This Hat is a Helmet

SPECIAL PODCAST INTERVIEW! Found on my Souncloud HERE . Have you ever asked someone out on a friend date? This series is about dating and relationships and when we think of those words, we often think of romantic relationships only. But friendships make up an important part of our relationship lives and if we want to be happy and healthy, valuing and respecting friendships in the same way we do romantic ones is likely the way to go. At least, that’s my opinion and that’s why this series is starting here. This brain injury has really made me look at all my relationships in a new light. When I had my most recent injury I was single and it seemed like my friendship status was in transition - some of my friendships were teetering on the fence and new ones were entering the gate. The injury also made me reevaluate my role and how I contributed to my friendships - it made me think about what kind of friend I wanted to be.   Today I talk with one of my friend...

Image attribution: Photo © 2011 J. Ronald Lee, CC Attribution 3.0. modified by cropping and adding brain and heart bubbles This announcement made in audio on Souncloud. Click here ! February. It’s the month of love . Or where I’m from, it’s the month you try to book a vacation to somewhere down south to get away from the -40°. Either way, people look to heat things up this month so I thought a fun series on experiences with dating and relationships with brain troubles was called for. I’m no relationship expert. In fact, I don’t think anyone is. Navigating dating and relationships can feel like navigating IKEA furniture instructions… in the dark. It can be awkward, clumsy, and messy. There are no satisfying instructions. You often need help and no one truly knows what they’re doing. The brain injury adds another layer of complication on top of it all. Like instead of feeling drunk on love, you just feel drunk assembling that bookshelf wondering...

Downward dog...good boy Bob 👏 (You can read, or for less screen time, you can listen! I read these posts out loud for you here ) When I was in university I worked for years as a student in a research lab. I did a number of the cool sciencey things you see on TV shows. I mixed chemicals in test tubes, pipetted liquids from one small container to another, looked at teeny tiny things under a microscope and, yep, I wore safety goggles and that iconic lab coat. One of the summers I worked in this research lab, another lab assistant and I became mysteriously ill at the same time. We both had extreme fatigue, difficulty concentrating plus head and body aches - much of the same symptoms I have today with PCS. But no, neither of us had a concussion. We wondered whether we were affected by something in the lab, but this didn’t really make sense as even though we worked in the same department, we worked in different labs, on different projects. I went to my doctor and had a...

(Want to listen instead?? More screen time! I narrate my story in audio format here ) For those of you who have ever had pets, have you ever envied them? Bob is laying on the floor next to my bed in his (though at some point in the night he’ll jump up and snuggle next to me, making his bed almost irrelevant). His little paws are currently twitching and muffled “woof” sounds are escaping through his big jowls as he slips into a dream. Truthfully, I don’t think I would actually like being a dog. It would frustrate me not being able to choose the food I want to eat. I wouldn’t like being crated. And I don’t think I would enjoy risking pinkeye every time I greeted another of my kind… But I do envy Bob’s ability to fall asleep anywhere, instantly. It’s late at night and although I’m tired, I can’t fall asleep. I’m visiting back home in Winnipeg and I’m staying with my parents in the house I grew up in. I’m currently laying in bed, in my old room. The walls are now a lig...

You can listen to this post instead! Audio found here . I’m sitting on a plane right now. I’m going back to Winnipeg for the holidays, for a month. Bob is coming with me (of course). It’s his fourth time flying to Winnipeg - he goes in cargo. I’ve got the window seat, as I do, and almost exactly one year ago I was on this same flight, Bob in cargo, headed back to Winnipeg for the first time in about four years. This is one of those milestone moments - a point in time perfectly set up for me to reflect on everything that’s happened in the past year: how much has changed, what has stayed the same and how I’ve progressed in my recovery. Yet what I’m currently thinking about is vomiting. Now, I’m not sure how your mind justified that last sentence - if your thoughts were able to paint a gross picture that connected what has been said to make sense of the matter. But it’s likely that whatever you were thinking was not what I was intending. Try instead picturing a...

For audio, click here . Dear Mrs. Claus, Merry Christmas. I hope this finds you well, relaxing after what was hopefully a rewarding and successful, if not stressful, season for you and the rest of the team up at the north pole. The effort that goes into such an international organization is likely immeasurable. I imagine much happens behind the scenes to not only keep production running smoothly but also current, inclusive and accommodating at a time when much of the world struggles with this on smaller scales. I’m not sure if you get many letters addressed directly to you with people all over the world writing to your famed husband (though feel free to pass along a thank you from me to him for the socks). I could be wrong, but it seems there aren’t very many other women in and around the workshop. And if there are, then we see and hear of them less - like elsewhere in the world, their important contribution seems less recognized. Although I am appreciative of th...

Bob and I in my "recording studio" for the podcast version of this blog ;) Audio available as usual here . I also made a video trailer for this blog post! If your screen time allows, check it out below. (written content to follow) Part of the purpose of this specific post is to introduce the This Hat is a Helmet Patreon . This blog has turned out to be more time, energy and even financial cost than I imagined. This post still includes heartfelt and quirky storytelling about the reality of financial woes for people like me. I share my story here of lessons I'm learning about money and income support that I wish I had known sooner. If you're curious about the Patreon and want to check it out now, then you can click the link here . Otherwise, links will be found at the end of this blog post and in the sidebar navigation panel on the blog website. And now, story time. I make a point to wear my sunglasses every time I go to appointments ...