Would you like to join in supporting the Brain Injury Association of Maryland's outreach initiatives like
#5ThoughtsFridays
?
We are launching a new
Special Summer Membership
Campaign
:
- Individuals with Brain Injuries: FREE
- General Membership (including Families) : only $35
- Professional Membership: only $95
There is No Brain Injury Association of Maryland
without Members.
That means there is no Brain Injury Association of Maryland
without YOU.
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#5ThoughtsFriday is Powered By
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#5Thoughts Friday
06/26/2020
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Here are the 5 things we thought were
worth sharing with you this week:
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By
Catherine Rinehart Mello
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in employment for many people across the county and concerns about the long-term effects on the economy and job opportunities for people with brain injury. Both employers and the employee find themselves trying to navigate new and uncharted territory. Not only does this cause financial concerns and uncertainty about the future, but it also disrupts the routines and schedules that are important for people with brain injury to stay organized and reduce anxiety. Jeff Rehfeld shared his experience dealing with the uncertainties of COVID-19 as it effected his employment and finances. “I was anxious,” says Jeff. “At first I freaked out, and then I reached out to my support system.”
Jeff Rehfeld sustained a severe brain injury in 2010 as a result of a motor vehicle accident. He has worked incredibly hard to build his post brain injury life in a way that reflects his priorities and values. He has worked part-time since 2012 and was able to move from residential service under the Brain Injury Waiver into his own housing. He has been sober for 10 years and is now using his experience to help others struggling with substance abuse.
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We are witnessing mandated social isolation and social distancing on an epic scale. As part of BIAMD's interest in serving Maryland's Brain Injury Community, we are starting what we call "Check-In Chats".
We would like to "check in" with anyone looking to share their experiences and challenges with either an individual or in a social group setting.
Even though we can't meet in person, there are many ways open to us, and, if you are interested, we would like to hear from you about your needs and how we can help you feel more connected.
COME JOIN US ONLINE AT TODAY's
Group Check-In Chat
from Noon to 1pm.
Please
CLICK HERE
to sign up using our online registration.
Once we receive your registration, we will send you the link.
We hope to "see" you there!
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In the bike-friendly Netherlands, cyclists speed down the road without fearing cars. For an American, the prospect is thrilling—and terrifying.
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“Where are our helmets?” my daughter Harper asked. We were standing outside a cycle shop in the Dutch city of Delft, along with Harper’s older sister, Lyra, and my wife, Alia.
“We didn’t buy any,” I replied. Along the dark green Wijnhaven canal, confident Dutchmen and Dutchwomen whizzed around, their blond heads exposed to the soft northern sun. “In the Netherlands, only tourists wear helmets.”
“What if we get in a crash?” Lyra asked.
“We won’t,” I said. “O.K., now, let’s line up—oop!” A Dutchman in a sleek blue suit, riding a sleek blue bike, was swerving around me from the south. Another rider, approaching from the north, rang her bell to remind me that I was blocking traffic. “Everyone, get on,” I commanded, but nobody did. Small traffic jams were developing on either side of our uncertain foursome. “Let’s maybe walk our bikes to a less busy street,” I said. We wheeled our way across a bridge into the Markt square, where the primary obstacle was an Italian tour group.
CLICK HERE to read more about this uniquely European story.
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Oxygen deprivation can be the worst start to a newborn's life, resulting in brain damage, epilepsy, developmental delays and death. It affects millions of babies around the world each year, either through pregnancy and delivery complications, or premature birth. The treatment options are limited and rarely effective, but Chinese and Australian researchers have now reported a key breakthrough to help protect newborns suffering hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain damage.
A study led by Kunming Medical University in China and the University of South Australia has identified the role that a mitochondrial protein called COX5a plays in protecting neurons in the event of
oxygen deprivation
. Experiments showed that a reduction in COX5a leads to neurons' death when these cells are incubated in a low level of oxygen. Conversely, increasing COX5a levels protects the cells during hypoxia.
The researchers believe that COX5a working in synergy with TPI, another metabolic enzyme known for its role in neuronal protection, could be the key to preventing
brain damage
in hypoxic infants. UniSA Research Associate Dr. Mohammed Al-Hawwas says he hopes the finding will lead to a preventative medicine to inhibit
cell death
during low oxygen conditions.
CLICK HERE to read more about this innovative treatment.
CLICK HERE to read the BMC Neuroscience journal article.
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ONLINE Brain Injury Support Groups
Severe Brain Injury Caregiver Group
Zoom Room Internet Conference
2
nd
and 4
th
Sunday of the month, 7:30 p – 8:45p
Tom Gallup 301-502-8420
BIAMD Check In Chats
Every Friday at Noon
To register for a Check-In-Chat please visit
Young Stroke Group
The first and third Fridays of the month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET.
Rockville Brain Injury Support Group
2
nd
Thursday, 6:30p – 7:30p
Tom Wilkinson 240-493-8472
Anne Arundel County Brain Injury Support Group
3rd Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Debbie Cottrill (410) 320-8948
Brain Injury Support Group
1st Monday, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Candice Rebuck (410) 448-6303
Caregivers Support Group
4th Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Gwen Alexander (410) 448-6311
Stroke Support Group
Meets monthly 10:00 a.m. – Noon
Brandy Breaux (410) 448-6821
Call for the monthly calendar
Online stroke support and information resources
The John “Jack” Godfrey Brain Injury Support Group
2nd Tuesday, 6:00p – 7:00p
Dawn Moreland (301) 618-2364
Brentrell Spencer (301) 618-2134
BIADC Support Group
3rd Wednesday, 5:30p – 7:30p
Gemma Rosas (NRH) (202)-877-1192
Joan Joyce (NRH) (202) 877-1420
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2) What We are Reading This Week and Know You Will Find Enlightening and Important
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Dr. DiAngelo on the I Don't
Get it Podcast.
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The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.
In this “vital, necessary, and beautiful book” (Michael Eric Dyson), antiracist educator Robin DiAngelo deftly illuminates the phenomenon of white fragility and “allows us to understand racism as a practice not restricted to ‘bad people’ (Claudia Rankine). Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and by behaviors including argumentation and silence.
These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.
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1)
Quote We Are Contemplating...
“Nature hath given us one tongue but two ears,
that we may hear from others
twice as much as we speak.”
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Have you ever clicked on the pictures posted at the end of every #5ThoughtsFridays? Try it. You might learn something fun!
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HAVE A WONDERFUL
WEEKEND.
(THANK YOU FOR PRACTICING "SAFER AT HOME", SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND WEARING YOUR MASKS IN PUBLIC SPACES.)
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Did you enjoy #5ThoughtsFriday? If so, please forward this email to a friend!
Please let us know your requests and suggestions by emailing us at
info@biamd.org
.
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.
This blog is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement of treatments, individuals, or programs which appear herein. Any external links on the website are provided for the visitor’s convenience; once you click on any of these links you are leaving BIAMD's #5ThoughtsFriday blog post. BIAMD has no control over and is not responsible for the nature, content, and availability of those sites.
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend.
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