Bill (Host):

Because a lot of people do not survive TBIs, I want to start here. Irene, can you tell the audience how this event happened in your life? How did it occur?

Irene:

I’m very glad to be on your podcast and to be able to talk about it, because you’re right—many people don’t understand what a traumatic brain injury really looks like. It’s one of those invisible injuries, and most people are honestly perplexed by it.

For me, it happened seven years ago to the day—November 19th. I had a catastrophic fall in the parking lot on my way to work. I slipped on black ice, fell face-first, and hit my head on the ground. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was unconscious for a while. When I finally woke up, I went inside thinking, “That was a nasty fall,” but assuming I was still okay. I wasn’t.

Bill:

You said you quickly realized you were not okay. What was happening that made you notice something was different—about your thinking, your perception, your life?

Irene:

It was a difficult time already. I was struggling at work, dealing with health issues. I had an appointment that very afternoon to start the process for bariatric surgery. And we were moving to a new office building.

And that new building… honestly, I believe that’s how this happened. At the old building, they salted the parking lot well. At the new one—they didn’t. I stepped onto a patch of ice and fell. If we were still at our old building, someone would have seen me. But at this new site, no one saw a thing.

When I got inside, my boss thought I was late just because I overslept or something. Meanwhile, I had been lying unconscious in the parking lot.

Bill:

So you were outside on the ground, alone? No one came out to help?

Irene:

No one. Not a single person saw me fall or helped me. That was terrifying in hindsight.

Bill:

And this was in Detroit?

Irene:

In Southfield, our neighboring city. And it was cold. We had something unusual that day—freezing fog. The roads and the parking lots were coated. I had ice on my windshield when I left home. But I didn’t expect the ground itself to be a sheet of black ice.

Bill:

So you go inside, trying to function, trying to push through. What happened next?

Irene:

I went to the ladies’ room to regroup and ended up just crying. Everything hurt. My head hurt. My body hurt. Something inside me said, “This is not normal.” But I kept thinking, “I’ve got to get to work.” You don’t expect that one step—one fall—can change your life instantly. But it did.

Bill:

The symptoms—when did they start showing up fully?

Irene:

The next day. That’s when it hit me—this is serious. My entire body was in pain. My mind felt off. I couldn’t think straight.

Bill:

And you were in IT, right? A systems and business analyst?

Irene:

Yes, I was. But I never went back to work. Not once. The TBI took me out of the workforce completely. After the ER visit, I started seeing doctors, and eventually I saw a neurologist. Everything changed after that fall.

#TBI #TraumaticBrainInjury #StrokeAndTBI #BrainInjuryAwareness #HealingJourney #Buddhism #NamMyohoRengeKyo #Chanting

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One of the healing therapies that Jennifer has done, is called ART which stands for
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Hello, good morning. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Good morning. My name is Bill Clark. Today is August 10, 2023. And I am the host of the Scrambled Eggs and ham podcast. So the Scrambled Eggs and Ham podcast is weekly, and sometimes monthly it's summer. So it's monthly interview show focused upon the reinvention of the lives of each interviewee, as a result of or inspired by the life-changing illnesses or events that have now become part of their daily existence. And this morning, we my special special guests. Is Jen Jennifer key.

Thank you for having me.

Yep, yep. Yep. It's a pleasure. It's always a pleasure. So this morning, I am the scrambled egg. And you are the ham, Jennifer. So Jennifer, tell us a little bit about your background. Tell the audience about you know, Jennifer.

Sure.

Fantastic question. Not quite sure where you'd like me to start. But I am a daughter from a family of four. I grew up in the lovely state of New Jersey. And I am an athlete. I am a fan fanatic. Not quite sure what words you want to use regarding mother nature and the outdoors. I guess a modern-day hippie, I've been told. And I presently am exploring so many new and adventurous journeys, which has now brought me to you.

Wow, that's great. So you love the outdoors? You are. You call yourself a modern-day hippie. So. So, Jennifer, today's podcast is about trauma.

Good one. Okay. Yeah. Great.

Can you tell me a little bit about how it has affected your life? When it does start? You know, was it when you were playing sports in high school, or college? Or when part of your relationships? How did it start? Like how did this thing start? Like, you know, no one just, you know, just glides, glides on the top of the of the water? There's always something underneath the water. Right? So what lately what happened?

Great question, Bill. I really thank you for the opportunity to talk about this as it is one that I think doesn't necessarily get enough attention in this particular country and something that's very near and dear to me, regarding the healing process, from trauma. So for me, it's really centered around sexual trauma. At a very young age I was groomed is the term I've been told by a family member, which the percentage is say that's usually the place where sexual trauma happens. And it happens within my home. And from the age of what I can remember, seven to about 11 years old, there was a nice grooming process. And I say nice, and I'll explain shortly, grooming process of at first, just reading stories, right be

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Kelli tells her story about the event that changed her life.

Stroke survivor stories, brain injury recovery, post-stroke confidence, neurorehab inspiration, Scrambled Eggs & Ham Podcast, DreamEffortTenacity, Bill Clarke

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https://www.sgi-usa.org/basics-of-buddhism/

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