Ep 117 -- Industrial Design and an Art Tram

English transcript here.

I read through my daily Google News Alert about stroke a couple months back and came across an article about the Mobile CT scanner. It's designed to mount in ambulances and aircraft. It helps the medical team confirm a stroke diagnosis and start treatment even before the patient gets to the hospital.

I reached out to one of the designers and that ushered me into the fascinating world of Drs. Nyein Chan Aung and Thinn Thinn Khine.

Bio

Photo by James HH Morgan

Nyein is an industrial designer, design researcher and artist. He has given himself a mission to "Make Cool Stuff", and has been following that mission since 2005. As a result, he's won several major design awards for products in aerospace, healthcare and camping. He's currently a senior design researcher at Monash University's Design Health Collab, where he oversees the design of high-impact healthcare services and products.

Thinn Thinn is an endocrinologist specializing in geriatrics endocrinology. She's been practicing medicine since 2006, and has worked in Myanmar, Jamaica, the US and Australia. She received multiple scholarships and travelling fellowships to be trained as a physician-scientist in the field of the endocrinology in ageing.

Thinn Thinn is also a visual artist. She's exhibited her work in multiple solo art exhibitions in Victoria, and raised funds to support geriatric medicine, aged care mental health and palliative care departments in Monash Health and Barwon Health.

Mobile CT Scanner

The mobile CT Scanner, developed by Monash University and Micro-X mounts in an ambulance, aircraft, or other vehicle. When the EMTs suspect a stroke, they can bring the patient to the vehicle, do the scan, and start heading to the hospital.

While they're on the way, they can transmit those image on ahead so the hospital staff knows what's happening and can stage the appropriate resources. A remote neurologist could even instruct the EMTs to begin the appropriate treatment.

You can read more about the system here: https://www.monash.edu/mada/news/2020/new-ct-scanner-speeds-up-stroke-diagnosis

Palliative Care Unit

The death of Thinn Thinn's mother from stroke inspired the couple to make things easier for others going through these circumstances.

The design the Palliative Care Unit. It's a piece of furniture that can be rolled into a patient's room so family members can sleep there when the COVID-19 situation  is under  control. In the interim, it's a place to support video conferencing and personal items from the patient's home.

You can see more in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S1ooI2IHcE&ab_channel=NyeinAung

Art Tram Project

Melbourne invited artists to submit work to be featured on trams (street cars) that travel around the city in 2019. It was the perfect project for Nyein to submit the portrait he did of Thinn Thinn sipping tea at the Supper Inn Chinese Restaurant.

You can see Thinn Thinn's face zipping around the city larger than life in this video:
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYBcERruqkU&ab_channel=MelbourneInternationalArtsFestival

Books

Nyein referenced a couple book in our conversation.

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator who's written a book about how to negotiate in everyday life.

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Walter Isaacson is a historian who wrote about Leonardo da Vinci and The Last Supper.

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(Affiliate links)

Hack of the Week

Thinn Thinn's recommendation is to consider the whole person. Regardless of the condition leading to disability, we are all, first and foremost, people with lives, history, families (genetic or chosen), and dreams. It's easy to get caught up in the specific medical details of a brain injury, but focusing exclusively on that misses the core needs of the person. Whether the medical situation is recovery oriented or palliatively oriented, the whole person is what matters.

Links

Where do we go from here?

• Check out Nyein and Thinn Thinn's website to learn more about this power couple.
• For more books and gadgets, check out the Strokecast Gift Guide at http://Strokecast.com/GiftGuide.
• Don't get best…get better.

 

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 116 -- Teaching Yoga after a Stroke with Leslie Hadley

(Click here for a machine generated transcript)

Leslie Hadley went from corporate executive to Yoga  teacher to stroke survivor and back to yoga teacher. Along the way, she became an author, life coach, and tapping teacher (not the dance -- the emotional freedom technique).  She shares her story this week, and I share a bunch of my own updates.

You can find Leslie's book on Amazon at http://strokecast.com/book/AwakenFromIllness (affiliate link)

Bio

From Leslie's website:

How long have you been doing what you do, and how did you become a Transformational Teacher?

