Blogs/Recordings

Co-founder of BEST Michelle Ranae Wild and her team developed a suite of five applications for the brain injury community. Technology Tools for Cognitive Performance By Eliza Marie Somers Technology can be daunting for many brain injury survivors, but it also can be a supportive tool that can help many survivors and their caregivers with everyday tasks that once were easy and now take more time and energy to perform. “Technology is like a cognitive rehabilitation tool in your hand,” said Michelle Ranae Wild at the August 13, 2021, Brain Injury Hope Foundation Survivor Series: Technology Tools for Cognitive Performance. [...]

Attorney Rebecca Albano reveals tips on how to pick a lawyer during the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s July 9, 2021, Survivor Series. THE INFORMATION ENCLOSED HEREIN IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND MS. ALBANO IS NOT YOUR ATTORNEY, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL. By Eliza Marie Somers You might have heard the phrase: Choose your friends wisely. Well, this can and should apply when picking an attorney to represent you, especially after a traumatic brain injury. That was one of the main takeaways during the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Survivor Series: Navigating the Legal System for BI Survivors on July [...]

A Positive Attitude Can Carry You Through Tough Times By Eliza Marie Somers We humans love routine, but after a brain injury, nothing seems routine. The simple act of brushing your teeth or making breakfast is anything but routine. How many times have you picked up something other than the toothpaste and started to put it on the toothbrush? Or looked in the fridge, only to draw a blank as to why you opened it in the first place? Or walked into your office only to forget why you are there? These are some of the typical challenges many brain [...]

Photo by Matt Noble via Unsplash Brain Injury Treatment Panel: Concussive Events and Their Impact On Vision By Eliza Marie Somers You may have heard the phrase: “The ayes have it,” however, for the brain injury community it’s the EYES that have it. Dr. Amy Elsila, OD said she was discussing brain injuries with colleagues and noted that “80 to 90 percent of people with brain injuries have some sort of vision problems. But one of my colleagues, said, ‘No. It’s 100 percent!” Dr. Amy Elsila says vision problems affect about 100 percent of brain injury survivors. Elsila was one [...]

Brain Injury Hope Foundation co-founder Dr. Mary Ann Keatley says memory can sometimes be restored in mTBI survivors with a little work and dedication to therapy. “It can be five minutes a few times a week,” she said of therapy. Memory Can Be Repaired, Even Years After a TBI By Eliza Marie Somers Memory issues are a constant complaint of mTBI survivors, and it’s especially vexing for people who suffered brain injuries years ago. However, new research reveals you CAN strengthen your memory with a just few exercises a week. Dr. Mary Ann Keatley, co-founder of the Brain Injury Hope [...]

JoAnne Silver Jones says she has found a new appreciation for the relationships in her life after her brain injury. Importance of Community after a TBI By Eliza Marie Somers Cultivating connections and staying active in a community are common threads that help survivors of traumatic brain injuries move forward in their journey from recovering to regaining a zest for life. These approaches weaved in and out of conversations during the first Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Survivor Series of 2021 when a panel of five survivors discussed their tactics at the Strategies to Move from Surviving to Thriving Zoom event [...]

Kevin Thompson got a puppy, Sla'inte (pronounced slan-cha), during the pandemic to keep him company. Hobbies, Mindfulness, Kindness Help Survivors During Pandemic By Eliza Marie Somers During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Joanne Cohen kicked off the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Zoom Survivor Series seminars with 13 rays of hope and tips for mTBI survivors. Get BIHF Vice President Joanne Cohen’s book “Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond: My Journey Through Brain Injury” at Amazon Target Barnes and Nobel  The foundation circled back and ended its 2020 seminar season Nov. 13 with an uplifting session -- Life During [...]

Gayann Brandenburg says creating access to buildings, events and transportation can help businesses by including people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Expand Your Community by Becoming Accessible By Eliza Marie Somers If COVID-19 has taught us one thing it is: To be part of a community, you must have access to that community. That community can be your “tribe.” Community can also be a physical place, such as a library, a gym, museum or a church, or, as we’ve learned in 2020, a digital or virtual place. And while we all are coping with the limited access because of the [...]

