Ep 107 -- The Netflix of Healthcare with Dr. Felecia Sumner

What if you could see your doctor as much as you wanted and never have to pay a deductible or co-pay? What if your doctor was not paid based on how many patients they see on a given day?

This week, Dr. Felecia Sumner joins me to talk about the Direct Primary Care  model of healthcare. It’s the Netflix of Healthcare. You pay a monthly subscription fee and get to see your doctor as much as you need to without dealing with insurance providers.

This can be a great thing for stroke survivors and other folks with chronic conditions where you have not only complex needs and more of them than the general population, but you also need a provider who is interested in staying on top of your complex medical history.

Bio

From Dr. Sumner’s website: https://drfsumner.com/about-me/

Dr. Felecia Sumner is a family medicine physician, national speaker, best-selling author, and wellness strategist dedicated to improving the health and overall wellness of her patients and their communities. She is also the co-founder and Vice President of Synergizers Inc – a health and wellness service company.

Dr. Sumner completed her undergraduate work at Saint Joseph’s University and obtained her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). While at PCOM, Dr. Sumner earned the highly coveted Student National Medical Association’s PCOM Member of the Year award.

Dr. Sumner is actively involved in community health education and has presented across the country at a number of community, school, and church-related events about healthy lifestyle, nutrition, and disease prevention.

Dr. Sumner’s medical philosophy is inclusive of both traditional and alternative therapies and is focused on providing patient education and explaining things in non-technical language. Thus, her patients gain an increased sense of personal management of their own health, and family members are invited to attend appointments. She is particularly interested in medical media and preventive medicine, in addition to women’s health, nutrition and wellness.

Of personal note, Dr. Sumner lives in Pennsylvania, with her husband and two young daughters. In her free time, Dr. Sumner enjoys reading, singing, cooking, and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Is Racism Real?

This is one of the questions Dr. Felecia answers on Instagram and Facebook about race.

 

Dr. Felecia mentioned the Tuskegee Experiment. You can read more about that here: https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm

Here’s an article that talks about several books exploring the history of gynecological care in the US and how it started with brutal experiments on enslaved women: https://www.aaihs.org/black-subjectivity-and-the-origins-of-american-gynecology/

It’s August 2020 and protests are going on in Seattle and around the country. Before our interview, I reached out to Dr. Felecia to see if race was something she wanted to talk about on the podcast. She agreed.

The medical field, like many has failed many times to take care of folks based on race. Differences in care based on race, gender identity, disability, and more continue. Since disparities in treatment can happen even when most providers mean well, it means there must be an unconscious bias at play.

Sharing stories and listening to the stories of others is just one way to address this.

The Real Rx

The Real Rx is where I first hear Dr. Felecia. I started listening because one of the other co-host is Dr. Kimberly Brown, an Emergency Room physician who was a guest on Strokecast back in episode 40.

The Real Rx describes itself as “Real problems. Real talk. Real doctors. Talk to our group of women physicians just like one of your girlfriends. It is like having a virtual house call!”

I enjoyed listening to season one, and I learned stuff. It’s a nice balance of the personal and the professional.

The show is currently on hiatus, but it’s worth going back and listening to the back catalog in your favorite podcast app.

Links

Dr. Felecia Sumner’s website	https://drfsumner.com/
Dr. Felecia on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/drfeleciasumner
Dr. Felecia on YouTube	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQk93BJT2ZSMdD2rwfBsbjQ
Dr. Felecia on Twitter	https://twitter.com/drfeleciasumner
Dr. Felecia on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/drfeleciasumner/
One of Dr. Felecia’s posts on Instagram about Racism	https://www.instagram.com/p/CBNym5ehV4H/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Synergize Direct Primary Care	https://www.synergizedpc.com/
Synergize Direct Primary Care on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/synergizedpc
DPC Frontier	https://www.dpcfrontier.com/
The Real Rx Podcast	https://anchor.fm/the-real-rx
The Real RX on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/therealrxmedia
The Real Rx on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/therealrxmedia/
Dr. Kimberly Brown on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/Kim
Tuskegee Experiment	https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/timeline.htm
Black Subjectivity and the Origins of American Gynecology	https://www.aaihs.org/black-subjectivity-and-the-origins-of-american-gynecology/

Where do we go from here?

• Visit the links above to learn more about Direct Primary Care and see if it’s right for you and your family.
• Share this episode with three other people by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/dpc
• Subscribe to the Strokecast in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.
• Don’t get best…get better.

