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Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

In December 2009 I suffered a concussion when I lost consciousness due to a sudden drop in my blood sugar. When I passed out, I fell to the floor in a Super Walmart and had a grand mal seizure. Many people were horrified to hear about the seizure and seemed to blow off the concussion. For me the seizure was not a problem. It happened and then ended. I had suffered grand mal seizures as a child, teenager and young adult but had not had one in more than 15 years. For me, the trauma was the concussion.

A concussion is a bruise on the brain. The medical community calls this type of injury a “mild traumatic brain injury.” The term “mild traumatic” seems oxymoronic to me. We see football players suffer these injuries and return to the game within a few weeks. After my incident, I don’t know how they do it. I was off work for 3.5 weeks and am still (7 months later) suffering from headaches and dizzy spells – this is called Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS). If I concentrate, I can still feel the bruise on my brain and still have a tender spot on the back of my head. My research says it takes 6-12 months to recover from a concussion.

I want to share some of the lessons I have learned from this experience. These are lessons not only for those who suffer a concussion, but also for those who know someone that has suffered a concussion. What I’m about to write is NOT an indictment of anyone in my life. This experience was new for everyone I know and EVERYONE was supportive and sympathetic and I appreciate everything that was done to help me get through this.

Lesson #1: Take everything slowly and get LOTS of rest

When a person suffers a concussion, chances are it’s going to HURT for weeks. PCS comes with tension-type headaches that DO NOT STOP for days. I begged by neurologist for medication to make the pain stop. At first I was given migraine meds and advised to take a herbal supplement called Butterbur. I was taking the migraine medication daily and it helped…some. However, I was going through a “16 day supply” in four days and my insurance would not pay for refills so quickly. My neurologist was also worried when I complained to him because, apparently, taking too much headache medication can CAUSE HEADACHES. (Huh?)

I was given a “headache preventative” medication that was also used to lower high blood pressure. This was a concern as well because my blood pressure tends to run on the low end of normal already. [sigh] The medication I was given was a gift however. Within a week my headaches eased and I was able to function for days at a time without pain.

The lesson here is to take things slowly. Don’t expect to jump back into your life at the same activity level you had prior to the injury. Trying will only prolong your recovery. Take time off. Sleep a lot. Communicate with your physicians. Do your research on PCS. Contact me through this site or on Twitter. I’m not a medical expert, but I will offer any support I can during your recovery.

Lesson #2: Ask for help with common chores

I work full-time, go to school full-time, and have  a husband and two dogs. My big household chores include yard work and taking care of the dogs. After my concussion, doing regular chores like mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, or walking the dogs were exertions that caused headaches that would last for days.

Unfortunately, these are also chores that my husband is not able to do for me. Rather  than ask for help, I just let them slide. The dogs understood (I think). My husband understood. I’d get to the yard work and back to walking the dogs when I felt better. However, we had a LOT of rain in the spring (i.e. LOTS of grass and weed growth). That was followed by some very hot summer days which dried out the tall grass and weeds. Next thing I knew, we were taking our yellow lab to the vet to have a foxtail removed from her nose. [sigh] I buckled down and did battle with the backyard. It’s not the lovely park-like setting I have envisioned, but it’s safer for the dogs now.

Three weeks later I am still doing battle with the headaches that resulted from my battle with the backyard. It’s like the effort drained reserves I was only just beginning to rebuild. I don’t like feeling this way. I can’t wait for this recovery year to be over and done with!!!

Lesson #3: After a concussion, thinking can cause headaches!

Most of what I do for both work and school is cerebral. In hindsight I think I went back to work too quickly. I could have easily taken another month or two off of work too recover and probably would have been better off for it. Keeping up with school was hard enough but because I go to school online, it was manageable. When I threw work on top of it, it was too much and I had to take 1-2 sick days a week because of headaches. My weekends were spent sleeping off headaches too. That’s no way to live.

Conclusion

Don’t be in a rush to get back to work. Give your brain time to heal. Work will continue on without you. I know that may be a bit demoralizing if you’re anxious to get back to work, but they need you back in “fighting form,” not only physically, but mentally too! If you don’t feel that you can give your best most of the time because of headaches or dizzy spells, then you are better off (for you and for your colleagues at work) staying at home and concentrating on healing up.

I know each of these lessons seems related to the others, but they really are different. The brain is the least understood organ in the human body and, as such, there is no quick cure to make it work better faster than Nature will allow.

I’ve been battling my own brain my whole life – I had Epilepsy as a child – and have only managed to fight it to a draw.  It lets me live my life (most of the time) but once in awhile it rears up and reminds me who is boss. When that happens I can only take it easy and recover. That’s the best advice I can give to you. Well…that and contact me if you want someone to commiserate with.

Have you or someone you know suffered a concussion? If yes, what advice would you give to a new concussion sufferer? What worked for you and what set you back? Please share below…

Image Credit: This image was found on Life, Liberty, and the Persuit using Google Images.

I first heard about this book on NPR’s Weekend Edition in an interview with the author. As weird as this premise sounds, Seth Grahame-Smith makes it work. He writes from the perspective of a wanna-be writer who gets handed the gift of the long-lost private diaries of Abraham Lincoln. These journals start with his ambition to “kill all of the vampires in America” and lays out the tale of how that led him to the White House. Grahame-Smith writes a wonderful story that explains some of the mysteries in American history and how it shaped the country.

