Podcasts about Brainstem

In this episode, we review the high-yield topic of⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brainstem⁠ ⁠⁠from the Neurology section.Follow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Medbullets⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on social media:Facebook: www.facebook.com/medbulletsInstagram: www.instagram.com/medbulletsofficialTwitter: www.twitter.com/medbullets

Putting Trauma to Sleep: Attachment-Based Neuromodulatory Interventions for Stabilizing the Brainstem by Jaan Reitav, Celeste Thirlwell https://www.amazon.com/Putting-Trauma-Sleep-Attachment-Based-Neuromodulatory/dp/0393714772 Jaanreitav.podia.com Sleep disturbances and trauma are intrinsically linked―so why aren't therapists trained in sleep repair? Anyone who has suffered from trauma knows what it means to have sleepless nights. In fact, research has shown that at the heart of both trauma and sleep disorders is a dysregulated brainstem with heightened sympathetic nervous system activity. Yet, current trauma treatments largely ignore this profound interconnection between trauma and sleep. Putting Trauma to Sleep proposes that incorporating a therapeutic TABS model (traumatic events, attachment disturbances, bodily symptoms, sleep repair), therapists can better aid their clients in both healing from trauma and restoring sleep. With practical clinical approaches and illustrative case examples, sleep specialists Jaan Reitav and Celeste Thirlwell demonstrate how therapists and their clients can integrate sleep repair into trauma work by enhancing parasympathetic nervous system tone and actively attending to shock reactions in the body. Dysfunctional sleeping patterns have been ignored for too long within the psychotherapy sphere; this indispensable resource will transform readers' understanding of both sleep and trauma therapy.

Brainstem Stroke Long-Term Effects: What 11 Years of Recovery Really Looks Like Maggie Whittum — 2025 When Maggie Whittum first appeared on the Recovery After Stroke podcast in 2019 — Episode 47 — she was a few years out from a devastating brainstem stroke, still in the thick of the hardest part of recovery. She had survived paralysis, a ventilator, brain surgery, and a complete dismantling of the life she had known. At just 33 years old, a cavernous angioma — a vascular malformation affecting approximately one in 500 people — had caused a massive hemorrhagic stroke in her brainstem on Christmas Day 2014. Now, more than eleven years on, Maggie returns to share what brainstem stroke long-term effects actually look like. Not the version you find in a clinical brochure. The real one — chronic neuropathic pain, persistent visual disturbances, deep fatigue, and the slow, non-linear process of building a new identity when the old one is no longer available to you. Her story is also one of unexpected creativity. Maggie is now a filmmaker, artist, and disability advocate. She is the creator of The Great Now What, a documentary film exploring stroke, disability, chronic pain, and what it means to rebuild a life after everything changes. The film is in post-production and set to premiere at film festivals in 2026. What a Brainstem Stroke Actually Does to the Body The brainstem controls some of the most fundamental functions the body performs — breathing, swallowing, eye movement, facial sensation, and the coordination of signals between the brain and the rest of the nervous system. A stroke in this region, even a survivable one, can produce a uniquely complex set of deficits. For Maggie, the immediate aftermath included complete left-side paralysis, inability to breathe or speak independently (requiring ventilation), and kaleidoscopic double vision with nystagmus — eyes bouncing constantly in the sockets. She underwent brain surgery and intensive rehabilitation. Eleven years later, some of those deficits have partially resolved. Others have not. The brainstem stroke long-term effects Maggie continues to live with include: Hemiplegia on the left side — weak and uncoordinated movement, no sensation Hypertrophic olivary degeneration — constant, involuntary eye movement Gaze palsy to the right and nystagmus to the left Right-side facial palsy from cranial nerve damage Chronic neuropathic pain — burning, freezing, crushing, and severe pins and needles on the left side of the body Significant fatigue, which shapes how she works and creates She walks with a cane. She manages these realities every day. And she has found ways to not just cope with them, but to make them the subject of her art. When Words Are Not Enough: The Barbie Art Project “I needed to communicate to these people better — and also my own friends and family. So I took a Barbie doll and tried to make it look like I feel.” — Maggie Whittum One of the most striking things Maggie has done in her recovery is find a visual language for pain that spoken language alone cannot carry. Frustrated by the difficulty of explaining neuropathic sensation to doctors, therapists, and loved ones, she created a series of modified Barbie dolls — each one representing a different aspect of how her left side feels. Concrete Barbie has the left side encased in grey clay — the crushing heaviness. Rubber band Barbie has bands wrapped down the left side — the tightness. Vice grip Barbie has clamps all the way down — the pressure. Others are painted with fire and black — the heat and darkness of nerve pain that language cannot quite reach. It is an act of translation. And it is also a form of advocacy — making the invisible visible for people who have never experienced it. You can find the full series on the The Great Now What Instagram page. The Five-Year Mark — and Why It Matters One of the most important things Maggie shares in this conversation is a framework that will resonate with many stroke survivors: the idea that it takes approximately five years to truly understand what a brainstem stroke has done to you. This is not a clinical timeframe — it is an experiential one. The first two years, Maggie describes, were consumed by grief and the visceral shock of comparison: the life she had, and the life she now had. By five years, something begins to shift. A clearer picture emerges. A person begins to understand not just the deficits, but the new shape of their life. For Maggie, that process was interrupted by her father’s death and the onset of COVID. But she describes herself now, at eleven years, as having genuine comprehension of what happened — and of what she has chosen to do with it. “You’re gonna do like 10,000 things. And now that this has happened to you, you’re just gonna do a different 10,000 things — but it’s still your life.” — Maggie Whittum This reframe — borrowed from advice given to another wheelchair user early in his recovery — cuts through the grief of what was lost and opens a door to what is still possible. Not as consolation. As truth. The Great Now What: A Documentary Built in Stroke Time Maggie is the creator and producer of The Great Now What, a feature documentary about her stroke, her recovery, and what it means to rebuild a life with disability and chronic pain. The film has been in development for several years — slowed by COVID, by fatigue, by the realities of disabled filmmaking — and is now in post-production. The film does not shy away from the difficult middle of recovery. Maggie is deliberate about this. She describes the typical narrative arc of recovery stories as “saccharine” — the fall, the rise, the triumphant ending, with the messy, decade-long middle compressed or erased. The Great Now What refuses to do that. A crowdfunding campaign launches on May 1st, 2026 — Stroke Awareness Month in the United States — to fund post-production costs including editing, colour grading, sound mixing, and accessibility features (captions and audio description for visually impaired viewers). To follow the film’s journey and be notified when it becomes available, visit thegreatnowwhat.com. Identity After Brainstem Stroke: Becoming Someone New Before her stroke, Maggie was an actor, freelance director, and producer. She had performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, produced improv and theatre internationally, and was mid-way through a Master of Fine Arts in classical acting in Washington DC when the stroke occurred. That version of her professional life is no longer accessible in the same way. But rather than treating this as only a loss, Maggie has constructed a new creative identity — one that includes visual art, filmmaking, disability advocacy, and public storytelling about stroke and chronic illness. “I feel like I can call myself a filmmaker now,” she says. “I really couldn’t when I started this project.” That sentence is worth sitting with. Identity after brainstem stroke does not arrive fully formed. It is built, slowly, out of what you choose to do with the time and capacity you have. If you are navigating that process — or supporting someone who is — Bill’s book, The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened, offers a framework for understanding the deeper transformation that stroke can catalyze. And if you want to be part of a community that understands what long-term recovery actually looks like, consider supporting the Recovery After Stroke Patreon. What This Episode Is Really About Brainstem stroke long-term effects are not just physical. They are relational, psychological, vocational, and existential. Maggie Whittum’s story, eleven years of it, makes that clear without sentimentality and without false resolution. She is not fixed. She is not the person she was before Christmas 2014. But she is someone, a filmmaker, an artist, a survivor who has chosen to make meaning out of what happened. And that, as this conversation makes clear, is its own kind of triumph. Listen to the full episode on the Recovery After Stroke podcast, and find Maggie’s film project at thegreatnowwhat.com. Medical Disclaimer This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. The post Brainstem Stroke Long-Term Effects: What 11 Years of Recovery Really Looks Like appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

We talk to Brain Stem productions about Just Another Gig Volume 7 at Airport Tavern in Tacoma 5/23 and 5/24 with a preshow at Real Art Tacoma Podcast Features Tracks From: Total Power Exchange, Misery Whip and Witness Chamber

In this powerful episode, Dr. Tony Ebel sits down with Dr. Brian Hooker, PhD — Senior Director of Science and Research at Children's Health Defense and co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak. Brian shares his personal journey as a father whose son regressed into autism following his 15-month vaccines, and how that experience drove over 20 years of research and advocacy. Together, they connect the dots between C-section birth, recurrent ear infections, acetaminophen, and vaccine injury — the full picture of the "perfect storm." Brian also recounts his relationship with CDC whistleblower Dr. William Thompson, the suppressed MMR data, the dangers of glyphosate and acetaminophen, and what Children's Health Defense is focused on to both heal kids already in the storm and prevent the next generation from entering it.-----Links & Resources:website: https://childrenshealthdefense.org/book: Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak (available on Amazon)-----Key Topics & Timestamps07:00 Brian's Personal Story: His Son's Birth, Early Development, and the Perfect Storm09:00 The 15-Month Well-Baby Visit: Vaccines, Ear Infection, and the Regression into Autism13:00 C-Section Deep Dive: Birth Trauma, the Brainstem, and the Neurological Connection20:00 Finding an Integrative Pediatrician and the First Hair Metals Test22:00 The CDC Calls and Dr. William Thompson: From Dismissal to Whistleblower25:00 What the Suppressed MMR Data Actually Showed29:00 The Origin of Vax-Unvax and the 100 Studies That Changed Everything34:00 Vaccinated vs. Unvaccinated: What the Science Says About Children's Health42:00 Beyond Vaccines: Glyphosate and Acetaminophen as Neuro-Immune Threats47:00 Healing Protocols, CHD's Mission, and Preventing the Next Generation's Perfect Storm-- Follow us on Socials: Instagram: @pxdocsFacebook: Dr. Tony Ebel & The PX Docs NetworkYoutube: The PX DocsFor more information, visit PXDocs.com to read informative articles about the power of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care.Find a PX Doc Office near me: PX DOCS DirectoryTo watch Dr. Tony's 30 min Perfect Storm Webinar: Click Here

