Go inside the mind of a veteran recovering from brain damage, what it feels like navigating the unique and challenging journey from chaos to recovery.
At 19 years old, I was medically discharged from the military, diagnosed with TBI and PTSD, and ended up a homeless veteran 30 years before that became a thing. Going from a National Merit scholar scoring 99.97% on the SATs to barely being able to read a magazine or balancing a checkbook, first I had to figure out how to get my sh#t together, re-collecting a mind. Being from a foster kid background helped though, learning to be resourceful with limited funds. The initial 5 years or so were hell, but I don’t dwell on that, focusing on a brief Dante-esque tour of epiphanies, sprinkled with humor.
The next 15 years was purgatory as I assembled a somewhat functioning life, discovering new insights into brain injury, with some science to explain syndromes like Gating, Discortification, Limbic Hijack. What does PTSD feel like? How does the VA treat it now? To help people relate, I tap into a few limited multi-media experiences, mostly music.
(Atmosphere, Smart went Crazy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJvX-FWvHjk
My profession as a glass artist was rewarding, the only job I could hold down as my art progressed from a devoted hobby that lifted me from homelessness, to national recognition in the trade. (Grand Prize, Stained Glass Association of America’s 2005 Challenge) The VA’s prescription for strenuous exercise to recover from TBI led to an avid cycling addiction, which became novice racing, which hatched an idea to build a velodrome, which succeeded. (Clevelandvelodrome.org) In other words, I barely knew anyone, living on my VA pension from a disability, when I came up with an idea of building an Olympic cycling facility on the edge of a ghetto, and now it exists.
(Imagine Dragons, Thunder) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhs7WVvuXk
After that, meeting my husband was the beginning of a ten year adventure that has taken us around the country on two wheels, in one form or another. (2wheels4us.com)
The Book of Life, part I, Rookie, weaves together our two lives as we grew up apart- children of the outdoors on bicycles, then both joining the military, his exciting experiences as a fire-fighter and mine with being rescued. One subtle facet to cover is how his work caused some of his own ptsd, woven together with my own memories learning to overcome it. Sometimes our younger selves almost literally met, but eventually the time was right for us to connect.
Our journey together brought us to Hawaii, where he could re-connect with his heritage. I had the privilege to meet a Hawaiian farmer, who introduced me to the old Hawaiian spirituality. Its one thing to read about a "belief" like Animism in a book, but its quite another when that belief manifests as a royal prince, tapping you on the shoulder as a dragonfly and introducing you to a King. The rest of the story has been nothing short of astonishing, like the Black Panther, only in real life.
It was while researching the solution to a 1000 year old puzzle inscribed on mysterious tablets that I discovered a great-grandfather I never knew before, who was the first director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History... Just like Percy Fawcett and the Lost City of Z, except in real life. When reviewing his notes, I found that he had discovered artifacts that helped me solve the puzzle and several prophecies. I also stumbled on the fact my husband’s ancestors had met mine 120 years ago, here in Hawaii as well, fighting for independence in the political arena of the Hawaiian Kingdom! Its like Cloud Atlas, only in real life.
Tell me, what would you think after experiencing even part of these adventures? What would you do? I began writing a memoir, before I was famous...
With enough interest, I can finish The Book of Life, part III, The Seven Rainbows Call, revealing where the prophecies lead...
There is a Chinese saying, "May you live in interesting times." We have arrived.