We’re celebrating 200 episodes with Joe, Lauren as well as special guest and our producer, Felice! They reminisce on some of their favorite episodes and what our plans are for the future including Joe’s YouSoRock Survivor To Thriver Program and expanding our support for the community. Plus Felice nerds out on the production for our episodes and how she uses sound design along with our editor Marcellus to tell brain injury survivor guest stories. What is your favorite episode? Please let us know on our socials!

As we continue to spread stroke awareness for Stroke Awareness Month, we’re also spreading awareness about mental health as May is always Mental Health Awareness Month. In this episode, Joe is chatting with his good friend and fellow stroke survivor, Mimi Hayes. Mimi is an author and comedian so she’s the perfect guest to chat about the benefits of laughing and comedy when it comes to mental health and stroke recovery. They talk about how the use comedy as a tool to help them cope with the ups and downs of the recovery journey. What mental health tools do you use to help during brain injury recovery? Please share on our socials!

In this episode, Joe is chatting with Hannah Davidson, a stroke survivor, mother, and business owner. They talk about her experience of recovering from a stroke while balancing motherhood, supporting the brain injury survivor community, and her experience being one of Joe’s first beta clients in his Survivor To Thriver program. If you are a mother and stroke survivor or know any stroke warrior moms, tag them on our socials! We want to celebrate you!

May is not only Stroke Awareness Month, but also Mental Health Awareness Month so in this episode, we’re chatting about the mental health impact strokes can have on survivors. Joe and our producer (and his partner) Felice talk about how Joe copes with mental health post-stroke and what tools he uses including humor. Plus, they touch on how stroke is represented in pop culture like in the classic episode of Seinfeld called The Alternate Side. How do you cope with mental health post-stroke or brain injury? Please share on our socials!

This episode is a candid look at our host Joe’s experience with catching COVID after over 2 years of avoiding it. He talks about his symptoms including extended fatigue and body aches. This is his candid account of dealing with COVID as a stroke survivor. If you or someone you know is a brain injury survivor experiencing COVID for the first time, please share on our socials. We’re here for emotional and moral support!

In this episode, Joe chats with our friend and fellow stroke survivor Zavdy Ortega who just celebrated her 4-year stroke anniversary or stroke-iversary as we call it. They chat about her experience having a stroke while being a mother and how finding community was key to her recovery. Zavdy shares her incredible story of losing 1/4 of her brain and skull which helped save her life. Plus, she’s also a big nerd like us and shares details about her Star Wars-themed wedding. If this episode resonates and you’re looking for community, please connect with us on our socials!

Family is not always the one you were born with. In this episode, Joe goes solo talking about his perspective on family, especially post-brain injury. He dives into his own family and upbringing from moving around a lot to losing touch to now reconnecting with long-lost family and the hope it has given him. He talks about the importance of having a “chosen” family including friends, survivors, and loved ones who have been key to his recovery. Do you have a “chosen” family? Please share with us on our socials!

Brain injury awareness month is wrapping up, but we’re still bringing the awareness year-round! In this episode, our host Joe is chatting with Tania Saiz about how they learned to advocate for themselves and better work with their doctors throughout recovery. They also chat about how they chose to grow and evolve out of our brain injuries and how connecting with other survivors has helped them feel supported through their evolving journeys. If you know any brain injury survivors or are one yourself, please reach out to us on our socials for support!

We’re continuing to spread awareness for Brain Injury Awareness Month in this episode by sharing various ways to support a loved one through brain injury recovery. Oftentimes, it is challenging for someone who has never experienced a brain injury to support their friend or family member who has suffered a brain injury. Our host Joe and his partner/producer Felice are discussing how support through brain injury recovery evolves and changes depending on what stage you’re in. They offer advice on how best to show up for your loved ones as they go through their brain injury recovery journey. Do you have some tips we missed for supporting brain injury survivors? Please let us know on our socials!

In this episode, Joe is exploring the first-year journey of recovery with actor, director, and stroke survivor, Misha Montana. It’s her 1-year stroke anniversary and she shares her experience thus far including the challenges she’s faced professionally and personally as well as figuring out how to navigate her new normal post-stroke. If you’re a stroke survivor, what are some challenges you overcame in your first year of recovery? Please share on our socials!