Long-Term Effects of Brainstem Stroke: The Hidden Deficits No One Talks About Ty Hawkins was taking engagement photos with his wife the same day he was admitted to the ICU. That sentence alone captures something essential about brainstem stroke, and about the particular cruelty of its long-term effects. On the outside, Ty looked like a young man in love, celebrating a milestone. On the inside, his vision was blurring, his balance was failing, and one side of his face had begun to droop. By nightfall, he was in the hospital being told they had found a mass on his brain. That was June 2019. Ty was in his mid-twenties, working in sales at Verizon, playing competitive basketball, and building a life with the woman he was about to marry. The stroke caused by a bleed from a cavernous malformation in his brainstem carried a 25% survival rate. Of those who survived, only 10% made a significant recovery. Ty is now approaching year seven. He returned to work. He speaks publicly. He shares his story with a global audience that finds him through social media and reaches out to tell him he helped them keep going. And every single day, he still wakes up managing deficits that most people around him cannot see. What the Brainstem Controls — And Why Its Damage Lingers The brainstem is not a dramatic structure in the way the cortex is. It doesn't govern language, memory, or personality in ways that are immediately visible to an observer. What it governs is more fundamental: breathing, heart rate, digestion, balance, coordination, and the relay of sensory signals between the brain and the body. When a bleed occurs in the brainstem, as it did for Ty through a cavernous malformation, a cluster of abnormally formed blood vessels, the damage disrupts those foundational systems. The effects can be wide-ranging, deeply personal, and stubbornly persistent. They can also be almost entirely invisible to anyone who isn't living inside that body. For Ty, the long-term effects of his brainstem stroke include ataxia, double vision, gastroparesis, CRPS, and left-sided numbness and weakness. None of these are visible when he walks into a room. All of them shape his daily experience in ways that most people, including many in the medical system, never fully appreciate. Gastroparesis After Stroke: The Deficit Nobody Mentions Of all the long-term effects Ty lives with, gastroparesis is perhaps the least discussed in stroke recovery conversations and one of the most disruptive to daily life. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach empties too slowly or incompletely, caused by disrupted communication between the brain and the vagus nerve. For Ty, this means the digestive signals that most people take for granted, hunger, fullness, and discomfort, are unreliable. He can eat three bites and feel as though he has finished a six-course meal. He can go hours without a hunger signal and needs to eat by clock rather than by sensation. When his nervous system is overwhelmed, his digestive system slows or stalls entirely. Gastroparesis after stroke is not a fringe experience. The brainstem governs the vagus nerve, which in turn governs gut motility. A brainstem stroke can interrupt that pathway in ways that create persistent digestive dysfunction, yet it rarely features in the standard conversations about stroke recovery. Survivors can spend years not understanding why their digestion is erratic, not connecting it back to the stroke, and not receiving targeted support. Ty found that movement and routine helped regulate his system. A morning sauna, regular exercise, and starting the day with warm tea and light fruit rather than a heavy meal gave his digestive system conditions in which it could function more predictably. These are not medical solutions, they are adaptive strategies built through seven years of learning his own body. CRPS and Ataxia: When the Nervous System Won't Stand Down “My daily pain level is a four or five. Someone not used to chronic pain would call it an eight or a nine.” — Ty Hawkins Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) was misdiagnosed in Ty for several years as neuropathy. It presents as the brain becoming stuck in a fight-or-flight pain loop, sending persistent, amplified pain signals in response to stimuli that should not be painful at all. For Ty, this means clothing fabric can register as pain. Cold bed sheets can spike his discomfort through the roof. Water on his skin can hurt. Ataxia compounds this by disrupting muscle coordination when his nervous system becomes overwhelmed. His gait changes. His shoulder shakes when lifting overhead. Coordination that was once automatic, honed through years of competitive basketball, becomes unreliable when fatigue, overstimulation, or stress tips his nervous system past a threshold. Both conditions are neurological in origin. Both are invisible to the outside observer. Both require constant, conscious management. The Athletic Mindset as Recovery Infrastructure What gave Ty the internal architecture to manage all of this? He credits his coaches. Years of athletic training being pushed past comfort, being held to a standard of effort regardless of natural talent, learning that showing up and doing the work was non-negotiable, built in Ty a psychological framework that translated directly into rehabilitation. In the inpatient facility, he was wheeling himself to therapy sessions before the nurses came to collect him. After the first week, they stopped coming. They knew he would already be there. As the doctors noted during his rehabilitation: he was recovering faster than expected, and they attributed it directly to his athletic background. Not his talent. His work ethic. The Emotional Cost of Looking Fine Perhaps the most underappreciated long-term effect of Ty's brainstem stroke is the one least visible of all: the emotional toll of presenting as healthy while carrying a daily invisible burden. For years, Ty's type-A, athletic identity kept him moving forward, but it also kept him from fully acknowledging what he was carrying. It took until years three or four before he genuinely engaged with psychotherapy. Once he did, the progress he experienced was significant. He now starts every Monday with a therapy session. The shift that mattered most was learning to honour how he actually felt rather than how he wanted to feel. For male survivors in particular, the cultural conditioning to tough it out is deeply ingrained and actively harmful in the context of long-term stroke recovery. Emotional suppression does not make the load lighter. It makes it invisible to everyone, including the person carrying it. Recovery Has No Expiry Date Ty's most direct message to survivors is straightforward: don't limit your recovery to the first year. The brain does not set a deadline on neuroplasticity. He is approaching year seven and still noticing improvements. The triumph of this story is not that Ty is symptom-free. The triumph is that he has built a life of genuine meaning and contribution around an ongoing physical reality without pretending that reality doesn't exist. He's reached people on every continent with a message that is simple, honest, and badly needed: You can survive the statistics. You can carry the hidden weight. And you can keep getting better years after everyone else assumes the story is over. If you are navigating your own stroke recovery early or years in, Bill's book is a practical and honest companion for the journey: recoveryafterstroke.com/book And if the Recovery After Stroke community has been part of your path, consider supporting the show on Patreon: patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Ty Hawkins: Six Years After a Brainstem Stroke, Still Fighting the Battles You Can't See He survived a 25% chance brainstem stroke. Nearly 7 years on, Ty Hawkins reveals the hidden deficits that never made the headlines until now. Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Highlights: 00:00 Introduction: Long-Term Effects of Brainstem Stroke 05:54 The Day of the Stroke 11:35 Hospital Experience and Diagnosis 15:44 Mindset and Recovery 21:46 Therapy and Rehabilitation 24:25 Long-Term Effects of Brainstem Stroke 32:58 The Importance of Exercise in Recovery 38:21 Living with CRPS: A Daily Challenge 50:29 Emotional Resilience and Mental Health 01:01:28 Lessons Learned: Recovery Insights for Stroke Survivors Transcript: Introduction: Long-Term Effects of Brainstem Stroke Ty Hawkins (00:00) as I’m sleep. have a dream and It’s just I’m in a dark place and I just hear a voice and it says do you trust me and? I said well Absolutely, it said okay. Well, we have to go and I immediately wake up and I tap my wife and I say hey we should go to the hospital now and Then I go to the hospital so by day I’m taking engagement photos and by night. I’m in ICU immediately taken to the for a CAT scan and chest x-rays. Bill Gasiamis (00:30) Before we get into today’s conversation, I wanna take a moment to acknowledge something that I think a lot of people in this community quietly live with. The feeling that your looks finished to everyone else, but you know the real story. You’re still managing things every single day that nobody around you can see. If that’s you, this episode is going to hit home. My guest today is Ty Hawkins. Ty had a brainstem stroke in June, 2019. caused by a cavernous malformation, a bleed that carries a 25 % survival rate. He made it, he went back to work, he plays basketball, he looks great, and he is still nearly seven years later managing gastroparesis, CRPS, ataxia, and daily chronic pain that he rates at four or five, which he says most people would call an eight or nine. This is a triumphant story, not because every deficit is gone, but because Ty built a life of purpose and meaning around the ones that stayed. We’ll get into all of that in just a moment. Now turn2.ai is your AI health sidekick that keeps you up to date with personalized stroke recovery information each week. There are literally over 800 new things published every week on stroke. Turn2 searches everything new from the past week and sends you what’s most relevant, research, patient discussions. expert comments, trials and events. You can try for free and get 10 % off by scanning the QR code on the screen or clicking the link in the description below. And if you haven’t picked up a copy of my book yet, it’s available now at recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And now let’s get into the conversation Ty. Bill Gasiamis (02:13) Ty Hawkins, welcome to the podcast. Ty Hawkins (02:15) Thank you for having me. Bill Gasiamis (02:17) Thank you for being here. This is the second time we’ve tried to connect and have you on the show. Last time, if I recall correctly, you won an award or you graduated from somewhere. Ty Hawkins (02:30) I believe I had one either had a speaking engagement or I won an award where I wasn’t able to attend our our interview Bill Gasiamis (02:42) Yeah, what was the award? Do you recall? Ty Hawkins (02:47) That was a few years back. I don’t really recall offhand. I know there was a lot going on with me mentally at that time too. So I don’t really recall what it was. drawing a blank right now on that one. Bill Gasiamis (03:01) Yeah, fair enough. I do remember it was at least 12, maybe 18 months ago that we tried to connect. But that’s cool that you’re here now, man. Thanks for reaching out again. I was just going to ask like, what was your life like before the stroke? What were you up to? What was your regular day like? Ty Hawkins (03:21) So for me what I was up to both prior to my stroke I was really locked in and focused on my career. So I graduated college or university in 2015 and I was well into my career with Verizon here in the States and So my my day-to-day look pretty much like work and I was spending a lot of time just playing basketball because I played in college. So I was trying to, you know, ⁓ still keep up with the athletic side of me while getting my career off the ground. Bill Gasiamis (04:01) What kind of work did you do for Verizon? Ty Hawkins (04:05) So his Verizon, was at that time while I’m still in sales currently, but at that time I had just started my sales role and immediate like right prior to I was a sales manager, prior immediately prior to my stroke. Bill Gasiamis (04:21) huh. What was it like the day of the stroke? Or actually just before you answer that question, was there any signs that you were unwell, that there was potentially something looming, you know, anything give it away before the stroke that now you think that was probably a sign? Ty Hawkins (04:40) Absolutely. So looking back and now having the education and the awareness of stroke, know I remember just having numbness in my left foot ⁓ that started and felt like a little pebble in my left shoe. And I would take my shoe off and shake it out and nothing came out. And I had no idea that it was actually like the feeling in my foot. and it started to move up my leg and eventually ⁓ from my foot up to my shin, actually I felt pins and needles ⁓ and my foot was actually numb and I experienced a lot of headaches ⁓ immediately prior to the stroke. So for weeks I was having, I would have little headaches that I just thought was stress related from work. Bill Gasiamis (05:38) to the, what you just explained about your foot. That’s exactly what happened to me. My left, my big left toe went numb and then my entire left leg went numb, but it took me a week to get to the hospital. By then my entire left side had gone numb. So how long was it before you decided to do something about your numb foot and shin? The Day of the Stroke Ty Hawkins (05:54) Mm-hmm. So ⁓ it may have been a few weeks, honestly. So I just pushed through and thought it was because of work and just stress related to work. it took about a week or so till it actually moved, till actually my leg went numb. And I remember one day vividly my wife tickled my foot, my feet, I was ticklish. And she went to tickle my, she tickled, tickle my feet and I jumped when she tickled the right foot but I didn’t budge at all when she tickled the left foot and so that was a sign I still pushed through and I went to play basketball and I took a shot that it was routine for me and I missed very bad and there were guys at the gym I thought I had vertigo maybe some something in her ear and the guys at the gym like hey man Something seems off with you. I want you to get checked out before we play again in a few weeks. And so I decided to make an appointment to see my neurologist or not neurologist, my primary care physician. And I went through a routine checkup and everything kind of cleared. And so I had a decision to make that I want to tell her what was going on with my body though my vitals were good. And so I told her and she ran some tests like poked poked my foot and just was touching my leg with different ⁓ textures and eyes open eyes closed and I can only I only knew that she was touching me if I could see her. So when I closed my eyes and she touched me, I didn’t I had no idea. And so she sent me to for MRI and before or not for MRI, she sent me to a neurologist. And the neurologist scheduled me for MRI for the next week and I was in the hospital the very next day. Bill Gasiamis (08:04) Wow, man. You had a brainstem stroke from a cavernous malformation. I had a stroke caused by a arteriovenous malformation, which is very similar kind of issue with the way that the blood vessels have formed. My one popped and then started to bleed like really, really slowly. It sounds like yours did something similar. So Ty Hawkins (08:17) AVM, correct? Bill Gasiamis (08:33) you’re going through this for a couple of weeks, you go and see the neurologist and the next day you’re in hospital, how dramatically did it escalate between the neurologist appointment and the next day? Ty Hawkins (08:44) ⁓ So it escalated very very fast so the next day I woke up and it was that my engagement photo shoot so what a day right and Bill Gasiamis (08:57) Wow. Ty Hawkins (08:58) I’ll go to the bank I take a five-minute drive from my house to the bank and what happened on my way back is just off I couldn’t explain what was going on I just had an all feeling so I told my wife I wasn’t able to drive to any of the other appointments that I had that day prior to our shoot and on the way to our photo shoot so things progress by minute by minute hour by hour So I started the day she noticed a facial droop and we had no ideas of the sign She looked at me. She said are you okay? Cuz your face and I looked in the mirror and it was it was slight but So didn’t really think much of it and I was excited for our shoot So I just pushed through and on our way the photo shoot location was at our University where we met and that’s about 40 minute drive from our house so as we’re progressing through the drive my vision starts to get blurry and I can’t I can barely make out the vehicles that are around us I can only make out the color and the color of the license plate so I know that something’s there but it’s so blurry that I can’t even couldn’t tell you what kind of what kind of vehicle it was we actually get to the location for the shoot I get out the car and I can barely stand upright so ⁓ I Remembered trying to move and I was just so all balance and and dizzy and We did the shoot somehow some some way I made it through the shoot and I remember changing my clothes and ⁓ As I look back now I went into the bathroom to change my clothes and I was alone and I could I kept Tilted to the right while was trying to put my clothes on and my shoes and as I think back I’m so lucky I’ll say I’m so blessed to have made it out of that bathroom you know I’m back to the group and We finished the shoot and I go we drop home So my wife says do you want to go to the hospital or I said no, I won’t go home and I just want to rest ⁓ so She goes and picks us up some food. I’m at home. I remember taking maybe two, three bites of the food and just feeling so nauseous. Like, man, I can’t even, I’m not even hungry anymore. And so I say, I’m gonna go and take a nap. If I wake up and I feel the same as I do now, we can go to the hospital. And this is where the story really gets. Hospital Experience and Diagnosis It’s going because in my dream or as I’m sleep. have a dream and It’s just I’m in a dark place and I just hear a voice and it says do you trust me and? I said well Absolutely, it said okay. Well, we have to go and I immediately wake up and I tap my wife and I say hey we should go to the hospital now and Then I go to the hospital so by day I’m taking engagement photos and by night. I’m in ICU immediately taken to the back with them saying whatever the stroke they felt that the stroke code was or what they call it in the hospital. And I was immediately taken back for a CAT scan and chest x-rays. Bill Gasiamis (12:31) Wow, man, that is a crazy story. ⁓ Firstly, how did the photos turn out? Ty Hawkins (12:39) photos they turned out good I would say in spite of the circumstances but if you look at the photos in as you know as well as we understand stroke you can look at my face and see the the facial droop in my top lip so as I’m trying to smile you my smile wasn’t wasn’t aligned it was it droops slightly so the right side of my face was impacted so I had a juke going to the right But I would say they turned out well despite the circumstances for what the circumstances were Bill Gasiamis (13:17) All things considered. Yeah. That is unbelievable. This dream like who now this is going to get trippy. I know like who was that in your dream that gave you that information. Ty Hawkins (13:30) So for me, at that time, I mean even now, I say it was God for me, speaking to me and letting me know that I needed to get to the hospital. And then at the hospital, when the doctor came in to give the news that they found what they thought was a mass on my brain, I remember hearing seeing a figure in the corner of my room and hearing that same voice say remember that I’m going to protect you and so from there you know I just tied it that that was God with me through through the stroke Bill Gasiamis (14:12) I love it that that was God with you, man. Why not? That is amazing. And that the person or that spirit or the being was in the room with you as well. Reassuring you. Wow. Ty Hawkins (14:22) Yes. Yeah, it was was crazy. remember so it’s time almost simultaneous the the doctor was coming in to give the news and he was The door was off-center to my left. So I see he he came in and The figure was in the corner to the right So as he comes in my wife is looking like he has bad he looks like he has a face of bad news so he mentions that there’s They found a mess and Simultaneously, heard me remember I’m going to protect you so as the doctor leaves I look at my wife and I say I don’t know how to explain this but I’m going to be okay and You know as destroyed as she was You know, that’s what I could say to her I couldn’t really explain it in that moment But I told her and ⁓ I knew that I was going to be fine Bill Gasiamis (15:25) Wow, man. So I had some moments when they gave me the news. I was at the hospital alone. It was probably 11 p.m. at night. It was a Saturday night. No, it was a Friday night. I’d sent my wife and the kids home because I didn’t want them to wait for hours and hours to find out the news, go home and rest and look after the kids. They were young teenagers, both of them at the time. And I was… Mindset and Recovery I got the news it was there’s a mass on your brain or a shadow on your brain that appeared in the scan. It could be a brain bleed. It could be a tumor and that tumor could be benign. It could be cancerous. That’s the way they broke the news. And I remember being kind of like, ⁓ okay, whatever. And I was so. I was so nonchalant about it. He says to me, do you have any questions? And I said, no, not at this stage. And I left it at that. And I basically just took the news, went to bed, had a bit of a sleep because the next morning I was going to wake my wife, her to come to hospital. I had to tell her the news and I did that. She came. And after I told her the look on her face was the first time that I kind of got a little bit scared. And then I had to ring. my client and tell my client I’m not coming into work today ⁓ because I’m in hospital and there’s something wrong with my brain I don’t know what it is and I start crying. But even through all of the drama, the three brain bleeds over two and a half years, brain surgery, walking, even through all of that and all the problems that it caused us, me, my family, my work, it never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t get through this or wouldn’t get over it or beyond it. Now I am still dealing with it. I still have a podcast that I have to do. because if I don’t do, I don’t get my therapy every week. But do you know, I’m moving through it, beyond it, overcoming it. I never believed for one moment that it would be the thing that stops me, defines me, even though I’ve had dark days, dark weeks, dark months, I always expected that it would shift and something would come out from the other side. I don’t know whether… ⁓ I would ⁓ allocate that to God or something else, but I truly deeply believe that like it was within me and maybe it was kind of God like type of experience, but I love how you’re in technically like the worst day of your life health wise, it could go one way or another and you’re just thinking I’m going to tell my wife everything is going to be fine and ⁓ We’ll just get through this. I think that is something that sort of set the foundation for how you were going to approach the whole entire recovery after that, this experience that you had. Ty Hawkins (18:40) Yes, I think that definitely set the tone. Having that experience and not… I never felt in danger. I knew that the journey, this process, wasn’t going to be easy. But I never felt that I was in danger. That my life was in jeopardy. the diagnosis and the statistics that show if you have a bleed in your brain stem that the percentage of survival is 25. So that’s one in four people that based on statistics that experience what I do one in four people survive. And then of those that do survive, they say that 10 % just make a significant recovery. And I never felt. that I was battling against those statistics each day that from the moment I got the news it was a cool calm collected call my mom, my brother and that’s what my wife did and you know I just tried to stay as composed as possible ⁓ because I never felt in danger and I didn’t want them to worry too much ⁓ you know I knew it was going to be be difficult because I went from One day running up and down the basketball court to being bedridden and barely could function. I couldn’t write. I lost the perception on size of writing. I couldn’t walk. ⁓ I forgot how to walk, though my body forgot how to walk. I could mentally think, hey, I want to take these steps and get up out of bed, but I needed help. So I spent a week in the hospital. I spent three weeks in an inpatient rehab facility. So as I mentioned It was the day of our engagement shoot so our wedding was set for three months later And that’s all I could really think about was I have to get ready for this wedding I have to get ready for our wedding. I have to get ready for our wedding. So every day I woke up ⁓ You know my athletic mind is up for the challenge ⁓ You know, God told me that I was going to be okay. And I knew that I had to show up and do the work when I was taught on the basketball court and just in life, you just have you show up and you, you, you battle back against adversity. And I decided that yes, like you, didn’t want this to define me. I didn’t feel that this was going to be the end of, of my life. ⁓ I knew that it was going to be a chapter that I would never forget, but I knew that I was up for the challenge. Therapy and Rehabilitation Bill Gasiamis (21:40) I love that athletic mindset, right? Your coach probably drilled you for years, know, like get up, get going, keep going, keep moving, push through, overcome, ⁓ try harder, you know, be more strategic, whatever, like the whole athletic mindset applied to stroke recovery. I reckon it’s such a massive, ⁓ like it’s such a massive benefit to have that going into a diversity, like recovering from a significant health. ⁓ situation because I know that there are players on the field who are not the best players but they are the most impactful because they do the most work and they get given labels like he’s a natural or ⁓ he’s gifted or stuff like that and it’s like dude I couldn’t I couldn’t walk straight when I was a young kid. The only reason why I appear gifted or natural is because I work all day every day. You classic Michael Jordan ⁓ kind of approach where Jordan talks about being ⁓ always training, always shooting hoops, always ⁓ on the basketball court more than anybody, even though he was Ty Hawkins (22:52) you Bill Gasiamis (23:00) Appearing to be kind of naturally gifted because of his body shape because of his athleticism because of his height But it meant nothing if he didn’t do the work every single day Ty Hawkins (23:12) Yes, yes, and even you know from a spiritual perspective There’s the saying that faith without works is is dead And so for me I had the faith and I knew that I needed that there was work work required of me I think even after ⁓ my experience of so as I mentioned I spent three weeks in the inpatient facility once I understood the magnitude and how much my Long-Term Effects of Brainstem Stroke mindset really helped me through. I reached out to a lot of my coaches and you don’t understand when you’re young how they’re, man they’re pushing me so hard, they’re pushing me so hard and I’m like well I’m glad that they pushed me this hard because because of that I felt prepared for the adversity that I faced in June of 2019 so you know I remember reaching out and just saying thank you for being as hard on me as you were because it helped me through this. Who would have known that years later that discipline that you were, that I thought as a young adult would, you know, thinking that you’re just being tough on me and it’s really building characters, building a mindset. And I grew to appreciate that as I started to reflect back on, you know, on my journey because a lot of the doctors said, You’re I feel that you’re recovering so fast because you were an athlete in I wasn’t just an athlete I worked hard my I took pride in like you said that Michael being in the gym and Just really working hard. It was one thing I said hey You might be better than me, but it’s one thing that you’re not gonna you might have more talent than me But you’re not going to outwork me and you know, that was my mindset Bill Gasiamis (25:03) Hmm. Ty Hawkins (25:06) with recovery, it’s every day. Once I understood what therapies that I would have to do. ⁓ So I remember in the inpatient facility, my first week there, the nurses would come clip my schedule to my wheelchair and they would come get me for therapy. After the first week, they would come clip my schedule to the wheelchair and they’d never, they wouldn’t come to get me because they knew that I was going to be wheeling myself down the hallway to get to whatever session, OT, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech therapy that I knew what time I needed to be there and I was going to be there because I was determined to get better. Bill Gasiamis (25:52) I to ask for permission to walk back to the therapy room ⁓ on my own because they were afraid I was going to fall and it was fair enough because my left side wasn’t really working well after about two and a half, three weeks I was on my feet but I still was quite unstable and they said, look, we’re not gonna let you walk alone. We’ll come, but we won’t help you like we have been helping you. We’ll just watch you walk. I was like, yes, do that. I felt safe, but also I had the ability to just get myself there. They had handrails down the hallway and everything that I could hold onto. But of course I went near them, tried not to hold on, held on when I needed to. I did everything I could to be on my feet on my own so I can get the brain getting used to being on this weird left side of my body, which is numb, tingly. and not receiving information that the foot was on the ground. Like the brain wasn’t being told your foot’s on the ground, man, you know, like step or tension muscle or do the stride or whatever. So I remember going through that and I remember complaining because I was spending too much time in my bed. And I was like, guys, like, what am I doing here? This is boring. And I need to get into a session. I need to do something. And they were, well, You know, we have to have lunch and we have to have other things that we attend to after I write reports on you and all that kind of stuff. You can’t be eight hours a day just in the gym or in the therapy room or whatever. And I’m like, ⁓ okay. I didn’t realize there was other technical things that happened in the background that wasn’t that was related to me, but not the as part of the physical stuff. So in, so instead what I did is I Ty Hawkins (27:38) Thanks, Ted. physical, yes. Bill Gasiamis (27:49) imagined myself exercising, I imagined myself walking, I imagined what it would look like when I was on my feet, etc. Because it rewires the same part of your brain as if you’re actually doing it. So I thought, right, if you’re not going to be with me, ⁓ taking me for the actual therapy, I’m going to imagine myself doing the therapy. Ty Hawkins (28:11) No, I was the same so For me, I didn’t so I couldn’t really Walk in the big the first the first week I spent a lot of a lot of the duration of my three weeks I spent in the in a wheelchair there, but I was able to in The first week I needed a lot of help moving from the bed to the wheelchair But after a while I could get myself out of bed into the wheelchair, will to therapy. That’s why they didn’t come because I wasn’t necessarily walking. But when I did walk, I would have a walker and they would use, somebody would be with me. And I was the same way. I’m like, man, I’m in bed a lot. I’m only in therapy for an hour and a half each session. neural fatigue really, could appreciate my breaks because I was so, that hour took a lot out of me. But as my body reacclimated to the workload that it was receiving, ⁓ I was able to stay awake a lot better and my mom would then take me outside to do extra things. We would play toss for my hand. ⁓ She would toss the tennis ball. It would help me walk outside a little bit. Bill Gasiamis (29:11) Yeah, same. Ty Hawkins (29:37) But just, you would help, RMOF would help as much as they could for me to get extra, ⁓ some extra time and extra movement in outside of just the hour and a half that I was in the therapy session. Bill Gasiamis (29:52) Yeah, I love that. My parents came along as well. said to my wife and everyone came past and I spent time outside with them, you know, having some time in the sun, a meal, a coffee, something like that. That was really helpful. I think you and I also both benefited from the fact that the bleeds, although really serious, were not catastrophic bleeds and we had a lot of time to react. to our situation that we found ourselves in. I took seven days, you took weeks. And I think that was just pure, utter luck that the bleed was a little small enough to start impacting us in a very small way that we thought was not significant and not at risk of our health. And also we both benefit from looking like we haven’t had a stroke. No one can tell that you would have or I’ve had a stroke, but you are. Ty Hawkins (30:23) Please hit. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (30:47) also still though like me living with deficits right and you’ve got a few of them let me just read out the list you’ve got left-sided numbness and tingling which i have and weakness which i have but you’ve also got ⁓ a taxia which you’ll tell me about in a minute double vision ⁓ you’re going to also tell me about gastroparesis and crps so for someone that is so upbeat Ty Hawkins (30:51) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (31:16) looks like you do ⁓ like you haven’t had a strike, etc. You are experiencing some ongoing deficits years out. So first, tell me a little bit about a taxia. What’s that? Ty Hawkins (31:24) Yes. So ataxia is, impacts the muscle coordination. So when my nervous system gets overwhelmed, it almost scrambles my coordination. So sometimes it’ll impact my gait specifically. It really like impacts. Again my left side so I was impacted in the brain stem right side of face left side of body So it impacts a lot of and I’m left side dominant. So as I’m trying to lift weights or play basketball ⁓ I’ll have a I’ll feel what someone miscoordinated and so my coordination isn’t ⁓ Isn’t smooth once I get overwhelmed or My nervous system isn’t sending the signals properly then it impacts my running so then ⁓ doesn’t send the signals for all the muscles to fire in the proper chain and then it impacts Yeah, like my shoulder so we’re trying to like lift things overhead ⁓ then it’ll get shaky ⁓ But yeah, it’s pretty much just a lack of coordination for like to simplify things The Importance of Exercise in Recovery Bill Gasiamis (32:52) Okay, cool. Interesting. So I have a very minor version of that. My left side, probably not as coordinated as my right side anyway, because I’m right side dominant. But now my left side is just a little bit out, you know, and when I get tired, my balance goes off. And ⁓ I find myself leaning in one direction. I lean into the doorway, you know, when I’m really tired, getting out of bed in the morning, I need to make sure that my foot is on the ground so I don’t lose my balance. that kind of stuff. So tell me about gastroparesis. That’s one I haven’t come across a lot. Ty Hawkins (33:27) So, ⁓ just from having the brain stem is in control ⁓ of a lot of your, not basic functions, but your essential functions. So breathing, heart rate, digestion. So what gastroparesis is, is there’s ⁓ a lack of communication between my brain and the vagus nerve. which will then lead to my digestive system either pausing or moving slow, moving a lot more slowly. And so what that can lead to is a lot of stomach discomfort where I can have three bites of food and feel like I had a six or six course meal. ⁓ you know, and then when that system isn’t functioning properly, it leads to issues with like my skin and things like that. But Gastroparesis from my understanding is just either like a slowdown or paralysis of your digestive system. Bill Gasiamis (34:33) I hear you. Unexpected, ⁓ unexpected side effect of a stroke, right? People hear stroke, they, they know it’s associated to the head, but gastrointestinal issues become a massive problem for some people after stroke because the two are linked. And, you know, you can heal your brain by healing your gut. And when I say heal your brain, you can improve how it functions by healing your gut. ⁓ And like if you stop eating the standard American diet, standard Australian diet, same thing. If you stop eating that, you improve the gut conditions and that improves your brain, but also your other organs. But here you’ve got like a neurological disconnect sometimes when you’re overwhelmed by the vagus nerve that stops the standard basic functioning of your gut digestion. Like I imagine Ty Hawkins (35:29) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (35:31) you have a meal and it takes longer to digest or and therefore it causes discomfort therefore you are you avoiding food because of that? Ty Hawkins (35:41) Some days some days ⁓ You know and that it this one really my wife it’s you need to have you need to eat you need to have your meals and Like I’m not really hungry. It’s ⁓ is a lot of times I’m confused because I have such a discomfort in my stomach that I don’t know if I’m full or if is discomfort from you know, just just everything neurologically So I’ll have to try and guess like hey ⁓ Am I am I fool what did I eat yesterday? What did I have today already? So some days I found myself avoiding food Just because I think that if I do I’ll give my system time to either catch up or slow down ⁓ So simply put I do as I’m thinking about it. I do avoid foods at times Bill Gasiamis (36:35) Hmm. Yeah, it makes sense that you would. And I met a guy many years ago, we’re talking about maybe 10 years ago, who had a similar thing to you, but a little more dramatic in that he didn’t get hunger messages at all. So he had to eat only when other people were eating as a reminder that it’s time to eat. if he didn’t do that, he wouldn’t ever get the message that you have to eat. You haven’t eaten for four days or five days. Ty Hawkins (37:15) I’ll get you know I think that sometimes that that may happen where I’m just not getting the signal and but I’m aware that hey I know I need to eat I’m aware that maybe it’s been a day or I have a workout coming up that I know I need to eat for and sometimes it can just be I can have a banana and It feels like I had a full a steak dinner with potatoes and a vegetable and like wow just from a banana and a glass of water and then some days my appetite is normal where I think once I find you know my routine I found a routine of sitting in a sauna and working out and ⁓ eating regimen so in the morning I would have I’ll have a cup of warm tea Living with CRPS: A Daily Challenge And if I’m not overly hungry or have a gym session, I’ll just have some fruit like a fruit salad and I’ll feel light and my digestive system appreciates that. And then ⁓ my body responds well to the heat. So I’ll try to sit in the sauna or exercise to get myself to sweat. And that seems to help my systems kind of stay in syncing and rhythm. So when I do that, my appetite is pretty normal, but when I find myself either overwhelmed, just neurologically or from the stresses of the day, then systems just start to go out of whack. Bill Gasiamis (38:55) I hear you. Exercise is so important. Like doesn’t matter what condition you’re in after stroke, you got to find a way to move your body as much as possible. And it causes so many positive cascades in your body that you, the bang for buck by exercising that your brain and body gets, it’s just unmeasurable. You cannot measure it. It’s so, so important. ⁓ And I love that you experienced direct benefits that you’re aware of. when you exercise. Ty Hawkins (39:27) Yes, and that’s that’s the physical benefits and it’s also been very Beneficial mentally to mentally emotionally because a lot of people don’t Really when you hear a stroke and you think a recovery is just hey the physical recovery and hey you look great tie and like I Do look great, but internally some days I don’t and mentally some days I don’t but I know that When I get, when I go to the gym and I work out, my mood is, it’s night and day when I don’t and when I do. And so I committed to, ⁓ working out as much, even if it’s just going outside for a in the neighborhood, getting outside, fresh air, it’s, have to move my body because if I don’t, that’s when things, you know, physically, mentally, and emotionally just start to break down. Bill Gasiamis (40:23) Yeah, we are meant to be moving. We’re moving creatures, you we’re meant to be moving, not sitting down too much, you know, driving desk work, all that kind of stuff is not normal. And we’re to be doing the, the physical version of getting somewhere like walking somewhere or, you know, running or, riding a bike. And if you can’t get on a bike, get a one of those sit down three wheeler bikes. If you need a walker, walk with a walker. you know, whatever the situation is, find a way around it because exercising is hard, not exercising is hard, but like far harder. Ty Hawkins (41:11) Yes, yes, I just I made a video about that and I posted it Maybe two days ago about the gym and I woke up I was a little tired and I still got up and I went to the gym and after I said that same thing that Though I got the hard work done. The work was hard, but not moving is hard too. It may not be immediately hard but it’s hard on your body not moving it adds up over time and ⁓ it’s what kept me I think not I think I know it’s what kept me the movement that I did early on paid off you know the doctors every session it was a lot of movement ⁓ and even now I’m just conscious of I may reach in the cabinet to get a cup but I’m You know extending my arm more more than the one time to get the cup because that’s that’s therapy You know a lot of people have this ⁓ Miss conception that therapy is just that one hour in the therapy environment I try to find everything to be therapy Reaching for a cup reaching for a plate eating ⁓ You know the steps that I take around the house ⁓ even just dancing you know I’m not I don’t have the, I have a little rhythm, but I’m not the best dancer, but music and moving my body just as I feel was something that was very, you know, beneficial for me. And it took me back to think when we were children and we’re kids, we just have these, what we think as adults is random movements. We’re folding ourselves like pretzels and spinning in circles. And it’s like, hey, this is what, body is meant to be freely moving and we kind of lose track of that once we get to work or school sit at a desk for eight hours sit in a vehicle for long long drives and you know so on and so forth then we forget that we take for granted you know moving the ability to move our bodies until you know our bodies show us like hey you know this is the repercussions sometimes of you not moving your body. Bill Gasiamis (43:34) I love that. That’s a beautiful way to wrap that up is by saying the repercussions of not moving your body. It’s exactly what it is. They occur. Your hips get tight, your joints change in their ability to handle stress. Your bones get ⁓ thinner. You know, like so many things change in a negative way. You got to move even if you’re doing a real, you know, if you have a real challenging stroke experience and stroke. ⁓ deficits, you just got to move as much as you can. I love I love that ⁓ that approach. So you also are now dealing with CRPS. Now I’ve heard of that before, but describe that and what it’s like for you. Ty Hawkins (44:18) ⁓ So it was misdiagnosed for some years as just neuropathy Which is the numbness and tingling on my left side? So if I if you were to look at me and draw a straight line down My right side feels What do you know the ⁓ normal person would feel you know? ⁓ It’s just freely flowing it feels normal right and my left side is just You know, constant daily pain. You know, I feel something, ⁓ whether it’s in, you know, my leg, my arm, ⁓ you know, ⁓ it can be even having clothes on like this jacket right now is sending signals to my brain that ⁓ my arm is in pain and I’m not in pain clearly, but my brain is sending signals that me having this jacket on this material brushing up against my arm. ⁓ It’s painful water hitting my skin painful and my paint but That you know depending on the temperature you know if they’re cool at the bed sheets are cold of Pain level rises through the roof. ⁓ Yeah, it hurts But you know a lot of you know my mindset Bill Gasiamis (45:23) What about the big shades? What about big shades? Yeah. Ty Hawkins (45:44) I don’t know. just I don’t complain about it and it’s like hey, you know, this is what I have to deal with So it’s constant like times. I feel it deep within my abdomen. I’ll feel it in my shoulder ⁓ You know, but CRPS it attacks ⁓ It’s essentially your brain just signaling that it is your brain stuck in a fight-or-flight cycle and it’s constantly Signaling that there’s some it’s a threat or some kind of pain is happening. So From putting the sneaker on, it’s really been attacking, as of lately, my left ankle and my left foot. certain shoes, I can feel the pain deep in the bones in my foot. And then sometimes I’ll just feel like ⁓ a very deep ache in my shoulder. Or if the temperature gets cold enough, it’ll feel like somebody’s just grabbing, know, just has a hold on my rib cage. and ⁓ you know so that’s Lightly to put CRPS what I think for me because I’m so used to the pain now is that my I always say daily I have a pain level of ⁓ four four to five where somebody that’s not used to chronic pain would say it’s eight or a nine and ⁓ Some days it’s frustrating Some days it’s tiring, know, the sensation varies. It’s a numbness and tingling to a deep bone-jarring ache to almost a burning sensation at times, like depending on how much I’m moving. Like, so if I were to move with this jacket right now, as I move my arm, then there’s a deep pain in my tricep and then a very deep pain from the wrist to my fingertips. And sometimes it’ll make me, like people, I’ll stand and I’ll just be squeezing my hands and people may think that I’m just, you know, just holding my hands, but I’m trying to let my body know that it’s okay. So I’m, you know, massaging or rubbing and ⁓ sometimes that helps or sometimes I just have to, you know, take a nap or close off other sensors to calm the brain down. Bill Gasiamis (48:11) my wife gets in trouble when she touches my left hand and she’s being gentle. If she’s being gentle, it’s like, dude, do not do that. She’s like, what do you mean? I’m being gentle. being rough. Don’t just be gentle with it. It hurts too much. It’s hurting now. And I’m in an enclosed room with no wind, no anything, but my left arm feels like it’s cold. Ty Hawkins (48:16) Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (48:38) freezing while my right side is perfectly fine. You know, it’s a very mild, beautiful day outside. ⁓ the wind, when I go outside, if I’m wearing shorts and a t-shirt, the wind makes it hurt. And if I go to the beach, I have to wear, ⁓ what we call runners, trainers, joggers in the water because the little pebbles of sand, they feel like they’re, I just stepped on like a thousand pins. Ty Hawkins (49:01) Mm-hmm. Bill Gasiamis (49:07) or something, it’s just ridiculous. And then I sleep on my left side so that I can, like you do with your hand, you just squeeze it to just let it know like it’s okay. I sleep on my left side so the sheets don’t rub on my left side and I don’t get woken up by my sheets in the middle of the night. That’s how I kind of get around it. And I would say that my pain is around a three to a four, mostly. Ty Hawkins (49:08) you Go. Emotional Resilience and Mental Health Bill Gasiamis (49:37) kind of closer to a three. And when we go for a long walk, sometimes I’ll go for a long walk with my wife. If we’re visiting a city that we’ve never been to before, we love to see the city on foot the whole time. And we might be walking for four, five, six hours through the whole day after, you know, stopping for a coffee or something to eat or whatever. And my left side will be going, we are not doing this anymore. We’re completely done. And I will have to have a conversation in my head with my left side and say, you’re coming along for the ride because you are overreacting. The right side is perfectly fine, which means that I haven’t done anything to hurt my body. haven’t over exerted ourselves. So you’re just overreacting. Be quiet and let’s get on with it. And believe it or not, man, that works. That quietens things down. and then we just get on with the job of walking and seeing what we need to see. Ty Hawkins (50:38) Yes, yes, so the two things my wife, ⁓ so she likes to pick at my skin sometimes whether she sees a little pimple or something and I’m like, please not today. It’s days that I can tolerate it, but it’s days where, and in the beginning she didn’t understand. I didn’t either and I’m like, am I just overreacting? I’m like, no, this really hurts. And so as I started to understand my diagnosis, I explained it to her and she’s been. Bill Gasiamis (50:49) you Ty Hawkins (51:07) you know more aware and I’ll let her know if it’s like hey I’m fine today it’s good so you’re good to go and two I remember ⁓ she loves Disney so we went to Disney World for her birthday and that’s a lot of walking a lot of people so ⁓ and when I get overstimulated then sometimes I get a little irritable So we’re walking and then, you know, I’m like, have to control my emotions. And then like you have a conversation with myself, like, Hey, my right side is not tired at all. My right side, we can go, we can go. And I’m like, Hey, we are, ⁓ we are okay. We’re, we are totally fine. This is a walk in the park. It’s a lot of people. Yes, but we are okay. We are safe and I wouldn’t do, I let my body know it’s nothing that I’m not putting you in any harm’s way. We’re just walking. And we may have to slow the pace down a little bit. But then as I get back in rhythm, then I found myself, okay, we’re back. We’re back to speed. And I really think that, like you say, it’s you having that mindset and then telling yourself. So day two in Disney, day one, I didn’t know what to expect. But day two is like, hey, we’re having this pep talk before we even go outside. We’re not, we’re cooperating today. We’re going for a walk and it’s going to be a long day. So. let’s go and as long as I have comfortable shoes and I think you know and I walk take breaks and able to sit down at times and you know my body then it’s like starts to trust in a lot that he’s going to take care of me so you know I have those conversations too in those same experiences. Bill Gasiamis (52:58) I relate to that so much, man. I get stuck. You know that feeling that you get in your hand? I get it in the ball of my left foot. It just becomes really, really tight. Like it feels, it doesn’t close up or anything, but it becomes really, really tight. And I can’t do anything to… undo it, you know, so I’ve got to like sit there, massage it, massage it, just try and get the tendons and all of that stuff to move into work. That’s kind of like the only way that I can, that I can get through it, but I have to get regular massages. get a massage every once every about 10 days on my left side to loosen everything up. Otherwise it just puts my right side out as well, because then it starts impacting the other side of my body. Ty Hawkins (53:35) Mm-hmm. Yeah, because you start to overcompensate. Yeah, I do the same while I start going for those kind of weird here’s movement, movement recovery. So I do a lot of things to move my body stretch recovery and things like that. I actually have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to do that. Bill Gasiamis (53:45) Hmm. Yeah, it’s so important. ⁓ Little, little things that kind of help you get through the next 10 days or two weeks or whatever it is, make such a difference if you can make it to a massage or if you can get your body look at that. It really helps. I find it helps me mentally more than anything because it eases all of those ⁓ discomforts and then my brain can just feel a little bit relaxed, you know, for a few days. Ty Hawkins (54:20) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (54:28) four days, 10 days, whatever it is, you whatever I get out of it. ⁓ And some days I feel like, man, need to see that. I need to see somebody right now. And I can’t get an appointment, but then by the time I get to the next day, it’s settled. Ty Hawkins (54:38) Mm-hmm. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (54:45) So sometimes the cycle requires me to just sort of stop, rest and not push through and just allow it to settle down. Ty Hawkins (54:54) No, yeah, I definitely think that allowing some days for the body to just rest and you know kind of catch up and recover does does the brain and body very well? ⁓ You know, I think I know for myself I was so Engulfed in I have to do something every day every day and keep my body moving that I wasn’t allowing it to rest in I remember even on the basketball court, had a day off from practice. it’s, I have to allow my body time to rest and also my brain. you know, when we’re constantly thinking how can I improve, that’s actually putting, you know, some stress on our brain. ⁓ You know, that I started to learn to try to limit and just say, hey, I’m taking a day off. I don’t even want to. think about what I may have to do. I just want to be here in the moment. I just want to enjoy a movie today or just spend time with the family and not think about anything recovery related. Bill Gasiamis (56:00) Yeah, it’s so important to you. You need time out, man. I hear you. ⁓ So you’re you’re being a few through a few tests and you’ve had some challenges to overcome. You’ve made it through your generally very positive, upbeat, glass half full kind of guy. But there probably was some dark times and difficult moments. How did you? Like how did you deal with them? How do you kind of navigate when it gets really tough and challenging emotionally and mentally? Ty Hawkins (56:34) Before I used to just try to keep myself busy at first not realizing that that was almost making it worse in a sense because I was never dealing with the emotion of What I experienced I never allowed myself allowed myself to fully understand and feel it until recently and so recently I started Started talk therapy psychotherapy. ⁓ that’s been tremendous. And then also just really taking time to reflect, I’ll do yoga, I’ll meditate, and you know, I’ll just get more vulnerable about my story I share with people, and I think that allows me to make it through just being honest with myself. I think that the type A athletic mind that I have, it was like, hey, you’re fine, you’re fine, you’re fine, you’re okay, and I never allowed myself to say, you’re not okay. Once I did I think that was when I started to see more progress because I was honoring how I truly felt versus how I wanted to feel And it was hey some days I told my just recently maybe maybe two days ago. So my mom, know was it was a rough day and I was like hey this sucks mom and She was like, know, yes you you have to honor and it’s okay to say that that it It does suck, but know it’s you show gratitude that you’re still alive to experience have the experience of life But understand you know you have to honor how you feel in the moment, and it’s for me. I’m able to Shift quicker out of those moments now because it’s like hey I honor it this sucks may have a little cry then immediately after it better then have a little laugh and like hey, okay, you know so I just Understand that there’s the range of emotions in its waves. So instead of going against the tide I just roll with the waves these days and you know is if I’m sad I just sit with it in the moment I talk to whoever I need to talk to and you know, let them know hey today is a bit harder of a day rather than you’re okay. You’re okay. You’re strong and I eliminated that ego and just honored how I feel because I think especially as men, we’re we’re taught to, you know, just tough it out, get up and dust it off. And it’s like, hey, we’re human at the end of the day and we all have So I think it’s better to honor your emotions. You know, we all have them for a reason, ⁓ you know, so it’s okay to cry. It’s okay to feel sad, you know, and work through that and you’ll eventually, hopefully we’ll see happiness, enjoy on the other side. Bill Gasiamis (59:30) Yeah, there is always a, what’s it like a reward on the other side of the hard time. Like you might not know when you’re going through the hard time, but it always leads to a positive outcome on the other side. You just got to give a time to get there. You know, got to just go through the ride and I’m similar to you talk therapy, man. Well, what a difference that’s made in my life. It just is so tremendous that you find somebody by the way, who you like to go and talk to. ⁓ So you might have to try a couple of different therapists, but like it is next level. You go there, you could talk about anything you want. Nobody’s judging you. You know, don’t have to share that with your loved ones. You can just be yourself and a different version of yourself in that room. that again, it just takes more weight off your shoulders. It creates more lightness. So I’m fully behind that. Ty Hawkins (1:00:26) Yes, yes, it’s been, it’s made a tremendous difference for me and I see, you know, this is, moving into year seven and early on I refused to go to therapy and, ⁓ you know, I think it wasn’t, it wasn’t until year three or four that I really decided to see, really dig in and understand therapy and realize that, it’s not just, I talk about the stroke less and less now. and just about life. It helps me every Monday. It’s a great start to my week. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:03) Man amazing start to your week. Well done. I love it that it’s every Monday Your where are you doing this recording from now, where are you? Lessons Learned: Recovery Insights for Stroke Survivors Ty Hawkins (1:01:14) Actually, I’m actually at work. ⁓ so I was able to return to work. ⁓ Fortunately, so I’m back with with Verizon ⁓ You know Emma in my sales role, so I was able to return to my career and In addition to my career being able to speak and do things like that. But currently I’m at work We’re getting ready to close up shop soon But they gave me the time because they they are very accommodating and understanding how important this is to me and they support me here on my journey. Bill Gasiamis (1:01:48) Wow. This episode is not sponsored by Verizon, but thank you Verizon for allowing this to happen, man. Yeah. We love it. All right. I really appreciate that. ⁓ sounds like the stroke incident has shaped your life in a meaningful way. Ty Hawkins (1:02:08) Yes, yes it has. would say I was a very selfish person before and I don’t mean that like ⁓ in a bad context. was I just thought about myself and my goals and not how my life could impact others. And after the stroke, just being, you know, given this story and seeing how I had no idea that me sharing that I had a stroke and My recovery would lead to a social media following and people looking to me for, you know, hope and inspiration that it was like, wow, you know, I’m actually am somebody that can impact. now it’s, you know, I live to help others. That’s why I continue to share almost seven years later and stay in touch with, with people and help try to provide resources that, you know, You know, just be a resource for people that go through this or loved ones, you know, to anybody who goes through this or any adversity, just to show, my story is a testament that, you know, adversity does hit, but you can make it through. You know, it starts with a mindset and a great community. And, you know, I’m very proud of my story and, know, where I am now and the person that I have become despite, you know, that unfortunate circumstance and event. Bill Gasiamis (1:03:37) Yeah, I’m with you, man. I love what you said about like, how you you’re impacting, you know, you’re aware of how you can impact people, we impact people all the time, negative, positive, whatever it is all the time, you may as well focus the needle towards positive. If you become aware of it, you know, it’s way better. You get much more reward than just being about yourself. I mean, what a Ty Hawkins (1:03:54) Yes. Bill Gasiamis (1:04:03) And I was the same, like we all kind of start there. You know, it’s about how do I succeed? How do I make the next dollar? How do I do this? How do I do that? And then at some point you shift. And for me, the catalyst was the strokes for you. It seems like it was the same thing. And the reward that I never thought I would get from shifting the needle towards helping other people has been way, way greater than anything I ever ⁓ focused on before. because it’s more of a global reward. It’s less of a focused, narrow reward, which is, know, money, car, house, you know, vacation. It’s now. a feedback loop from other people and I get messages on the podcast every single day on YouTube, emails, people going this episode really has made a difference to my life or I loved hearing that story from that person, know, the comments make it so worth doing. It is amazing. Ty Hawkins (1:05:03) Yes, yes, yeah, for me the message is hey, you know, your story helped me make it through or it helps me you serve as the inspiration and I don’t do it for that but it just helps. You know, it’s just good, a good feeling knowing that, you know, this isn’t in vain and that I’m able to impact people, especially in places that I’ve never

