A Farewell Tale...

Here we are at the end of this journey. It's been almost 13 years to the day, since Brenda started blogging. It was on a Friday morning June 26, 2009. She had been thinking about starting a blog, something she really had no idea how to do. She needed a name that would be catchy and while in the shower that morning, Brenda's Brainstorm (An Inspiration Out of the Blue) came to mind. She later sat down behind her keyboard and composed her first blog post. In October of that same year, this blog was moved to BlogSpot, as the group site where she was presently blogging, was going to be disbanded. A season with that group was coming to an end, much like this one. 

For those who may not know who has been sharing this tale so far, I'm Trevor, who has gone by so many titles. First was Trevor, the Tell Tale Dog or Trevor's Tales, kind of the same. BOL That stands for Bark Out Loud. We know our friend Seth the co-founder and president of CreakyJoints loves this. We had to do this for our final post. It's been Brenda's Brainstorm & Trevor aka T Man for several years now. 

Getting back to Brenda's original thought behind this inspiration. Blue is actually the awareness color for arthritis. That was something that she was not aware of. She would also learn as the years went by that Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) colors are purple and blue. It kept evolving when she became a brain tumor survivor, that the color was grey or gray and get this, awareness colors for meningioma the type of brain tumor she had, was purple and grey. We hope this gave you a little background behind how she was going to be creative with all of this. Let us continue in our next paragraph.

Speaking of background, have you ever noticed that our main page is purple and the title of our blogs are surrounded with gray? Are you following me so far? BOL Our titles were also purple and the text for the blog posts were blue behind a grey background. Brenda always has had a method behind her madness, when it comes to spreading awareness. I think you get that her living with RA and becoming a brain tumor survivor cannot be separated even with blogging. I think it's pretty genius myself, but I'm a dog so what do I really know about color? BOL There is more behind this than you may realize. Let us explore in our next paragraph.

When Brenda had her craniotomy performed on September 8, 2008, they used a Midas drill while removing her bone flap. The neurosurgeon was able to readily get to her brain tumor, as it seemed it was ready to be removed. It also had a tail attached, which is a striking characteristic of a meningioma. This is where I come in. Let's continue with our next paragraph.

If you know anything about your fairy tales or Greek mythology. Just a side note, Brenda and her mother loved stories in Greek and Roman mythology. They had so much in common. Kind of got off the track there, but I will explain more on that later. Anyway getting back to King Midas, everything he would touch turned to gold. I happen to be a golden retriever. BOL Remember we mentioned about a tail up above. It was decided that I would share tales about Brenda's life, beginning with the journey of her mother's illness and sadly her passing. That was in February of 2011 and I have been doing that ever since. It's now been over 11 years, since I have worked in that capacity. Believe me, she has worked me like a dog. BOL 

I've enjoyed every moment of it. I think there were times when it would have been difficult for Brenda to get out the words on her own. I became her helper and companion. You all do know that I'm not real right? It was Brenda's creative juices, that helped bring me to life and help others as Rick Franzo would say, "Visualize the blog." Pretty great words from our friend. For a time he thought I was real. BOL We wanted to make this last blog post a little fun, as in all seriousness, this is one of the most difficult things that Brenda has had to discontinue. It has truly been a labor of love and something she truly enjoyed. The truth is folks, that it takes a lot of passion and energy to come up with something that will help spur our readers on. That was the main focus behind this blog in the first place. It wasn't just about Brenda's struggles, yes we shared those, but also wanted to make you think and spread hope along the way. 

Another fact you may not be aware of is how these blog posts were composed. Brenda would sit down behind her keyboard and start writing. This would be many times without notes or even know what she would want to convey. It would just start flowing. Her mother said something much like that when she first started blogging and would read a post out loud to her. She said, "I didn't know you could write like that, it just flows" Brenda's response, "I didn't know either." It all came out of that 90 minute procedure with a Midas drill. Now you know the true story behind Brenda's Brainstorm & Trevor. 

I need to add that Brenda usually continued writing a particular blog in one sitting. I think part of this is because of her fear of losing her train of thought, when she was on a roll. In fact, right now as this is being composed, this is the first time she is writing any of this and the thoughts keep flowing. Writing has become a healing balm for Brenda. She started her first journal on March 8, 2009, six months after her craniotomy. She is currently on her 13th one. You may have noticed that several dates have been mentioned during this particular blog post. Dates have always been a thing with Brenda and even more so, since this whole brain tumor experience. Brenda uses word association to remember things. Her mother did pretty much the same thing, I mentioned before that they had so much in common. Let us continue to our next paragraph to expound on that.

Brenda made a promise to her mother while she was dying to live her life and grab what she wanted. She had no idea what that entailed. Brenda had already started this blog, several years before that promise had been made. Every day Brenda strives to keep that promise, by spreading awareness and hope. Everything she attempts to achieve, that thought is always at the back of her mind. 

About a month ago, it became apparent that this journey would be coming to an end. It was with much introspection that a decision was made to discontinue this blog. Brenda didn't want to abruptly quit sharing posts without an explanation. As you know Brenda was never told outright that she had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by her rheumatologist at the time. She also was not told that her meningioma was an actual brain tumor by her neurosurgeon. It would be months later when she would see on a piece of paper written by him, "Patient had a brain tumor." She felt it was only right to give our readers a heads up before ending this journey. Brenda is a big proponent when it comes to communication. There are 2 big things she wants you to know when describing her challenges. "It's not just arthritis." There are at least 100 different types, so it's hard to diagnose, as in Brenda's case almost 3 years before a definitive one was made. When it comes to her brain tumor, "Benign is not fine." She would prefer you use the terminology, nonmalignant or noncancerous. There are according to the World Health Organization (WHO) over 130 different types of brain tumors. Don't tell her she had the best kind. No brain tumor is the one to get. We need to do better and there is hope out there, just this year alone, there have been several studies highlighting meningiomas, known as the most primary of brain tumors but sadly, the least acknowledged. 

Brenda has a a passion for wanting to change these perceptions. She is not sure what her new path will be, but is hopeful that when the time is right, something will pique her interest and she will go from there.

Lastly it is with profound gratitude, that we thank all of our faithful readers. We also want you to know, that this blog will remain available for you to read at your leisure. If you wish to comment on any past post, Brenda is notified of that and will try to respond in kind. 

This has been a wonderful journey and Brenda would have not traded it for anything. We will still be around spreading awareness and hope, just in a different capacity. Next month will be Juvenile Arthritis Awareness for the 300,000 children who are touched in some way with the at least 100 different types of arthritis. It's not just an old person's disease. Brenda is out to change the perception of that. Brenda has always had a soft spot for children. We need to share this story as it explains her frontal lobe syndrome in depth. Let us continue with our final paragraph.

Brenda was at the store with her mother. This was several months after her brain surgery. There was this little girl crying because she could not find her mommy. Brenda was so touched by this that she started sobbing herself. It came out of nowhere. It was empathy folks, something Brenda possesses even more so now and and even for herself. Anyway, they were able to find her mommy and they were reunited. Sounds like a song. BOL Brenda started to sob even harder. It was difficult because she had no idea why this would happen and out of nowhere. She was finally told by her PCP and several other brain tumor survivors, that this was normal. It's all part of her acquired brain injury. In her case another thing happened which might not be so common, she sat down behind her computer on June 26, 2009 and started on this journey of Brenda's Brainstorm (An Inspiration Out of the Blue). We will now end this tale as we began, everything has a season and this one has seemed to come to an end. 

This is Trevor leaving you with a photo, so you will not forget us. This is our final T Man Production. 

~Blessings and golden hugs Brenda & Trevor~