The Crash That Saved My Life with Jesi Stracham

Can a tragedy actually save your life? It is a paradoxical question, but for Jesi Stracham, the moment that broke her body was the catalyst that fixed her life. In 2015, a motorcycle accident resulted in a T4 complete spinal cord injury, stripping away her physical mobility but granting her a sudden, terrifying clarity. Jesi transitioned from a reckless lifestyle to facing the raw, unglamorous reality of paralysis, a shift that forced her to take extreme ownership of a future she hadn't planned for.

Louise and Jesi discuss the disorienting first 30 days following a spinal cord injury, exploring what happens inside the body and how the understanding of such a permanent change evolves in real time. They talk about the ripple effects of trauma on family and relationships, and the pivotal moment when survival mode must transform into active rebuilding. Jesi opens up about how she channeled her innate competitiveness into becoming the first paraplegic to complete the World’s Toughest Mudder 24-hour obstacle course and how that drive led her to found the Wheel With Me Foundation. Now an author, Jesi details her journey in her new book, The Power of the Roll & Throttle, sharing the mindset required to reclaim agency and the unexpected motivation discovered through injury.

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Jesi Stracham's new Book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Roll-Throttle-Spinal-Injury/dp/1476698511

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Inside Stem Cell Research for Spinal Cord Injury With Dr. Mark Tuszynski

What can stem cells actually repair after a spinal cord injury, and where are the boundaries? What learnings might be drawn from ALS, MS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s for SCI research? How should patients and families interpret early clinical SCI trial results? And what does a therapy like NervGen mean for the broader research landscape?

In this episode, Louise sits down with neurologist and researcher Dr. Mark Tuszynski of the University of California, San Diego, to examine the realities of stem cell research for spinal cord injury. They explore the biological barriers to regeneration, why recovery is rarely driven by a single intervention, and how clinical trials are designed, paced, and evaluated.

The episode offers a clear, honest, science-first perspective on progress, patience, and what meaningful advancement in spinal cord injury research really looks like today and what we can expect. 

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Mark Tuszynski: https://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/centers-programs/neural-repair/projects/index.html

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#293 Revisiting Blink: A Holiday Special, He Talked with God

In this holiday revisit, Blink of an Eye returns to He Talked With God, a moving episode from Season 1 that explores the intersection of catastrophic injury, faith, and human resilience. Spinal cord injuries often occur suddenly, frequently while people are away from home, often on vacation, and unprepared for how quickly life can change, leaving families to navigate life changing injuries and complex medical trauma in unfamiliar circumstances.

Revisiting this early conversation during Season 6 offers a moment of reflection on how deeply personal journeys of injury, belief, and survival continue to shape lives over time. This episode invites listeners to consider the enduring questions of meaning, connection, faith in purpose and what is possible that arise in the aftermath of spinal cord injury—and why these stories remain essential to tell.

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! Www.BLINKofanEye.org

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and medical, rehab and life tips resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 365 days of renormalizing. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory, self-awareness methods, relational advocacy, mediation interventions, and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

The Future of SCI Neural Repair With Dr. Andrew Stewart

What does it mean to rethink spinal cord injury recovery when the world has told you that healing has a limit? How do you hold on to hope when science, for decades, insisted that the chronic stage of SCI was a closed door? And what happens when new research begins to challenge those long-held assumptions, inviting us into a different kind of possibility?

In this episode, Louise talks with neuroscientist Andrew Stewart, whose work sits at the forefront of emerging SCI science. Andrew brings us into the biology of the injured spinal cord and the breakthroughs that are beginning to reshape what we understand about repair, recovery, and the potential for regeneration. Together, they explore the momentum building around therapies like NervGen, the questions researchers are finally able to ask, and why the nervous system may be more adaptable than anyone believed even a decade ago.

This conversation blends scientific clarity with grounded hope, offering a window into the persistence, curiosity, and careful optimism driving today’s most promising advances in SCI healing.

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Andrew Stewart: https://medicine.uky.edu/centers/scobirc/users/anst265

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Shot, Survived, and Still Rising: The Life of Damon Walker

What happens when everything changes in a single moment—not just from SCI but from an unexpected kind act of a stranger? Damon Walker was living fast, avoiding reflection, and giving little thought to tomorrow—until the gunshot. The sudden spinal cord injury that followed didn’t just take away physical mobility; it demanded emotional honesty, a different kind of strength, and a complete rethinking of self.

In this conversation, Damon opens up about the pressure to remain tough, the guilt he carried, what he wishes he had known before rehab, and the hardest parts no one warns you about—social isolation, identity loss, and the quiet mental battles that don’t show on the outside. We talk about faith, masculinity, fear, moments of grace, and his process of learning to slow down and listen to life instead of outrunning it.

Damon also shares his thoughts on today’s generation of newly injured spinal cord survivors, what inspires him about the future of SCI medicine and mobility research, and why hope shouldn’t be seen as naïve… but as fuel. At the end of our talk, he tells the full story of the night it all changed—the gunshot, the Good Samaritan who picked him out of the gutter, the rush to the hospital, and the moment he realized nothing would ever be the same.

Sending love 

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Today, Louise shares a personal, heartfelt reflection on gratitude—what it really feels like and why it matters

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#289 Can Strength Grow Through Adaptation? Mason Says Yes

Today, Louise sits down with 22-year-old adaptive athlete and social media standout Mason Branstrator. You may know him from Instagram — modeling brands like Spoonie Threads and showing off wheelchair attachments like Firefly and Freedomtrax — but today we get to know the person behind the posts.

Mason takes us back to the skiing accident at 17 that broke his T12 vertebra and changed everything. We talk about his time at Craig Hospital, what it felt like to hear he might never walk again, and how determination, family support, and mindset shaped his recovery.

He shares the mental and emotional work of healing after SCI: meditation, self-care, and finding balance while living publicly online. We discuss the turning point when his wheelchair and adaptive tools became symbols of freedom, not limitation, and what keeps him training even when progress feels slow.

Mason also opens up about life off-camera — his hobbies, his community, and how purpose and spirituality guide him every day. This is a candid look at resilience, adaptation, and the young man building his future with heart.

Sending love 

Resources

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#288 SCI in Sci-Fi for Young Adults with Kimber St. Lawrence

In this season 6 premiere of Blink of an Eye, Louise sits down with Emmy-winning producer and debut novelist Kimber St. Lawrence. Kimber’s novel, Thirsty Ground, is a young adult sci-fi story that begins with a life-altering accident—one that challenges her protagonist to find meaning, identity, and hope in a transformed world. Through this imagined setting, Kimber opens a window into the real-world experience of living with and adapting to spinal cord injury.

Drawing from her own life alongside her husband Ryan, a para-athlete and SCI survivor, Kimber shares how fiction can mirror reality in a hero’s journey through trauma to resilience in deeply human ways. She and Louise explore how storytelling and hope sustain creative and personal renewal, and how imagination itself is a way healing.

This Season, Louise focuses on SCI through various forms of expression inspiring conversation about the intersection of art and adaptation—and how a story, set on another planet can illuminate the societal views and courage it takes to rebuild one’s world right here on Earth.

Sending love 

Resources

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#276 Understanding the chemistry of NVG-291’s efficacy for Rewiring SCI Recovery with Inventor Dr. Brad Lang

Brad Lang, PhD, is the neuroscientist and biotech inventor of the ISP drug, the basis of the NVG-291 trials which recently showed efficacy. His work has helped pave the way for one of the most promising new treatments for spinal cord injury in decades. Brad shares the story of how his early research led to the discovery of the intracellular sigma peptide (ISP), a molecule with the potential to unlock axon regeneration and repair damaged neural pathways. We explore the science behind ISP, the challenges of moving from lab discovery to human trials, and the role of persistence at big ideas (a mission imprinted on him by the late Dr. Jerry Silver) when the odds—and the nervous system—seem stacked against recovery.  Along the way, Brad reflects on the emotional journey of being a scientist chasing a breakthrough, the worldwide attention on NervGen’s NVG-291, and the hope these advances bring not only to the SCI community but to the future of treatments for conditions once thought untreatable, and the potential reshaping of lives for those living years with SCI.

Resources

Revisiting: Inside the NervGen NVG-291 Trial: Part I

Today we’re joined by Larry Williams, a participant in the NervGen Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for NVG‑291, an experimental therapy designed to promote nerve regeneration and restore function in people with spinal cord injuries. Larry takes us through his personal story—from the mountain biking accident that changed his life to the unexpected path that led him into one of the most closely watched clinical trials in the SCI community.

Larry opens up about the emotional and physical journey of recovery, the realities of rehabilitation, and what it meant to participate in a groundbreaking study. We talk about the power of scientific hope, the early but promising results from the chronic cohort of the NVG‑291 trial, and the value of being part of something bigger than oneself. Larry’s reflections offer a rare and candid window into life on the frontier of spinal cord injury research—and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

Resources

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! 

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel.  Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com