It’s Joe’s 6th stroke-iversary. On August 4, 2016, he suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke that changed his life forever. In this episode, Joe processes the anniversary of his stroke with his friend Mackenzie Lea, a chronic neuro illness survivor suffering from trigeminal neuralgia. After 6 years, Joe is realizing that every year feels different post-stroke. He talks with Mackenzie about how much connecting with other survivors, helps both of them cope with their deficits emotionally and physically. They also talk about Joe’s vision moving forward and how he plans to support the brain injury survivor community even more deeply through his coaching programs and free resources including virtual support groups and events. What kind of virtual events do you want us to create for our community? We want to support YOU! So let us know what you need to support you through brain injury recovery. Let us know by tweeting @theneuronerds on Twitter.

Having a positive attitude post-brain injury is key to recovery. In this episode Joe is chatting with a Cynthia Dyke, a TBI survivor with infectious positivity. They talk about the importance of wearing seatbelts to prevent brain injury in an accident and dealing with bad bedside man from doctors. They also touch on connecting with the community and the gift of a second chance to live life to the fullest after brain injury. How do you live life to the fullest and appreciate each day? Share with us on by tagging @theneuronerds on Twitter

In this episode, Joe is chatting with TBI survivor Christa Moritz. She shares her experience of sustaining a traumatic brain injury from a bicycle accident. They talk about the importance of protecting the brain from trauma by taking safety measures like wearing a helmet while riding a bike. Plus, Christa is a dancer so she loves everything about expressing herself through body movement so she shares how she is structuring her recovery goals around her love of self-expression through dance.

In this episode, Joe is chatting with Morena Fornaciari, a stroke survivor from Brazil. Morena is all about positivity and they talk about how important it is to keep an optimistic mindset throughout the ups and downs of recovery. She shares her journey of going from learning to walk again to dancing again! Her ability to utilize dance and her love of applying makeup as a means of physical and occupational therapy is a true inspiration. What are some passions you have and use to help with your brain injury recovery? Please share on our socials!

It’s that time of year for our host Joe – the period between his birthday and stroke-iversary (the anniversary of his stroke). It’s been 6 years since he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and in this special solo episode, Joe is reflecting on what he’s learned about living, how he lives each day in gratitude and his hopes and dreams for the future. This episode is for anyone who has gone through a traumatic health crisis like a stroke. There is hope on the other side. If you’re a brain injury survivor or have someone in your life who is, please connect with us on our socials. The NeuroNerds are here to help!

This episode is all about creativity and brain injury recovery. Mimi Hayes is back on the show chatting with Joe about how having comedy as a creative outlet has helped her through her stroke recovery. As she gets ready to head to Scotland for her second appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, she reminisces about her first experience at Fringe as a brain injury survivor including falling off the stage! Joe and Mimi also chat about building opportunities to connect with other survivors through sharing their stories.

It’s Pride Month and we are celebrating LGBTQ+ brain injury survivors. In this episode, Joe is chatting with Michael Shutt, a stroke survivor, playwright, actor and gay man from Los Angeles. Michael shares what it was like growing up gay from when he realized he was gay at a young age. They talk about the lack of representation he experienced when he was younger and how that affected him. He also shares the immense support he received from the gay community after his stroke and how that has helped him through recovery.

In honor of Pride month, Joe is featuring episodes with LGBTQ+ brain injury survivors. In this first featured episode, Joe is chatting with Jamie Coyle, a stroke survivor from Rhode Island. She chats about the challenges of suffering a stroke as an adolescent while also coming out at a young age as a queer woman. We hope that by sharing these stories, we can help inspire and support other LGBTQ+ brain injury survivors. If you are an LGBTQ+ brain injury survivor, please connect with us on our socials!

Joe and Lauren are tired – after having Covid in the last couple of months on top of the other stresses of life not to mention living with brain injuries, they’re both pretty exhausted. So this episode is about the importance of sleep and rest and their correlation to mental health. They talk about the disruption of the circadian rhythm and its effect on mental health plus holistic remedies for various mental health ailments including sleep, hydration, exercise, therapy, and more. What are some ways you take care of your mental health? Please share on our socials!

In this episode Joe is chatting with TBI survivor Desirée Ford. After surviving an almost fatal car accident, Desirée shares her new lease on life and how she’s making the most of her second chance. Joe and Desirée talk about living life to the fullest and she shares her recovery journey thus far. How do you live life to the fullest? Please share with us on our socials!