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 106 -- Using Music to Walk Again with Brian Harris

Music has the power to take us back in time to a fuzzy, nostalgic past. Or it can take us into a future we aspire too. It can show us history or connect us with God. It can take us deep into the emotional side of our brain and help us transcend our present.

 As I invested time with my therapists, Lin Manuel Miranda's lyrics helped keep me going,

Just like my country, am young, scrappy, and hungry, and I'm not throwing away my shot 

My Shot, Lin-Manuel Miranda

And even in the dark days, Billy Joel reminds me that

The good old days weren't always so good and tomorrow's not as bad as it seems.

Keepin' the Faith, Billy Joes

Music can take us to a different place metaphorically, and now, literally. Medrythms uses a system of sensors and specific music tracks to help stroke survivors learn to walk.

The US Food and Drug Administration recently accepted the Digital Therapeutics Platform for Walking from Medrythms into the Breakthrough devices program. This program streamlines the approval process for certain medical devices.

I talked with CEO and Co-founder Brian Harris to learn more.

Bio

 

 

Brian Harris is the Co-Founder and CEO of MedRhythms, a digital therapeutics company focused on the intersection music, neuroscience and technology. 

Brian is a board-certified music therapist and one of 300 Neurologic Music Therapist Fellows in the world.

Brian’s clinical work was focused at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston where he created and implemented their first inpatient full time Neurologic Music Therapy program, specializing in Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, and neurologic disease and built this program to be the most comprehensive NMT program in the country. 

Brian is also the Chair of the Arts & Neuroscience group at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and sits on the Advisory Council of the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy. He has been an invited speaker at numerous venues throughout the world at venues including: the American Academy of Neurosurgeons, Harvard Medical School, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Stanford University, Berklee College of Music, The Neurology Foundation of India, and Google. 

His work has also been featured in Forbes, CNBC, The Huffington Post, Pitchfork, Mashable, The Boston Herald, XConomy, MedTech Boston and on Chronicle Boston.

Brian is an inventor on 2 patents related to MedRhythms digital therapeutic platform and was recently named to MedTech Boston's 40 Under 40 Healthcare Innovators for 2017.

Rhythmic Audio Stimulation in Action

 

Google News Alerts

A Google News alert  is a daily email digest from Google with links to news and article about a particular key word.  You can set one or more up here https://www.google.com/alerts

I have one running for neuroscience and another for stroke. It's how I first hearrd about Medrhythms and the fast track program

Set one up for your own area of interest to give it a try.

Hack of the Week

Make music a part of your life. Listen to music. Create music. Sing. Do it by yourself or with friends and family at a distance or online. Play an instrument. Or just play music while you walk and exercise.

Adding music can be simple and powerful.

Links

Medrythms Website	https://www.medrhythms.com/
Entrainment	https://www.medrhythms.com/scientific-approach
Medrhythms on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/MedRhythms/
Medrhythms on LinkedIn	https://www.linkedin.com/company/medrhythms/
Medrhythms on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/medrhythms/?hl=en
Medrhythms on Twitter	https://www.instagram.com/medrhythms/?hl=en
Medrhythms on YouTube	https://www.youtube.com/c/Medrhythmstherapy
Medrhythms Clinical Trial	https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191028005569/en/MedRhythms-Initiates-Multi-Site-Randomized-Controlled-Trial-Nation%E2%80%99s
FDA Breakthrough Devices Program	https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/how-study-and-market-your-device/breakthrough-devices-program
Melodic Intonation Therapy	http://researchandhope.com/melodic-intonation-therapy/
The Use of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation to Optimize Treadmill Training for Stroke Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6149244/

Where do we go from here?

• Visit http://medrhythms.com to learn more about the technology
• Share this episode with someone you know by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/Medrythms
• Subscribe to Strokecast for free so you never miss an episode
• Don't get best…get better

 

 

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 105 -- Heal the Brain with Jane

Sometimes, I interview a guest and we cover everything I wanted to talk about and it's a great conversation. Sometime we go off in a different way completely and I have to throw out my whole plane. And that also can turn into a great conversation. That's what happened with this conversation I had with Occupational Therapist Jane Connely , better known as "Heal the Brain with Jane."

With the occasional chanting and loud child in the background, we talk about Jane's path to OT, the core elements of the OT field that Jane gets so passionate about, and how she helps survivors heal their lives after their injury.

Bio

Jane Connely is a Occupational Therapist and neuro specialist in San Luis Obispo, CA. Jane graduated from University of Southern California with her MA in Occupational Therapy in 2013. Her experience working with persons post brain injury pushed her to continue her training to become neuro-developmentally trained (NDT) beginning in 2015 and after 140 classroom hours finished her training in January of 2018 through recovering function.

