Blog Post Comments – First or Last? #RRBC @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB

When you’re creating a blog post, how many times do you consider the order of your comments in that creation?  This post won’t be news to some of you, but for others who have never given the order of your comments any thought, this quick tip is just for you.

When someone comments on your posts, most often, if they are voracious readers like I am and will read absolutely anything, they will return again and again to continue to read the comments, if there is an interesting discussion going on about that post.  If that’s the case, no one wants to have to continually scroll through all the comments they’ve already read, to get to the latest ones.

It is for this reason that the order of your comments do matter.  In your Settings, there is a feature that asks which order you prefer your comments to display as. …

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COVID-19: The President’s Infection (Part 1 of 4)

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

COVID-19: The President’s Infection (Part 1 of 4)

by

Columbia University Professor Emeritus, Dr. David Figurski

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

(Disclaimer: The World Health Organization <WHO> has officially named the new coronavirus as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes as COVID-19. Because the majority of people, including much of the press, commonly refer to the virus as “COVID-19,” to avoid confusion I use COVID-19 as the name of the virus in this post.)

This is an unusually long post, so I’ve divided it into four parts. It is easy to read, even though it’s filled with much information.

David H. Figurski, Ph.D & Survivor of Brain Injury

The complete story of the President’s COVID-19 infection and treatment is not known by the public. Virologist, Dr. Vincent Racaniello, interviewed Dr. Daniel Griffin, a New York City physician who has been treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients since the beginning of the…

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Book Review Not a Blueprint, It’s the Shoe Prints that Matter Nine Norstrom

Apollo's Raven

Not a Blueprint, It’s the Shoe Prints that Matter: A Journey Through Toxic Relationships by Nina Norstrom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not A Blueprint, It’s the Shoe Prints that Matter: A Journey Through Toxic Relationships, is a memoir of Nina Norstrom. In the author’s note, she broadly defines that a toxic relationship can be with people, alcohol, disease, and our internal emotions to mention a few. The memoir provides an overview of Nina’s life journey, beginning in her childhood growing in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father who abuses her mother. The author’s daughter, China, is born out of wedlock as a result of a liaison with a married man. Although she continues seeking relationships with males so China can have a father figurehead, these relationships don’t work out. The one driving force that motivates the author to overcome obstacles is to provide for her daughter…

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Welcome to #RRBC #Writers’ #Conference & #Book #Expo – #WCBE20!

via Welcome to #RRBC #Writers’ #Conference & #Book #Expo – #WCBE20!

New NEWS: Dr. David Figurski Speaks Out About Coronavirus

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

Dr. David Figurski Speaks Out About Coronavirus

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

Professor David Figurski        Columbia University College of Physicians &Surgeons

“In graduate school, I worked with a virus that infects bacterial cells (bacteriophage T1). One T1 virus particle takes about 10-12 minutes to break open the E. coli cell and release over 100 new virus particles. Each new particle can infect a cell and produce over a hundred new virus particles. So, 10-12 minutes later, there are 10,000 viruses. I could do some experiments in the morning and have the results that afternoon.

Random Petri Plate

To make stocks of the virus, we would infect a late culture of bacteria. A couple of hours later, all the bacterial cells were broken open, leaving only virus.

Coronavirus

Animal viruses, like coronavirus, probably take hours to reproduce, but each infected cell produces at least a thousand new virus particles.

Consequently, I…

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Past Blast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly: TED Interview

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

“Gabby Giffords & Mark Kelly: TED Interview”

(originally published April 28, 2014)

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

When TED interviewer, Pat Richards, asked former Arizona Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords (who is recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury caused by a gunshot wound to her head), if she wanted the “old” Gabby Giffords back or whether she was embracing the “new” version of herself, Gabby emphatically said, “The New One! … Better! Stronger! Tougher!”

Listen to the interview – “Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly: Be passionate. Be courageous. Be your best.”

Gabby and Mark are working for a safer world. See Americans for Responsible Solutions.

(Photo compliments of TED.)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed are not necessarily mine.)

As I say after each post:

Please leave a comment by clicking the blue words “Leave a Comment” below this post.

Feel free to follow my blog. Click on…

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Survivors SPEAK OUT! . . . . Cheri Marie Johnson

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

Survivors SPEAK OUT! Cheri Marie Johnson

presented by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

1. What is your name? (last name optional)

Cheri Marie Johnson

2. Where do you live? (city and/or state and/or country) Email (optional)

Hayward, Wisconsin, USA

3. On what date did you have your brain injury? At what age?

September 11, 2016      I was 24.

4. How did your brain injury occur?

I fell down 27 stairs.

5. When did you (or someone) first realize you had a problem?

I was out with my dad. A person from the establishment saw me fall instead of going to the restroom. The doors to the men’s room and ladies’ room were right next to each other, but I was found at the bottom of the stairs – unconscious. So, I was life-flighted to North Memorial Hospital. It was the best TBI (traumatic brain injury) ICU (intensive care unit) near me.

6…

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TBI Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knitting through the Honeymoon

An amazing honeymoon tale!

Surviving Traumatic Brain Injury

Knitting through the Honeymoon

by Liza Spears

presented

by

Donna O’Donnell Figurski

I’ve been married for almost seven months. Since my wedding, I’ve knit twenty-five hats, five sweaters, three scarves, and one blanket.

I started my first “married life” knitting project on the third day of my honeymoon. It was a ribbed seed stitch hat in my wedding colors–deep reds and purples. I pretended that it was for my husband, even though I knew there was way no he’d wear such a feminine pattern.

I started the hat over more times than I can count. I didn’t start over because of any mistakes–I hadn’t dropped a stitch or miscounted any rows. The pattern wasn’t complex. I just knew each time I finished that it wasn’t quite right. Every time I got to the last row of the hat, I’d finish as instructed–threading the yarn through the remaining stitches and pulling it…

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Blog Tour Book Review – Left: A Love Story by Mary Hogan

Ms. Nose in a book

About Left

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (June 19, 2018)

In this beautifully crafted novel from the author of the critically-acclaimed Two Sisters, comes the story of a woman who retreats into a fantasy world on New York City’s Upper West Side as she slowly loses her once whip-smart husband to dementia—perfect for fans of Still Alice.

When life falls apart, a little fantasy goes a long way…

It started as a dream vacation in Spain, with Fay and Paul Agarra enjoying all the delights of a European holiday. A respected New York City judge, Paul has always been the man Fay can rely on, no matter what. When he inexplicably disappears from a Barcelona street corner, Fay knows something is terribly wrong. Once reunited, Paul shrugs off the episode as a simple misunderstanding—but Fay suspects her almost perfect life has taken a dark and sudden turn.

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Resort Vaca Over

Penny,
I admire your spirit and embrace your journey. You are truly a Trooper. And deserving of an honorable mention. You’ve taken control of your destiny. May you continue to stand T A L L, you are truly a GI A N T!

Penny's Blog

Well, I don’t know how many of you teammates have had the luxury of a 3 week, all-inclusive, 24/7 complete room service, resort vacation like I concluded at Emory University Hospital last Friday evening!

Whew, talk about feeling loved and cared for – it was overwhelming! The first week was pretty touch and go but the medical team, family, friends and Gods strength hoisted, encouraged and kept telling me I could make it. Over the next 2 weeks every doctor told me I went from being the weakest patient on the floor to the strongest. Those were angel words! Great things started popping as my Philly popped THE question and now we have a wedding to plan. Hurray!

As far as treatment goes, I got my 3 weeks of whole brain radiation during the hospital stay. I’m a little unclear what’s next after this 2 week wash period and see…

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