Happie Heads
69 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA community to provide a virtual network for the brain injured and their loved ones, pulling them out of isolation and into the hope and light of community.
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Episodes
Episode 67 – Steve (Stevo) Bohlemann
September 12, 2023 01:06 - 1 hour - 106 MBIn the summer of 2014, in his last year of college Steve was struck by a cyclist from behind while jogging across a bridge in Charleston, South Carolina. His injuries included: a subdural hematoma, a fractured skull, fractured vertebrae, and of course, a TBI. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was placed in a medically induced coma for several days. He lost his memory for the first few weeks, but slowly began to remember things. Initially, he struggled physically and mentally with the new cha...
Episode 66 - Jean Marie Staranna
August 30, 2023 13:29 - 53 minutes - 73.4 MBAt the age of 16 in Old Forge, Pennsylvania Jean was in a car accident. She seemed to be recovering well until she began to have generalized seizures a year after her accident. Fortunately, she was able to see a neurologist and try out several anti-seizure medications until her seizures remitted. She was generally symptom free until this February of 2022 (48 years later) she experienced a second TBI when an overhead tent frame collapsed on her head. This time, the symptoms set in quickly an...
Episode 65 – Leia Tyrrell 2.0
May 31, 2023 13:57 - 1 hour - 107 MBIn this episode we have the return of one of our first guests, Leia Tyrrell. Since our first conversation at the end of 2016, Leia has had several more TBI. We discuss the physical and psychological ramifications of these TBI, and many of the broader ideas that many TBI survivors think about on a daily basis. I hope you all enjoy!
Episode 64 – Lydia Ewing-Green
April 03, 2023 14:21 - 1 hour - 97 MBOne day, while Lydia was playing catch with her nephew she turned around to pick something up, an incoming throw from her nephew struck her in the back of her left ear. Immediately she was completely disoriented, and went into a state of shock. She never would have imagined she just suffered a TBI that would have lasting impacts on her day-to-day life. We discuss her journey navigating her life after a TBI including parenting, working, and carrying on with the hobbies she enjoys. We also ta...
Episode 63 - Jack Fletcher
March 13, 2023 02:40 - 1 hour - 107 MBIn the summer of 2014, Jack was fresh out of high school and getting started on a fast track to become a paramedic firefighter. He was six weeks into the program when he headed toward home for a surprise visit. He was about halfway when he was struck head on by a drunk driver on Mt hood. He was in a five day coma, suffered a shattered face, radius, two amputated fingers on his right hand, lost vision in one eye, and his sense of smell. He was great to chat with. I hope you enjoy! Check a b...
Episode 62 – Lori Edstrom
February 23, 2023 17:44 - 58 minutes - 80.7 MBIn January of 2014 Lori had her tonsils removed, a routine surgery for most folks. While recovering at home, she had a severe reaction to the antibiotics and pain medications she was on and was found in her home by her boyfriend unresponsive. She was severely hypoxic and dehydrated, requiring interosseous hydration. At the trauma center in Duluth, MN, she was in a coma for 3 days and the ICU for 10. Miraculously, upon leaving she proved to be able to cook for herself so that hospital let her...
Episode 61 – Robyn Block
January 11, 2023 15:07 - 1 hour - 83.5 MBRobyn is from a small town in southern Minnesota. One day, on a skiing trip way up north in the state she crashed full speed into a tree, and her head struck a rock when she made contact with the ground. She was sent to a local hospital and eventually life-flighted to Duluth where she received lifesaving surgery (including a craniectomy) and was in a coma for several days. Her surgeon told her family she wouldn’t live. Less than two months later, she was leaving inpatient rehab and heading ...
Episode 60 – Ilona Popper
December 16, 2022 02:16 - 1 hour - 106 MBIlona lives in the wild and open state of Montana and is passionate about environmentalism, literature, and sharing her passions with others. In 2012, she experienced her first TBI at the age of 55. In 2017, she walked into the overhang of a camper and briefly loss consciousness. This led to many symptoms including an altered visual perception of space. Because of this, she continued to hit her head about once per month for the next several years. Due to these repeated TBIs, her symptoms beg...