Co-founder of The Brain Injury Hope Foundation Mary Ann Keatley explains the Energy Pie during the October 2020 Survivor Series via Zoom. By Eliza Marie Somers We’ve all experienced exhaustion: When we are so tried after a long day we just collapse on the sofa, lacking the energy to take a shower or even to eat. Now multiply that by 10, and that’s what a majority of brain injury survivors go through day in and day out.  However, there is hope for mTBI survivors said Brain Injury Hope Foundation co-founder Dr. Mary Ann Keatley during the October 2020 Survivor Series: [...]

Joanne Cohen, vice president of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation, says caregivers also face grief. For more information on grief and brain injuries, please see our two blogs on the subject. Gaining Your Power Back with Counseling after Brain Injury and The Benefits of Counseling after Brain Injury. By Eliza Marie Somers A familiar phrase – Put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others – symbolizes the approach caregivers must take in order to maintain a proper balance in their lives as they take care for their loved ones. And it’s a motto to take seriously or face burnout.    “Early [...]

The Brain Injury Hope Foundation recommends that you please consult your physician for all medical advice. And please remember, the statements in this blog post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Brain Injury Hope Foundation, its representatives and officers have not verified and do not condone any opinions or recommendations contained herein and are not responsible or liable related thereto. By Eliza Marie Somers A diet that includes a variety of vegetables and uses meat as “condiments” is recommended by the panel of experts at the BIHF Survivor Series on nutrition. What’s for dinner? That simple three-word question can create [...]

BIHF Vice President Joanne Cohen, top left, Rita Coalson, MA, LPC NCC, and BIHF President Gayann Brandenburg, bottom, facilitate the Benefits of Counseling Following a Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injury on July 17, 2020.  Counseling may be the furthest thing from someone’s mind during recovery from a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), but it might just be the best thing a survivor can do for their well-being.  During the second virtual installment of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Survivor Series of 2020, Benefits of Counseling Following a Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injury on July 17 via Zoom, Rita Coalson, MA, [...]

13 Keys to Re-empowerment During the Pandemic Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond and Making a Difference Graphic recording  To describe the year 2020 as vexing, exasperating and terrifying is an understatement as the coronavirus pandemic remains a deadly cloud over our everyday lives. Add in a traumatic brain injury and the anxiety can be unbearable at times. However, Joanne Cohen, vice president of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation, gave mTBI survivors 13 rays of hope during the first virtual Zoom Survivor Series – Getting Hit, Getting Up, Moving Beyond: 13 Keys to Re-empowerment During the Covid-19 Challenge, on June [...]

Healthcare Panel Reveals Unique Ways to Recover from TBI BIHF Vice President Joanne Cohen, standing left, greets the February 2020 Treatment Panel participants: Nancy Bonifer, standing left to right, Candi Boyd, Dr. Eric Spier, Dr. Jeff McWhorter, seated left, and Dr. Shane Steadman. Working with “non-traditional” doctors while recovering from a brain injury has helped many survivors, who are part of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation community. To help others overcome hurdles, the BIHF held a panel discussion February 13, 2020, with several healthcare providers, who doled out information about their services. Joining our panel at the West Metro Fire [...]

BIHF vice president Joanne Cohen, back, welcomes Jeffrey Therrian and Dr. JoAnne Silver Jones to the January 2020 Survivor Series Luncheon. Six brain injury survivors revealed their tips to thriving after a TBI to kick off the 2020 series of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Survivor Series Luncheons on January 10 at the West Metro Fire and Rescue Event Center in Lakewood, Colorado. “Overcoming Obstacles to Create a Better Life and a New Normal” gave survivors in the audience an opportunity to garner various methods, including unusual therapies to just smiling to use in their recovery from a brain injury. [...]

While most survivors of a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) keep a laser-like focus on the physical  healing of the brain, one aspect of the therapeutic process is often an afterthought and usually  forgotten and overlooked. That important aspect is a person’s psychological and emotional well-being. To help survivors and their families understand the importance of the mental side of recovery the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s Survivor Series on September 13, 2019, featured a panel of experts at its “The Benefits of Counseling Following Traumatic Brain Injury” luncheon at the West Metro Fire and Rescue Training and Event Center in Lakewood, [...]

