can recreate who i want to be I’m going to work on all the things that could be improved;speech, drawing, writing, language, reading. I’m aware that i may possess newer abilities i thought I hadn’t had. I get to dismiss patterns of the old, and adopt the new ways, customs, and behaviors of th new me.

  • The C7 Spinousg Process Tip

    This one’s quite technical…. But unlike other parts of the cervical vertebrae (neck region), the C7 is a the part that protrudes behind the spine, towards the skin. It’s located at the back of the neck.

    Because it’s pretty visible & can be felt at the base of the neck, it’s a signpost of the skeleton. The C7 is the biggest vertebrae in the neck are.

    Because it’s so obvious & protruding, it is more vulnerable. So that’s probably how mines a bit broken, & damaged my brain.

  • Ataxia

    So what I have learned about is I have ataxia, which led me know knew as much as a layman about it.

    So what ataxia is, it’s where you have problems with your balance. That is not to do with the vestibule aparatus but ill go into that in another post.

    So I have a big problem with my walking, I’m learning how to walk again. My physio told me about ataxia, & I guess that is what she thinks I have.

    There are 3 types of acadia, but I have very few problems other than I find it difficult to walk.

    acquired ataxia which occurs as a result of trauma (like my traumatic brain injury). Other nutritional problems can happen but so far the inability to walk is o the main one.

  • Déjà vu

    One of the worst things about this brain injury is to be told this is not the first time you have had this conversation.

    It literally means “already seen” in french. So I’m in a state of Déjà vu constantly. It’s so annoying to be told that you have already said something before. & who are you meant to believe? Your past self, or your present self?

    I’m stuck in the middle of not discovering the stuff about the old… or the original Leuty. & it is very confusing. Because I know I’m her, but I’m in the process of creating a new Leuty. I’m pretty sure that makes no sense at all. Reading it back to myself has left me in doubt that anyone could understand what I’m talking about. Well I’m wanting to become an advocate for brain injury victims, so maybe others going through brain injuries, will read this & understand.

  • Walking

    Now, never has the phrase “first you must walk, then you run” been more pertinent. Well, watch out cause now I’m learning how to walk.

    Now I am re-learning how to walk, I get to know the actual psychology & philosophy of it. It seems like the original Leuty had a penchant for philosophy. I seem to always question why things are the way that they are.

    There’s a lot of walking related puns; one step at a time, step by step etc. But when you’re learning, it becomes your main focus. So here’s another pun & I learned it is particularly important when you’re re-learning to walk, but “the devil’s in the details.

  • Writing Down

    With this brain injury, I have learned to appreciate the documenting of everything. Actually taking the time to write things down gives you time to process what is happening & consider it more.

    It’s less the end product that you admire (which I used to be so focused on) but the process of writing it down & meditating it. Let it take the time to linger in your thoughts.

    Because I’ve taken the time to think things through, I have taken longer to do things. But looking back at, the longer time I took in doing these things,

    It’s a proverb (I think, if it’s no, it should be), but it’s so true. It’s not the destination that is important. It’s the journey.

  • How to Walk

    My biggest ale at the moment is that I’m stuck in a wheelchair. I’m currently learning how to walk, which is very time consuming but it’s not like there is anything else to do. My project is I’m thinking right now is a pair of shoes that teaches you how to walk.

    What these shoes could do is have 2 things (maybe more): have a pedometer so it counts your steps (the FitBit is a good benefit benchmark of how there is I current trend on how many steps you take)

    & an NFC which linkes to an app on your phone, reading your progress & it teaches you all the exercises which could link with your phone through the use of NFC.

    This app could teach you all the exercises that will build your muscles in preparation for walking.

    Being in a situation where I’m in the process of learning to walk, & i come from a wearable technology background, this seems like just what I need.

  • Scotty Cranmer

    One of my friends came to visit me recently & told me about Scotty Cranmer & his story. He’s a really good example of someone who was pretty much at the top of his career, had a brain injury & did a lot of rehab, but he recovered with a LOT of determination.

    Scotty Cranmer had facial fractures, a cerebral hemorrhage, a craniectomy (which actually removes part of your skull, where the brain swells against the skull)amongst other things.

    How he got his TBI was when he was performing a trick on his BMX bike & the front wheel got trapped, so he crashed.

    He had broken vertebrae, broken teeth & a brain craniectomy (which means part of obis skull had to be removed).

    So quick, but completely changed his life. When he had his brain injury he was just 30, so not far from my 28.

    Obviously I’ll do a bit of advertisement because I really do think he’s pretty awesome, so Scotty Cranmer still does a lot of BMX champions, he runs AC Action Sports, does regular updates of his YouTube channel, does plenty of mentoring & commentates several BMX events, for those who actually know more about BMX championships he’s paid attention to X Games.

  • Walking

    It’s incredible how many idioms are walking related.

    When walking is so difficult, like how I find it now, is when you really focus on it.

    Some good examples of walking-related idioms are ”step by step” “first you walk, then you run” or even “walking tall”. So walking seems to be central to our species.

    I guess when you focus on it, you become hyper-sensitive to it, probably because all your attention is on it.

    I myself am learning to walk. The process is very long, it’s a step by step process. Forget the pun.

  • Watch this

    I really don’t like to tell people what to do, but this is truly fantastic. When you watch it it’s very pertinent to what I’m going through. Watch it! (It’s on YouTube so if you have the internet then it’s available to everyone)