Episode 053 -- Don't Change Your Caffeine and The Power of Rituals

 

2-Minute Tip: Don't Change Your Caffeine Consumption

 

It can be tempting the morning of a big speech to load up on coffee and enjoy that miraculous substance. If that's part of your standard morning ritual, that's fine. Go for it. 

 

But don't suddenly double or triple your standard consumption. I get that you may feel tired or nervous, but excess coffee will not help. Instead, you will just ramp up the anxiety even further or cause other last minute biological challenges.

 

You are much better off getting a good night sleep the night before and giving your body what it has come to expect in the morning.

 

Post Tip Discussion: The Power of Rituals

 

Rituals, like the crowning of a new king in the Black Panther movie are powerful things. Whether they are religious, civic, personal, cultural, or familial, the bond a community together. They become ingrained from an early age and follow us throughout our lives. disregarding a community's rituals is a great way to get banned from the community and marked as an outsider.

 

It's important for speakers to understand or at least respect the rituals of the communities they speak to. As I discussed in Episode 035, persuasion depends on engaging the audience with Pathos, Ethos, and Logos. Rituals play into the Pathos side of that triangle.

 

Ignoring, disregarding, or mocking a community's rituals makes it harder to persuade them, as you burn up Pathos and throw away good will. Do so at your own risk.

 

Call To Action:

 

• Think about the rituals in your life, your family, and your organization. How can you leverage them to build deeper bonds?
• Consider what rituals you can introduce to your team meetings that will help center everyone and help them be more present.
• Before your next big talk, maintain your standard caffeine consumption.
• Don't get best...get better.

Check out this episode!

Episode 004 -- JoCo Cruise

Housekeeping

Strokecast is available on more platforms including:

• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube
• Spotify
• And coming soon -- Goggle Play Music

I've begun compiling a list of Stroke support Facebook groups here.

Have you read the Stroke Smart magazine put out by the National Stroke association? You can sign up for a subscription here.

Let's Talk about Cruising

 

[caption id="attachment_87" align="alignleft" width="300"] I did a full round of PT and OT exercises at the rail of the ms Oosterdam overlooking Cabo San Lucas.[/caption]

Last month I joined the 8th Annual JoCo Cruise. It was my 6th time with the group and my first as a traveler with disabilities.

It's a full boat charter of Holland America's ms Oosterdam. 1500 folks joined us for this week-long nerd summer camp. I always have a great time and recommend it to anyone interested in geeky pursuits, board gaming, science fiction, fantasy, writing, podcasting, and great music. The community, while not perfect, is fantastic.

I also found it to be quite accessible. While the buffet proved challenging, the staff was incredibly helpful. My accessible cabin was comfortable and the roll in shower meant I didn't have to step over a tub wall.

It was also the first time I've been in a pool since my stroke. It was interesting learning more about buoyancy and my affected limbs. It gave me a chance to actually JUMP on my weak leg.

[caption id="attachment_88" align="aligncenter" width="300"] This is my sunburn on the first day I burned. The burn line is from my GivMohr sling. I was wearing SPF 70 at the time.[/caption][caption id="attachment_91" align="aligncenter" width="300"] There is a cord near the shower head. As a warning, don't mistake it for a clothes line that failed to retract. It's actually an emergency cord that calls the stateroom attendant to your shower in case you have an emergency. I don't recommend tugging on it to retract it.[/caption][caption id="attachment_90" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The beds are slightly smaller than twin size, but they are reasonably comfortable. I did have to request a special extension cord for my CPAP machine.[/caption][caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="300"] There is actually a decent amount of space in the small, inexpensive cabin. The couch also turns into a couch to accommodate a third person. That might be a bit too cramped, though.[/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_86" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The theater on the ship had a full row of accessible seating on the same level of the doors. It was convenient and the view was still pretty good.[/caption]

 

Hack of the Week

Carry a bag.

I often carry a nylon tote bag like these Chicobags (affiliate link). Carrying stuff is difficult in general. One hand doesn't work yet and one carries the cane or holds the handrail on the stair.

I use it for my coffee thermos, phone, tablet, paper notebook, getting the mail, or whatever other random carrying I need to do.

It's a simple thing, but sometimes the simplest things are the most helpful.

Where do we go from here?

1. What are your thoughts on cruising, conventions, and other nerdy activities. Share them in the comments below.
2. Please leave a rating or review for Strokecast in the Apple Podcasts store.
3. Want to learn more about the JoCo Cruise or book for next year? Visit Strokecast.com/joco
4. Subscribe to the National Stroke Association's Stroke Smart magazine here.
5. Check out the assortment of Facebook stroke support groups here.
6. Don't get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Episode 052 -- Avoid Dairy and The 7 Deadly Sins of PowerPoint

 

2-Minute Tip: Avoid Dairy Before Speaking

 

I love a big bowl of sugary cereal or a nice cheesy pizza. I used to drink mochas like water before I decided to switch to Americanos for weight loss (by the way, switching from mochas to Americanos will NOT make 30 pounds just fall off). So I like my milky, cheesy goodness.

 

But not right before speaking.