Episode 59 - Deb Adesegun
January 29, 2022 23:42 - 55 minutes - 62.9 MBDeb is a medical student from Alberta, Canada. She is currently in her rotational years which means she is working directly with patients nearly every day. About a year ago Deb was driving home from a rotation and was hit head on by another driver. She suffered from a TBI involving diffuse axonal injury, a hemorrhage, and many other things. She also suffered from several (almost countless) broken bones. We talk about her lengthy recovery, knowing how and when to push forward when we are ...
Episode 59 - Deb Adesegun
January 02, 2020 03:46 - 55 minutes - 62.9 MBDeb is a medical student from Alberta, Canada. She is currently in her rotational years which means she is working directly with patients nearly every day. About a year ago Deb was driving home from a rotation and was hit head on by another driver. She suffered from a TBI involving diffuse axonal injury, a hemorrhage, and many other things. She also suffered from several (almost countless) broken bones. We talk about her lengthy recovery, knowing how and when to push forward when we are heal...
Episode 58 - Jim Goodman
January 02, 2020 03:42 - 31 minutes - 36.4 MBJim is currently a MD/PhD student at Oregon Health and Sciences University. He has recently defended his PhD on cerebrospinal fluid physiology or “sleep and its role in cleaning out the brain” as I call it. In addition to his scientific and medical background, Jim is a TBI survivor. One month before starting medical school he crashed his mountain bike while flying down a trail in Utah. He immediately started experiencing a runny nose and lack of proprioception. It turns out he had a skull fr...
Episode 57 - AJ Kollen
January 02, 2020 01:24 - 51 minutes - 59.2 MBAJ is a current Las Vegan (couldn’t resist), although he is originally from Bend, Oregon. AJ was struck in the face by a pool filter that essentially exploded while he was attempting to repair it. He spent several weeks in the hospital and rehab. He doesn’t remember much of anything for the first months after the accident, and uses the stories of his wife and family to reconstruct exactly what the recovery process was like for him. I loved talking to AJ for this episode. I hope you enjoy it ...
Episode 56 - Jeff McNally
July 21, 2019 22:26 - 45 minutes - 52.2 MBJeff has been on the podcast before, and is a functional neurologist at Northwest Functional Neurology in the Portland, OR area. This past spring, he gave a very impressive talk at the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon about the metabolic and immunologic consequences of TBI. Since nutrition, lifestyle, and the gut/immune interface is so close to my heart, his talk struck a chord. This episode is full of high quality information, and some of the pivotal slides will be posted in the show notes! ...
Episode 55 - David Kracke JD Part 2
July 16, 2019 01:49 - 51 minutes - 59.4 MBMr. Kracke is a one of a kind human being. He has so many hobbies, projects, and accomplishments that I find it difficult to know where to begin and when to end. This said, I will mention a few pertinent aspects of his life. He is a Portland based lawyer who currently works for the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training (CBIRT) as the Brain Injury Advocate coordinator after working as a personal Injury defense lawyer for brain injury survivors for nearly two decades. He was one of the ...
Episode 54 - David Kracke JD Part 1
July 08, 2019 03:19 - 48 minutes - 55.4 MBMr. Kracke is a one of a kind human being. He has so many hobbies, projects, and accomplishments that I find it difficult to know where to begin and when to end. This said, I will mention a few pertinent aspects of his life. He is a Portland based lawyer who currently works for the Center on Brain Injury Research and Training (CBIRT) as the Brain Injury Advocate coordinator after working as a personal Injury defense lawyer for brain injury survivors for nearly two decades. He was one of the ...
Episode 53 - Lorita Cushman
May 01, 2019 20:09 - 1 hour - 99.7 MBLorita may have the most complicated case I have seen. Fifteen years ago she was struck in the occipital bone of her skull by a heavy backpack that was swung like a medieval flail, and then immediately soccer kicked in the temple. She has been dealing with the repercussions of this every since. Some of these struggles are her gastroparesis which makes it very difficult to eat well or her complex regional pain syndrome. We talk about a lot of her solutions to her issues including cranial sacr...