Through her work, Jane found the current system discharges survivors based on insurance rather than need, which caused a cycle of readmissions and increase in debility. The unmet needs of the brain injured population in San Luis Obispo County led her to begin Heal The Brain With Jane.

Heal The Brain With Jane values current research regarding neuroplasticity and the practical application of this research in the daily lives of the brain injury survivor. Our organization understands that brain injury recovery is a delicate balance of physical, cognitive, and emotional health. All aspects must be addressed in order for the survivor to reach the highest level of recovery. Additionally, it is vital that this population receives continued care as recovery requires continued maintenance.

Stroke and Social Media

I met Jane through Instagram. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that it is a great tool to connect with other stroke related folks. Each platform has its own culture. They all have value. The key is to connect with the one you need at a particular point in time. Or the one that you can help others through.

#Stroke on Twitter

This community seems to be largely medical and industry professionals and researchers. It can be an interesting place to learn more about what happens in the field. You still need to watch it with a critical eye, but it can be informative. Be warned, though. Some people use stroke not in a brain injury context, but in reference to sex acts so you occasionally encounter adult content

#Stroke on Instagram

Survivors dominate the Stroke hashtag in Instagram. You'll also find a lot of OTs, PTs, and SLPs on there. Basically, the professionals that work directly with survivors are on there. Much of the conversation is around inspiration, working through therapy, and living the best post stroke life you can. But there is other stuff, too, because life is complex like that .

Stroke communities on Facebook

There are dozens of stroke related groups on Facebook. Each group develops its own subculture based on the choices the creator or admin makes. In my experience, you'll find a lot more people asking questions or expressing their frustration about stroke life on Facebook.

These are broad generalizations that I hope  give you some context for some of the different groups. Explore a variety of them to find the communities that are right for you.

Like Minded

Jane recently launched a membership program called Like Minded. Here's how she describes it on her website:

Welcome to Like Minded. This is a membership program for brain injury survivors, their families, and caregivers. Like Minded includes authors, nutritionists, yoga instructors and clinicians who are passionate about filling in the gaps of post stroke and post TBI care. Our leaders are survivors themselves or caretakers with intimate understanding of the recovery experience. These individuals have realized that their unique journey with brain injury granted them access into a very special community. The brain injury community is a supportive group of people who have been through it all and come out the other side with a burning desire to help you through this difficult time.

Among the leaders/facilitators are several previous guest of the Strokecast, including:

• Dr. Karen Sullivan
• Joe Borges
• Ella Sofia

It looks like a great program. You can learn more here.

Links

Jane on the web	https://healingthebrainwithjane.com/
Jane on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/heal.the.brain.withjane/
Jane on YouTube	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgb7r20xJkSg6EDzOOasggg?view_as=subscriber
Jane on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/healingthebrainwithjane/
Jane on Pinterest	https://www.pinterest.com/seejanepinning/
No-Brainer Podcast	https://healingthebrainwithjane.com/no-brainer-podcast-1
Peter Levine -- Stronger After Stroke	http://recoverfromstroke.blogspot.com/2007/05/peter-g-levine.html
The One You Feed Podcast	https://www.oneyoufeed.net/
#AbledsAreWeird on Twitter	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AbledsAreWeird&src=saved_search_click
#Stroke on Twitter	https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Stroke
#Stroke on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/stroke/
Transtheoretical Model of Change	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model
Izzy Wheels	https://www.izzywheels.com/
Snake oil on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/SnakeOil
Dr. Karen Sullivan on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/Karen
Joe Borges on strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/NeuroNerds
Ella Sofia on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/Ella

Where do we go from here?

• Follow Jane on Instagram @Heal.The.Brain.WithJane and check out her work at http://HealingTheBrainWithJane.com
• Share this episode with 3 people by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/HealTheBrainWithJane
• Subscribe to Strokecast for free in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode
• Don't get best…get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 104 -- Disability Services in Higher Education with Kaitlin Molloy

Click here for a machine generated transcript.

I have no idea what the back to school season will look like for college and university students in the fall. After all, right now it’s early July in 2020. COVID-19 is picking up pace. Protests are still happening. The presidential election is going to get really ugly. And the US is in full recession.

So school could look like anything.

And people like Kaitlin Molloy will see their workloads grow as we all navigate accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education.

Kaitlin’s job is to help students secure the appropriate disability accommodations in school. In this episode we talk about that process and discuss some options.