A goldfish in China lost its eyes, mouth, and part of its brain to rotting tissue and hungry tankmates — and kept swimming normally for two weeks, thanks to a body built very differently from ours.READ or SHARE: https://weirddarkness.com/headless-goldfish/WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2026, Weird Darkness.#WeirdDarkness, #WeirdDarkNEWS, #HeadlessGoldfish, #GoldfishSurvival, #FishScience, #BizarreAnimals, #AnimalFacts, #FishBrain, #LateralLine, #MikeTheHeadlessChicken, #GoldfishFacts, #WeirdScience, #AnimalSurvival, #FishAnatomy, #HeadlessAnimals, #CentralPatternGenerator, #BlindFish, #AquariumFish, #WeirdNews, #AnimalsOfYouTube

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Join Jay Gunkelman, QEEGD (the man who has analyzed over 500,000 brain scans), Dr. Mari Swingle, Joshua Moore, John Mekrut, Anthony Ramos, and host Pete Jansons for a packed discussion on cutting-edge trauma approaches, avoiding neurofeedback pitfalls, and how to pick qualified practitioners.✅ Deep Brain Reorienting Explained: A new somatic approach pioneered by Dr. Frank Corrigan targets brainstem-level early childhood attachment trauma via visual orientation and superior colliculus, going deeper than EMDR or exposure therapy—exciting experts like Sebern Fisher for developmental trauma recovery.✅ Neuroinflammation Deep Dive: Inflammation causes brain ischemia and hypoxia; overtraining inflamed brains risks headaches, nausea, tics, or even cell death—clinicians stress gentle starts, short sessions, monitoring symptoms, and addressing diet/nutrition first.✅ Choosing Pros Insights: Beware cheap equipment and unqualified practitioners; seek BCIA-certified or licensed pros with medical-grade gear—experience, mentorship, and clear "what & why" explanations matter more than pretty images.✅ Additional Topics:

“Education’s Race to the Bottom of the Brainstem,” episode 264 generated a lot of discussion. But, none more productive than this one. This week’s guest did it right. She listened, and let me know that more needs to be said on this. “Can I chime in?” Enter, Dr. Clelyn Chapin Dr. Chapin, a professor at … Continue reading "Episode 271: Responding to the Challenge in Education with Clelyn Chapin"