 

Dairy consumption promotes phlegm production. Excess phlegm means that when speaking you have to clear your throat more off, deal with being a little more stuffed up, and generally have to work harder to push your words out cleanly.

 

So save that beloved dairy consumption for after your talk.

 

Post Tip Discussion -- The 7 Deadly Sins of PowerPoint

 

Over the previous few episodes, I've talked about the 7 Deadly Sins of Public Speaking. They are:

 

1. Droning on
2. Going overtime
3. Starting late
4. Failing to rehearse
5. Ignoring the audience
6. Getting dragged off topic
7. Using inappropriate language

 

This week, let's get a little more specific and talk about the 7 Deadly Sins of PowerPoint.

 

A lot of folks will complain that PowerPoint is the root of everything that is wrong with presentations and meetings today. They're wrong. The problem is people using PowerPoint badly or lazily. As a speaker, you can be much more effective with PowerPoint if you simply don't commit the 7 Deadly Sins of PowerPoint:

 

1. Eye charts
2. Excessive animations
3. Transcripts
4. Low quality images
5. Not knowing the content
6. Not knowing the software
7. Typos

 

Call To Action

 

1. Are there more deadly sins of PowerPoint? Let us know in the comments below.
2. Check out the Strokecast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience, and one-handed banana peeling.
3. Avoid dairy before your next talk.
4. Don't get best…get better.

Check out this episode!

Episode 003 -- Tone 101

Housekeeping

While I'm typically an Android guy, I must say I have been impressed by the quality of the service I've gotten from the Apple Podcasts team. They've been responsive and helpful whenever I've had to work with them. And now, they are even faster. Generally it takes up to 2 weeks to get a new podcast in the Apple Podcasts store. It took them just 6 hours to add Strokecast.

Please leave a rating and/or review for the Strokecast here.

Being in the Apple Podcasts store means you can easily subscribe from an iPhone or iPad and never miss an episode. It also means that most other popular podcast apps for the Android or Samsung phone platforms also know about the Strokecast. You can subscribe in pretty much whatever app you use to listen to podcasts.

Strokecast is also on Spotify. If you use Spotify on your mobile device, just search for Strokecast and it will pop right up.

Tone and Spasticity

 Infomercials and popular media talk about how the latest diet or the newest bow-nordi-master machine will help you build muscle and get toned. Tone in muscles is actually a bad thing in the PT/OT world.

A muscle with tone is basically flexed all the time. It's contracted and in a state of tension. When my fingers curl up in a tight ball and won't release, it's because I have too much muscle tone. It my arm gets toned, that mean the muscles tighten and it curls up, useless. Tone in my legs will prevent me from bending or unbending my hip, knee, or ankle. Or cause my toes to curl up in my shoe. A muscle with tone is useless.
One goal of the exercises I do with PT is to prevent tone from setting in. Working on range of motion, joint flexibility, and muscle strengthening prevents tone.

What most people think of as tone is probably definition. They want to see the muscles. We often make our muscles visible be flexing them. Tone is when your muscles essentially flex themselves and then stay that way, even when you want them to stop. Imagine flexing your bicep and then keeping it flexed all day as you go about your business.

That's why you don't want tone in your muscles.

Treatment

There are a number of ways to address tone. Some popular ones include:

• Movement therapy
• Stretching
• Tiring it out
• Massage
• Relaxation/mindfulness
• Accupuncture

There are also medicinal solutions.

Baclofen is a pill that can reduce tone. It can affect the whole body, though, and one of the main side affects is fatigue. Since many stroke survivors are already dealing with fatigue, this can be a challenge. Of course, not everyone experiences the side affects, and it can be a great solution.

Medtronic also makes a Baclofen pump. A surgeon implants it in the abdomen and runs a tube into the spine so the pump continually deploys small amounts of Baclofen into the spinal fluid. It can be a little more targeted than the pill, and because the dosage is much lower it has few side affects. The dosage is lower because unlike a pill, it doesn't have to make its way through the digestive system into the circulatory system, and then into the nervous system. On the other hand...surgery.

Botox is also an effective treatment. 

Based on Botulinum Toxin, Botox is used to treat both wrinkles and tone. The director uses electrodes to monitor the firing of nerves in a muscle, and then injects Botox directly into the toned muscle to put many of the nerves to sleep for a few months. This relaxes the toned muscles and gives the other muscles a chance to recover.

Hack of the Week

It took me a while to figure out how to take my shirt off, and not just because people scream when I do. It simply wasn't a skill we needed to focus on the hospital. Here is my current process.

1. Reach straight back over my head with my good hand -- follow the path of an imaginary Mohawk.
2. Grab the back of my shirt collar.
3. Pull that over my head.
4. Take my right sleeve in mouth and pull the sleeve off my right arm.
5. Grab the left sleeve with my right hand to remove that.

This process also works with jackets and hoodies. It works best with long sleeves, but my short-sleeved t-shirts work out okay, too. I just skip the sleeve biting there.

Where do we go from here?