Hack of the Week

Kaitlin’s recommendation is to be planful.

If you are  starting or continuing higher education, reach out to the disability services staff as early as you can. Once they know you are there or are joining the school community, they can start working with you. Maybe that has impacts on appropriate housing or student employment. Maybe they can address academic challenges.

The earlier you start working with them, the more effective the plan you build with them will be.

Links

Whitney Morean on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/Whitney
Maddie Niebanck on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/Maddie
Ella Sofia on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/ella
Dr. Heather Fullerton talks Pediatric Stroke	http://Strokecast.com/pediatricstroke
JoCo Cruise Attendees on Strokecast	http://strokecast.com/tag/joco/

Where do we go from here?

• If you’re attending college or university, find out who should be your contact in disability services, and build a plan with them early.
• If you know someone who attends or works with a college, ask them to listen to this episode and share their thoughts. You can give them the link http://Strokecast.com/college
• Subscribe to Strokecast for free in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.
• Don’t get best…get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 103 -- Dying in hospice, stroke care, and the life of a traveling nurse

Hospice is something I knew existed, but it's not something I've ever had an extended conversation about, until I spoke with Barbara Sussanne.  In her job as an RN, she helps patients and their families navigate the dying process in the final few months of life.

Before that, She worked as a travelling nurse in both some of the largest hospitals in the US and in some of the smallest. She shares her experience of working with stroke patients across her career

We recorded this conversation in March on a cruise ship. It was the last trip of Holland America's Niew Amsterdam before COVID-19 cancelled cruising. The ambient noise you hear is the buffet area of the Lido deck.

This sailing was a charter. It was the 10th annual JoCo Cruise, and the 8th one I've been on. Like in previous years both pre- and post-stroke, I had a great time. I'm booked for 2021 if cruising is still a thing that exists next year. If you like geeks, nerds, musis, crafts, karaoke, and other genre stuff, join us next year. You can learn more at http://JoCoCriuise.com

Bio

Barbara Sussanne graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University Southeast School of Nursing.

The first 13 years of her career, she worked in cardiac medicine and ICU Stepdown focusing on patients with heart problems and/or complicated medical problems.

The next 3 years she switched her focus to in home care. Barbara has been on caring for patients receiving medical services in their homes related to their illnesses.

A year and a half ago Barbara was called to hospice where she now works with patients and their families as they navigate through the dying process.

Links

Barbara Sussanne on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/javajunkie_rn/
JoCo Cruise	http://Strokecast.com/JoCo
JoCo Cruise Discussions on Strokecast	http://strokecast.com/tag/joco/
Bill on Instagram	http://Strokecast.com/Instagram

Where do we go from here?

• Follow Barbara on Instagram @JavaJunkie_RN
• Follow Bill on Instagram @Bills_Strokecast
• Share this episode with someone you love by giving them the link: http://Strokecast.com/Hospice
• Don't get best…,get better

 

 

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 102 - Gait Training with the iStride and Dr. Kyle Reed

I learned about the iStride device when the initial research paper came out last year. It made a big difference in subjects’ ability to walk. I thought you’d like to learn more about it. I know I did. So I reached out to the developer Dr. Kyle Reed. We talk about it, how it works, and the research in this episode.

So what’s the principle behind how it works?

When we start walking after stroke, it’s liberating. As we get more and more mobile we start to compensate for our affected side by walking differently. But that can cause problems later on. And our skills can top out.

At a certain point to get better, we need to break those new bad habits. The iStride is a therapeutic device that you wear on your unaffected foot. It teaches you to rely more on your affected leg to ultimately improve your walking ability years after stroke.

Bio

Dr. Kyle B. Reed is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF).  His rehabilitation research focuses on low-cost methods to restore abilities in individuals with asymmetric impairments, such as from stroke or unilateral amputations. 

His research on Haptics focuses on thermal responses of the skin, coordinated motions, and human-robot interaction.  He has over 100 publications and has 18 patents issued or pending with three patents licensed for commercialization.  He is an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Haptics, an IEEE Senior Member, a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors, and was a 2019 Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar. 

He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Florida High Tech Corridor, the Orthotic and Prosthetic Education and Research Foundation, the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association, and industry.  Prior to USF, he was a post-doctoral scholar at Johns Hopkins University.  He received his Ph.D. and master’s from Northwestern University and his B.S. from the University of Tennessee, all in Engineering.

iStride in Action

Research

Here’s the pilot study that initially caught my attention:

https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12984-019-0569-x

There are couple more studies coming out soon showing the benefits of the iStride. Check out the abstracts here:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/str.51.suppl_1.TP144

https://apta.confex.com/apta/csm2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/23350

Always be skeptical of new approaches to recovery, but if it’s not harmful, and it doesn’t interfere with other treatments in terms of time or money, those new treatments may be a great choice.

