Brenda's Brainstorm & Trevor, a T Man Production 2009 - 2022

Well, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog, here to bring you, some of Brenda's past holiday traditions. Brenda used to really enjoy these and now things are much different, with no family close by, but that is just the way it is.  We thought we would share some of what she remembers from when, she was a little girl. Brenda always enjoyed with helping decorate the tree.  The trimmings consisted of rings made of different colored construction paper, that were put together with glue and made into strings, that were put around the tree.  She always had a real tree, except for one year, when she was told that they couldn't afford a tree.  There was a drawing at the school after the Christmas program, and guess who won the free tree?  I guess that was what you could call a Christmas miracle.  They had no choice but to decorate one after all.  Some of the other traditions were of course the many goodies that her Mom would make. Sparrows were onl...

Hello there, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog here, to share another story of Brenda's life.  This time, we are going to go a little deeper into what she actually experienced, prior to her brain tumor diagnosis of August 26, 2008.  Looking back and having had a chance to re-evaluate situations and things that happened, Brenda now realizes, there were actually reasons, for why things were so out of control. Her personality was a big issue one year prior, along with many nosebleeds, which she would wake up to and many were hard to stop.  She thought it was just her sinuses, which continue to give her grief, but this was different.  It was only after she had her craniotomy and this was brought up in one of her brain tumor support groups on Facebook, that the light bulb truly went on.  It was actually brought out that having many nosebleeds, could actually be a sign of having a brain tumor.  We say could, as it was in Brenda's case.  We are jus...

Hey, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog here again, to bring you another story of Brenda's life.  We are going to be doing something different, in that this will be a blog post of getting things off of our chests.  Before we go any further, Brenda has distanced or been staying away from negative people as much as possible.  Sometimes, that is not always possible, as you have to engage with some, so what we are about to share is not about our readers.  This is about people, that she has just had to cut out of her life. This is just something that she once and for all, needs to get off of her chest. Brenda has dealt with some pretty heavy life experiences, dating back to when she was first diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) over twenty-two years ago now.  We are not going to go all the way back there, but just so you know, she has been fighting every day since.  Imagine, something as easy as opening a door, becomes a sourc...

Hello, my fellow readers, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog, bringing you our latest tale.  This one is going to be about Brenda's experience with having had the wonderful opportunity, of taking an online writing memoir course.  It was offered by Creakyjoints.  Here is the link to that wonderful website.  http://www.creakyjoints.org/ It is full of wonderful information, for anyone dealing with arthritis or any chronic condition.  Check it out and see for yourself.  Seth Ginsberg, co-founder and president of this wonderful organization, has even quoted me in the past, so a plug or in my own language, a bone for him.  Getting back to Brenda's experience here.  There was a 10 week online writing memoir course called, "Writing Your Life: Writing to Heal" which was taught and lectured by author, Lynn Lauber, who according to Brenda, did a fantastic job with this.  She was so encouraging to everyone ther...

Hi, Trevor here again, to share with you discoveries that Brenda has made along the way on her journey of living with RA and also being a meningioma brain tumor survivor, for almost five years.  This has been quite a year for Brenda.  She became an editor at the beginning of the year, for CreakyJoints, Poet's Corner (& Artists Too).  She had no idea what this all entailed when she signed on, but she has given it everything she's got, and has really enjoyed how it has all come together.  She has had some wonderful entries share their various talents and it has just been wonderful.  It is for anyone living with a chronic illness. She accepts, poetry, short stories, photography, drawings, paintings you get the idea.  Another thing is that yours truly, got a job as well.  I became a mascot for "Christine's Kid's, who are children and teens who live with arthritis, (JA & JRA) being the focus. I offer barks of wisdom, by sharing...

Well, it's Trevor here, to share a recent tale of Brenda's life.  In fact, it was just a week ago Sunday, that Brenda once again banged her head.  The first incident was several years before her brain surgery, when she bumped it inside the fridge, as she was looking for something.  This was long before I came along and you can read all about that, in her previous blog post, "How It All Began." This time she treated the situation much differently, as she ended up going to the ER this time and not waiting.  Again she was looking for something, but this time it was her cubic freezer.  She didn't realize that the lid was not pushed all the way back and when she put her head in, it whacked her pretty good right down the middle of her head, below where the scars for her craniotomy are.  It hurt quite a bit and she just thought, she would ice it and take Tylenol and see how things were in the morning.  The next morning she went to work, but it ...