So much of “who we are” is linked to our employment. I’m an electrician, a fireman, an accountant, an attorney, a teacher. Yes, we all have a deep attachment to our occupation. So after a mild traumatic brain injury, a part of our “identity and purpose in life” gets a jolt of the new reality we now face.  After months, maybe even years, of rehab and therapy we are ready to test new waters, but we are stuck in a stream of … where do I start.  The Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s free Survivor Series luncheon Aug. 9, 2019 at [...]

Well I certainly don’t suddenly feel wiser as I’m older — actually it doesn’t feel any different than yesterday. Remember those adult stupid questions when you were a kid? “Well! How does it feel to be … years old?” Duh. So, I survived the 60’s. Twice. “If you remember the sixties, you weren’t really there”, is a tongue in cheek quote credited to a lot of people back in the day, but it is strikingly apropos to my life today. A month into my 68th year I was is a rear-end car accident. The past couple of years have definitely [...]

Takeda, Allred relate their experiences after traumatic brain injuries After actor Scott Takeda suffered numerous concussions and remained stagnant in his recovery until he found medical cannabis to alleviate symptoms, he then found himself facing the stigma and shame of turning to medical marijuana along with being a TBI survivor.  “I was at a family gathering and I hadn’t come out yet about the concussions and I was on medical cannabis,” Takeda explained. “And one of my cousins, said ‘Oh you liberal Hollywood types are you still doing that wacky weed?’” Instead of responding, Yes, I’m on the wacky week [...]

Joanne Cohen is a board member of the Brian Injury Hope Foundation and a survivor of numerous brain injuries. The June 2019 Survivor Series was possible through a full grant donation from her family:   Dr. Steve and Debbie Cohen A different vibe filled the air at the Survivor Series Luncheon on June 14, 2019, at the West Metro Fire Rescue Training and Event Center. Decorative cakes packed a table in the back, flowers flanked the panel’s table, and live music resonated in the hall. A celebration awaited participants to the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s (BIHF) monthly informative session, facilitated by [...]

May 2019 Treatment Panel Emphasizes Brain’s Ability to Heal The Brain Injury Hope Foundation does not endorse any healthcare providers. The goal with the Treatment Panel is to provide information to TBI survivors and their families and caregivers so they can research methods best suited for their recovery. Do you feel as if you are treading water in your recovery from a brain injury, even though you are following doctor’s orders, doing your physical therapy and eating right? Yes, recovering from a brain injury can take time, and sometimes you reach a plateau with “traditional” medicine. That’s one reason the [...]

PERA, ERISA, SGA, SSDI vs. SSI, LTD vs. STD! It’s an alphabet soup when it comes to applying for benefits after an injury, and it’s especially puzzling negotiating the system when a head injury is involved. The Brain Injury Hope Foundation presented a panel of professionals who work with the “system” to help guide traumatic brain injury survivors and their families and caregivers through the maze of government and legal bureaucracies. The panel at the free BIHF Survivor Series on April 12, 2019, at the West Metro Denver Fire & Rescue Training Center in Lakewood, Colorado, consisted of: Harold Lasso [...]

Striving to instill hope into the lives of survivors of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), acquired brain injuries (ABI) and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) is one of the main goals of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation’s grant-funded monthly Survivor Series. The March 8, 2019, luncheon, featuring a panel of survivors, turned into a powerful, raw event in which members of the panel and audience were brought to tears while relaying their stories of struggles and accomplishments. The March event - Surviving to Thriving Panel: Overcoming Obstacles to Create a Better Life and a New Normal – was sponsored The Colorado [...]

Demystifying Relationships, Communication, and Intimacy after a Brain Injury with Dr. Ricardo Esparza and Dr. Mary Ann Keatley Relationships with our spouses or significant others are often described as intimate. However, these connections can also refer to interactions with your parents, siblings, caregivers, friends, and coworkers. Intimate relationships differ from acquaintances in that they are consensual relationships where people reciprocate deeper feelings of trust and understanding. Intimate communication is often strained after a person suffers a mild TBI. However, there are ways to smooth the rocky road as Dr. Ricardo Esparza and Dr. Mary Ann Keatley explained during the first [...]