Thoughts on the Protests

The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong negatively impacted people’s treatment because they couldn’t get to clinics. The recent anti-police brutality / Black Lives Matter protests in the US also likely disrupted people’s care, which was already disrupted by COVID-19. It’s okay to acknowledge that.

But that doesn’t mean the protests are bad or need to stop. Every group that is fighting for its rights also has people with disabilities in its ranks. With all the upheaval, now is not the time for people with disabilities to stay silent. Now is the time to speak up even louder.

Disability doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t be part of the fight — it just means we may have a different role.

Hack of the Week

An umbrella stand or tall vase is a great place to store canes by the door. It can also be a great place to swap from an indoor to an outdoor cane a you venture into the larger world.

And as long as you have to use a cane, make it awesome.

You can find hundreds of great options on Etsy:https://www.etsy.com/search?q=walking%20cane&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=walk

I’ve also acquired most of mine through FashionableCanes.com.

Links

Reed Lab	http://reedlab.eng.usf.edu/
Dr. Kyle Reed’s email address	kylereed@eng.usf.edu
iStride Device	http://reedlab.eng.usf.edu/iStrideDevice/
Moterum Technologies	https://moterum.com/
Clinical Trials	https://moterum.com/clinical-trials/
iStride video by USF	https://youtu.be/vlv7T5PynIM
USF Article about iStride	https://www.usf.edu/news/2019/stroke-patients-relearning-how-to-walk-with-peculiar-shoe.aspx
iStride on NBC DFW	https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/stroke-shoe-retrains-the-brain/15/
Pilot Study	https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12984-019-0569-x
Abstract from the AHA Journal	https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/str.51.suppl_1.TP144
Abstract from the APTA Conference	https://apta.confex.com/apta/csm2020/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/23350
Constraint Induced Movement Therapy from Physiopedia	https://www.physio-pedia.com/Constraint_Induced_Movement_Therapy
Amy Bastion at the Kennedy Kreiger Institute	https://www.kennedykrieger.org/patient-care/faculty-staff/amy-bastian
Fashionable Canes	http://FashionableCanes.com
Canes on Etsy	https://www.etsy.com/search?q=walking%20cane&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=walk

Where do we go from here?

• Check out the video above to see the iStride in action, and visit http://Moterum.com to learn more about participating in studies.
• Share this episode with 3 people you know by giving them the link http://strokecast.com/istride
• Lift your literal or metaphorical voice high and don’t be ignored in this time of social change
• Don’t get best…get better

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 101 -- Youth Stroke and Habits with Ella Sofia

Modern social media means anyone can reach out and connect with other stroke and brain injury survivors. And we are part of an amazing community.

Instagram is where I first encounter stroke survivor and entrepreneur Ella Sofia. We met through an Instagram Live video she did with Joe Borges of the Neuro Nerds podcast.

Ella survived two strokes when she was 14. I’m glad she tells story for several reasons. One though, is the reminder that kids can have strokes. A lot of folks don’t realize that. If you’d like to learn more about stroke in kids, you can listen to my conversation from 2019 with Dr. Heather Fullerton

Another important element is that Ella was athletic and still had her stroke. Being active and healthy with good blood pressure reduces your chances of having a stroke, but it doesn’t eliminate it. A number of guests on the show have been healthy, young and had a stroke. Sometimes it’s for an obvious reason (after the fact) like the Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) Ella experienced, and sometimes we may never know, which was the case with Whitney Morean.

So why bother getting in shape? First of all, a healthy body  does still reduce the odds of stroke even if it doesn’t guarantee that it won’t happen. Second, it makes recovery faster and more complete.

Bio

Ella Sofia, Habit Coach is a content creator at www.retrainyourbrain.ca.

In January 2008, at the age of 14, Ella suffered a hemorrhagic stroke due to an AVM rupture in her cerebellum.  About 9 years after her injury, through a long process of self-care and self-reflection, she finally and thankfully realized that mental rehabilitation is just as, if not more important than physical rehabilitation.  Now, she specializes in the mind’s role in habit creation to help others with their mental rehab and ultimately help others use habit to simplify their personal growth.