Hey folks, it's Trevor here once again, to share another inspiring tale of Brenda's life.  Before we go on I would like to congratulate her on 25 years of full time work, at the clinic she is employed with.  This is truly inspiring, because Brenda has lived with RA for 22 years and has managed to keep working full time, despite living with this inflammatory disease.  She even is treating herself to a beautiful piece of jewelry for the occasion.  I can't wait to see it on her.  It is going to be quite flashy according to her report to me.  Now on to our tale.  These stories are always from true life experiences.  Last Saturday afternoon she spent some time with her friend, Nyla and they had a great time as always.  She enjoys being with her because not only is she a great friend, but they always manage to have a laugh or two.  Just as a point of reference, Nyla was also the one, in our tale about the lamp.  She said i...

Hello, it's Trevor once again to share another tale, which I feel will be of extreme interest. As you know, this blog is based on situations or happenings in Brenda's life. It is called Brenda's Brainstorm after all.  I was added later, to do my part with telling her stories. She recently was called a "Braggart." Webster's Dictionary defines braggart, "as an offensively boastful person."  Brenda is anything but offensive.  She was also told that if others don't think like she does, then everyone else is wrong.  Are you kidding me?  She has never ever told one person how to live their life.  All she wants you to do, is to try and make the best of what you have.  Is that so wrong? She was also told that EVERYONE was sick and tired of her bragging, blogging, and her fake stupid dogs.  Well the last comment really was an attack on her personally.  I am a big part of her spreading awareness and hope.  I after all have a job, b...

Hi, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog here to share another inspiring tale of Brenda's life.  Today, makes 22 years since she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA, which we will refer to in this blog post.  It has been a long road, make that a roller coaster, with ups and downs, as this disease pretty much has changed her life significantly.  One thing she wants to tell you, is that living with RA is a part of her life and not her entire life. She is much more.  She likes to write, sing, do her computer projects at home and even at work.  She enjoys a challenge and being able to figure something out is huge, since she is also a brain tumor survivor.  We mention both of these aspects, because it just happens to be Arthritis and Brain Tumor Awareness Month. She considers this to be a double blessing.  Yes, you heard that correctly.  Brenda has certainly turned her lemons into lemonade and has shared her profits with o...

Hey it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog here with a breaking news story.  Brenda received some wonderful news today from Allen, the guy she testified with at the ND State Capitol on March 11th.  Senate Measure 2190 passed this week.  It was a team effort and they both helped to get the job done.  I am so proud of both of you for standing up and being bold on behalf of others who take biologics.  This was all explained in our last tale.  I am also proud of the state in which I live in for doing the right thing by this. I am going to close by sharing Brenda's compelling testimony.  Now, she wants you to do the same, if this legislation hits your state.                                                 ...

Hello, it's Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog here once again, to share a very exciting story that recently took place. I am very honored to share this because I actually got to meet the person she was working with on this wonderful project.  Allen Todd, who is the Director of Patient Education and Advocacy with the Global Healthy Living Foundation flew into Bismarck last Sunday evening.  Now anyone who comes all this way and wants to meet me, well that just makes me so doggone happy.  So I spent a few minutes with this fella who really seemed quite okay in my book.  He at least said "Hello Trevor" like I was going to say anything back....hahaha! So backing up a bit here first. Seth Ginsberg who is the co-founder and President of the Global Healthy Living Foundation aka CreakyJoints, contacted Brenda in January to see if she would be interested in working with Allen on a project regarding her taking a biologic?  You see there was Senate Measure...

Hello there, I am Crumpet, Trevor's younger brother and the newest addition of our Golden Trio.  I came to live with Brenda last October.  I have had a chance to really settle in nicely on my soft quilt, that Brenda's Mom made for her when she was a little girl. Anyway, I am here to brag a little about my big brother Trevor, who recently became a mascot for "Christine's Kids."  He is doing a really great job with it and still manages to remain humble, while caring for Lil Biscuit my little sister, and myself while Brenda is at work.  Here is a photo of Trevor, wearing his "Christine's Kids" cap, that she so kindly sent to Brenda and also he is wearing his awareness cape for RA, which Brenda has been living with now for almost 22 years. I think he looks so dashing in this.  I am so proud of my big brother.  He is really doing a lot of good for so many people. He also continues to write his weekly inspirational message...

Trevor, The Tell Tale Dog, here with the first blog post of 2013.  It has already started out quite great!  I was recently named the official Mascot for "Christine's Kids."  These are children and teens who live with arthritis.  I will be there sharing hope and encouraging these "Mighty Little Heroes" all of the way!  I was so doggone proud to be asked and to help Brenda, continue her mission of spreading awareness and hope. Brenda has written some wonderful poetry.  One was for her special awareness project for her birthday.  Her project was called, "Bones For My Birthday."  A bone is a blessing and I helped with that by way of my weekly messages.  She also wrote a beautiful poem for arthritis awareness, entitled 100 Shades Of Blue! She also has a beautiful necklace that she took a picture of to share along with the poem.  It is still making the rounds and this is really gratifying for Brenda.  Another poem she...