If you like to read…

• Pure History: you will like the way this work of fiction weaves real historical fact into the story.
• Vampire Lore: you will like this book because vampires permeate this story. You  may need to suspend a bit of belief because some of the good guys are vampires. A vampire purist may not like this yarn because after the first century, vampires can walk in the sun.
• Well written and imaginative fiction of any kind: then you will like this book because it’s a wonderful yarn and will make you say (with a wink and a nod) “Ah, that explains it!”

Have you read this book? If yes, what did you think? If you like history (any kind or era), vampire lore, or alternate history, what books would you recommend? Please feel free to share here. I’d love to hear YOUR recommendations!

The only constant in the Universe is change and yet it is the most reviled thing in the Universe. So many people long for the days of yester-year when this or that was “perfect” and is no longer that way today. The World War II generation complained about the Baby Boomers who now complain about Generations X and Y. Each worries that the next generation will ruin everything they have worked so hard for and yet each successive generation talks about how the prior generation screwed up the world for them. Change happens. To complain about it and continuously look back is useless except to learn from past mistakes. Holding grudges, picking nits, prolonging arguments; these are no way to live.

I tend to be a person who embraces change and rolls with the punches that change throws my way. I don’t say this to brag, but to advise. Change is going to happen. As leaders, we need to work hard to prepare our followers for the coming changes. If we know there is a reorganization coming, then as leaders we need to help our workers shine so they find a place in the new organizational structure. If we know there are layoffs coming, we need to prepare our followers for that inevitability so they can land on their feet and keep going. I would also hope that leaders in this program will also stress the need for followers to educate themselves. Not everyone is cut out to pursue a graduate degree, but a culture that values education is one that can innovate its way out of tough situations. That’s my two cents…

This was posted as the answer to a discussion question in my classroom learning environment. However, I wanted to share it here and get your feedback as well. All references are cited in APA format. Some may not be accessible to the general public because they are in private library sites accessible only through an account with those libraries or client schools. ~CF

Kofman & Senge (1993) pointed out that three major organizational challenges must be overcome in order for an organization to integrate an organizational learning culture. These are “fragmentation, competition, and reactiveness.” A very relevant example is currently unfolding in the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. I am not referring to the organization called BP, but to the United States Government. While these problems may occur within BP, I have not studied this company enough to prove it. However, the “fragmentation, competition, and reactiveness” of the US government is obvious and I have studied that organization for years.

Fragmentation:
The Hill News website reports (Snyder, 2010) that three Congressional committees are having hearings on the BP Oil Spill. Recently I heard of another five hearings that were happening. In addition the following agencies have been cited as being involved by the media: Minerals Management Service (2010), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2010), the Coast Guard (2010), the EPA (2010), and others. This fragmentation shows an abundance of rework being done and quite possibly a lack of communication between the agencies. While I’m sure that the Federal Government is committed to hiring intelligent people to work for these agencies, and I admire them a great deal, the lessons learned from this environmental catastrophe will not be easily shared across organizational boundaries (Scott & Davis, 2007).

Competition:
Competition and finger-pointing between and within the political parties is not doing any good for this situation either. Playing the blame game only causes divisiveness and wastes time and resources (Guttman, 2005). The parties should come together to solve the problem, not stand apart and point fingers at each other. They are both responsible for making the government function and right now the government is too fragmented to function effectively.

Reactiveness:
Because of the cronyism that runs through both parties and at all levels of government, the response to the oil spill has been reactive and chaotic. While BP was required to file a disaster response plan, according to documents obtained by the media (The Maddow Blog, 2010), BP had apparently cut and pasted sections from other drilling disaster plans because they mention animals that live in cold climates, not the Gulf of Mexico. Nobody in the government caught this or, if they did, they did nothing about it. These reactions are wrong and do not demonstrate a learning organization.

Will the Federal Government learn from this disaster and make changes? I don’t know. I hope so. Your thoughts?

References:

Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). EPA response to the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/.

Guttman, H.M. (2005). Partnering to solve team problems. Leader to Leader, 2005(37), 16. Retrieved September 7, 2009, from ProQuest Database.

Kofman, F. & Senge, P.M. (1993).Communities of commitment: The heart of learning organizations. Organizational Dynamics; Autumn93, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p4-23, 20p. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9402182644&site=ehost-live.

Minerals Management Service. (2010). News and Press Releases. Retrieved from http://www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/newsreal/newsreal.html.

National Ocianic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010). Publications, Factsheets and One-Pagers. Retrieved from http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/topic_subtopic_entry.php?RECORD_KEY(entry_subtopic_topic)=entry_id,subtopic_id,topic_id&entry_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=812&subtopic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=2&topic_id(entry_subtopic_topic)=1

Scott, R.W. and Davis, G.F. (2007). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural, and open system perspectives. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Snyder, J. (May 10, 2010). Congress opens probe into gulf coast oil spill. The Hill. Retrieved from http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/96865-congress-opens-oil-spill-probe.

The Maddow Blog. (June 9, 2010). Preshow homework: BP wasn’t ready (Blog post). Retrieved from http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/06/09/4487189-preshow-homework-bp-wasnt-ready.

US Coast Guard. (2010). Coast Guard Compass. Retrieved from http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/index.php/2010/06/stay-up-to-the-minute-with-the-deepwater-horizon-response/