Ella received a Master of Arts, Sociology degree from the University of Waterloo in 2018.  Her research revolved around risk management, resilience, and security in Canada airports.  She spent nearly 3 years working for the Canadian government in national security while completing her degree.  During her time with the government she realized that the resilience of the airports and structures she was studying was not so different from the resilience of the mind.  This realization lead her to integrate many of the concepts and practices learned from her research into her coaching today.

What is an AVM?

An AVM is a misconfiguration of blood vessels. Instead of arteries gradually leading to smaller and smaller capillaries that then lead to larger and fewer blood vessels and into veins,  in an AVM, that network of capillaries doesn’t develop properly. The blood vessel can’t properly regulate and withstand the blood pressure. Eventually, it can fail. That results in a brain bleed — a hemorrhagic stroke.

Here is an article that talks about it in greater detail.

Changing Habits

Habits — good or bad — are unconscious behaviors. To change them we first have to make ourselves conscious of the context of the habit.

Ella talks about how to do that. When you feel the urge to engage in a bad habit, stop, ask yourself some questions and take some notes.

• Who?
  • Who are you with or thinking about?
• What?
  • What are you doing at the moment? What is going on? Don’t worry if it doesn’t seem connected to your habit. Just make note of it.
• Where?
  • Where are you? Make note of it. Get specific about where you are in your home or in the world.
• When?
  • When did the urge happen? Note the time or other temporal queues,
• What are you feeling?
  • What sort of mood are you in? What other things are you worried about?

You don’t have to do all the analysis. Just start by making note of these things. As you collect data, you’ll start to see trends. Then the work can start.

Links

Ella Sofia’s website	http://retrainyourbrain.ca
Ella on Instagram	http://instagram.com/ellasssofia
Ella on Twitter	http://twitter.com/ellasssofia
Ella on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/ellasssofia/
Ella on LinkedIn	https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-sofia-5845bb175/
Ella on Goodreads	http://goodreads.com/ellasssofia
Ella on YouTube	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-HWP8LcCycox4OB1N2tXnw
Book a Consultation	https://retrainyourbrain.ca/book-a-consultation/
Joe Borges on Strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/NeuroNerds
The NeuroNerds Podcast	https://theneuronerds.com/
My Stroke of Insight	http://drjilltaylor.com/book.html
Pediatric STROKE ON strokecast	http://Strokecast.com/pediatricstroke
AVM Information	https://www.totalhealth.co.uk/clinical-experts/mr-christos-tolias/arteriovenous-malformation-avms-faqs

Where do we go from here?

• Visit http://retrainyourbrain.ca to learn more about Ella and her work.
• Share this episode on your favorite social platform by using the link http://strokecast.com/ella
• Subscribe to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.
• Don’t get best…get better

Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 100 — Strokeaversary 3

Today is both episode 100 and my 3rd Strokeaversary.

Each year, I look forward to this day as one to respect. Survivor reactions to the anniversary of a stroke are as varied as survivors themselves. Some see it as a party; others as a day of dread. Both reactions and all those in between are valid. I lean toward the party angle myself.

It’s not so much the anniversary of the day I suffered a stroke. Instead, it’s the day I survived a stroke. So pass the cake, please!

In reality, I don’t so much end up with a party, though. It usually turns out to be a day of quiet reflection. This year I’ll be tired from work so I may celebrate with a nap. Or a quiet, socially distanced walk around the neighborhood.

Regardless, today is a good day. Just as all those after stroke have the potential to be.

So listen to this week’s episode. I talk about things like mortality, seasons in life, why sleep in the hospital sucks, the amazing staff I had the joy of working with, and the awesome Cathy Lee.

Hack of the Week

I use the handle of my cane to press elevator buttons. Sometime I use the cane to open and close doors, too. It’s one easy way to reduce my chances of picking up a virus in the outside world. Plus, it means I don’t have to put my cane down to call an elevator.

Where do we go from here?

• Think about the seasons in your life. How can that help you manage your priorities?
• Follow @Bills_Strokecast on Instagram
• Share this episode with 3 people by giving them the link http://strokecast.com/3Years
• Don’t get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 099 -- The Importance of an Advocate with Marcia Moran

Marcia Moran was a consultant who worded with entrepreneurs and helped the write business plans. Her pplan did not include a stroke in 2014, but no one’s does. Since then those skills have helped her advocate for herself and take the small steps she needed to in order to begin her recovery.

Marcia shares her story in this episode, talks about how she’s doing it, and discusses the importance of having or being an advocate.