• Do you have any tips or stories you'd like to share on a future episode? Email me at Bill@strokecast.com. I'd love to hear from stroke survivors, caretakers, medical professionals, and more.
• Share your thoughts on Episode 3 in the comments below.
• On the Apple platform , please leave a rating or review.
• Share this episode with anyone who might be interested.
• Don't get best...get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Episode 001 -- My Stroke Story and Goals

Welcome to Strokecast. Thanks for listening, and I'm thrilled to take you along with me on this journey.

My Story

I am a Generation X stroke survivor learning how to use my left hand and leg again. You can learn more about my background here.

I had my stroke on June 3, 2017. I woke up in the morning and my left arm didn't. A few minutes later, my leg began going offline. After a short ambulance ride, I began a month-long stay at Swedish Cherry Hill in Seattle, WA. I can't say enough good things about the OT, PT, and the nursing team. The kitchen team could d a better job removing bay leaves from various dishes, but I am very happy with the care I received there as inpatient, and that I continue to receive on an outpatient basis.

I have several goals with this podcast and will probably add more as time goes on. I want to:

• Share my story
• Give other folks a chance to share their stories
• Explore books
• Explore neuroplasticity
• Explore brain discoveries
• Explore Research
• Share tips/hacks
• Provide resources
• Expand the support community by sharing more

I also want to talk with OTs, PTs, Speech Therapists, Recreational Therapists, Rehab nursing Teams, Doctors, and others in the stroke recovery and prevention industry.

And, of course, the people most important to stroke survivors -- the primary care givers whose lives were turned upside down when the survivors had their clots or bleeds. If you're a caregiver, what's your story?

Hack of the Week: One-Handed Banana Peeling

There are 2 methods.

The first is to hold it gently in your fist with the inside curve facing you. Then, push back on the stem with your thumb. Either the stem will tear and you can peel it traditionally, or the skin on the far side will split, and you can split it further with your index finger.

The other method is great if you have a knife. Cut it in half across the middle. Then you can work your finger in between the fruit and the peel at the cut and the pull the peel back.

Call to Action

• Are you a stroke survivor, caregiver, medical industry professional, or someone else with a stroke related story to share? I want to hear from you. Email me at bill@strokecast.com or reach out to me on Twitter where I am @CurrentlyBill
• What are your thoughts on this episode? Tell us in the comments below.
• Don't get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

A new endeavor -- Public Speaking Coaching

It seems a pesky measure of employment for a few years managed to suck up all my blogging energy. And since that changed, my energy has gone in a new direction.

I launched a Podcast in December.

At 2 Minute Talk Tips, I offer public speaking tips to help my listeners become more effective public speakers. Each episode opens with an actionable 2 Minute Tip, and then we take a short break. After the break, I host a more in-depth discussion about topics of interest to speakers or aspiring speakers. Sometimes that's a book review. Sometimes it's an interview. Sometimes it's a how-to. And sometimes it's my philosophy on PowerPoint.

It's been fun to learn how to podcast, and it's also helped me to unpack the things I've learned about presenting over the years. And it's certainly kept me busy.

You can find 2 Minute Talk Tips here.

You can also find it on iTunes and in the Google Play store.

And if you want the RSS feed directly, here that is, too.

Celebrate 48 -- The Seahawks Victory Parade

I started writing here the last time the Seahawks were in the Superbowl.  For someone who really does not follow the sport it seem strange that two of my earliest posts were about the Seahawks:

• Seattle has Seahawks fever. Or at least a minor cold.
• A letter from the lawyers

Things felt very different this year. The 12th Man really came into its own over the past couple of years, and the enthusiasm for the team was at an all time high.  How high?

For the welcome home parade (really more of a processional) for the Superbowl 48 Champions, 700,000 people lined 4th AVE through downtown Seattle.

700,000.

That's astounding.  There are only 630,000 people that live in Seattle.

And it was cold. Not in the way that a Seattle winter is cold and dreary. It was legitimately cold (sure, it's no Polar Vortex, but still...).  And people waited for hours. Some camped out the the night before. And did I mention it was cold?

This was all to get a glimpse of the team as the rode down the street in Ride-The-Duck vehicles and Humvees. The Seattle PI has more details here.

It was only a short walk so I headed down there to be part of the experience. Here are some photos I captured from my little scrap of asphalt at 4th AVE and University.

The parade got off to a late start, but this fan made productive use of her time.

Children and some adults scaled trees for a chance to see the team and would occasionally be chased down by the authorities.

This gentleman had some struggled to shimmy up the tree, but the crowd noticed and began cheering, "Climb! Climb! Climb!" He made it. I'm not sure how he got down.

Many members of the crowd got annoyed when the first vehicles came through. There were tour buses with tinted windows, and, of course you couldn't see inside. Apparently that was front office staff, though, rather than players. And even they didn't like the buses as the climbed out the emergency exits to ride on the roofs of the buses through the streets.

Marshawn Lynch rode the hood of the Seagals Duck and through Skittles at the crowd.

The rest of the team followed in other vehicles.

And if you look really carefully through hundreds of arms and between all the other cameras, you can even catch a glimpse of the Heisman Trophy.

It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by that much positive energy. The parade ended with not fights and no arrests.  That's 700,000 well behaved, very cold, well-caffeinated, high energy fans who caused no major trouble.

How often does that happen?

More pictures are available here.