Double Vision After Stroke: What Jorden's Story Teaches Us About Brainstem Stroke Recovery Double vision after stroke is one of those symptoms no one imagines they'll ever face—until the day they wake up and the world has split in two. For many stroke survivors, it's confusing, frightening, and completely disorienting. And when it happens as part of a brainstem stroke, like it did for 45-year-old attorney Jorden Ryan, it can mark the beginning of a long and unpredictable recovery journey. In this article, we walk through Jorden's powerful story, how double vision after stroke showed up in his life, and what other survivors can learn from the way he navigated setback after setback. If you’re living with vision changes or recovering from a brainstem stroke, this piece is for you. The Morning Everything Changed Jorden went to bed preparing for a big day at work. By morning, nothing made sense. When he opened his eyes, the room looked doubled—two phones, two walls, two versions of everything. He felt drunk, dizzy, and disconnected from his own body. Double vision after stroke often appears suddenly, without warning. In Jorden's case, it was the first sign that a clot had formed near an aneurysm in his brainstem. As he tried to read his phone, he realised he couldn't. As he tried to stand, he collapsed. And as nausea took over, his vision became just one of many things slipping away. He didn't know it then, but this was the beginning of a brainstem stroke recovery journey that would test every part of who he was. When the Body Quits and the World Keeps Moving Even when paramedics arrived, the situation remained confusing. “You're too young for a stroke,” they told him. But the double vision, vomiting, and collapsing legs said otherwise. By the time he reached the hospital, he was drifting in and out of consciousness. Inside the MRI, everything changed again—his left side stopped working completely. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't swallow. His ability to control anything was gone. For many survivors, this is where the fear sets in—not only the fear of dying, but the fear of living this way forever. Understanding Double Vision After Stroke Double vision happens when the eyes no longer work together. After a stroke—especially a brainstem stroke—the nerves that control eye alignment can be affected. Survivors often describe it the way Jorden did: blurry, overlapping images difficulty reading nausea when focusing a sense of being “detached” from reality exhaustion from trying to make sense of their surroundings In Jorden's case, double vision wasn't the only issue, but it shaped everything that came after. It influenced his balance, his confidence, and even whether he felt safe leaving his home. Three Weeks Missing: The Silent Part of Recovery Jorden spent nearly three weeks in a coma-like state. Days blurred together. Friends visited. Family gathered. He remembers fragments, but not the whole chapter. When he finally became more aware, nothing worked the way it used to—not his speech, not his swallow, not his limbs, and certainly not his vision. This is something many survivors aren't prepared for: Stroke recovery often begins long before you're fully conscious. Starting Over: The Fight to Stand Again Inpatient rehab became Jorden's new world. It was full of firsts, none of them easy. The first time he tried to sit up. The first time he attempted to transfer out of bed. The first swallow test. The first attempt to speak. Everything required more energy than he had. And yet, small wins mattered: “When my affected hand moved for the first time, I felt human again.” Double vision made everything more complicated, especially balance and spatial awareness. Even brushing his teeth triggered trauma because of early choking experiences in hospital. Still, he kept going. Life Doesn't Pause for Stroke Recovery Just like so many survivors say, the world didn't stop for Jorden to recover. On the very day he left inpatient rehab, his close friend—who had also lived with paralysis—died by suicide. Not long after, his dog passed away too. It felt unfair. Cruel. Like everything was happening at once. But even in that darkness, Jorden found a way to keep moving. Not fast. Not perfectly. Just forward. Learning to Walk Again With Vision Working Against Him Double vision after stroke made walking terrifying. Every step felt unpredictable. Every movement demanded complete attention. He used a slackline as a walking rail. He held onto countertops, walls, chairs—anything that would keep him upright. He practised daily, even when the exhaustion was overwhelming. This is something survivors often underestimate: Vision problems drain energy faster than physical limitations. Your brain is constantly trying to make sense of visual chaos. Of course you get tired faster. Of course progress feels slow. But slow progress is still progress. Humour as a Survival Tool Many survivors rely on humour to keep themselves grounded. For Jorden, it showed up in moments like these: His leg falling off the footrest of a wheelchair and being dragged without him realising. Gym sessions where he pushed through fatigue—even after peeing his pants slightly. Laughing at situations that would've once embarrassed him. Humour didn't erase the trauma, but it gave him permission to keep going. “Now it's me versus me. Every step I take is a win, even if no one sees it.” What Jorden Wants Every Survivor to Know Recovery doesn't end after 12 months. Double vision after stroke can improve—even years later. Brainstem stroke recovery isn't linear. You're allowed to grieve what you lost and still fight for what's ahead. The simplest achievements matter. Hope is not naïve—it's a strategy. His story is proof that even when everything falls apart, life can still move forward. If You're Living With Double Vision After Stroke You are not alone. Your progress might feel invisible. Your days might feel slow and frustrating. But your brain is still rewiring, still adapting, still learning. And you don't have to navigate that alone either. Take the Next Step in Your Recovery If you want guidance, support, and practical tools for rebuilding life after stroke, you're invited to explore the resources below: Read Bill's Book: The Unexpected Way That a Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened Join the Patreon: Recovery After Stroke This blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your health or recovery plan. Jorden Ryan: Living With Double Vision After Stroke & Finding a Way Forward He woke up seeing double, and everything changed. Jorden's journey through double vision after stroke shows how recovery can begin in the darkest moments. Jorden’s Facebook Highlights: 00:00 Introduction to Double Vision After Stroke 03:15 The Day Everything Changed 10:26 When the Diagnosis Finally Made Sense 16:32 Surviving a Second Stroke 21:47 What Recovery Really Feels Like 32:16 The Emotional Toll No One Talks About 44:57 The First Swim After Stroke 54:08 Finding Light in the Darkest Moments 59:28 Living with PTSD After Stroke 01:15:01 Being Told “You'll Never…” by Doctors 01:26:40 Finding Meaning After Stroke Transcript: Introduction to Jorden Ryan’s Double Vision After Stroke Bill Gasiamis (00:01) Welcome again to the Recovery After Stroke podcast. I’m Bill Gasiamis. And if you’re listening right now, chances are stroke recovery feels confusing and isolating. I get that. I’ve been there. Leaving the hospital, feeling lost, desperate for clarity and unsure of what comes next. That’s why this podcast exists. Recovery After Stroke gives you real stories and expert insights that help guide your recovery so you can feel more confident, informed. and in control of your progress. And so you never have to feel alone or uncertain again. Today you’ll hear from Jordan Ryan, a 45 year old attorney who woke up one morning and nothing worked anymore. His story is raw, honest, and filled with moments that every stroke survivor will recognize. Fear, frustration, identity loss, and the courage to begin again. But I won’t spoil the episode. I’ll let you hear it from him. Jordan Ryan, welcome to the podcast. Jorden Ryan (00:58) Thank you, Bill. Happy to be here. Bill Gasiamis (01:01) Great to have you here. So if I recall correctly, your stroke was in March, 2024. So not that long ago. What was life like before that? Jorden Ryan (01:10) Life, I would say, was pretty normal. I didn’t have any symptoms or anything and I was a attorney. I walked to work every day about two miles and everything was going well. So right up until the night that I went to sleep, I had no symptoms at all. Bill Gasiamis (01:26) What kind of person were you then? Your routine, for example, and your relationships, where were they at? What kind of life did you lead? Jorden Ryan (01:34) I was awesome, right? No, just kidding. Yeah, they were good. Like I had a lot of friends and work colleagues and they did a lot. Like I was mostly a social person and went out a lot. So not home that much. I mean, I made a lot of friends in my loft, like down the halls were a lot of friends, but I lived by myself. Bill Gasiamis (01:55) ⁓ Well, if you thought you were awesome, I’m going to go with that. I got no problem with you thinking you are awesome. What about your health? Did you have a sense of your health? You know, we often talk about how we felt and what we were like and how energetic we were. Did you have a sense of where your health was at now in hindsight? Jorden Ryan (02:17) No, I did not. Actually, ⁓ I had a deviated septum from somebody hitting me in the face a while back from me trying to stop a fight. And so it took three surgeries to finally get it correct. Like they had to take a piece of my rib and some of my ear to straighten out my nose. But anyways, I say all that because it made me gain a lot of weight and I guess have sleep apnea. I didn’t know that, but you know, the girl I was dating at the time told me. So anyways, I got it fixed. And I had just seen a person to help me lose weight, the doctor and everybody. so I thought my health was good. And I had probably maybe a year and a half ago, I got into a jet ski, just knocked on conscious when I hit the water. So they did a cat scan and I didn’t know, but I thought that when they did that, I was fine. I was healthy. I didn’t know it would take an MRI to know that stuff. So I felt. totally fine until the event. The Day Everything Changed Bill Gasiamis (03:17) So after the nose surgery, things started to improve with regards to your weight and your sleeping. Yeah. Jorden Ryan (03:22) I don’t know that, like, I tried to get a CPAP machine before my surgery and yes, I was starting to work out more but I was still a little bit tired I guess but I mean nothing like, un-normal like, really bad or anything like that. Bill Gasiamis (03:38) Yeah, I do hear that sleep apnea is kind of that strange kind of a thing that people don’t realize they have until somebody diagnoses it and says to them, this is why you feel so drained, so tired all the time. And then they get it resolved in one way or another and things improve, especially with a, sometimes with a CPAP machine. So, ⁓ but then you’ll fit an active and you were pretty well. So take us back to that moment of that first stroke or what? What was it like? What happened? Jorden Ryan (04:08) So when I had ZPAP like to get a diagnosis or whatever they sent something in the mail and you just put it on your finger it was not as comprehensive as an actual sleep study and they said well that will be fine anyway so I got the machine it was very hard for me to sleep with so it would keep me up it did the exact opposite of what it was supposed to do so anyways that night I went to bed I had a big day the next day work call international call and I was gonna be the only one on the call, only attorney on the call. And so I woke up, I could not sleep, which was kind of normal with the CPAP machine. So I watched a movie and then went to sleep maybe an hour before it was time to wake up. And I went to bed and my alarm went off and I got up and I felt like really strange. I saw double, basically like I felt like I’d been drinking all night or something. Then, ⁓ I called into work and said, I’m sorry I cannot help you. Like, I was looking at my cell phone, which I do all the time, and I couldn’t read it or anything like that. being, you know, kind of naive, I think I took a quick shower, like, rinse some cold water on me, thinking maybe that would fix it. No, that’s ridiculous, but I thought it would, and when it got worse, that’s when I called on my one. Bill Gasiamis (05:35) Yeah, how long did they take to arrive? Do you feel Jorden Ryan (05:38) Mmm, I felt like forever, but I think it was pretty short. I lived in the city So the ambulance was right down the street. So I think like maybe 15 minutes or something like that Bill Gasiamis (05:49) Were you able to let them in? Jorden Ryan (05:52) I was, I, you know, the dispatch 911 person said to make sure I unlocked the door first. I thought I was having a stroke, but I fell down on my knees and laid against my bed and it was very difficult to go open the door to let them in. So yes, I was able to unlock the door and I did that. And I just started throwing up like more than I’ve ever vomited before in my life. Like something was really wrong. my leg went out. I didn’t know that it like couldn’t move at all. I just fell backwards and it was kidney due to throwing up. So then they came and I was still able to stand and talk and I felt, I mean, other than throwing up and double vision, I felt fine. So they told me that I was probably too young to have a stroke and that maybe it was just ready to go. So I was thinking that, okay, well I’ll just go to the hospital and you know, get checked out and I’ll come home early. But it seemed to get worse as things were going. I pulled myself up onto the gurney the EMTs had and I remember thinking like I’ve got to go to the hospital now and they were like being nice and getting my stuff and my phone and whatever else and if I threw up they were getting the trash can and I remember thinking I didn’t care if all of my stuff was stolen. I need to go to the hospital now. So we definitely got up there. When I was kind of in and out of consciousness by that time and I got to the hospital and they checked me out like an actual MRI. And when I was inside of it is when my left side of my body completely quit working. So I didn’t know what was going on. I mean, I had no clue. So I pulled myself out of the MRI. And some people get claustrophobic or whatever, but this was a square machine and because I felt sick already and half my body quit working while I was in there, it really put fear in me to get out. Bill Gasiamis (07:59) ⁓ So you had the right to the hospital, they saw you rather rapidly before they got you into the MRI? Jorden Ryan (08:10) The EMTs did see me pretty quick. They did not think I had a stroke, so it wasn’t as maybe punctual as possible. they were still… I mean, the fire department, I think, was maybe a quarter of a mile from my house. So they got there pretty fast. Bill Gasiamis (08:27) Yeah, okay. So when you got to hospital, what was that like? What happened then? Jorden Ryan (08:33) Yeah, by the time I got to the hospital, I was barely able to be coherent at all. Like someone would say, hey, Jordan, I would bring me to for a second, like, what is your phone number? And I could answer, but then I would be out again. when they were taking me to the MRI, they kind of with me. And this was the first time that I was frightened for my life. I think that one of the nurses was like, I can’t believe they’re going to waste the time to do MRI on this person. He’s gonna die anyway. There are people that need them. Machine. Bill Gasiamis (09:04) Wow, they didn’t say that, did they? Jorden Ryan (09:07) Well, I was like, couldn’t talk, couldn’t move. I don’t know if they said it for real, but I think so. I believe that’s what they said. then I was like, this is not how I die. I’ve done so much crazy stuff. can’t be just cause I was going to work early in the morning. ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (09:22) Wow. So you have a sense that that’s what they said while you’re being, while you’re on the bed being moved to the MRI. Jorden Ryan (09:32) Well, I was in going to like a holding area, like a waiting area to do MRI. Yeah. And so they left me and I couldn’t move. And so it was pretty scary. Yeah. And then after the MRI, the nurse did say, you know, we need to call your family. And so I did unlock my iPhone and I remember her calling, but it’s kind of hazy in and out of that. And I think They said, need to call the family so they can say their goodbyes. I think I overheard that. And I was like, what is going on? This can’t be this serious, right? So I really do believe I did hear that though. Bill Gasiamis (10:12) Seems like they may have very quickly upgraded your condition from vertigo, which they originally said when they arrived and seems like they kind of knew that something else dramatic was happening. Jorden Ryan (10:19) Yeah When the Diagnosis Finally Made Sense That’s correct. I wish it would have been just ready to go. Right. But it was all of a sudden went from, you know, pretty good news or decent, extremely dire consequences or like something bad was going to happen. Yes. Bill Gasiamis (10:42) Yeah. How old were you in 2024? Jorden Ryan (10:46) I was 45. Bill Gasiamis (10:49) Yeah. And do you have a sense now? Do you understand what it was that caused the stroke? We’ll jump back into Jordan’s story in just a moment. But first, I wanted to pause and acknowledge something. If you’re listening to this and stroke recovery feels confusing and isolating, I want you to know you’re not imagining it. I know exactly what that feels like. That’s why I created Recovery After Stroke to bring you real stories and insights that guide your recovery and help you feel more confident, informed and in control. And if you’d like to go deeper, remember to check out my book, The Unexpected Way The Stroke Became, The Best Thing That Happened, and support the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash recovery after stroke. Jorden Ryan (11:34) Yes, I do have ⁓ an aneurysm in my, ⁓ in the brainstem. can’t, it affected the pontine area and the salabella. Like I cannot remember the nerves. Unfortunately, I’m sorry. The veins that it’s in, but it is really big and the blood being kind of, ⁓ kind of mixed around. mean, like because my vein is so wide, the clots can form just. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (12:03) Okay, so with an aneurysm, you’re at risk of it bursting, but then because of the different shape, the high pressure and the low pressure systems that occur in the aneurysm create a different blood flow. It causes the blood to turn into a clot and then perhaps get stuck there. And then when it gets big enough, it can break off or move and then it causes the clot. Jorden Ryan (12:31) Yeah, I don’t know if it breaks off and or just makes a clot and get stuck in there, but same concept, I think. Right. And so, yeah. Bill Gasiamis (12:40) Okay, so then you know that now after they did the MRI, what happened then? Did you have to ⁓ go through some kind of a procedure to sort out the clot and to remove the blockage and to fix the aneurysm? What was the situation? Jorden Ryan (12:59) Yeah, unfortunately they cannot fix aneurysm. They are just throwing as much medicine as they can, like all the tools that they have at the disposal at this time. But after they found out I had a clot, they’re just kind of like, let’s see what happens now. So that is when I went kind of again unconscious in probably about three weeks. I do not remember very much at all. Bill Gasiamis (13:26) Okay. Was that because they were, were in an induced coma to help you with it, with the healing? Jorden Ryan (13:32) I don’t think it was induced. think it was just my body went into a coma. mean, at the time I thought probably I was just very tired because I’d only slept an hour, but I mean, three weeks is a long nap. So a lot of my friends come in to visit me in the hospital, but I was like, I felt like just tired, but I didn’t feel bad. Like I was going to die or something. But so it was very strange because I felt very coherent. Like every day is just a different day. but my body like wouldn’t move like I could tell my left hand to move and it would not. So, but other than that, like, ⁓ I felt normal so to speak. Bill Gasiamis (14:13) I can see those three weeks. Did you have a sense that you had a stroke? Did that actually sort of say you’ve had a stroke? Did you understand that for the first time? Jorden Ryan (14:25) Yeah, I understood that I had a stroke, but I just didn’t understand what that meant. Like, for example, to sit up, which I would do in my whole life, I was not able to do that anymore. So during that three weeks, they would have a hoist system to move me to a couch. So I wouldn’t get bed sores, I think, you know, just precaution, but that was like a really scary, like I did not like that at all. was, which would normally be super easy. ⁓ Yes, they said I had a stroke, but I had no idea how bad it was. Bill Gasiamis (14:58) Yeah. family and friends. You had people rally around to do people have to fly. Excuse me. Do people have to fly in or come from out of town or were they all nearby? How, how did you go and see that? Jorden Ryan (15:13) I think that my sister put something on Facebook, on my Facebook. And so I had people close by and I did have people fly from a couple of different areas because at that time I think I was in ICU. So, you know, that may be the last chance I had to talk to me. So they did come say goodbye, but the hospital for so long, I mean, people got me flowers and I would think that would be as long as possible, but then those flowers would die. and people would bring plants and when those died, I mean, wow, that’s really a long time to be in the hospital, you know? And the plants died because I couldn’t water them because I’m paralyzed, so, at that time. Bill Gasiamis (15:54) Yeah, how long were you in hospital in total? Jorden Ryan (15:58) The first stroke I was probably, I got out May 17th, but that’s out of the inside rehab that what do you call inpatient rehabs? think that I was in hospital for maybe three weeks, maybe a month. Like, you know, they downgraded me from ICU for a week and then sent me to the internal rehab. Bill Gasiamis (16:23) Yeah, so the stroke was March 22 and then you got out of hospital in May. Jorden Ryan (16:29) That’s great. In mid-May, yeah. Surviving a Second Stroke Bill Gasiamis (16:32) Yeah. And you said that that was the first stroke. So was there another stroke? Jorden Ryan (16:37) Yeah, it’s crazy. So I had my first stroke and then I really tried hard like no sugar, no pop, no alcohol. I did everything I thought is best I could and even in rehab they had me bake cookies and I didn’t eat them because they had sugar in them. And then I had another stroke when I woke up to go to rehab. So that was October 7th. So it was, it started out with just my hand wouldn’t move like it should like I was regaining everything back pretty well from the first stroke. And I thought I was Superman basically. I was healing pretty fast and I was like, I beat it. This is great. And then right back to being in a bad stroke and being a wheelchair and all of that. Bill Gasiamis (17:25) So the same issue in the cerebellum near the pons again caused another clot or was it just something else that happened? Jorden Ryan (17:34) No, you’re right. It was the same thing, basically affected the same areas of my brain. So they say that your brain with spasticity can do like a detour. So now I have a detour of a detour, basically. So my brain had just rewired and was working pretty decently and then that area got damaged as well. Bill Gasiamis (17:57) Okay. And were you on blood thinners or something to help thin the blood to kind of minimize the risk of another blood clot or? Jorden Ryan (18:06) Yes, I was on the Eloquist, so I thought that that would be enough, but it was not. So now I am also on aspirin, but it’s just a small pill every day. I think that, like I said, they don’t really have a whole lot they can do. So they’re just telling me to take this medicine out for the best and maybe it will happen again and maybe it won’t, but they can’t operate on it because the risks outweigh the reward. Like there is a Good chance of death. Bill Gasiamis (18:37) Yeah, understood. How long did you spend in hospital for the second incident? Jorden Ryan (18:42) I was out, ⁓ towards the end of November. think mid and like either the second or third week in November. Bill Gasiamis (18:52) And then when you left hospital that time, you left with the deficits, which had kind of eased up or you didn’t really have before the, after the first one, is that right? Jorden Ryan (19:04) Yes, that’s right. I will, will wheeled out in wheelchair and had no use of my leg or my arm and my face was not really healed from the first stroke, but a little bit and I still had that too. I could not talk. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t drink. Like, I mean, I could, guess, but not how, yeah. So like holding glass to my face would come all over down my face and stuff. so This area right here always felt wet. Like it felt like I was in a pool, even though I wasn’t. So I couldn’t tell if I had food all over me or what have you that I would have to rely on people to tell me. I could chewing a salad is, I mean, it was really, really hard. That was kind of the, as I advanced, that was something I could do. My first stroke, I could not, you know, a steady is it. I don’t know if you know what that is for using the restroom. It’s like a basically a dolly. put you on and I had a really hard time even trying to use that. I went through a lot of swallow tests. I could not swallow my own saliva. So that was very difficult for me. ⁓ They brushed my teeth and I felt like I was gonna die. I could not breathe. Like probably for that went on for like five minutes. Like, I mean, I could breathe, sorta, but it was very difficult. Bill Gasiamis (20:29) They brushing your teeth for you and it, and it, and triggered some kind of a reaction or. Jorden Ryan (20:34) Like the yeah, the saliva that you have in your mouth that is I mean was enough for me to drown in basically I guess Yeah Bill Gasiamis (20:45) So it wasn’t the actual tooth brushing. It was the saliva that was being generated that you couldn’t. Jorden Ryan (20:50) I so. didn’t know for sure what it was, right? Like, but I’m pretty sure was alive. It was something I couldn’t manage. That’s for sure. And it just tasted like toothpaste probably because I just had done brushing my teeth. But they did give me a peg tube so I could get food and nutrition and water in me. However, the way that they installed it the first time was ⁓ caused ulcers in my… I think in my colon, so I had to go back to the ICU. Bill Gasiamis (21:24) Yeah. Such a dramatic time, right? A lot of stuff going wrong. What’s going through your head at the time? Because you went, like we said, like it was a year earlier, everything was going fine. Everything was all okay. And now you’re dealing with all this stuff. How do you, you know, what are you saying to yourself? How do you feel about what’s happening to you? What Recovery Really Feels Like Jorden Ryan (21:47) I wish that I could give you like a really good answer, but to be honest it was more like, why is this happening to me? I can’t believe this is happening. I’m too young. Like I have to take decent care of myself. I cannot believe this. I mean, when I was in the hospital, I was watching like my 600 pound life and like, I’m just saying that I was, I thought, you know, at least that healthy, but at that time I was really devastated by what was going on. Bill Gasiamis (22:16) Yeah, you would be, it makes complete sense, right? How do you go from being quote unquote normal? Everything’s just going along as it always has. And now all these hurdles that come your way that are really challenging to overcome. you probably don’t have the skillset to deal with them in such a dramatic short amount of time. Jorden Ryan (22:17) Yeah. Yeah, I think that’s right. And I think probably if it would have just been on me, maybe I could have, but I was like, I’m going to be such a huge burden to my family in my way life is going to be so bad. Like, I was just like, how is this happening? You know, I don’t smoke and like, I don’t do heavy drugs or any of that stuff. So what is going on? And then they said, well, you must drink a lot of energy drinks. And I was like, no, I don’t drink any energy drinks. So they’re like, we don’t know what’s going on then. So just that was. So for me, I really didn’t know what was going on. Bill Gasiamis (23:15) Yeah. And in hindsight, it was just random. It’s just one of those things with the aneurysm and how can you possibly, how can you possibly deal with it when you don’t know that it’s happening to you? Similar to me, like I had a brain hemorrhage three times because of a blood vessel that I was born with. I wasn’t having the best lifestyle, but I also wasn’t causing it. I also didn’t. I wasn’t able to solve it. Everything was kind of handed over to other people. It’s not, it was nothing. It was not up to me. And I had to just kind of go through it. Jorden Ryan (23:51) Very similar. was, you know, couldn’t be in charge or control anything basically, like even really simple things. I mean, I had a diaper on, I couldn’t even go to the restroom by myself. So it was just very hard. It was a lot of stuff all at once, right? Like, it wasn’t just like I a cold or something. It was very difficult. And at first, when I was there, I couldn’t talk. So people would come and visit me but and to me what’s very strange is that my voice sounded exactly the same before the stroke which it didn’t in real life I was probably like I have no idea what I sounded like but people couldn’t understand me so I would say something to them and they’re like sorry I can’t understand you but in my head I said it perfectly it sounded like me I can hear ⁓ like my slur now but I could not at first Bill Gasiamis (24:47) Yeah. Yeah. It was there somebody that you met who helped support you and guide you through those really sort of tough bits early on, like was there kind of a mentor or somebody that came out of nowhere and just helped you navigate this? Jorden Ryan (25:06) ⁓ I don’t know really like who navigated like how it happened, you know, I had a chaplain that came in there maybe a doctor would help I Didn’t have my phone or anything at the time But when I was able to do that I saw your channels and stuff and so I listened to it and probably the totality of a lot of things there wasn’t like a one person or one thing that helped me really a lot so I remember being kind of upset at you because you said it was the best thing that ever happened to you and that was it was too new for me. I was like, what do you mean? That’s not possible. And a nurse came and said, well, you have the beautiful blue eyes and that my eyes are green. So I was like, well, maybe my hair will grow back and I’ll have blue eyes. Maybe it’ll be the best thing that ever happened. But yeah, I