Bio

From Marcia’s website:

After successfully building her business over the last twenty-plus years, Marcia  Moran thought she had life by the tail. Little did she know what was in store.

Marcia Moran has written over fifty business plans, and helped entrepreneurs strategize over how to differentiate their companies in changing environments. Her experience led her to found her own firm, Performance Architect in 2012.  She also co-founded Positive Business DC, an organization designed to increase well-being in the workforce in 2012.

After suffering a major stroke in 2014, Marcia applied her skills in planning and strategy as she strived to become whole. She never gave up. Over time she learned to walk again, but Marcia struggled with aphasia, a language disorder. She joined Toastmasters International hoping to regain her speaking abilities. It helped marginally, but in August 2017 she discovered a technological breakthrough that minimized her speaking disability. She then pushed beyond her comfort zone to become a Toastmasters International Club Officer in 2017, followed by Area Director in 2019. 

Marcia created Stroke FORWARD because she felt there is a need to share hope to stroke survivors and their caretakers. Learning to become her own health advocate one step a time and exploring holistic methods for healing were keys to her recovery. Marcia speaks and shares her message of hope, inspiration, healing, and a way forward as she goes across the country. She welcomes new opportunities to help individuals affected by major health crises move forward.

Marcia lives with her husband Jim, two very loud cats, and two birds near Washington, DC. Jim played a role of caretaker and advocate and contributed to Stroke FORWARD. His observations and experiences are captured in the book.

On weekends, Marcia, Jim, and the cats go to Deep Creek, Maryland where Marcia paints watercolors. In the evening Marcia and Jim sit out on the deck and watch fireflies flit by.

Marcia holds a B.S. in Political Science with a magna cum laude from the University of North Dakota and a Master’s in Business Administration, from Chapman University in California. She attended Skirinssal Folkehoyskole in Sandefjord, Norway and studied art. She also earned a certificate in Well-being Foundations of Personal Transformation from the Personal Transformation and Courage Institute in Virginia. She volunteers at Brain Injury Services, supporting their Speakers Bureau program.

Small Steps

Marcia talks about working towards her goals by breaking down the process into small steps, and then figuring out how to achieve each step. Sometimes she succeeded and sometimes she did not.

That’s how most recovery goes. It’s about figuring out we want to walk. Then we look at what we need to do to get there. Maybe we need to be able to stand first. Before standing maybe we need to be able to sit up. The key is to break down the big goal into smaller goals we can work towards. This is how our rehab specialists work with us — piece by piece.

It’s not something exclusive to rehab. This is how most productivity plans tell you how to a chieve a goal. It’s the basic model behind project management. It’s how everything from sheets of paper to baseball stadia get built.

Celebrate the Small Victories

In this conversation, you hear a lot of “Woo-hoo!” from Marcia as she celebrated accomplishments large and small along the path of her recovery.

Those small victories matter. When you feel the slightest improvement, celebrate it. Recognize it for what it is — a piece of the puzzle.

I was excited when I could feel my left index finger almost begin to move. Focus on those small movements, improvements in speech, a slight win in memory — whatever it is. Let your brain feed on the positivity of a win, however small so it can continue to give you more of them.

Toastmasters

Toastmasters is a group with more than a thousand chapters around the world that helps folks grow an improve their public speaking and leadership skills. Marcia found great value in the work and the community. 

Many of the guest on my other show, 2-Minute Talk Tips have been involved with Toastmasters. You can hear some of them and learn more about the program at http://2MinuteTalkTips.com/Toastmasters

Hack of the Week

Get a heating pad.

A heating pad is great for sore and aching muscles. The pain in those muscles may be a direct result of stroke or an indirect result due to a wonky gait, new use after a period of activity, or over use. Many survivors often find their affected side may be cold due to the lack of muscle use and less intense circulation.

A heating pad may relieve some pain without additional medication and make it more comfortable to sleep. And sleep is when the brain does a lot of its repair and rebuilding.

Links

Marcia’s Website	https://www.strokeforward.com/
Marcia on Twitter	https://twitter.com/Stroke_Forward
Marcia on LinkedIn	https://www.linkedin.com/in/marciamoran/
Marcia on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/StrokeForward/
Marcia’s book on Amazon	https://www.amazon.com/Stroke-Forward-Become-Healthcare-Advocate-ebook/dp/B07Z9LSB9S/ref=sr_1_1
Toastmasters on 2-Minute Talk Tips	http://2MinuteTalkTips.com/Toastmasters
Norman Doidge	http://www.normandoidge.com/
Diane M. Needham (Book Shephard)	http://dianamneedham.com
COVID-19 and Stroke — New England Journal of Medicine	https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2009787
Stroke and COVID-19 with Dr. Middleton	http://strokecast.com/Covid-19

Where do we go from here?

