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

Trevor here, with our monthly tale. This will be our last one for this year, but quite a golden one indeed! BOL Brenda had several milestones to celebrate this year. Brenda celebrated her 30th work anniversary with the clinic, where she has been employed at, since June 2, 1988. She became a 10 year brain tumor survivor on September 8th. Her nonmalignant right frontal lobe meningioma brain tumor was removed entirely, and a whole new life began for Brenda. She was talking about this with her former boss yesterday, who happens to read this blog. He remembers her coming into his office, and requesting some time off to have surgery. Brenda was so calm about the whole thing. She definitely was in shock, as she told him yesterday. He also asked how the process worked, with where the tumor was removed, and if that gap grows back together. Yes, it does. Brenda got to see the comparisons from when the meningioma was removed and how that gap was starting to grow together. Her bone flap wa...

Hello it's Trevor, with our monthly tale. This one is going to be completely different, as it's shared with a number of links. Brenda's true advocacy journey began on April 20, 2012, when she worked with Seth Ginsberg, the co-founder and President of CreakyJoints. Brenda did a local TV Interview with NBC ND News titled; "Living with RA" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS3THrbYByw CreakyJoints made a video of her work advocacy day and that is on YouTube. "Patient Advocate: This Could Be You!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6SL48O3TLc The next year, on March 11, 2013, she had another opportunity to work with the Global Healthy Living Foundation aka CreakyJoints and testified at the ND State Capitol. The whole experience is shared in this blog post. https://brendasbrainstormandtrevor.blogspot.com/2017/05/a-legislative-tale_7.html As you know, the bill did end up passing. North Dakota was one of the first 6 states out of 48 and Puerto Rico...

Hello my fellow readers! It's Trevor here again, to share our monthly tale. We are going to be exploring the topic of relationships, particularly those that can break down, due to a number of circumstances. In Brenda's case, dealing with unkind comments causing fractured friendships, that simply had to be cut off. Before I go on, me being a dog, it seems that humans make this so much harder than it has to be. If I have a disagreement with one of my own, we battle it out over a bone. BOL Most times, I let them have the bone, to keep the peace! I really don't have that much trouble with other dogs, as we are known to have big hearts. You've probably heard the expression; "If people would only have the hearts of dogs, it would be a much better place." We deal with our problems and then move on. A dog does not hold a grudge. We are faithful and always waiting for you, when you get home. We may jump on you, to show our affection. Who am I kidding, I can't jum...

Hi, it's Trevor here. We almost forgot to share Brenda's big highlight of the month with you. Brenda got to meet one of her fellow authors, Amy Zellmer, on September 13th. Amy was the featured speaker at the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Library. Brenda wanted very much, to go meet her. Amy was one of the contributors for the book; Real Life Diaries: Living with a Brain Injury, which was originally published in the Grief Diaries Anthology Series, with the same title. Brenda was one of the coauthors for that book. Amy contacted Brenda after the book project was completed, and asked if she would be interested in contributing to her book project titled; Surviving Brain Injury: Stories of Strength and Inspiration. How cool was that? Brenda's story is featured on page 48. The reason that is so significant; Brenda was that age, when she was diagnosed with her right frontal lobe nonmalignant meningioma brain tumor and subsequently underwent a craniotomy. As you know her BIG 10 ...

RD Blog Week - Day Two: Tips - How do you stay fit, cope with stress, relax, or capitalize on a great day. Tell us your secrets for the best life possible.  I always try to start out my day, by getting up extra early. I never know what RA may throw at me, especially during my work week. I want to be sure and allow myself enough time for breakfast and getting dressed for work. I'm within walking distance to my place of employment, so I usually have my music with me, and listen to on the way. It helps to keep me centered. Did you know that when you exercise and listen to music, that you are using 100% of your brain? That's definitely a win-win right there. Walking is my main form of exercise. It's a great help, with my lower back issues. I have a bulging disc at L5 -S1, aka Lumbosacral Joint, which was discovered during a CT scan of my spine back in 1984. I know exercising is key to help keeping it limber, so it doesn't tighten up. How I cope with stress, is tryin...

Well it's that time of the month, to share our tale. It's Trevor again, with another chapter to share of Brenda's life. Before we go on with our subject this month, I want to let you all know, that Brenda celebrated her 10th Craniversary on September 8th. That ended up being a double celebration, as her uncle's life was honored that day as well. Brenda told me it was great to see so many of her cousins and friends, that she hadn't seen in years. She also told me, that she's never laughed so hard at a memorial or celebration service, as it truly was.They had a chance to visit a bit after and had some pictures taken. New memories were created that day. A family loop has been formed on Facebook and they still keep in touch. I wonder if dogs could start a bone group? BOL Brenda wanted me to share some items of importance, hence our tale. As you know, Brenda has lived with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for 27 years and recently became a 10 year brain tumor survivor. ...

Hello my fellow readers, it's Trevor to share our August tale. Brenda has had an active summer, with her yearly examinations. We are going to touch on that and a lot more, during this tale. On September 8th, 2 weeks from today, Brenda will be celebrating her 10th Craniversary or celebration of life, since her craniotomy. Tomorrow will be 10 years, that she found out that she had been living with a meningioma, for at least 20 years. She had no idea, it was even a brain tumor at that time, because of the confusing terminology. Imagine, if you were told that you had a mass, lesion or meningioma, that was the size of a walnut. WELL, we all know how that turned out folks, don't we? BOL Wanted to mention that her BIG 10 is getting close. Brenda's mother was sitting right beside her on the edge of the bed, when they received the news. It was a Tuesday, August 26, 2008. Nothing from this point on, would ever be the same again. Every year since then, Brenda has reflected on this...