Happie Heads

Kate Robinson is a brain injury survivor who was involved in a plane accident in her high school years. She experienced retrograde amnesia after the accident occurred. Her story is incredible so I won't say anything more, besides what she has accomplished since. Kate ended up finishing high school, graduating college with a degree in French, and decided she wanted to help other brain injury survivors. She knew how much counseling helped her and she decided to become one. Today, she is a licensed professional counselor and has her own practice. Her insights are unique, and have unraveled new insight about life after brain injury that I would never have thought of without having met her. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.

Her story begins at 5:36

Cheryl Green, where do I begin…Cheryl is a fellow Portlandianite who has suffered many brain injuries over her journey through life. If you were the manager at a…I don't know, a UPS store, and she was…I don't know…passionate about delivering boxes, she might bring in a resume that says she has a Masters of both Fine Arts and Science in Performance As Public Practice and Speech-Language Pathology, respectively. It would also say she makes films and documentaries (www.whoamitostopit.com), and runs StoryMinders, a production company that helps people with brain injuries pull themselves out of isolation and into community (sounds familiar).Of course, she is much more than just this list of accomplishments. She's fun, upbeat, creative, and a dynamic storyteller. I am most certain you will enjoy her story, tips, and wisdom!

Also, if you are more of a reader than a listener, I attached a transcript that was done by Cheryl Green herself.

Her story begins at 13:55.

Dr. Johnny Delashaw is a neurosurgeon from up here in the Great Northwest. He was born in a small town in the southwest corner of the state of Washington, then began his journey all around the country, from California to Virginia to Florida, in order to pursue his passion of becoming a neurosurgeon. He has served as chair at hospitals such as Oregon Health and Science Universities, UC Irvine, and Swedish Hospitals up in Seattle. He mostly operates on the brain but also operates quite a bit on the neck. Here, I sit down with him to discuss all sorts of things ranging from "what is a concussion?" to "what is this ApoE genetic marker and what do we make of it?" I really enjoyed meeting him, he is full of wisdom from thousands of hours of surgery and treating hundreds of patients with brain injuries just like us!

Listen and enjoy!

Matthew Gosney is a former Navy Seal who was involved in (among other things) an explosion that shattered his jaw (also among other things) requiring that a surgeon put 6 titanium bolts into said jaw. Needless to say, this explosion resulted in a traumatic brain injury for Matthew. Upon returning to college after his deployment to study Mathematics and Physics (he later received an M.S. in Mathematics) he realized things weren't as sharp upstairs as they once were. Eventually symptoms began to come to light and Matthew began a long search for a fix. Luckily, he eventually came across Dr. Mark Gordon, an endocrinologists who treats TBI's with neurosteroids (hormones). The treatment was a game changer and brought Matthews brain back to life. Here is his story, tips, and wisdom. Enjoy!

His story begins 5:48.

He has been on the Joe Rogan Experience here.

Andrew Marr is a retired Special Forces Green Beret, who retired after just under 10 years of service. Throughout these years, he served as an explosives engineer. Needless to say he was exposed to intense explosions on a regular basis. Unfortunately, Andrew began experiencing concussion symptoms once he returned from combat. Thus, the onset of symptoms was not easily associated with his time in combat. Fortunately, Andrew was introduced to Dr. Mark Gordon who treats TBI's with neurosteroids (hormones). After treatment from Dr. Gordon, Andrew quickly returned to his old self.

In an effort to provide the same relief he received from Dr. Gordon to others, Andrew started the Warriors Angel Foundation with his brother Adam. WAF now provides free treatment to people suffering from TBI symptoms and does so independent of their geographical location. Awesome stuff. He also wrote a book with his brother called Tales From the Blast Factory: A Brain Injured Special Forces Operator Back From the brink. I am currently reading this myself.

Check out his foundation at http://waftbi.org. He has also been on the Joe Rogan Experience here and here.

Listen and enjoy!

Colin is a homie that I met via the Brain Injury Support Group at Oregon State. He is an LA native who is currently studying business and agriculture at OSU during the school year. In the winter of his senior year of high school he crashed while snowboarding in Tahoe, breaking his collar bone and rockin his noggin. FOUR MONTHS later his concussion symptoms set in. This is the most unique part of his story. As we know, often people will not suffer from symptoms until some time after, and thus often misattribute the headaches, dizziness, etc. to everything but a head injury. His story is about his recovery and path back to college, in a new state with completely new people.

His story starts at 5:53.

Dr. Duffield is a Neuropsychology Fellow on the Sports Medicine team at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR.

Unlike the usual storytelling with a few tips and words of wisdom, this episode consists of the practical wisdom from Dr. Duffield's' years of schooling and clinical experience. We discuss his view on what a "successful" recovery is, and the key steps to reaching it. We also discuss the system he uses with his patients to lead them to recovery. I find this system/flow chart groundbreaking, simple, and a great way to view recovery from a TBI.

I have attached an image of the flow chart for you more visual listeners. Enjoy!

Matt is a beast of another kind. This guy has had 10 concussions. 10!! That is not a typo. I think it goes without saying, but he has acquired an absurd amount of resilience and wherewithal from these experiences. We all know how impactful a single concussion can be, but 10 is a whole other ball game. He is currently an undergraduate student with the dream of working in the mental health field.. I truly enjoyed chatting with him and I know you guys will enjoy listening. If you have any feedback for us, tweet at us @happieheads. Peace!

His story starts at: 3:42

This episode is a bit different than the first 10. Instead of the story of one guest, you will get to hear the story of 3! Two of the stories are from high school students. I believe that high school students with concussions are often underrepresented both within and without their schools. I hope these guests (Eliza and Alexis) stories shed a bit more light on the experience of high school with a concussion, and the things that could change for the better. Of course, we also have a college grad (Kristina) with a shocking story that has always leaves me shaking my head. All three guests come from the TBI support group at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR.

Their stories start at 4:36

Todd Jarvis is an associate professor at both Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. He is also the Director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds. In January of 1978, at the age of 19, he fell from multiple levels to the ground while helping a friend build a house (yes, very manly). Even though he landed on his feet, the impact of the ground basically destroyed his body. After many years of adapting to "post-concussion Todd", he has gained much wisdom and perspective. Not only is his current success encouraging for me and my future, but his unique outlook made me ask myself why I have the goals I do and how I can possibly re-design them to fit "post-concussion Michael". Please enjoy this one! It holds a special place in my heart and mind.

His story starts at 4:15