• Check out Marcia’s book on Amazon here
• Visit Marcia’s website to learn more about her Stroke Forward initiatives
• Share this episode with a friend, colleague, or relative by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/Marcia
• Don’t get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Ep 139 -- Words and Stories Mean More than Picture with Ken Moscowitz

2-Minute Tip : The Stage as War Zone

 

Think of the stage as a war zone. Not in the sense that the audience is an enemy. The enemy is the way many folks hold back and don’t spend all their energy on stage.

 

To mix metaphors even further, the stage is that poker hand where you need to go all in./ If you hold chips back — if you hold energy or enthusiasm back — you won’t win. You won’t accomplish your goal.

 

When you get off stage, you want to be exhausted and drained because you left it all out there.

 

Post Tip Discussion

 

One reason I like talking about public speaking is because the content is ever green. By that I mean the strategies for effectively speaking today, are the same ones that will be effective next year. Or that were effective last year.

 

• Define your goal.
• Tell a story.
• Do it with enthusiasm.
• Be bigger on stage than you might be in private conversation.
• Do it all with authenticity.

 

As I write this, it is April 2020 and we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and shut downs of various sorts. As more people speak via webinars and video conferences, think about how those core principle change.

 

They don’t.

 

You still need to:

 

• Define your goal.
• Tell a story.
• Do it with enthusiasm.
• Be bigger on stage than you might be in private conversation.
• Do it all with authenticity.

 

This interview is one I recorded a year ago, and it’s just as relevant today. And it will be just as relevant 5 or 10 years from now.

 

In this conversation with Ken Moscowitz, we talk about the importance of your energy level and how to have to give it your all every time.

 

We also talk about how just because your story has become boring for you because you tell it all the time, it’s still new to your audience and can be just as powerful and illustrative now as the first time you told it.

 

And we wade into the discussion about which is more powerful: words or pictures.

 

Bio

 

From Ken’s website:

 

As a father of 5, this man knows how to multitask. OK, his wife does the multitasking, but Spanky’s a close second.

 

Spanky started his creative career in New York City and quickly rose to the top of the broadcast creative industry. He’s led re-branding and resurrection efforts for many major and smaller brands over the last three decades; like the Indy 500, Frito-Lay, Samuel Adams, Coca Cola, M&M Mars and many more. He also revitalized ailing broadcast outlets and sports franchise brands across the country.

 

Spanky’s unique approach to creative and fun, yet memorable branding, sets him apart in the industry. His approach is at times edgy, always unique, but very memorable.

 

Following the advice of his mentor and friend Gary Vaynerchuk, Spanky built his business by jabbing (that’s Gary Vee’s shorthand for providing value). It worked so well that he wrote a best-selling book: Jab Till It Hurts: How Following Gary Vaynerchuk’s Advice Helped Me Build A 7-Figure Brand.

 

Hop over to SpankyMoskowitz.com to get to know Ken better, find out where he’ll be next, and book him for consulting or speaking opportunities.

 

Links

 

Ken ” Spanky” Mokowitz	https://www.spankymoskowitz.com/
Ad Zombies	https://www.adzombies.com/
Ad Zombies on Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/adzombies
Ad Zombies on Twitter	https://twitter.com/AdZombies
Ad Zombies on Instagram	https://www.instagram.com/adzombies/
Ad Zombies on LinkedIn	https://www.linkedin.com/company/adzombies/
Ad Zombies on YouTube	https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrFDrjmaBoYug__OTRF8KBQ/
Jab Till It Hurts: How Following Gary Vaynerchuk’s Advice Helped Me Build A 7-Figure Brand	https://www.amazon.com/Jab-Till-Hurts-Following-Vaynerchuks/dp/1724043471
Gary Vaynerchuck	https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/
Tony Robbins	https://www.tonyrobbins.com/
Episode 119 — Staying in Your Lane with Chandler Walker	http://2MinuteTalkTips.com/ChansLogic
Ep 098 — COVID-19 and Stroke	http://Strokecast.com/COVID-19

 

Call To Action

 

• To learn more about Ken, be sure to check out Ad Zombies everywhere, including the links above
• Check out Ken’s book from your favorite online bookstore, library, or read chapters on the Ad Zombies blog
• Subscribe to 2MinuteTalkTips in your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.
• And, as always, don’t get best…get better.

Check out this episode!