I originally shared the story of Shelly's inspiring journey almost two years ago. It's since been published by sites such as The Mighty and Love What Matters as well as being shared by MSN and Yahoo. I updated the piece for the Elephant Journal. Last week they published it on their site. Below is the … Continue reading My Wife’s Life-Changing Freak Accident & her Battle with a Traumatic Brain Injury.
For well over a year I have been working on a book that chronicles my resilient journey through adversity. I am more than 75% done with the first draft. I'm working hard to find the proper time to meet my goal of having the first draft done and to my publisher early in the new … Continue reading Resilience and Perspective Revisited
It’s no secret that music means a lot to me. It’s therapeutic in a way that I can’t even begin to accurately describe. Sometimes it enables me to remember. Other times it allows me to forget. The deep, dark, introspective stuff has a way of speaking directly to me. Nick Cave has been a favorite … Continue reading Nick Cave’s new album is a jaw-dropping listen for those of us who have a close relationship with grief
November seems to come around faster with passing each year. On November 13th it will be 29 years since Dana died. It’s just one quick year away from the milestone of 30 years. On one hand this is mind boggling to me. But on the other hand I do feel like it’s been every bit of … Continue reading November Comes Fast
Every year I share the personal 9/11 story of my lifelong best friend and I. It’s an amazing story of friendship, beer and baseball. In 2016 our story was told by Mike Rowe on his “The Way I Heard It” podcast. The episode was called “You Don’t Know Mike”. It went viral and was seen and heard by … Continue reading My 9/11 Story
Grief is a lifelong journey. As much as others wished I could, I could not wave a wand and be over it. My life was turned upside down by the sudden death of my fiancée, Dana. The night prior to heading back to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for her final weeks before graduation, she … Continue reading Celebrating My Past
I originally posted this last year and it seemed to help others facing similar circumstances, so with a few updates...here it is again…. The Fourth of July always was such a special day at our house. Shelly loves to entertain and she is so good at it. Each year we would host a fantastic party … Continue reading New Traditions for Getting Through the 4th of July With a TBI and PTSD
A couple of months ago I received an Instagram message from a page called “Snapshots of Life After Loss”. It simply said, “Hi, I just read your story on your blog. Wow. Thank you for sharing your story”. From there we began a correspondence. Gracelyn explained that she ran a company called “The Luna Peak … Continue reading A Chance To Talk
March is brain injury awareness month. The goal this month is to make people more aware of the causes, symptoms and prevention of traumatic brain injuries. I recently read that over 3.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year. My wife Shelly just surpassed the 6-year anniversary of her injury. Her life has … Continue reading My Wife’s Mask for the Unmasking Brain Injury Project
It always starts in October. I can smell and taste it in the air. The dread, anxiety and anticipation of early November starts to loom. The older I get I am always amazed how quickly it seems to come around. It's been 28 years now. Twenty-eight years since my life was turned upside down by … Continue reading This Time of Year