mean, I wasn’t really mad at you. I just said the time I could not accept those that verbiage. Bill Gasiamis (26:02) that is perfectly understandable. And it’s exactly why I chose the title, not to piss people off or make people upset while they’re recovering. In fact, I never expected that people would find it so early on in their journey. I just thought it was a story I was gonna tell and it was gonna go out there. But of course, the very first time I spoke about my book a few years ago on YouTube, the very first comment was a negative comment along the lines of, Similar to what you said. It was a bit more rude. It wasn’t so polite ⁓ And I and I was like, ⁓ no, no, no, you guys have got it wrong I don’t think I think you missed the boat. No, sorry. You missed the point the point being that It was really terrible when I was going through it for three years But when I came out the other side, there was a lot of personal growth. There was a lot of ⁓ Things that I had appreciated that I’d done that I’d learned that I’d overcome etc that became the reason why I was able to say it was the best thing that happened to me because I started a podcast, I wrote a book, I’ve spoken publicly about it, I have this platform, I’ve created a community, all these things, right? So the things that I didn’t know that I was lacking in life before the stroke, I thought my life was complete, waking up in the morning, going to work, coming home to the family, cooking dinner, paying the bills. paying the mortgage, the car lease. I thought it was all cool, all complete, but I was kind of unhappy. There was a lot that I was lacking in my life. And only because of the stroke journey, the end result of the podcast, the book and all that stuff, did I realize, ⁓ actually the… Aftermath, the things that I have grown and discovered were the best things that happened to me. And it was because of the stroke. It’s such a weird and dumb thing to say. Like I can’t even wrap my head around it, that I had to go through something so dramatic to accomplish some amazing things. I wish I would have just done it before the dramatic events. I wish there didn’t have to be one. And that being said though, I’m 13 years. post stroke, the first one, and I still live with the deficits. I still have problems sleeping on my left side because it’s numb and it’s burning and it tingles and all that kind of stuff. When I get tired, I still have balance issues when, ⁓ you know, sometimes my memory is a bit flaky because of it, but you know, a little bit, I still have deficits in my muscles and spasticity and all that kind of stuff and it hurts. I’ve accepted that part of it. how it feels in my body, but I’ve also ⁓ gone after the growth. Like I’ve really, ⁓ seriously, dramatically gone after the post-traumatic growth that comes from a serious episode. And what I hope- Jorden Ryan (29:10) explaining that in other episodes. was just my friend that I had heard and I was still like too bitter to hear that. Right. And now I kind of make sense. Like there are a of things that I didn’t appreciate as much as I should have. All the cliches, know, kind of true. Like I wake up and like that is a good day then because most of my stroke, both of my strokes came from when I was sleeping when I woke up. So kind of like Bill Gasiamis (29:21) Yeah. Jorden Ryan (29:38) Even being in the hospital, I saw more sunsets than I did in my regular life or post stroke, whatever you want to call it. I definitely get it and I can appreciate what you’re saying now, but after that time, was just more difficult. Bill Gasiamis (29:45) Yeah. I definitely come across people regularly, even though ⁓ I’ve been speaking about it for a little while, who come across the first podcast episode that I’ve done, that they’ve found in the 370 odd. And then they hear me say that again. And then there’s also, there’s sometimes a repeat of that incident where I know exactly where they’re at. Like I know exactly what’s happening. I know they don’t know that. And then what I hope that happens is say in three or four years, they can, when they go, there was that crazy guy who said stroke was the best thing that I wonder what that was about. I’m going to go get that book now and I’m going to read it. And I’m going to see if I can, you know, shift my mindset from perhaps something that’s been bugging me to something that we can grow from. And the book has got 10 steps to recovery and personal transformation. It not 10 steps to getting your perfect walk again, or making your hand work perfect again, or you know, getting rid of your deficits. It’s not that kind of book. It’s an inspiring book. We’re trying to give people some tools that they can use that doesn’t cost them any extra that will improve the quality of their health and their life. And it doesn’t matter how injured you are because of a stroke. That’s what the book helps people to do. I love challenging people. I’m not, of course, you know, I’m not intending to make people think that I promote. stroke is something that they must experience as ⁓ you know. Jorden Ryan (31:23) the ⁓ Bill Gasiamis (31:26) Yeah. ⁓ It’s not on audible. I am going to remedy that at some stage. I’m going to remedy that and I’m going to get people the ability to listen to it because ⁓ Jorden Ryan (31:46) Well, I will be your first customer, hopefully. Bill Gasiamis (31:49) Yeah, a he-man. Jorden Ryan (31:51) cannot read because my eyes are cro- like not crossed but I have double vision so they are off I cannot read so but yeah Bill Gasiamis (32:01) ⁓ After your three weeks in ICU the first time, I think you began inpatient rehab. What were those days like going through that first few motions of trying to get yourself up and about? The Emotional Toll No One Talks About Jorden Ryan (32:16) Yeah, it was very emotional, right? because you want right away, I thought just to get back to where I was. And I mean, I read some other things and I had friends of friends send me stuff and that chapter of my life is over. I mean, it was a good one, but it’s time to rewrite another one, right? Like I have to move forward. So the whole journey was really difficult. Probably took me longer than most people, but, ⁓ I was very lucky in the fact that I had a friend that had told me like, hey, you have done hard things before you were, you know, in Muay Thai, you were a attorney, you can do it again. And then in my mind, I was like, you’re not a brain doctor. What are you talking about? Leave me alone. So even though the expression was being really nice internally, that’s what I was thinking. Then I saw something like, um, it was, you know, I think it was a PT, a physical therapist who said, think that you’re gonna heal yourself in three hours a week or a day or whatever, that’s not it. Then I had another friend who told me that his sister had a stroke and she wished she would have done more during recovery. So I eventually got to the point thinking like, well, all these doctors are saying it depends, which is a fair answer, right? And I tell clients that and they hate it. But I thought that’s better than absolute no. They’re not saying and so they’ve made it to me like, well, maybe I won’t get better, but it’s not going to be from me not trying. I think another one of the people on your episodes ⁓ saying like they were always very positive and I was like, that’s not me. That’s I’m not 100 % going to be better. That just wasn’t my attitude during it. I mean, it’s good. wish I would have been, but unfortunately I wasn’t. But it kind of. Over time it’s gotten better, but at first it was very difficult for me. Bill Gasiamis (34:17) Yeah, that’s completely understandable. ⁓ You had, did you have some small wins in rehab that kind of made you shift a little bit slowly and kind of realize you’re making ground or things are, you’re overcoming things. Jorden Ryan (34:35) Yes, I did. I was very lucky in the fact that, I mean, I would just notice my therapist face like when my affected arm started to work or I did something, they didn’t say like, that’s unbelievable. But it was kind of like I was making progress faster than a lot of people. And I’m not saying I’m better. I was very lucky and I would never come to other people, but they were like, wow, that’s really amazing that you’re able to do that. So it was, it felt good. Being able, like, even just to move my finger, like, in my defective hand for the first time was huge, and then I was able to use my thumb to… I feel human again. I mean, to be honest with you, when I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t move and everything, it just felt weird, like it wasn’t me. Bill Gasiamis (35:22) Yeah, absolutely. So were there some setbacks during that time as well? Jorden Ryan (35:27) There were some setbacks. I, again, I watched one of your episodes and a gentleman told me, like I said, he had the fatigue set in later on in his journey. And so one of the things I was like, well, I’m so lucky that I don’t have that because I go to the gym pretty often. And that would be devastating to have fatigue. And then I also had fatigue. I mean, to the point where I didn’t want to move around at all. didn’t want to get out of bed hardly so there’s setbacks in the fact that like my my sister and brother-in-law luckily took me in I mean they were like ⁓ angels so to speak but they live in a big one bedroom app like one one floor house I meant to like a ranch style and just going to the bathroom was a setback because it would take forever to walk down the hall or whatever I mean it was my gate it was a walking style was Pretty hilarious there, you saw me. Bill Gasiamis (36:27) And then fatigue doing that walk also then ties you out. Jorden Ryan (36:34) Yeah, just walking to the bathroom did tire me out. So, like, to brush my teeth, I’m already scared of, like, not feeling well. Plus, walking all the way there and brushing my teeth and walking all the way back, it would be… I would really have to get my strength together to do that. Bill Gasiamis (36:53) A journey, a proper journey. Jorden Ryan (36:55) I had to do it because I didn’t want to wet myself or soil myself, but it was very difficult. mean, looking back, it’s like, wow, that stuff was so easy now. But at that time, it was not easy. was very difficult. Bill Gasiamis (37:11) Yeah. I remember being in a similar situation and I don’t have that far to go to the toilet from my couch where the lounge room is and the TV is. But I remember going to the toilet and getting back to the couch and then being completely wiped out. that’s it. I was done for hours, done for hours, just sitting there resting and then hoping to get enough energy to get back up off the couch and be okay. Um, that was very early on. That was probably a few, maybe about four five months after the second bleed, it was still very dramatic. And I couldn’t really appreciate how ⁓ I took for granted that trip before that. Like it was just, it never crosses your mind. Jorden Ryan (37:55) You wouldn’t even think about it, right? Like getting out of a car to walk to the house was very difficult for me. Or when I came back, I would just fall on my bed because I was worn out. But before that, before my stroke, I would not ever think about that kind of stuff. Yeah. In a wheelchair at first, but I walked around the house with a walker and like two laps inside the house would wear me out. That’s maybe one. Bill Gasiamis (38:11) Yeah, hell no. Jorden Ryan (38:24) Like, one hundredth of a mile is not much, or not even close to a kilometer, and that would wipe me out completely. Bill Gasiamis (38:32) Yeah. You find yourself thinking about the steps that you’re taking. Are you putting a lot of brain energy into the actual task? How your leg is moving? What was the process like for you? Jorden Ryan (38:44) Yes, my- so all the things that your body does without you thinking about were affected in me. Like blinking, I have to think about it. To move my arms at the same time, I have to think about it. So to walk was- I had to really be like, okay, which foot goes first? Left foot. Okay, now what foot goes next, right? It sounds ridiculous, but that’s really what I was like. My mind was, I had to think every time like learning to walk. I was like, what hand goes in front? with what foot? Like it was, I mean, very, very basic, like to the beginning, right? Like before elementary school, like it was, so everything I did was taxing mentally because I just had to think about stuff that you don’t normally think about, right? Like Okay, I should breathe. It wasn’t quite as bad as that, but that’s pretty close. Bill Gasiamis (39:37) Wow, So in the notes that we shared between us, you mentioned something about the first time you were taken out of hospital ⁓ to go and eat, I think. Tell me a little bit about that story. What happened then? Jorden Ryan (39:53) Sure, so I noticed, to start a little bit further back, I lost my hearing. It wasn’t when I first had my stroke, but when I was in rehab, they were actually changing my diaper. And so I would lay on each side and I noticed when I laid on the side, I could not hear them. They were telling me to roll over or something. And so I had lost my hearing completely. Then, um… When I got out of the hospital, my friends and family and whatever got together and took me out to eat and the noises were so loud that my senses were too heightened. It was confusing to me. I had a lifetime of going out to eat with friends and going to drinking or whatever. This was just a lunch and I couldn’t really handle it. It was almost too much for me. The car ride from maybe a three hour car ride, had to close my eyes because I would feel sick if they were open. it was, I realized just how different my life is gonna be, right? Bill Gasiamis (40:59) Yeah, did that make you want to avoid those types of events? Jorden Ryan (41:02) Yes, I have to push myself to do that kind of stuff because I don’t know, I think it’s easy to become depressed, right? Like, it’s easy to just be like, I will just sit here on the couch, watch TV. I don’t really watch TV, but… And even that is hard with my eyes doubled, but I mean, like, I push myself to hang out with friends or go to eat or something. But it’s very difficult. I would rather just stay home. If you just ask me, like… I mean, I’m always excited to go out with people, that’s not what I mean, but it just is easier to stay home. Bill Gasiamis (41:37) Yeah, I understand that easier to stay home. It’s a trap as well, isn’t it? It’s a, if I stay home, I don’t have to deal with all those difficulties, all those challenges. I don’t have to overcome anything. I can just have the easy way out. But then that you pay a price for that as well. That’s not, it doesn’t work like that. You have to pay the price of, well, then you don’t go out and then you’re alone again. And then you’re in your thoughts again. Then you don’t interact with people again. And It’s not the easy way out. seems that way, it’s potentially leading you down a path that you don’t want to go down. Jorden Ryan (42:11) You’re exactly right. I tell people that because I’m so lazy, I try so hard now because I don’t want to have that life like that forever, you know? So I try very hard now so I can be lazy if that makes sense. Bill Gasiamis (42:26) That makes complete sense. love it because it’s kind of like you’re lazy. Jorden Ryan (42:31) Right, exactly right. You know, because going to the bathroom, if that’s hard forever, that’s gonna be terrible. I gotta get up and walk and have to go out with people. then life is not as hard, hopefully, because you’re doing the things, right? So. Bill Gasiamis (42:47) Yeah, yeah, and you’re getting all the genuine awesome things that come from interacting with people, going out, being ⁓ in public. ⁓ I know what you’re saying about the kind of the earning our lazy kind of thing, right? Because I would say to myself, ⁓ Saturday, I’m gonna go hard. Now, hard for me might’ve been just to literally go to an event and stay an hour longer than I normally would have stayed, whether it was a family event, a party or whatever. And then I’m gonna be really exhausted tomorrow. I know that tomorrow I’m gonna be really, and I’ve got nothing booked in. I’m gonna do absolutely nothing for the entire day so that I can go out and go hard tonight, whatever tonight looked like, whatever that was gonna be like. And that was where I earned my recovery, my lazy. I’m sitting on the couch and I’m watching TV or I’m reading a book or I’m not doing anything. That’s exactly how I kind of used to talk to myself about doing nothing on the following day. Jorden Ryan (43:54) That is a good way to put it, earn your laziness. Like that is exactly what I did. I did something hard or out of my comfort zone and then when I was lazy I felt better about it. If I just wanted to stay home and watch TV, I mean I would have won the lottery basically, you know, like that would be my life. But because that is not what I want to do, doing hard things and then being lazy is a good way to look at it. It would make me feel better about myself. people and everything just kinda makes it harder to be depressed. Bill Gasiamis (44:32) Yeah, agreed, 100%. I would encourage people to get out as much as they can. ⁓ Now, I’m very interested in your thoughts about this. Your first swim, I wanna know what that was like, cause I had a first swim as well. I remember my first swim after waking up from surgery, not being able to use my left side and needing to rehabilitate it. ⁓ What was it like for you to experience that? The First Swim After Stroke Jorden Ryan (44:57) Yeah, so I’ve been swimming before I can remember when I was a kid. So like being by a pool was very scary for me because I thought if I fell in, I could not like get out. And I got in the pool with a life jacket to try to walk and doing I don’t know what this stroke is called where move both arms like that. But only one would work at a time. But I’ve been doing it forever. So it was so strange to be in the pool and not both my arms work together. It was almost like I didn’t expect that that late in my recovery It was not that long but still it was strange to me probably maybe a month after I got out of the hospital so luckily my mom took me to the pool quite a bit and Pushed a wheelchair even though it’s really heavy and she is older so Bill Gasiamis (45:50) Yeah, I went to the pool for the first time during rehab. They asked me if I had anything particular I wanted to work with or a particular exercise I wanted to do. And for me going into the pool, I felt safe that I couldn’t fall over. So we kind of did aqua aerobics and my left side wasn’t working well, but in the pool you couldn’t tell that it wasn’t working well. then put on a, it just felt normal. It felt normal. It kind of. ⁓ appeared like it was working normally, but it felt strange because the water pressure on my affected side, that was different. Feeling the water pressure on my affected side for the first time was really strange. What was cool about it is they gave me a life vest, so there was no chance of falling over, drowning, dying, or anything like that in the water. And it was really a real relief because my body felt really free for the first time. And then as I got better and we started to get out and about, One particular summer we went to a ⁓ waterfall here near where I live. And in the pond at the bottom of the waterfall went for a swing. But the difference is ⁓ fresh water ⁓ is different from salt water. And I had never swum in ⁓ fresh water. Jorden Ryan (47:11) Yeah, there’s a big difference here, right? Bill Gasiamis (47:14) Wow, you’re heavier, you sink quicker. And I went for this very short distance swim and I was completely out of breath and fatigued like really rapidly and needed somebody that was with us to help me get out because I hadn’t realized how much more taxing it would be to do the swimming motions or do all those things and stay afloat. ⁓ And it was really scary because it was the first time I learned that. Jorden Ryan (47:17) Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (47:42) I am not as capable as I used to be ⁓ in the water. Jorden Ryan (47:47) Yeah, I think that brings up a good point for me is that people that try to help me tell me like, be careful. There’s a table there or something like very obvious, right? But they don’t know what I’ve been through and what I can see what I can’t. have to be ⁓ appreciative of them saying that stuff instead of annoyed. Like I usually am so yeah. I did a triathlon in the ocean and it was so much easier. I was pretty happy. I was the other way around. I’m used to swimming in fresh water and then in salmon and salt water and that was all post stroke. But I can know what you mean. There’s a huge difference. Bill Gasiamis (48:27) What’s your Yeah, you’ve done a triathlon post stroke. Jorden Ryan (48:33) No, I’m so sorry. I meant before stroke. ⁓ Yeah, I did one back when I was healthier, but it is hard for me to even raise my arm. I can kind of do it now, but so I just did water aerobics actually today. And I mean, I am the youngest person there probably by seems like 30 years, but in the worst one there, like you can definitely tell I have a stroke. Yeah. Bill Gasiamis (48:59) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s cool about, what’s cool is that now there’s competitions where people can go and compete ⁓ after they’ve been, like the Paralympics is a classic example, right? And all the events leading up to the Paralympics where people can go and compete, get physical, even though they have deficits. That wasn’t something that was possible decades and decades ago. It’s a fairly new thing. I love that even though people are injured and they’ve had difficult times, perhaps their limbs aren’t working correctly. Some people still decide, I know I’m gonna be a competitor still, I’m gonna be with one arm, with one leg, with whatever my, whatever I have left, I’m gonna do the most I can and compete as much as I can to be the best in my particular sport. I love that about the things that people can access today about participation in sport, even though they’re injured. Jorden Ryan (50:02) Yeah, for me, it is much different. Like I used to be a very competitive person and now it’s me against me, right? The me against the stroke or whatever. Like I don’t care that somebody can run really fast. Like, I mean, that’s good for them, but for me getting outside and even getting to the event was difficult. Now to, you know, sit in a tricycle or whatever it happens to be is just, it’s more like a golf or something like that where it’s just you against you, you know, so. It is good that they have that kind of stuff, I think. Like, I’m looking at bikes for mountain biking with three wheels and stuff, so. Bill Gasiamis (50:39) Yeah, I love what you just said you against you. It’s like you against your mindset. Jorden Ryan (50:45) I think it’s just… I don’t want to say me against the world but everything is so… ⁓ difficult I guess? Like everything is a win so if I get in a car to go to the event if I get a bike that I can ride even a tricycle like that’s win if I can finish the event well that’s a win before it was like what place that I get now that’s not important to me I mean sure I guess is this not as important as it was before. Bill Gasiamis (51:15) Yeah, your priorities have shifted. Jorden Ryan (51:18) Yeah, very much so. Like, I think that I have a lot more empathy for people that are disabled. It just clearly opened my eyes. And even though I work in the law, I am used to disability act or whatever. And I was like, these people, now I totally get it. You know, so I understand like why they should have these laws in place. So here in the States, I mean, Bill Gasiamis (51:44) Yeah. Yeah, same with us in Australia. mean, there’s lots of laws to try and protect people who have a disability of some kind, injury, whatever you want to call it, so that there’s less discrimination, so that there’s more services, so there’s more access. ⁓ It’s one of the best conversations that people have because they kind of say, well, we know that this particular service that is going to be provided is going to be provided for all the population and 93 % of the population, for example, it’s not a real number, will be able to access it beautifully. What about the other 7 % who are not gonna be able to access it? We need to think about them. We need to think about how they’re going to go about ⁓ traveling on this service or accessing this service or getting in and out of this particular office or building and all that stuff. is taken into consideration in the design and planning phase now. So you can move around Melbourne, my hometown, in a electric wheelchair or a regular push wheelchair. And you will not have to worry about getting on a train, getting on the public transport, a bus, the tram, ⁓ going down a curb, all the curbs are ⁓ angled down. So this beautiful, nice smooth path towards the road and then up again. Jorden Ryan (53:13) Yeah, that sounds very nice. I think I was just ignorant to people’s needs, I guess. And now I learned firsthand how important they are, right? So I was just like, man, that’s a lot of money to do that. But it makes sense if someone says, well, we have 99 bathrooms, but you can’t use any of them. It doesn’t do me much good, right? So to have this kind of, yeah, right. Bill Gasiamis (53:22) Yeah. Yeah, what’s the point? Finding Light in the Darkest Moments ⁓ Now, the thing about stroke is that unfortunately life doesn’t get put on hold for us to recover from it and then let us get back into life as if we were okay. And I remember going through the third bleed and then a couple of weeks later, literally two weeks later, I think, maybe about a week later, my mother-in-law passed away. And then we had to have her funeral before my brain surgery. and my wife had to deal with all of that, right? You also, you lost one of your friends soon after you got out of, I think it was at rehab. Jorden Ryan (54:19) It was the day I got out of, ⁓ like inside the hospital rehab, inpatient rehab, like he was a good friend and he also had, I think a something to do with he had a tumor on his spine or something that was removed, but it left him slightly paralyzed. Like he was, he had both arms and I remember being in the hospital being jealous of him because Such a little thing like, wow, this guy can go to the bathroom by himself. I wish I could do that, right? But unfortunately, yeah, he died by suicide the day that I got out. It was devastating and very hard. I mean, that was somebody I planned on spending a lot of time with because he lived in the same city that my sister took me in that I was going to hang out with. I mean, not just about me. It was just sad that that happened, obviously. Bill Gasiamis (55:14) Yeah, of course, man, that’s pretty sad. And also, then your dog passed away. Jorden Ryan (55:22) Yeah, so this guy, he had told me my last message with him, well almost last was, we didn’t ask for this, but we’re gonna get through it together. And then, you know, he took his life, so that made me seem like, what should I do now? Then my dog died, which was a big deal to me because, okay, now I have all this time to pet him or play or whatever, and you know, it was pretty dramatic. dick dab that, but I felt like I was in a country song. Bill Gasiamis (55:55) How did you get past it? Jorden Ryan (55:56) I don’t know, think that you you kind of learn to just roll with the punches as I say because there’s so much in life that I can’t control that I mean, just, stuff happens right? You just have to do your best and I try to tell people like, it’s very easy to be in darkness or the negativity but it is my job to open up the light, open the window or whatever, not literally the window but to see all the good things that are happening. around me. So I mean, there are so many amazing things. So I have to open that up and not stay in the darkness too long. I can’t stop from happening personally, like this part of my life, but I can get out of it. Like luckily I have those tools, so to speak. Like I can be like, okay, this is happening. This is amazing. Or my family is healthy or whatever it happens to be or just people being really nice, seeing that, right? But I did have, my hand was like clawed and I would open the door and some people were nice and be like, let me get that door for you. Well, I cannot open my hand to let go of the door. It would almost knock me over several times. So kind of funny. Bill Gasiamis (57:13) always funny opportunities like to things to laugh at in that moment. I remember being wheeled in my wheelchair when I first got out of hospital, out of the hospital ward and we were just going around the hospital grounds just to get some sun. My wife was pushing me and I couldn’t feel my left leg and it fell off the, you know, where the feet sit in the wheelchair, the footrest. It just fell off the footrest and it was getting dragged. beneath the footrest and kind of the wheel of the wheelchair and it was kind of getting dragged and I couldn’t feel it had no idea but my wife was struggling to push the wheelchair Jorden Ryan (57:54) She’s like, is wrong with this? It’s so hard. Bill Gasiamis (57:57) She was going, well, this so hard to push. And then we had to have a look around and realize the reason it was hard to push, because my foot is under the wheelchair and I have no idea that it’s there and it’s getting stuck. ⁓ We laughed about it because what else are you gonna do at that moment? It was pretty ridiculous and funny at the same time. Jorden Ryan (58:16) That is exactly right. I would say that if I had to give credit to one thing, it would probably be my odd sense of humor now, right? Like there’s so many things to laugh at that it’s hard to say, Matt. That situation you had, it could have been really devastating to you or whatever, or you can be like, that is pretty funny, right? So I had something similar happen to me. My foot came off the wheelchair, but it just stopped. I didn’t feel it. my leg, but I mean, it felt like I ran over a rock or something like, so similar, not the same, but similar to me. Like, didn’t know if my leg would ever come back, you know? So people are all different levels of their journey. Like I was not upset, but I was surprised to see people in patient rehab. They could walk so well. like, Hey, we are really struggling over here. We’re in a wheelchair. That’s not the right attitude to have, but that’s how it was, you know, Bill Gasiamis (59:12) Yeah, absolutely. Jorden Ryan (59:14) are fine, get out of here, let us sick people alone, leave us here, so. I mean, I am lucky in the fact that I’m getting a lot more back than I thought that I would, so everything from now on is icing on the cake, so to speak. Living with PTSD and Double Vision After Stroke Bill Gasiamis (59:28) Bonus for sure. I think you talked about PTSD around brushing your teeth, right? How does that show up in your daily life? Do you have moments when that kind of rears its ugly head? Jorden Ryan (59:42) Well, I just moved into a new house and the bathroom is right next to it and it’s not so bad now. But when I had to walk and it was more difficult and I had PTSD and self-diagnosed. So I don’t even know if it’s a real thing. It was very scary, right? Like it would almost like giv

In this mini podcast episode Dr. Perry talks about how facial massages calm the nervous system and help pain When you massage the face, you're not just working on skin — you're speaking directly to the trigeminal nerve, the largest sensory nerve in the entire head. Gentle pressure on the forehead, cheeks, and jaw sends calming signals into the brainstem, lowering threat, softening sympathetic overdrive, and creating a shift toward safety. The trigeminal system is deeply wired into pain modulation and stress processing, so when you relax the face, you literally turn down the volume on the stress response. It's one of the fastest ways to reset the nervous system: change what the face feels, and you change what the brain perceives. Facial massage stimulates A-beta mechanoreceptors, which quiet pain signals. The trigeminal nerve feeds into autonomic centers calming the fight-or-flight loop. Releasing tension around the jaw and eyes decreases sympathetic load almost instantly. Touching the face shifts emotional tonethe. The limbic system responds to facial relaxation. Relax the face to down regulate inflammation.

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. David Berson, PhD, a professor of neuroscience at Brown University and an expert on the visual system and circadian biology. We explore how the brain processes visual information, from photons entering the eye to conscious perception in the cortex. We discuss color vision, the discovery of melanopsin and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, and how light regulates our circadian clock and melatonin release. We also examine the vestibular system's role in balance and motion detection, the cerebellum's function in motor coordination, and the midbrain's integration of multiple sensory inputs. Finally, we discuss the basal ganglia's role in decision-making and an extraordinary case of neuroplasticity in visual cortex. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. More Huberman Lab Essentials: https://hubermanlab.com/essentials Thank you to our sponsors AGZ: https://drinkagz.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Dr. David Berson (00:00:30) Visual Perception, Photons & Retinal Processing, Ganglion Cells (00:02:12) Color Vision, Wavelengths & Photoreceptors; Cones & Rods (00:05:56) Sponsor: AGZ by AG1 (00:07:24) Melanopsin, Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells & Brightness Detection (00:08:31) Circadian Clock & Synchronization, Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN); Master Clock Function (00:11:16) Hypothalamus, Autonomic Nervous System & Hormonal Systems (00:13:01) Tool: Light Exposure & Melatonin Regulation, Pineal Function (00:14:35) Vestibular System, Balance & Motion Detection; Semicircular Canals (00:16:44) Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex, Image Stabilization & Head Rotation (00:18:51) Sponsor: Function (00:20:45) Motion Sickness, Visual-Vestibular Conflict; Tool: Avoiding Nausea (00:22:24) Cerebellum, Motor Coordination & Learning (00:23:17) Cerebellar Function, Precision & Timing of Movement; Cerebellar Ataxia (00:24:54) Flocculus & Visual-Vestibular Integration (00:25:56) Midbrain, Brainstem & Reflexive Behavior; Superior Colliculus (00:28:26) Spatial Orientation & Multisensory Integration; Rattlesnake Heat Detection (00:30:13) Sensory Integration & Corroboration (00:31:13) Sponsor: LMNT (00:32:45) Basal Ganglia, Go vs No-Go Behavior & Decision Making (00:33:56) Tool: Impulse Control & Delayed Gratification, Marshmallow Test (00:34:51) Individual Differences, Genetics & Experience (00:35:37) Visual Cortex, Neural Processing & Brain Plasticity (00:36:26) Cortical Reorganization, Braille Reading & Stroke Recovery (00:39:15) David Berson's Work; Acknowledgements Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Mayer unpacks groundbreaking research on how men and women differ in their responses to stress, emotional stimuli, and gut sensations. Drawing from studies at UCLA's Oppenheimer Center, the conversation highlights key differences in brain-gut communication, revealing how neural pathways influence both emotional and physical health.You'll learn why women are more prone to conditions like IBS, how heart rate variability reflects emotional processing, and why men tend to show more action-oriented responses to stress. Dr. Mayer also explores the growing potential of personalized therapy—tailored to biological and psychological differences—to transform how we treat chronic gut-brain conditions.Key Topics Covered:• Sex-based differences in stress response patterns• Brainstem connectivity and gut sensitivity• Emotional awareness and heart rate variability• Chronic disease and the gut-brain connection• Personalized therapies based on genderUnderstanding these sex-based differences isn't just fascinating—it's essential for developing more effective, tailored approaches to brain-gut health. Tune in to explore how science is reshaping the way we treat mind and body together.Connect with Dr. Mayer:Website: ⁠⁠emeranmayer.com⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠@emeranmayer⁠Twitter/X: ⁠@EmeranMayerMD⁠YouTube: @EmeranMayerMD

Dr. Mayer unpacks groundbreaking research on how men and women differ in their responses to stress, emotional stimuli, and gut sensations. Drawing from studies at UCLA's Oppenheimer Center, the conversation highlights key differences in brain-gut communication, revealing how neural pathways influence both emotional and physical health.You'll learn why women are more prone to conditions like IBS, how heart rate variability reflects emotional processing, and why men tend to show more action-oriented responses to stress. Dr. Mayer also explores the growing potential of personalized therapy—tailored to biological and psychological differences—to transform how we treat chronic gut-brain conditions.Key Topics Covered:• Sex-based differences in stress response patterns• Brainstem connectivity and gut sensitivity• Emotional awareness and heart rate variability• Chronic disease and the gut-brain connection• Personalized therapies based on genderUnderstanding these sex-based differences isn't just fascinating—it's essential for developing more effective, tailored approaches to brain-gut health. Tune in to explore how science is reshaping the way we treat mind and body together.Connect with Dr. Mayer:Website: ⁠⁠emeranmayer.com⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠@emeranmayer⁠Twitter/X: ⁠@EmeranMayerMD⁠YouTube: @EmeranMayerMD

Send us a textWhat happens in your brain when fear stops you from taking action toward your dreams? The mechanics are fascinating and understanding them can completely transform your approach to challenges. When you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or anxious about moving forward, your brain has shifted from its creative center to its survival center without you even realizing it.Your brainstem—located where your skull connects to your neck—houses your fight, flight, freeze, and fawn responses. When activated, this primitive part of your brain takes control, effectively shutting down your prefrontal cortex where creative thinking happens. This explains why overwhelm leads to decision paralysis, why anxiety blocks innovation, and why fear keeps you scrolling through how-to videos instead of actually launching your business or going for that promotion.The good news? You have the power to shift from survival mode back into creative genius mode through practical tools. Meditation, physical movement, journaling, or even something as simple as taking a short walk can help you return to your prefrontal cortex. The key isn't just knowing which tools work for you—it's consistently using them, especially when you feel stuck. By bringing awareness to your fear through the simple question "What am I afraid of right now?" you begin the process of moving from reactive to creative.As someone who coaches high-achieving women and creative entrepreneurs, I've witnessed this neurological shift transform people's capacity to take aligned action despite fear. We all have these tools available to us, but often forget to use them precisely when we need them most. Which of your tools have you been neglecting lately? Are you ready to reclaim your creative thinking and finally move forward on what matters most to you? Your brain is designed for both protection and creation—learning to consciously navigate between these modes might be the missing piece in your success journey.- - - - - - - -ENJOY THE PODCAST?Leave us a 5-star review so more people can find us!LEARN MORE ABOUT COACHINGNandiCamille.comSCHEDULE YOUR FREE DISCOVERY CALLClick HereEVENTSClick here to learn viewLISTEN TO MY CONFIDENCE SESSIONS IN THE MARIGOLD APP50% off annual membership: Use code: NANDI50---> Click below to learn morehttps://apps.apple.com/us/app/marigold-self-confidence/id1463889202LET'S BE SOCIALEmail: hello@nandicamille.comInstagram: @nandi.camilleLearn more about Nandi and Life Coaching at: NandiCamille.com

This episode features "Brainstem Disco, 2191" written by Angela Liu. Published in the May 2025 issue of Clarkesworld Magazine and read by Kate Baker. The text version of this story can be found at: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/liu_05_25 Support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/join/clarkesworld?

Send us a textWhat if your entire life changed at the age of 19? Matt Hay shares his incredible journey of sudden hearing loss due to neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and the pivotal moment an audiologist recognized the need for further medical evaluation, leading to his diagnosis. This episode underscores the critical importance of comprehensive audiology practices and the life-altering impact of an accurate diagnosis.Join us as we explore the pioneering world of auditory brainstem implants (ABI). From the early challenges at the House Ear Institute to the remarkable personal account of a patient who underwent the ABI procedure, we cover it all. Listen to how this groundbreaking technology transformed everyday sounds and interactions, reshaping lives, including Matt's, and even influencing his wife's career path as they embarked on starting a family.In a deeply touching segment, Matt opens up about the emotional and psychological toll of facial paralysis. He shares his experiences with visible and invisible disabilities and his profound gratitude for advancements in ABI technology. We also spotlight Blaise Delfino's inspiring contributions to hearing care advocacy and celebrate Matt's heartfelt book, which has resonated deeply with our audience.While we know all hearing aids amplify sounds to help you hear them, Starkey Genesis AI uses cutting-edge technology designed to help you understand them, too.Click here to find a provider near you and test drive Starkey Genesis AI! Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

For today's episode, we expand on Autism and Sensory Processing. We return to the mesencephalon—a brainstem region with superior and inferior colliculi—as a critical hub for sensory integration and attention bias. We cover four scientific articles, starting with Marco et al. (2011), which uses EEGs, MEGs, and fMRIs to reveal autism's auditory processing inconsistencies (e.g., delayed N100/M100 cortical responses), tactile hypersensitivity from overactive receptors, and visual processing quirks like reduced fusiform gyrus activation for faces. Russo et al. then explore brainstem-level deficits, showing autistic children's auditory brainstem responses (ABR) to speech syllables like "DA" exhibit poor neural synchrony and phase locking, especially in noise, due to disrupted wave V, A, D, F timing—linking these to language impairments. These findings point to biological roots, including denser neocortical mini-columns (30-40 vs. 50-60 microns in controls) and cerebellar Purkinje cell loss, impairing local processing and long-range connectivity.The episode continues with Leekam et al. (2007), confirming over 90% of autistic individuals have multi-modal sensory abnormalities—hypo- and hypersensitivity tied to serotonin and GABA dysregulation—persisting across life, while Tomchek and Dunn (2007) note 95% prevalence via caregiver reports, hinting at neural pathway disruptions. At some point, we need to acknowledge the mesencephalon's embryological stasis as one of four neural cell types, suggesting its evolutionary role in sensory modulation is key to Autism's biology. These articles collectively highlight altered neural circuitry, from brainstem to cortex, and biases us to remaining within ourselves. Remember, the biology that gives us Autism allows us to be comfortable within ourselves. Marco et al 2011 https://www.nature.com/articles/pr9201193Russo et al 2009 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00790.xLeekam et al 2007 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-006-0218-7Tomchek & Dunn 2007 https://affectautism.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/tomcheck_dunn.pdf0:00 Autism and Sensory Processing; comorbid conditions; Mesencephalon3:03 Article 1 Marco et al 20114:11 Auditory5:00 N100 & M100 tools9:17 Tactile11:23 Visual13:53 Multisensory Integration15:16 Postmortem; Cerebellum & Purkinje Cells; Minicolumns17:06 Speech19:02 Article 2 Russo et al; Brainstem scientists20:28 Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR); Quiet versus Noisy environments; Beatles comparison23:49 Neural Synchrony; Waves V, A, D, F24:33 Phase Locking27:34 Article 3 Leekam et al 2007; Neuroplasticity33:09 Article 4 Tomchek & Dunn 200736:36 Reviews/Ratings and Contact InfoX: https://x.com/rps47586Hopp: https://www.hopp.bio/fromthespectrumYT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGxEzLKXkjppo3nqmpXpzuAemail: info.fromthespectrum@gmail.com

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cortex and brainstem. Using zebra finches, Bengalese finches, white-rumped munias, and humans, she demonstrates oxytocin's role in vocal production. She also developed genomic tools to apply these findings across vertebrates. Her future work explores oxytocin-based drugs and dance therapies to treat speech and motor deficits in brain disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40384]

Do you prefer multistory episodes, single story episodes, or a mix? Let us know! In this episode of Discover Daily, hosts Alex and Sienna explore the latest developments in tech, medicine, and AI safety. They discuss the rebranding of Sam Altman's Worldcoin to "World" and the unveiling of the next-generation Orb 2.0 technology, which aims to create a global identity verification system for the AI era. The hosts also delve into recent research that reveals striking similarities between long COVID and traumatic brain injury, offering new insights into potential treatment approaches. Finally, they take an in-depth look at the AI Safety Clock, a symbolic representation of the risks posed by uncontrolled artificial general intelligence, and examine its impact on the ongoing conversation about responsible AI development.From Perplexity's Discover Feed:https://www.perplexity.ai/page/sam-altman-s-worldcoin-rebrand-AWQtbtNySQC61ch5lUHwQQhttps://www.perplexity.ai/page/long-covid-is-a-brain-injury-W57eub2jSTWz2VDnwvcZ3Ahttps://www.perplexity.ai/page/the-ai-safety-clock-oD44Gvv4RMy9zk6K5G1kbQPerplexity is the fastest and most powerful way to search the web. Perplexity crawls the web and curates the most relevant and up-to-date sources (from academic papers to Reddit threads) to create the perfect response to any question or topic you're interested in. Take the world's knowledge with you anywhere. Available on iOS and Android Join our growing Discord community for the latest updates and exclusive content. Follow us on: Instagram Threads X (Twitter) YouTube Linkedin

Prof. Mark Solms, a neuroscientist and psychoanalyst, discusses his groundbreaking work on consciousness, challenging conventional cortex-centric views and emphasizing the role of brainstem structures in generating consciousness and affect. MLST is sponsored by Brave: The Brave Search API covers over 20 billion webpages, built from scratch without Big Tech biases or the recent extortionate price hikes on search API access. Perfect for AI model training and retrieval augmentated generation. Try it now - get 2,000 free queries monthly at http://brave.com/api. Key points discussed: The limitations of vision-centric approaches to consciousness studies. Evidence from decorticated animals and hydranencephalic children supporting the brainstem's role in consciousness. The relationship between homeostasis, the free energy principle, and consciousness. Critiques of behaviorism and modern theories of consciousness. The importance of subjective experience in understanding brain function. The discussion also explored broader topics: The potential impact of affect-based theories on AI development. The role of the SEEKING system in exploration and learning. Connections between neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and philosophy of mind. Challenges in studying consciousness and the limitations of current theories. Mark Solms: https://neuroscience.uct.ac.za/contacts/mark-solms Show notes and transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/roipwmnlfmwk2e7kivzms/ACjZF-VIGC2-Suo30KcwVV0?rlkey=53y8v2cajfcgrf17p1h7v3suz&st=z8vu81hn&dl=0 TOC (*) are best bits 00:00:00 1. Intro: Challenging vision-centric approaches to consciousness * 00:02:20 2. Evidence from decorticated animals and hydranencephalic children * 00:07:40 3. Emotional responses in hydranencephalic children 00:10:40 4. Brainstem stimulation and affective states 00:15:00 5. Brainstem's role in generating affective consciousness * 00:21:50 6. Dual-aspect monism and the mind-brain relationship 00:29:37 7. Information, affect, and the hard problem of consciousness * 00:37:25 8. Wheeler's participatory universe and Chalmers' theories 00:48:51 9. Homeostasis, free energy principle, and consciousness * 00:59:25 10. Affect, voluntary behavior, and decision-making 01:05:45 11. Psychoactive substances, REM sleep, and consciousness research 01:12:14 12. Critiquing behaviorism and modern consciousness theories * 01:24:25 13. The SEEKING system and exploration in neuroscience Refs: 1. Mark Solms' book "The Hidden Spring" [00:20:34] (MUST READ!) https://amzn.to/3XyETb3 2. Karl Friston's free energy principle [00:03:50] https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2787 3. Hydranencephaly condition [00:07:10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydranencephaly 4. Periaqueductal gray (PAG) [00:08:57] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periaqueductal_gray 5. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) [00:13:52] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positron_emission_tomography 6. Paul MacLean's triune brain theory [00:03:30] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triune_brain 7. Baruch Spinoza's philosophy of mind [00:23:48] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spinoza-epistemology-mind 8. Claude Shannon's "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" [00:32:15] https://people.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/home/text/others/shannon/entropy/entropy.pdf 9. Francis Crick's "The Astonishing Hypothesis" [00:39:57] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Astonishing_Hypothesis 10. Frank Jackson's Knowledge Argument [00:40:54] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qualia-knowledge/ 11. Mesolimbic dopamine system [01:11:51] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesolimbic_pathway 12. Jaak Panksepp's SEEKING system [01:25:23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaak_Panksepp#Affective_neuroscience

Today, you'll learn about an accidental discovery of a dial in the brainstem that controls the body's inflammation level, how centipedes might offer a treatment for kidney disease, and the problem with bringing back our deceased loved ones using AI. Brainstem Dial “Found: the dial in the brain that controls the immune system.” by Giorgia Guglielmi. 2024. “Your brain could be controlling how sick you get - and how you recover.” by Diana Kwon. 2023. “Tissues, not blood, are where immune cells function.” by Donna L. Farber. 2021. Centipedes & Kidneys “Centipedes used in traditional Chinese medicine offer leads for kidney treatment.” ACS. 2024. “Giant Redheaded Centipede.” Missouri Department of Conservation. 2024. “Structurally Diverse Alkaloids with Anti-Renal-Fibrosis Activity from the Centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans.” by Bin-Yuan Hu, et al. 2024. AI Ghosts “Call for safeguards to prevent unwanted ‘hauntings' by AI chatbots of dead loved ones.” University of Cambridge. 2024. “Griefbots, Deadbots, Postmortem Avatars: on Responsible Applications of Generative AI in the Digital Afterlife Industry.” by Tomasz Hollanek & Katarzyna Nowaczyk-Basinska. 2024. “Exploring the Impact of Artificial Intelligence.” LCFI. 2024. Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a Text Message.What if your entire life changed at the age of 19? Matt Hay shares his incredible journey of sudden hearing loss due to neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and the pivotal moment an audiologist recognized the need for further medical evaluation, leading to his diagnosis. This episode underscores the critical importance of comprehensive audiology practices and the life-altering impact of an accurate diagnosis.Join us as we explore the pioneering world of auditory brainstem implants (ABI). From the early challenges at the House Ear Institute to the remarkable personal account of a patient who underwent the ABI procedure, we cover it all. Listen to how this groundbreaking technology transformed everyday sounds and interactions, reshaping lives, including Matt's, and even influencing his wife's career path as they embarked on starting a family.In a deeply touching segment, Matt opens up about the emotional and psychological toll of facial paralysis. He shares his experiences with visible and invisible disabilities and his profound gratitude for advancements in ABI technology. We also spotlight Blaise Delfino's inspiring contributions to hearing care advocacy and celebrate Matt's heartfelt book, which has resonated deeply with our audience.While we know all hearing aids amplify sounds to help you hear them, Starkey Genesis AI uses cutting-edge technology designed to help you understand them, too.Using innovative Neuro Sound Technology, Genesis AI mimics how a healthy auditory system hears. This allows the hearing aids to better replicate how the human brain processes sound.Click here to find a hearing care professional near you to try Genesis AI! Support the Show.Connect with the Hearing Matters Podcast TeamEmail: hearingmatterspodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @hearing_matters_podcast Twitter: @hearing_mattasFacebook: Hearing Matters Podcast

We often think of our conscious experience as one driven by language. Our thoughts are shaped by words; our emotions processed in conversation. Yet, while language is a sharp tool for expression, the level of detail and nuance it affords us can also get us lost. And like many other animals, we communicate our needs before we're able to speak. So what if consciousness, the quality of being us in the privacy of our mind, was in fact something else?My guest today has spent 40 years investigating what it means to be at once a brain, a mind and a psyche. And he has done away with complexity to conclude: “it's all feelings”. Mark Solms is a renowned neuropsychologist, psychoanalyst, and researcher who has bridged the gap between two traditionally opposed disciplines: neuroscience and psychoanalysis. A pioneer in his field, and a true inspiration for many practitioners on both sides of the divide, Mark has shown that cognitive and analytical work are two sides of a coin, and that they have much to learn from each other.  In this episode of the Art of Listening, we let Mark Solms lead the way, to unpack his life's work. Drawing from difficult childhood experience, Mark reflects on what seeded his existential questions and led him to investigate the inner workings of the brain. Together, we get to grips with what constitutes a conscious experience, we question the legacy of Freud's findings, and we tap into the power of Neuropsychoanalysis to enhance how we listen. Join us for a fascinating conversation with Mark Solms, and reconcile the study of the subject with the study of the object; of the brain, with the psyche. Chapters1 - The accident that changed Mark's childhood 2 - First forays into neuroscience: daring to leave the beaten path3 - “Neuropsychotherapy” or how a new discipline is born4 - How cognitive and analytic approaches can benefit each other5 - Consciousness and language beyond verbal communication LinksMark SolmsMark's BooksMore from ‘The Art of Listening' 

In this episode, we discuss biology of anxiety, responses from anxiety, and common situations causing anxiety with Autism. The stress response system of the body is very finite and the nervous system reflexively responds based on what it knows. A few biological components of anxiety include the amygdala, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and the spine. Common responses to anxiety include avoidance, shifts in physiology, and valance, or how we feel about the situation. To end, we have a lengthy discussion on some common sources of anxiety. Biology and Anxiety https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6690364/Deisseroth on Anxiety https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtCeIefq_PMDeisseroth on Autism and Anxiety https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oiKOX2lCmEPhysiological Sighs https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00474-8Jack Feldman https://bioscience.ucla.edu/people/jack-feldman/David Spiegel https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/david-spiegelJoseph LeDoux https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/joseph-e-ledoux.html(0:00) Intro; Comorbid Tendency and the DSM(2:56) Anxiety's role(3:42) Biology and responses of Anxiety; Amygdala and Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis; Avoidance, Physiology, Valance(7:48) Avoidance (Action)- Hypothalamus(9:11) Brief notes on Cortex(11:36) Back to the Hypothalamus(12:27) Physiology/Breathing (Body)- Parabrachial Nucleus; Physiological Sigh; Brainstem, Spine, and Body(17:48) Valance (Feelings)- Ventral Tegmental Area; direct or indirect exposure- it doesn't matter(20:00) Dopamine, Neuroplasticity, Side note on Testosterone, Multiple words have the same meaning(24:58) Common situations for Anxiety and Autism(35:58) Wrap Up, Reviews and Ratings, Contact Info

Awareness of the more uncommon multiple sclerosis symptoms can lead to an earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment. For instance, experiencing electrical shock sensations when bending the neck forward, known as Lhermitte's sign, may indicate an attack on the cervical spinal cord. Likewise, excruciating bolts of pain across either side of the face, called trigeminal neuralgia, can be caused by a MS relapse. The MS hug, an unfriendly, squeezing sensation around the torso, can respond to muscle relaxants and nerve pain medications. Some MS symptoms, like tingling in legs, only surface when exercising or overheated (Uhthoff's phenomenon). Vertigo, a spinning sensation, can be a sign of MS, especially when lasting days and accompanied by other symptoms like gait imbalance, facial numbness and double vision. Brainstem attacks may also lead to swallowing issues and shaky vision. While MS bladder issues are commonly addressed,  bowel problems, including constipation, urgency, incontinence and trouble evacuating, should not be overlooked. Overcoming stigma is essential to treat sexual dysfunction. Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews: Mary Ann Picone MD, Medical Director, MS Center at Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, New Jersey Bruce Hughes MD, Director of the Ruan Multiple Sclerosis Center, MercyOne, Des Moines, Iowa

Jamie and Jessica Robinson joined me to discuss their experience with a brain stem stroke from the perspective of both caregiver and patient. The post Recovering from a BRAINSTEM stroke – Jamie & Jessica Robinson appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

