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#5ThoughtsFriday
09/01/2017
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#5ThoughtsFriday
Presented by:
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BIAMD's 2017
Scarecrow Classic Sunday,
October 8, 2017
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Here are the 5 things we thought were
worth sharing with you this week:
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Cunningham, 48, resigned from one of the top jobs in sports broadcasting because of his growing discomfort with the damage being inflicted on the players he was watching each week. The hits kept coming, right in front of him, until Cunningham said he could not, in good conscience, continue his supporting role in football’s multibillion-dollar apparatus.
“I take full ownership of my alignment with the sport,” he said. “I can just no longer be in that cheerleader’s spot.”
Football has seen high-profile N.F.L. players
retire early, even pre-emptively
, out of concern about their long-term health, with particular worry for the brain. But Cunningham may be the first leading broadcaster to step away from football for a related reason — because it felt wrong to be such a close witness to the carnage, profiting from a sport that he knows is killing some of its participants.
“In its current state, there are some real dangers: broken limbs, wear and tear,” Cunningham said. “But the real crux of this is that I just don’t think the game is safe for the brain. To me, it’s unacceptable.”
Read this emerging story in the New York Times,
CLICK HERE.
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4) The Evolution of Disability Acceptance
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Living in southeastern New Hampshire has its advantages. From our home, it’s only a short ride to Boston, a reasonable ride up north to the mountains, and a short skip to the ocean.
Living near the sea is a blessing. Years ago, Sarah and I held hands, both stating, “I do,” in a gentle seaside wedding ceremony. The sea is cathartic, it is healing, and it calls to us all.
The week before our recent vacation, we found ourselves driving sea-ward, though it was not a typical trip to the beach, as you’ll soon enough learn. I was uneasy, nervous, and loaded with anticipation.
Driving eastward, a stack of papers sat on my back seat - my medical records. The intent of our visit was not one that would have been possible even a couple of short years ago.
Today, I’m going to jump around a bit. A bit of A.D.D. writing. If all goes well, we’ll go there and back, and eventually get to where we need to be. I hope this is okay with you.
Let’s go back even further in time, back... back to a month ago. Not a voluminous amount of time travel, but time travel all the same. Sarah and I were planning our annual honeymoon trip. Once yearly, on or near our wedding anniversary, we find some great adventure or other to experience. This year’s trip, now behind us, was to head out West. There were canyons to explore, both grand and small, wildlife to be seen, and lives to be enriched.
At this same time, I learned about a program through the National Park Service. For qualifying adults, a free lifetime access pass to every national park is available. It came with one not-so-small hitch. Qualifying adults need to have a “permanent disability that severely limits one or more major life activity.” Yes, this was a disabled pass.
Read this thought provoking blog post from former BIAMD Annual Conference Keynote Presenter, David Grant.
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Emily Gavigan was convinced that a nearby truck was following her. Someone was after her.
She was a sophomore at the University of Scranton in January 2009 when the "bizarre" behavior began, said her father, Bill.
Her parents noticed that she had been rambling, not making any sense. At one point, she called her family and friends to warn them: Something terrible was going to happen to all of them.
"Emily was like a different person. We didn't know who she was," Bill Gavigan said. "We had gone from having this daughter who was perfectly normal, happy, vibrant ... with a bright future ahead.
"All of a sudden, this all came crashing down."
Then, one day, Gavigan disappeared.
"We didn't know where she was for more than 24 hours," her father said.
She had gotten in her car and driven from Pennsylvania to New Jersey with no money. She went right through toll booths without paying. But she eventually found her way back to her grandparents' house, still convinced that she was being followed.
Her grandfather peered out the window, looking for something suspicious. But they soon realized there was no one after her.
"I get emotional when I think about it," said Gavigan's grandfather Joseph Chiumento.
Her parents showed up and took her to the hospital.
To see what happened next, check out this CNN Story,
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2) What We Are Reading That You Might Enjoy...
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An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?
In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. “A fascinating look at the disease that . . . could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life” (People), Brain on Fire is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.
Soon to be a Major Motion Picture Starring
Chloe Moretz.
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1) Quote We Are Contemplating...
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always try just one more time.
”
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HEADWAY: BIAMD's eNewsletter is Online!
We are very excited to provide you an update on all that's been going on at the Brain Injury Association of Maryland and events happening in the near future!
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September 6-7, 2017
201 Waterfront Street
Oxon Hill, Maryland 20745
+1.301.965.4000
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BrainFutures 2017 is a one-and-a-half-day conference featuring renowned leaders sharing research-to-practice innovation to optimize brain health and transform mental health care.
Established in 2016,
BrainFutures
is a non-profit organization providing a "one-stop-shop" for rigorous and unbiased information about advances in brain health resulting from breakthroughs in understanding neuroplasticity of the brain. We focus on two key areas:
Advances in treatments and programs that produce superior results combining digital therapies and new medications with self-care strategies including mindfulness, exercise, diet and fitness.
Digital and self-care strategies involving brain fitness that strengthen neural networks, and improve brain health and functioning.
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Did you enjoy #5ThoughtsFriday? If so, please forward this email to a friend!
Want to find a story from a past #5ThoughtsFriday blog posts, visit the archive by clicking
HERE
.
Please let us know your requests and suggestions by emailing us at
info@biamd.org
or contacting us on Twitter.
Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Let us know! Just send a tweet to
@biamd1
and put
#5ThoughtsFriday
in there so we can find it.
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend.
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