To answer this question, it’s probably best that I share with you a defining moment, and resulting compelling story. I was a single mom, divorced from an abusive relationship, in management, working in a high paying corporate job with people from all over the world. I was beyond shocked when one day they laid me off with two weeks’ notice. They didn’t pack my stuff so the 2 weeks gave me creating time! I was teaching yoga part-time during all of this, and my daughter was a freshman in high school.  I was transferred all over the country, but this time, I promised her I wouldn’t relocate again. Initially, I was in planning mode. Once the adrenaline from that wore off, I felt rejected, afraid and overwhelmed. All I could think about was, “What’s next” “How am I going to pay my bills?” My self-esteem suffered. I am a survivor, so I pulled up my lady bootstraps and got to work. In hindsight, I realized getting laid off from my corporate job was a gift. I liked the income, so I never would have left on my own. I know in my heart if I stayed in corporate I would have never lived out my passion and purpose; but just as important, I have learned about me. I was working 70 hours a week. On weekends, my daughter would come with me to the office. She learned to fax at 5 years old! My daughter once told me she never wanted to do what I did - work 70 hours a week and sell my soul. To this day, she has not and has instead chosen to work with kids as a librarian. I taught her to follow her dream and live her passion. Sometimes what seems tragic at the time is just the wake-up call we need.

I made a commitment to myself, as I did when I started my yoga practice 20 years ago. My commitment was to heal myself from numbness in my legs. Yoga helped me heal, and I was determined! I will turn my yoga passion and teacher training into teaching classes. I made a list of how I was going to do it. In a short amount of time I was teaching 35 classes a week! I was also practicing Thai yoga massage and became a Reiki Master. In spite all of my hard work, I wasn’t making enough money teaching. I wrote in my journal that I would pay my bills and more. I manifested much more money, sharing my gift and helping people. I was actually living my passion and sharing peace and joy.

Five years after I started teaching Yoga, I felt in my heart that there a missing piece in my life. I was passionate about what I was doing, but I felt I could still do more to serve women. I decided to enroll in a nutrition and coaching program. I loved all aspects of the program but coaching really spoke to me. After graduation, I enrolled in a transformational coaching program - Level 1, then Master. Yes, once again, my life changed, and I found that I loved experiencing the transformation in myself and witnessing struggling women transform themselves. The freedom to be you, empowered but easy! Today, I live in compassion land.

The shocking experience of going through divorce, raising my daughter at a very young age, being laid off from my high paying corporate job, healing physically and emotionally brought me to where I am today – coaching people like you on exactly what to do to gain self-esteem, have more love, trust and caring in your lives, so you can gain more happiness, healthy lifestyle and have hope for the future, called empowerment!

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Feldenkrais

Fedenkrais is a form of therapy that's been around for several decades. I'm not sure I would describe it as mainstream, but it does have a lot of enthusiastic supporters in the survivor and therapist communities.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/B21G4lxbwHQ

What's It Like?

I recently appeared on Hannah's What's it Like podcast. The show features folks who have been through a significant life experience and who want to share what it was like.

You can find the show in your favorite podcast app, or just listen right here:

Strokecast and OneNote

OneNote is a virtual 3-ring binder. I've been using it for nearly 20 years in various capacities. I also use it to manage this show.

I recently wrote a blogpost that goes deep into this process. You can read about it here: http://Strokecast.com/OneNote.

Strokecast Gift Guide

If you're looking for gifts for yourself or someone else in your life, check out the Strokecast Gift Guide.

You'll find books by Strokecast guests, other books related to stroke, tools to aid in recovery, and tools to make life a little bit easier.

All these items are available on Amazon through my affiliate links so check it out at http://Strokecast.com/GiftGuide.

Hack of the Week

A wagon is a great tool for getting stuff done. With hemiparesis, it's even more useful. 

First, when I use the wagon, I don't need to use my cane. The wagon gives me the stability I need

But really, the key is how I use it for just simple things:

• Bringing packages up from the lobby
• Bringing in groceries from the car
• Moving larger things around the apartment

Basically, if it takes two hands or arms to move, I'm likely to use the wagon.

Plus it's great even for folks who don't live with disabilities.

This one is very much like  wagon we just picked up: http://Strokecast.com/hack/wagon

Links

Where do we go from here?

• Check out Leslie's website to learn more about her background, training programs, and approach to coaching.
• Visit the Strokecast Gift Guide at http://Strokecast.com/GuftGuide for your personal and gift-giving shopping needs
• Learn about how I use OneNote to create an episode by visiting http://Strokecast.com/OneNote
• Check out the What It’s Like podcast for a variety of stories here.
• Don't get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast