October 3, 2024 • 26 mins
Consider your emotional baggage when you still want to learn! Today we are speaking with Laurel who had a brain injury at age 17. She lost her hearing in one ear, but that did not stop her. Laurel became an attorney, a licensed professional counselor (LPC), and is now a board member at BIN. She never gave up her quest to learn and graduated with her law degree and still teaches continuing LPC classes quarterly. Running four times a week keeps her recovery going strong. Although she still has challenges, including time management, swallowing, eating, and partial hearing loss, she has found great compensation strategies. Laurel manages her time by returning emails and phone calls to specified times. No matter your age when you have a brain injury, you can still achieve great things.
New episodes drop every other Thursday everywhere you listen to podcasts.
🎙️ Do you want to support us?
- Give us some feedback, tell us what bindwaves has meant for you by emailing us at bindwaves@thebind.org
- Leave us a rating or review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify
- Share episodes with your friends!
- Make a monthly or one time donation at www.thebind.org
- Follow bindwaves on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!
🧑💻Visit our website! thebind.org/bindwaves
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Instrumental
Carrie (00:10):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member of BIND,
and today we are welcomingLaurel, an attorney, a licensed
professional counselor, she alsohappens to be a survivor and a
member on the board here at theBrain Injury Network.
So welcome, Laurel.
Brian (00:25):
Welcome to BINDWAVES, the official podcast of the Brain
Injury Network of Dallas.
I'm Brian White, BIND'sExecutive Director.
On each episode, we'll beproviding insight into the brain
injury community.
We'll be talking to members andprofessionals regarding their
stories and the important roleof BIND's Clubhouse.
We work as a team to inspirehope, community, and a sense of
(00:49):
purpose to survivors,caregivers, and the public.
Thank you for tuning intoBINDWAVES.
BINDWAVES Let's get on with theshow.
Carrie (00:57):
Thank you so much for having me, Carrie, and really
excited about spending this timewith you.
I'm excited too.
It should be fun.
So for our listeners, I know youobviously, um, but for our
listeners, just tell us a littlebit about yourself.
Laurel (01:10):
Well, uh, right now I am an attorney and also a licensed
professional counselorsupervisor and my law practice,
uh, is composed of two differentaspects.
One is family law and divorce.
The other is statewiderepresentation of other
(01:33):
therapists in the state, such associal workers, LPCs, LMFTs,
psychologists, LCDCs, those typeof licenses.
The whole alphabet.
We don't know what any of thatmeans.
Carrie (01:47):
Mental health licenses.
Okay.
And you're also the mom of asweet little pet.
Laurel (01:53):
Oh, yes I am.
Miss Lucy Girl.
And I have a 20 year old son whois the most adorable person in
my life.
Carrie (02:04):
Wonderful.
Laurel (02:04):
Wonderful.
Carrie (02:05):
So, um, we're just going to jump off in the bat and say,
So, how did you acquire yourbrain injury?
Laurel (02:11):
I, I, um, had my brain injury when I was 17.
And I had numerous physicalissues before we actually
figured out what it was.
Um, so I had an ulcer.
Um, I had, the doctor thought Ihad diabetes.
(02:36):
Um, there were just numeroustests that I undertook.
Finally, I lost my hearing in myright ear.
And I was taken to anaudiologist and the audiologist
was the one that discovered thatI had a mass, um, in my head.
Carrie (02:58):
Oh, wow.
Laurel (02:59):
Um, and that that was the reason I couldn't hear.
And so, I, at that point, wentto, uh, the hospital, um, to
have some tests run to Find outa little bit more.
And this was, uh, I actually hadthe surgery, the, the surgery,
um, to remove the brain tumor,December 26, 1979.
(03:25):
And so at that time there was noMRIs, no PET scans, no
ultrasound and, um, CAT scanshad started to be used on
patients.
Um, early in the 1970s, so itwas actually still a very new
procedure, but it was one thatwas extremely helpful in
(03:50):
defining the fact that I had abrain tumor.
Carrie (03:53):
Wow, that's crazy to think that technology has come
so far.
So far.
We're so lucky, but so you were17, so you had your brain
surgery while you were still inhigh school.
That's correct.
I was my senior year.
Oh wow.
Did that impact, I mean, make itharder for you to graduate?
Did it take longer?
Or did you just power on throughand get it done?
Laurel (04:15):
I mean, I was not capable of studies for pretty
much my whole senior year.
Interestingly enough, I had doneenough of my classes so that the
only class that I really neededto Um, graduate was English.
(04:41):
And, um, the first part of theschool year, we didn't know yet
what I had.
And so I would just throw up inthe morning and go to school.
And it just got to be routineand I, it's just one of those
things that's kind of likeputting lobster in a pot where
(05:02):
it just gets warmer and warmerand warmer and you don't realize
it.
I mean, I was having so many,symptoms and I just kind of
managed day to day, um, and thenwhen they figured it out, it was
halfway through the year.
And so I pretty much had notreally done well or efficiently
(05:25):
in my first semester.
And, um, I had a really, reallynice English teacher named Mrs.
Crowe, um, at Richardson HighSchool, and she let me miss,
like, a whole section of school,and I'm not sure if they would
(05:48):
have done that today, but backthen, um, I mean, I was an honor
student, and I had, you know, Iwas in all honor classes, and an
excellent student, um, And, um,so she just let me not do stuff.
Um, and it really, uh, allowedme to graduate on time.
(06:14):
So, it's kind of interesting tothink back to that period of
time because Here, girls wereworried about what they were
going to wear to homecoming, andI was worried about whether I
was going to throw up that dayor not.
And, you know, other people wereworrying about what dress they
(06:34):
were going to wear to prom, andI was trying to figure out what
wig I was going to wear to prom.
So, it was definitely adifferent reality for me.
I had a very supportiveboyfriend, David Connell, and
his parents were wonderful.
Max and Pat Connell.
Um, and so, um, You know, it'sjust, it was a very different
(06:59):
experience for me than for mosthigh schoolers.
Carrie (07:03):
I would say so, um, that's great.
But it's good that you had asupport system, and it's good
that your teachers were thattrusting, because yeah, I don't
know that that would happentoday.
Yeah.
But, I mean, it's alsoimpressive that, I mean, a lot
of people with a brain injury,you know, we're It's hard to
study, even after we've gonethrough our recovery and our
(07:23):
cognitive training and all that,but you didn't only graduate
high school, you went on and gota law degree.
So that's pretty impressive.
So where did you go to lawschool and how did that all work
out?
Laurel (07:34):
Well, I, I had really started wanting to be a lawyer
when I was 15 or 16.
I'm not even sure why.
Um, it was, it was somethingthat not only was a goal of
mine, but it was something I wasgoing to do.
So, I didn't really let Or Ididn't try to let what had
(07:59):
happened to me interfere with myability to go on with school.
And for some reason I was ableto do it.
So, uh, I went to Baylor LawSchool, you know.
Sic em Bears.
Sic em Bears.
Um, had a, you know, really goodexperience there.
Small classes and, um, that wasdefinitely a really good law
(08:24):
school for me to go to.
Carrie (08:25):
It's a great school.
I'm biased, I went there too.
Not to the law school, but mycousin and my uncle went to the
law school.
It's, it's a good school.
It's a good school.
Yeah, awesome.
Well, um, I guess do you thinkthat your brain injury in any
way impacted your career as anattorney?
Laurel (08:43):
I don't think really as an attorney so much.
I mean, I think, Because I wentthrough that experience, and
then I went on after I became anattorney to go become a licensed
professional counselor, that Ithink really impacted my ability
(09:03):
to be a good attorney, meaningthe type of work I do is very
emotional, doing family law, andI think my experiences and my
education and background as anLPC, as a counselor, really
helps out with the family lawsituation.
Carrie (09:23):
What made you decide to get your LPC?
Was it just the way the law firmwas going or was there another
reason for that?
Laurel (09:30):
No, it didn't have anything.
In fact, when I started to doit, it was like a totally
separate thing in my mind.
And it was a desire of mine tolearn more.
One of the things that isdifferent now than back then in
(09:51):
the 70s when I had this is therewas no understanding of the
connection of counseling ormental health to brain injury.
And, you know, nowadays you havesocial workers that work in
children's hospitals, otherhospitals.
(10:12):
You have, uh, counselors thatwork, um, you know,
rehabilitation or the otherbrain injury rehabilitation
facilities.
And back then, there was just nounderstanding at all of the
connection between the medicalaspect of a brain injury and the
(10:33):
emotional aspect.
And I recognized that I had alot of emotional baggage,
obstacles, issues because of mybrain injury that had not been
dealt with that I wanted tolearn more about.
(10:56):
Um, and I think that's why Idecided to start going to
counsel, the counseling school.
Um, I mean, I started to go tocounseling and then I enjoyed it
so much, I was like, maybe thisis something that I could do.
So, I decided to take one classand see what it felt like for
(11:17):
me.
And, I just enjoyed it so much.
So I just kept going until I gotmy, uh, counseling degree.
And then I took my statelicense.
Carrie (11:31):
That's awesome.
That's really great.
Um, do you think that, becauseyou had a brain injury that,
that, like, helps you in your,to be a counselor?
Laurel (11:41):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely, because I can relateso much to so many things that
people talk about.
I mean, you said it yourself,I'm a survivor, which means
there have been experiences andthings that I've gone through.
I know that one thing that Iexperienced much more severely,
(12:02):
um, probably, uh, I don't know,10 years after my, my surgery
was, I had survivor's guilt.
Um, why was I able?
To, you know, fairly recover,um, at least it looks like that
(12:22):
from the outside that I'verecovered and able to go on to,
you know, I have two master'sdegrees.
I have a law degree and on paperit looks like a successful
resume.
Why was I able to do that?
And there's so many people whotried just as hard and who are
(12:45):
just as worthy that do not havethe same experiences.
Um, and so I know that that wassomething I really struggled
with for, for many years.
Carrie (12:59):
That's interesting.
Um, Because, I mean, we all knowevery brain injury is different.
I mean, the listeners have heardthis.
Y'all hear us say it all thetime.
Um, but that is one thing that Itry to tell new injuries, new
brain injury patients.
Don't compare yourself to otherbrain injury patients.
When you're in the big therapyroom and you're all working on
(13:20):
your PT and their PT and you seesomeone that you feel like has
had the exact same kind ofstroke as you, or whatever it
may be, and they're using boththeir arms and they're working
hard and you've got, like me,you've got one arm that just
won't work and won't function.
Don't focus on that other personand how well they're doing and
how bad you're doing.
You've got to focus on you andwhat you can do and work on it.
(13:42):
And like, like I said, my, youknow, my left arm has never come
back and I don't focus on thatas a negative.
I had a wonderful OT who taughtme.
How to live with that, with itnot being functioning, and so
I'm not, well, I'm not going tosay I'm not jealous.
I'm a little jealous, butfortunately I had finished
college before my brain injury.
I don't think I would even havethe energy or the desire to go
(14:04):
back and do that now, but thenagain, I'm a little older now
too, so.
Laurel (14:08):
Well, I think so much of societal expectations are in, in
some way, you know, hope.
People see that.
People experience that.
People know that.
Um, and there's so much unknownabout brain injuries and
(14:32):
appropriate ways to talk withpeople with brain injuries
about, um, kind of what's goingon with them.
Carrie (14:42):
Sure.
Yeah, and I think the counselingis, you know, a lot of people
don't realize maybe you do needcounseling.
I mean, I didn't want it.
But, you know, I took advantageof what I could and, but yeah, I
get that.
Um, but, so how do you use yourLPC now?
Do you use it within your lawfirm?
Or is that just, is it like twoseparate jobs?
Laurel (15:01):
For about ten years, I did two separate jobs.
Um, and then I decided to justfocus on my law career.
So, now I have, um, my LPClicense, but I do not practice
as an LPC at all.
I do not practice as acounselor.
So I just use my counselingskills with my family law
(15:26):
clients.
And obviously when I'm assistingcounselors with a complaint they
got with the state or, you know,needing a deposition or records
requests, something like that.
Of course, I'm able to draw uponboth my legal knowledge and also
(15:47):
my, my experience as an OPC.
Carrie (15:50):
That's awesome.
Okay.
Um, so, um, I'm going to take aquick little break here and just
remind our listeners to go aheadand click that like button,
click that share button.
If you're on YouTube, click thatnotify button.
Just click all those happybuttons.
Okay.
So, now, what was I going tosay?
Um, I guess one of the, um, oneof our members asked, so like,
(16:14):
what type of time managementskills do you use to go between,
well we didn't even talk aboutthat yet, let's back up for ask
that question.
So, I mentioned you're also onthe board here at BIND.
Correct.
So, how did that happen?
Laurel (16:29):
Really, it started because I started giving money
to BIND and the executivedirector would write me sweet
notes thanking me for thedonation and so at some point, I
was doing a lot of dog rescuestuff, which I really enjoyed.
(16:52):
At some point, I decided that Iwanted to make a change.
And so, I was aware of BIND, um,through kind of that
interaction.
And, um, so, yeah.
So here you are.
Here I am.
I do want to say though that Ido have, um, still have, uh,
(17:16):
symptoms of my brain tumor or mybrain injury that are not
readily noticeable.
Um, one of the difficulties Ihave is swallowing.
Um, and so, Um, I had to reallylearn to eat again.
And that swallowing is probablyone of the biggest problems I
(17:40):
still have.
Is choking on my food orswallowing or things like that.
Um, my hearing did not come back100%, but it's fairly good.
Um, and then I think you and Ihave talked before about the
fact that Every once in a whileI just become unconscious.
(18:02):
We all have those brain farts,yeah.
So, um, fortunately that's neverhappened while I've been at work
or while I've been in thecourtroom.
Um, you know, I think Godwatches out for me.
But, um, You know, I don't wantto give the impression that
everything's rosy for me.