Episode 52 - Jessy Munch
May 01, 2019 20:03 - 58 minutes - 66.8 MBJessy is the first dirt biker that I have had on the podcast. She crashed her bike while riding back in May of 2018. Although this may have caused some injury to the brain, far more damage was done when another biker behind her rode over her head (Jessy was wearing a helmet) with both tires of her bike. Amazingly, Jessy is back on her feet getting after it only 10 months later. In this episode we talk about how her social circles have changed since her accident, how supportive her family has...
Episode 51 - Heath Snyder
April 29, 2019 23:05 - 49 minutes - 57.1 MBHeath Snyder has a lot of things going for him. He has six children who love him to death. He has an ability to articulate himself that many of us survivors desire. But his most valuable gift is a genuine desire to share his experience of fighting through a TBI with the world. When I say he wants to share I truly mean it. He has fought through several concussions including MVA’s, football collisions, being a rodeo cowboy, and his most recent by hitting his head on a cabinet door, blacking ou...
Episode 50 - Kahyra Ramirez
April 08, 2019 19:00 - 57 minutes - 66 MBKahyra has had several TBI. In fact, she has had five concussions. In fact, all 5 have been while playing soccer. Some of the concussions are from getting pegged by the ball, and one involved a collision while going up for a header. In one instance, she temporarily lost all vision in one eye, potentially having suffered a torn retina. She grew up playing soccer and has been in love with the sport since her childhood. She even went on to pay for college with an athletic scholarship. In the ep...
Episode 49 - Marlana Harrison
April 04, 2019 01:04 - 52 minutes - 60.2 MBMarlana is an incredible girl who is excellent at articulating what it is like to face a TBI and the thoughts that go through one’s mind throughout the recovery process. She crashed her car in Branson, MO three weeks into her senior year of high school while driving buzzed. We talk about how much our own decisions impact the lives of those around us and how even the most devastating chapters in life are full of lessons and opportunities to grow. She is an incredible storyteller. If you are l...
Episode 48 - Jim Scott
April 01, 2019 19:00 - 56 minutes - 64.3 MBJim is a northeastern dude through and through. If his accent doesn’t give it away, his sense of humor will. In 2006, the night before the 4th of July, Jim decided to do some drinking with some friends and then drive home. Unfortunately, on his ride home, he crashed his car and ended up in the hospital for several months, remaining in a “eyes open” comatose state for several weeks as well. The most impactful aspect of his story to me is his ability to battle through the ups and downs of reco...
Episode 47 - Rik Lemoncello
March 25, 2019 19:09 - 1 hour - 69.2 MBRik is a local Language and Speech Pathologist with a professorship at Pacific University. In addition to teaching, treating TBI survivors, and maintaining a social life, he also runs a bakery! What?! A bakery? Yes, pretty unique. A few years back he won an award at Pacific landing him a substantial amount of funds, which he decided to use towards a bakery in which people with TBI get to bake, clean, and do everything else a baker would do. The bakery is called Sarah Bellums (www.sarahbellum...
Episode 46 - Jessica Patrone
March 03, 2019 19:53 - 32 minutes - 36.9 MBJessica is super fun to talk to. She got did not get into an accident, nor did she have a congenital mishap (hydrocephalus or AV malformation). She instead got sick, and the infection got into her central nervous system. This caught me off guard, as I did not know this going into the conversation. What a unique story! And her personality is very fun and honest. Enjoy!
Episode 45 - Isaac Cornell
March 02, 2019 20:46 - 27 minutes - 31.4 MBIsaac’s story is unique. Isaac was an alcoholic, and one night he suffered from congestive heart failure which led to an anoxic insult to his central nervous system. Essentially, he died for a bit in his sleep. In this conversation we discuss the lessons he learned from this time, and how he carries himself forward in life now. We obviously also talk about his recovery story. Enjoy. His story starts at 4:00
Episode 44 – Jason
March 02, 2019 20:29 - 29 minutes - 33.6 MBJason is a homie with a great spirit! He was raised in LA next to Dodgers Stadium (as you will hear in the story), and to this day bleeds Dodger blue. He was super fun to talk and a laid back, chill dude much like I try to be. I hope you enjoy our conversation, and laugh at both of our jokes! Enjoy.
Episode 43 - Jeff Sebell
February 02, 2019 21:32 - 57 minutes - 26.4 MBJeff has a story very similar to my own. He was in a car accident in the middle of college, and actually seemed to get back to school quite rapidly. He was also in a coma for several weeks, part of this time including a partial coma in which he appeared awake but was functionally unconscious. He has gone on to do many great things like create a popular blog about life with a TBI, and write a book called Learning How to Live with Yourself After Brain Injury. His blog can be found at www.tbisu...
Episode 42 - Maddy West
February 02, 2019 21:26 - 58 minutes - 67.1 MBOn January of 2017 was in a car accident on her way to work in McMinnville, OR. After being life-flighted to the local hospital, she was flown to Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, OR. She was comatose for one week, and contracted double pneumonia twice in her 6 months in ICU. We talk about depression, memory, and pain management. If you battle chronic pain, this is the podcast for you as Maddy is full of insights into pain management. Her story starts at 14:28
Episode 41 - Dami Calhoun
December 18, 2018 23:11 - 41 minutes - 47.5 MBIn March of 2016, Dami drove her car into the trailer of a semi truck in Albany, OR at 78mph. You read that right, 78mph. The craziest part is she only broke two bones and one of them was her left ring finger. She was comatose for 2 weeks, and went through months of rehab. Her story is great and addresses the social, physical, and mental ramifications of such an accident. Her story starts at 8:24
Epsiode 40 - Aaron Deshaw Esq PC
October 05, 2018 23:16 - 1 hour - 78.5 MBDr Deshaw has lived an incredible life. His career in chiropractic medicine began in the nineties. After seven years of practice, he realized how insurance laws constrained some of his abilities to practice medicine, and he decided to become a lawyer. So he quit his practice to attend law school, right? No! While operating as one of six total chiropractors in Ireland, he also attended Pepperdine Law School in London. Needless to say he has led an incredibly fast, rich life. Because of his ex...
Episode 39 - Kajomo
October 05, 2018 23:07 - 51 minutes - 59.4 MBKarl Moritz (Kajomo) is a trooper. In June of 2010 he was struck head on by a vehicle while cycling on a neighborhood road in Southeast Portland. As if this wasn’t devastating enough, he was dragged 32 feet underneath the car. He was given a 90% chance of being in a vegetable state if he did indeed survive the accident. He spent over 30 days in a Coma and several months in the hospital. Miraculously, a year after his accident, he biked a Century (100 miles). He is incredible. To this day, he...
Episode 38 - Joe Distefano
September 03, 2018 20:04 - 1 hour - 74.1 MBJoe has done a lot so far in his life. Here are a few examples. He is a certified Performance Enhancement Specialist and Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He has also been trained at the CHEK institute (which is extremely difficult) as a Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach. He also cofounded Spartan Coaching, the first ever certification for obstacle race training. He also gave a TED talk at TEDxLugano in 2016. These are just examples, Joe has...
Episode 37 - Matthew Kampfe
September 03, 2018 19:50 - 1 hour - 29.6 MBMatthew Kampfe is the owner of Kampfe Independent Living Center in Gladstone, OR. This episode is thus more centered around his lifelong experience helping BI survivors. His parents started helping BI survivors in their home decades ago, and now it has grown into the incredible living center it is today. He has some greats tips not just for survivors but their family/support systems as well. Enjoy! His story starts at 6:40
Episode 36 - Glen Zelienski DC and Jeff McNally DC
September 03, 2018 19:46 - 44 minutes - 51.4 MBThese two Functional Neurologists have changed the way I think about brain injury. I used to think that if you are symptom free, it means that you are good to go. They showed me how powerful compensation can be, but how devastating it can be when one’s compensations fail. We talk about what conventional TBI therapy lacks, what it is good at, and how Functional Neurologists can work with traditional MD’s and DO’s. If you want to learn about an alternative treatment modality that could treat t...
Episode 35 - Don Ford
September 03, 2018 19:44 - 40 minutes - 18.5 MBDon is a very accomplished man. He has nearly countless training in psychological training. Of course, all of the credentials in the world are useless if they are not applied. Donald has been practicing for decades now, and have been treating people with brain injury since the late nineties. He and his wife work together in Portland, and we discuss some of the commonalities between his clients that recover “completely” and those that do not. Enjoy!
Episode 34 - Marih Alyn-Claire
September 03, 2018 19:42 - 2 hours - 65.8 MBIn part two of this episode, Marih and I discuss some of the characteristics and qualities that Marih sees as common amongst survivors and other resilient people in her life. If the first episode were the stories of her injuries, this second part covers some of the actions Marih took after taking ownership of her injury. I loved this conversation, and I hope you do as well. Story starts right away!
Episode 33 - Marih Alyn-Claire Part 1
September 03, 2018 19:38 - 1 hour - 44.9 MBIn this two-part episode, I talk to Marih Alyn-Claire. Much like episode 31 with Kendra, Marih’s life is stamped full of MANY unique situations and injuries. These include unpredicted strokes, days of lost memory, and so much more. Her first TBI was during a car accident as a small child in the 1950’s in Portland. We discuss what her injury taught her and how she used it to make herself stronger. Her story starts at 9:28
Episode 32 - Randy Samuelson
September 03, 2018 19:34 - 1 hour - 28.8 MBRandy Samuelson is tough dude. He was raised in Ashland, OR (that is the southern part). His first encounter with brain injury involved playing college football at Oregon State University back in the good old days when a brain injury was something one just “walked off.” He later suffered an injury while working in a log mill. I hope you enjoy out talk as much as I did! His story starts at 6:40
Episode 31 - Kendra Bratherton
September 03, 2018 19:32 - 1 hour - 109 MBKendra is a woman of many trades. Honestly, it would be hard to sum up all of her capabilities. In addition to being a certified occupational therapist, she currently owns and runs a health clinic in which she can practice some of her other skills such as Bowenwork, Raiki, and Essential Oil Therapy. She may have the most engaging series of brain injuries I have ever heard, including suffering a neck injury after having a piece of asphalt thrown at her during riots in her Grand Rapids, Michig...
Episode 30 - Clayton Rees and Jeri Cohen
September 03, 2018 19:30 - 50 minutes - 23.3 MBThis is an action packed episode since we recorded outside near the Portland Airport. This means I had to do a bit more editing than normal, but we made it through it unscathed. Clayton lives about 50 miles south of Tillamook a small costal town here in Oregon. He has suffered several brain injuries over the years with the most severe and recent one being a car accident in which his vehicle was crushed by some timber that came untied from a nearby logging truck. His story is incredible. Je...
Episode 29 - Jacob Plasker DC
September 03, 2018 19:28 - 42 minutes - 19.6 MBJacob Plasker is a functional neurologist operating out of Bend, Oregon (that’s smack dab in the center). As an infant, he rolled off the edge of bed, landing on his head, and leaving him temporarily paralyzed. After adjustments from his father, the majority of his motor ability returned. To this day, Jacob has hemiparesis (partial paralysis) in one side of his body, but he is still able to operate in his chiropractic practice at a high level. We talk about his life growing up with hemipares...
Episode 28 - Luke Nosack
September 03, 2018 19:24 - 40 minutes - 45.9 MBI have known Luke for a few months now from support groups, on the max, and walking from the max to and from support groups. From these experiences, I can tell you that he is one of the most honest people I know, which is hard to find these days. He is from Forest Grove, OR, and has a passion for storytelling. He spends quite a bit of his free time writing his own stories and developing characters that mirror his favorite childhood stories, but with a cool, unique twist. At the age of 5, he ...
Episode 27 - Rick Pape
September 03, 2018 19:22 - 44 minutes - 50.3 MBRick Pape is a central Oregonian near the town of Redmond. One day while working outside on his deck, he spontaneously blacked out. After blacking out he fell against the deck railing which gave out. As he fell his body flipped putting him on his head. Like most of us, his recovery was not smooth or "textbook." We talk about how his perspective has changed because of his fall and how it has changed his outlook on life. His story starts at 8:29.
Episode 26 - Cory Janssen
September 03, 2018 19:18 - 38 minutes - 44.2 MBCory is the man. He is very much laid back like myself, which always makes me feel extra relaxed when recording. His TBI is unique in that he did not hit his head. You may say, “Michael, how can this be? A traumatic brain injury implies trauma, I thought that means some sort of impact.” Funny you ask, because I just got done looking this up. Trauma simply implies a sudden onset of a physical injury. This being said, Cory had a physical injury indeed. While riding a tractor at work it turned ...
Episode 25 - Nicki Sinner
September 03, 2018 19:13 - 51 minutes - 59.2 MBNicki Sinner is a real charmer. She is witty, spirited, and mostly importantly speaks her mind. During her senior year of high school she was involved in a car accident in St. Helens, OR. Her accident occurred during a wet, rainy afternoon when she was headed to have dinner at her boyfriend’s house. Like I always say, these accidents happen at the most unexpected times. She now lives on her own (along with her cat) in Portland, OR. I really enjoyed hearing her story and perspectives, and I k...
Episode 24 - Laura Linda Negri-Pool
September 03, 2018 19:09 - 44 minutes - 50.9 MBMeet Laura Linda! In 2015, she was T-boned by another car while on her way to work. One of the coolest things about her story is that she was pretty lucid during the entire event. She even remembers conversation she had with the paramedics who drove her to the hospital. In addition to her TBI, she had several non-displaced fractures, but was remarkably stable after the accident and discharged the same day as her accident. In our conversation we cover her road to recovery and physical symptom...
Episode 23 - Pat Murray
September 03, 2018 19:07 - 55 minutes - 63.9 MBIf you have a brain injury and you live in the Portland Metro Area (Oregon and Maine), you need to meet Pat Murray. She has been in the game since ’01 when she received her first TBI. Like many of us, the most banal of circumstances led to a fall that changed her life forever. But also like those of us keener to dramaturgy, was involved in a car accident in 2013. This also contributed to her TBI symptoms. Pat never sat down and gave up, even when she was struggling to consolidate her memorie...
Episode 22 - Cavin Balaster
September 03, 2018 19:04 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBCavin is the man. And I mean that in the legit way not the School of Rock way. In 2011, he fell from 20 feet from a rooftop water tower, immediately losing consciousness, and suffering a diffuse axonal injury. Initially he was in pretty bad shape, without the ability to eat or breath on his own. After meeting with a functional neurologist, he was inspired to change his diet in order to address some of his symptoms. As it turns out, it completely changed his life. He quickly took a deep dive ...
Episode 21 - Brandon Scarth
September 03, 2018 18:59 - 58 minutes - 66.8 MBBrandon was involved in a car accident on the evening of July 3rd, 2007, in which he, and two other passengers were hit from behind from another driver. Upon examination at OHSU, he was given a less than 5% chance of surviving through the night. Of course, Brandon is a warrior. He did not die. In fact, he is still a very charming, theatrical man. In this episode, we talk about all of the crazy things he did in his rehab, and some of the activities he still does to cheer up during tough times...
Episode 20 - Joan and John Miller
September 03, 2018 18:56 - 1 hour - 82 MBJoan and John are a delight. Witty, rambunctious, and sincere are just a few adjectives I could use to describe them. Nearly 20 years ago, they were hit by a drunk driver in Utah while on a business trip. Her recovery, like most, was not without its roadblocks and breakthroughs. Sometimes she needed the help of others, but sometimes she needed the liberty to regain her self-sufficiency. Their story details the working through a brain injury as a couple, but more broadly, as a team. Many time...
Episode 19 - Kate Robinson
September 03, 2018 18:52 - 54 minutes - 62.3 MBKate Robinson is a brain injury survivor who was involved in a plane accident in her high school years. She experienced retrograde amnesia after the accident occurred. Her story is incredible so I won’t say anything more, besides what she has accomplished since. Kate ended up finishing high school, graduating college with a degree in French, and decided she wanted to help other brain injury survivors. She knew how much counseling helped her and she decided to become one. Today, she is a lice...