Kick It With Donna episode #63 - My 10 Year Anniversary
Anniversaries celebrate a special occasion.  February 2019 marks my ten year anniversary of surviving an ATV accident.  This accident left me with a TBI and a few injuries that dramatically changed my life.

Show notes:  On February 7, 2009, A friend and I went on an ATV ride at Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, TX.  I remember the first five minutes and nothing else.  The manager placed an unmarked chain over a cattle guard.  I did not see it.  The ATV flipped up and threw me off and then landed promptly on the left side of my head.  I was airlifted to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth.  I was in the ICU for 49 days.  I then spent 3 weeks at Baylor Rehab and six months at Centre for Neuro Skills.  By September 2009, I was finally able to go home.

As a result of my injuries, I was no longer able to work.  Hello long term disability!  Working a full time job was not in my future.  I needed to reinvent myself.  I wrote a book called Headstrong/Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury without Losing my Mind.  A few years later, I wrote another book called Heartstrong/Overcome Obstacles and Live Life to the Fullest.

Over the course of these ten years, I’ve had so many wonderful things happen.   I reconnected with my dad and brother after a 27 year lapse of communication.  My daughter and I are forging a strong bond after many years of butting heads.  I’ve gone down the tough love road with my son (one of the reasons why my daughter and I were head butting) after many years of enabling.

I spend a significant amount of  time analyzing my MO to better understand how my reaction response inhibits my growth.  If I am in denial, this is a cop out.  If I act in anger, nothing positive comes from that.