Happy Tuesday! Stanley is in more trouble after admitting they had lead in their cups. Capitol One and Discover are merging. The EU opened a formal investigation into TikTok. The first ever child has been cured of Brainstem glioma. There's a new reservation system at Mount Rainier National Park. "Last Week Tonight" will be posted much later to YouTube! NEWSLETTER ⬅️ Carnival of Cocktails! Sign up here to get your FREE Seattle Cocktail Club membership with code: CMA. THEN buy your tickets to Carnival of Cocktails at a discount here! What's Trending: https://go.shopmy.us/p-3717768 Play a game on The Morning Show Podcast: https://forms.gle/Bf6aPVTbEqmo4QoS6 Head to TheMorningShowPodcast.com for EVERYTHING we talk about. AG1 Deal: DrinkAG1.com/cma Seattle Gummy Company - code: CMA for 20% off https://seattlegummy.com/?ref=802 QUICK LINKS TO WATCH US LIVE, SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER, FOLLOW OUR SOCIALS HERE: https://www.flowcode.com/page/carlamarieandanthony Follow Carla Marie on Instagram Follow Anthony on InstagramSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Upper Cervical Chiropractic is growing. The importance of the neck An Upper Neck problem can affect the Brainstem, Blood vessels, CSF flow, the Vagus Nerve, and more.Upper Cervical Doctors have extra expertise and more training.There are ifferent techniques/ associations. Find all the techniques and websites listed hereWhat is a true specialist?What Do Upper Cervical Doctors do?Neurological examThermographyLegcheckImaging and measuring.No popping, pulling, or jerking.The most common reaction: You didn't do anything. Adjustment vs. manipulation. Holding is healing.Links related to this episode:ICA Upper Cervical Council'sList of Upper Cervical techniques and providersDCCJPWhat can a Diplomate do for you?Dr. Lenarz - How to help more with lessDr. Dwayne Hoskins - ThermographyDr. Tyler Evans - CBCT Scan To contact Ruth:806-747-2735 https://www.blairclinic.comruth@blairclinic.comhttps://www.facebook.com/rutelin

Unlock the secrets to your child's mind with our latest episode, as we journey through the fascinating landscape of brain development . Prepare to have the veil lifted on the brain's extraordinary capacity for change, particularly in the early years, and discover how the experiences we provide for our little ones lay the foundations for their future.From the crucial first three to five years of life, we unravel the tapestry of the brain's growth, emphasizing the need for genuine alignment between parental responses and the developmental stages of children. Non-traditional families, take note—you'll find pearls of wisdom here that speak directly to the heart of your unique situation. Our conversation spins a thread that connects the essential building blocks of brain development with tangible parenting strategies, underscoring the responsibility we hold in nurturing our children's blossoming minds.The episode zeroes in on the bedrock of brainstem development and its paramount role in basic body regulation and sleep. Drawing from a well of both personal insights and professional expertise, we offer actionable advice on crafting sleep routines and environmental tweaks to promote a sense of security and regulation in children. We also debate the merits of supplements like GABA and magnesium—always with a nod to professional medical advice—to support the intricate workings of our children's developing nervous systems. Tune in and learn how to navigate the delicate intricacies of your child's brain to enhance their growth, learning, and overall well-being.To Donate: https://secure.calfarley.org/site/Donation2?3358.donation=form1&df_id=3358&mfc_pref=TTo Apply:https://apply.workable.com/cal-farleys-boys-ranch/j/25E1226091/For More Information about Cal Farley's Boys Ranch:https://www.calfarley.org/Music:"Shine" -NewsboysCCS License No. 9402

This podcast episode is going to change your perspective about anxiety. In this episode, I interview Dr. Jared Zeigler who is a functional neurologist. He talks at length about the neurological basis of anxiety and how he uses different healing techniques to cure anxiety.                               According to functional neurology, anxiety is one of the primitive responses of our brain. As a result of traumatic brain injury, the brain goes into a reflexive state. When you are anxious, your brain is actually looking out for you. Emotional stress, physical stress, mold and parasites infestation, gut infections, autoimmune disorders, and head injury all can trigger the reflexive part of the brain, brainstem.                               Brainstem controls our basic reflexes that we can't consciously control while frontal cortex is responsible for our conscious activities. It turns out our brainstem is stronger than the the cortex, which is why we are unable to control anxiety by conscious thought process. Over time, the learned behavioral reflexes get hardwired in our brain and control us. To cure the brain from toxic patterns, functional neurologists use different activation techniques that stimulate selective parts of the brain. Tune in to know more about this game changing approach to healing anxiety and its benefits to restore your mental health!

9/20//23 - Dr. Jack Stockwell, www.forbiddendoctor.com & www.jackstockwell.com Phone: 866-867-5070. Included in this podcast: learn why Dr. Jack elected not to go to medical school, he choose to focus his medical training on the top bone in the spine, he recommends a book called "Crooked: Man-Made Illness Explained," a person's face and symmetry tells a lot about their health, many illnesses can be traced to the brain stem and Dr. Jack believes the damage don by Aluminum in vaccines, 250 micrograms of Aluminum can be found in Hepatitis B Vaccine that is given to all children within. the first 24 hours of birth and a warning, the new COVID Vaccine has had no human testing.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/3010085/advertisement

Interesting Case.

Have you experienced a frustrating moment of “Why is my brain not working”? If so, you're not alone - as a matter of fact, it was a recurring question that functional neurologist Titus Chiu was asked when treating patients suffering from brain symptoms. By taking a deep dive into neuroscience and natural medicine, Titus was able to identify 6 regions that cause the majority of brain symptoms!  So what are they? In this episode of Essential Alchemy, Jodi sits down with Titus to discuss some of these regions - what they do, how they affect our brain, and different exercises and essential oils you can use to create balance. Tune in to learn about: [02:15] - The Brainstem (stress, resilience and digestive function) [13:07] - Prefrontal Cortex (patience and presence) [25:07] - Limbic System (emotional regulation) [35:34] - Finding balance (essential oils and movement) [40:34] - Discover top brain healing secrets with Titus ✪ Which areas of your brain are out of balance? Click here to take the Brain Quiz ❂ Jodi Cohen: Facebook: Vibrant Blue Oils Discussion Group | Instagram: @VibrantBlueOils | Youtube: Vibrant Blue Oils Oils mentioned: Adrenal Blend: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/adrenal-essential-oil/ Parasympathetic: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/parasympathetic-essential-oil/ Immune Support: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/immune-support-essential-oil/ Frankincense: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/frankincense-essential-oil-2/ Lemon: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/lemon-essential-oil-copy/ Grapefruit: https://shop.vibrantblueoils.com/product/grapefruit-essential-oil-5-ml/

Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kevin Most joins the Steve Cochran Show to discuss the discovery of Alzheimer's disease, how to tell the difference between old age forgetfulness & dementia, and treatments to slow the progression of this disease.  Read all of Dr. Most's notes below and listen every Tuesday morning for more medical news. June is Alzheimer's Awareness month Alzheimer's is named after Dr. Alzheimer, who in 1906 had a patient who died with what was then unusual mental illness- after she died he examined her brain and found abnormal clumps, now known to be amyloid and tangled fibers Alzheimer's is the most common cause of Dementia, accounting for 60-80% of all dementia cases- Close to 7 million Americans are living with dementia, 230,000 in Illinois alone Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death The number of cases is felt to be much higher as many cases will go undiagnosed and untreated There is no blood test or screening test to predict Alzheimer's , the diagnosis is made after symptoms are noted, by this time the disease has caused significant damage The age group of over 65 is growing dramatically so the number of cases of dementia is expected to rise. 1 in 9 adults over the age of 65 is in some stage of Alzheimer's We do not have enough long term care facilities or care givers for the expected increase in cases. It is thought that Alzheimer's begins 20 years before memory loss or other symptoms begin, stressing how important it is for research to work on early detection Alzheimer's moves thru stages- Mild- some memory loss- cognitive function decreases- wandering- getting lost- paying bills a problem- personality and behavior changes Moderate- loss of language control, sensory processing- memory loss is worse- difficulty learning new things- difficulty carrying out multitask steps- getting dressed- Severe-  loss of ability to communicate- completely dependent on others for their care- mobility is limited The greatest risk factor is age, but Alzheimer's is not a part of normal aging Rosalynn Carter shared diagnosis of Dementia this past week 10 Early Signs of Alzheimer's Memory that disrupts daily life- forgetting recently learned information- asking the same question over and over. With age related change- we will forget names or events but remember them later Challenges in planning or problem solving- signs include things as common as following a recipe, or keeping track of monthly bills Difficulty completing familiar tasks- like driving to a familiar location, organizing a grocery list Confusion with time and place- lose track of dates and seasons, forgetting where they are or how they got there Vision problems that may lead to difficulty with balance or reading, difficulty judging distances Trouble following or joining a conversation. Stop in middle of a conversation and have no idea how to continue, Difficulty naming a familiar object Misplacing things or placing objects in unusual places and then be unable to retrace steps Poor judgement or decision making- may notice this with money decisions or even grooming Withdrawal from work or social activities- unable to converse in a group, or keeping up with a team activity Changes in mood/personality-  confusion- suspicious- depressed- fearful Basics of the brain Made up of 3 main parts- Cerebrum-memory- problem solving- thinking- feeling- movement- vision.  Cerebellum- coordination and balance Brainstem- connects the brain to the spinal cord- controls breathing- heart rate- blood pressure The brain uses a lot of energy and oxygen- it uses about 25 % of oxygen and fuel, yet doesn't weigh much as a percentage The brain works with chemicals and electrical activity- amazing- think about it, you see something or read something and an electrical and chemical activity stores that in your brain for future use. Your brain tells your arm to move whether you are doing surgery, playing an instrument or taking out the garbage. It tells you what to do and how to do it. In Alzheimer's  we see brain cell death and plaques and tangles making the communication between cells impossible When these healthy connections are stopped those brain cells then die In Alzheimer patients proteins called beta amyloid clump together and build plaques- these block the areas where the signals in the brain occur. The progression of this illness follows a pattern of spread in the brain. Cause of Alzheimer's There is not a single cause of Alzheimer's that has been identified. There are risk factors- age- family history-head injury- heart/head connection Treatment options for Alzheimer's Recently there have been medications that have shown to slow  the pace of Alzheimer's by a third There are 2 that are close to approval- ADUHELM and LEQEMBI – these are placed on an accelerated approval The  most recent medication is an  antibody  that is designed to attack beta amyloid- DONANEMAB- they also are looking for accelerated approval. Medicare announced Thursday that it will cover drugs that are granted full approval. For a drug to go from accelerated approval to full approval more clinical trials are required. RUSH and U of C, are all participating in current trials, awaiting now to see what trials will open for more patients Each of these medications is expected to cost over $25,000 a year, placing them out of reach for most patients. Will Medicare be able to push for a lower cost? These medications appear to slow the build up of the amyloid, thus slowing the progression of the disease The latest drug from Lilly--- Donanemab, was given to 1700 individuals, it was given as a monthly infusion- pace of disease was slowed by 30-35%, it also improved daily functions The medication is given once a month by infusion. The medication worked so well that over half of the individuals were able to stop the medication within one year. The patients who stopped taking the medication are continued to be monitored to see if the amyloid returns and at what rate Plaque buildup of amyloid is the hallmark of Alzheimer's, it was unclear what role amyloid played. There are individuals with no signs of dementia yet still have significant amyloid Many drugs are in development focused on slowing amyloid, or breaking down amyloid, even though the link is not clear, it is part of the of the development it appears This study shows that removing the amyloid, slows the cognitive decline in patients with early Alzheimer's Lilly plans on filing for approval within the next 2 months and will be asking for accelerated approval This is exciting as other drugs are in the pipeline also looking at the slowing of amyloid plaque as well as removing plaque. Now that we have 2 drugs that attack beta amyloid with some success it has convinced scientists they are on the right track These drugs work in the early stages of Alzheimer's, so now we know the key to success here will also be in early diagnosis. Studies are now going on using Artificial Intelligence looking at MRI scans and other medical data points and identifying Alzheimer's before symptoms or at an early stage, Studies are  being done at Mass General, Emory and University of Florida Once the algorithm is set and tested this could be expanded across the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The brainstem is at the “cornerstone” of brain development.

Live in KetoCon Austin 2023! Greg, a brainstem stroke survivor and advocate for the carnivore diet. Lorenz and Greg discuss Greg's journey to a healthier lifestyle through the carnivore diet, including his experience with stroke and how the diet played a role in his recovery. They also touch on the topic of health and what it means to be healthy. The conversation takes place in Greg's RV, which he has transformed into a "Carnivorous journey vehicle."Show Links:Link to Greg's bio:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thervcarnivore/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thervcarnivoreCall to action for listeners: Follow ketones and Coffee Podcast on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/keton.esncoffee ), Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsZZmBEenvZnU8tA1npAODA ), and Twitter ( https://twitter.com/KetonesP ) for updates and new episodes.Support the ShowAre you struggling with symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders?1 on 1 CoachingBook your FREE Discovery call HERE ~~~~~~Estrella by Audiorezout is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.~~~~~~ Hey Ketones Krew! I have a Free Keto guide on how to calculate your Macros Correctly In this guide, You will learn the importance of each of the macronutrients and how to calculate your macros to meet your weight loss goals. There's a lot of Versions of keto out there that are notthe best way of doing keto.Download: FREE GUIDE DOWNLOADSupport the show

The Midbrain is the topmost part of the Brainstem, located between the Forebrain and the Hindbrain, and serves as a role in integrating the brain and the Spinal Cord, just like the Pons and Medulla. The Midbrain itself is made of three main formations, the Colliculi, the Tegmentum, and the Cerebral Peduncles, and is directly connected to the Oculomotor and Trochlear Cranial Nerves, controlling eye and eyelid movement. In this fast-facts episode, Edward reviews the Midbrain's form and function, as well as the key features that make us who we are.To create this episode, I used information provided by the University of Queensland's Queensland Brain Institute which can be found here: https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-anatomy/midbrainNo statement, phrase, or episode of this series—or any episode in this podcast—are intended to treat, diagnose, cure, prevent, or otherwise change your mind or body in any form or manner. This podcast—and this series especially—is meant purely for education purposes for the common person. Please do not rely on any of the information I share in this podcast in any way for your medical or psychological treatment. If you feel that you may have a condition mentioned or not mentioned in this podcast, do not come to me. Instead, immediately go to a trusted psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, counselor, or other reliable source of information and help for further guidance. Never disregard professional, psychological, or medical advice—nor delay in the seeking of this advice—because of something that you have heard or read from this podcast, this podcast's episode descriptions, this podcast's promotional materials, or any other information explicitly or implicitly generated from this podcast.-----If you love this podcast, show your support by rating, subscribing, and downloading!  The best way to support me is by sharing this podcast with others—the more people can learn, the better we can understand the crazy world we live in :DI realize that this episode is coming back after a very long hiatus--I have had a few issues with my podcast server, but the rest of the episodes of this season will be published in the next few days :) Sorry for the delays and thank you for your patience!

It's back to basics this week with an overview of brainstem anatomy! While the brainstem is a complicated area of the nervous system some key principles can help it to be remembered more easily! Find me on Twitter @Drkentris (https://twitter.com/DrKentris) Email me at theneurotransmitterspodcast@gmail.com https://linktr.ee/DrKentris The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of any associated organizations. The information in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and does not represent specific medical/health advice. Please consult with an appropriate health care professional for any medical/health advice.

In this episode, we review the high-yield topic of Brainstem from the Neurology section. Follow Medbullets on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/medbullets Instagram: www.instagram.com/medbulletsofficial Twitter: www.twitter.com/medbullets --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/medbulletsstep1/message

This EP I bring back a leading expert in the world of applied neurology, Matt Bush.  For the past 15+ years, Matt has been educating human performance practitioners on how to use concepts in neuroscience to improve outcomes in injury management and performance.  First with Z-Health as the lead instructor, and now through his own business, Next Level Neuro.Jaime and I brought Matt in to help us integrate applied neurology into the practice of Reconditioning and it has changed how we practice and the results we help our clients achieve. We spent this last year in an intense mentorship with NLN to further build on what we first learned so that we could continue to bring the practice of Reconditioning to an even higher level.In this podcast, Matt and I discuss some fundamentals of this neuroscience exploration, what it could mean for your practice, and the outcomes you seek to achieve.Reconditioning follows a step-by-step process of integrating applied neurology in our three courses, R1 Foundations (proprioceptive concepts), R2 Designs (Visual and Vestibular considerations), and the R3 CoLab (Cortex, Brainstem, and the Cerebellum).  Please have a look at our course curriculum today at https://reconditioninghq.com/If you wish to see what Matt is doing with his company Next Level Neuro, he can be found at https://www.nextlevelneuro.com/If you liked this EP, please take the time to rate and comment, share with a friend, and connect with us on social channels IG @Kingopain, TW @BuiltbyScott, LI+FB Scott Livingston. All things LYM at www.LYMLab.com, download your free Life Lab Starter Kit today and get busy living https://lymlab.com/free-lym-lab-starter/

Ricky Mason is the Founder and CEO of BrainSTEM University, a Louisville-based edtech company. BrainSTEM started as a STEM education program, helping youth in underserved areas access quality STEM education. As more students transitioned to learning online during Covid, they've grown to be an edtech company that develops teacher tools to enable all teachers and students to be more creative and dive deeper into learning. Our discussion covers Ricky's extensive STEM background, a breakdown of how BrainSTEM equips students and teachers to dive deeper into STEM topics, and the struggles that Ricky has faced while trying to raise capital from this region. Learn more about BrainSTEM University at BrainSTEMU.com Visit us at MiddleTech.com Take our survey for a $5 Startbucks gift card here. Twitter Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Logan's Twitter Tj's Twitter Middle Tech is proud to be supported by: Our presenting sponsor, KY Innovation Endeavor Midwest Render Capital

The Better Show brings Stephan Guyenet to the show this week to talk his new book The Hungry Brain. Stephan has a BS in Biochemistry and a PHD in Neuroscience, with over 12 years in the neuroscience research field. The founder of Red Pen Reviews, an unbiased, non-profit, evidence-based review company that scores popular health and nutrition books available for the public based on their sources. We begin chatting about the evolution of diets and the level of obesity in society, as well as the changes that have driven the BMI increase over the past century. We venture into the science side of the episode to talk about Lipostats, the Hypothalamus and the brain stem. We discuss the behavioural side of obesity, and the reward circuits related to highly palatable food and consumption. We explore the solutions available to lose weight, and what are the best options for differing levels of obesity. We finish off the episode by talking about debunking sources and misinformation around nutrition and health. Are you A Healthcare Practitioner? Join The Estima Certification Program HereJoin the Hello Betty AMA here: https://www.hellobetty.club/ama We'd like to thank our sponsors, The DNA  Company - $50 discount using code "DRSTEPHANIE" at checkout. https://www.thednacompany.com/drstephanieHVMN Ketones - get 10% off your order with Promo Code “STEPHANIE”  https://hvmn.me/STEPHANIEAthletic Greens - redeem an exclusive offer here: athleticgreens.com/stephanieLMNT Electrolytes - A FREE 7-flavor sample pack! - https://www.drinklmnt.com/DrEstimaOrion Red Light Therapy - Use the code STEPHANIE10 for 10% off + 40% off storewide until September 5th https://www.orionrlt.ca/?ref=StephanieLumen - get $25 off your order with Promo Code “DRSTEPHANIE25” https://www.lumen.me/?fid=1799Ancestral Supplements - Use Promo Code “ASA10” for 10% off any purchase https://shop.ancestralsupplements.com/discount/Tribe10?rfsn=5900205.652074&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=5900205.652074PRIMEADINE - get 10% Off your Order with Promo Code “DRSTEPHANIE10” - https://oxfordhealthspan.com/products/best-spermidine-supplementBIOOPTIMIZERS - receive 10% off your order with Promo Code "ESTIMA" - www.biooptimizers.com/drstephanie Episode Overview: 0:00 Introduction2:00 Stephen's Discovery of Obesity Research 8:00 Brain's Impact on Hunger & Obesity 19:30 When Fatness is a Good thing23:30 Obesity from an Evolutionary Lens32:00 Historical Trend of Obesity56:00 Lipostat & Leptin  1:09:00 Brainstem's Satiety Role 1:33:30 Tools to Circumvent Weight Gain   1:48:30 Red Pen's Empirical Reviews2:12:00 Conclusion Follow Me On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.stephanie.estimaGet yourself a copy of my best-selling book, The Betty Body - https://bettybodybook.comJoin the Hello Betty Community here - https://hellobetty.club Stephan's Links:The Hungry Brain Book Linkhttps://www.redpenreviews.org/