(18:23):
Um, that I've, you know, 100percent recovered and I'm
totally fine.
Carrie (18:29):
Right.
I mean, we all say that, youknow, brain injury recovery is
forever and there are still, andI appreciate you admitting that,
because a lot of people thinkthat, Yeah, I mean you, you're
one of those that it's more ofthe silent disease, you know,
you look 100 percent normal, 100percent fine, there's nothing
wrong with you.
Um, so I appreciate you beinghonest and telling us that, you
know, there are days that youstill have fatigue or brain
(18:51):
farts or whatever you want tocall them and I'm, I was
laughing at you as you weretalking about the swallowing
because I had issues with thattoo.
I mean, A lot of, you know,stroke patients have that
problem and the aspiration andso it's kind of funny.
It's kind of a running joke hereat BIND.
Um, we have so many speechtherapists on staff and like
when we're eating lunch or drinkwater the wrong way and
(19:13):
someone's just coughing andcoughing and other people are
like freaking out and the speechtherapists are where they're
just going and they're justaspirating.
They're fine.
They'll be fine.
Just give them a minute.
Laurel (19:22):
So when I start start choking, you know, my my family
looks at me like, okay, is itgonna resolve by itself?
And then finally, if I'm stillchoking, choking, choking,
someone will come over and patme on the back and help me, you
know, dissolve, whatever, orresolve, whatever, and then I'm
(19:43):
like, okay, I'm fine again, so.
Fortunately, my family haslearned that they don't freak
out anymore.
Carrie (19:51):
Yeah, mine too.
Laurel (19:52):
Yeah, they've just kind of adjusted, right?
Carrie (19:55):
They kind of have to.
Again, it's not just us thathave the injury, it's the whole
family.
So they have to relearn how todo that.
Yeah, it's definitely a newinteresting thing and it's
awesome that um, I mean I knowyou got married since then too
so, you know, he's learned howto deal with that.
I know he helps you with a lotof stuff like your CECU training
(20:19):
and that's kind of, you know, Iknow you do a lot of that.
You do a lot of training for theLPCs, for other LPCs.
Laurel (20:25):
Yes, yes, I do.
I have almost a monthly webinarwhere I am able to, um, you
know, Give a one hour CEU.
Uh, my next one is October 4th.
And um, so I'll put a plug infor that.
(20:46):
Feel free to look at my websitelaurelclement.
com if you want to sign up.
Carrie (20:51):
Awesome.
Most of our listeners, I think,would know, but maybe not, and I
know, but I'll let you tell us.
What is a CEU?
Laurel (20:58):
Continuing Education Unit, and that is something that
a therapist, a licensedtherapist, would need yearly for
the stay.
Carrie (21:09):
Okay, yeah, so you have to have so many hours every year
to renew your license orwhatever it is.
Laurel (21:13):
Yeah, it's actually every other year, but You don't
want to wait until the last one.
Carrie (21:17):
Right, exactly.
So, now I'm going to go back tothat question I was going to ask
earlier.
So, what types of timemanagement skills do you use
that help you, like, travelbetween being a board member,
between being an attorney,between being an LPC, between
being Lucy's mom, between beinga mom mom, between being a wife?
I mean, that's a lot of hats.
Laurel (21:37):
That is a lot of hats.
One of the things that I havelearned to do is Narrow down my
methods of communication.
I don't give out my cell phoneto anybody but family members or
really close friends.
Um, I either text or email.
(21:58):
Um, I don't have, um, and evenif people do call me, I have a
voicemail message in anotherlanguage that usually, uh,
discourages people from leavinga message.
Um, and so, for me, narrowingdown the communication methods
(22:22):
really helped me to be able tokeep my calendar straight.
Carrie (22:28):
That's interesting.
That's a good idea.
What would you say is yourbiggest takeaway from your brain
injury?
I mean, like you said, you wereso young.
Laurel (22:39):
Well, for me, probably my health.
I, um, I have probably workedout four times a week for 45
years.
Good for you.
So I would say that not beingable to walk, um, not being able
(23:01):
to eat, not being able to writehas a extreme impact on your
appreciation, I think, for beingable to do those things.
And so, I really try toexercise, you know, and I love
(23:23):
exercising because I recognizethat that is one of the ways
that I can stay healthy and bein better health and not go back
to, uh, That person thatcouldn't even get out of bed.
Carrie (23:38):
Good for you.
Yeah, that's good.
I like that.
Um, so what advice would yougive to other survivors or new
survivors?
I should say it's maybe not justother other in general, but.
Laurel (23:48):
Well, I think you talked about it yourself And that is
recognize that every braininjury is different.
Recognize that everyone hasdifferent um, capabilities and
abilities.
I think one of the things that'sgreat about, you know, 2024 is
(24:09):
the fact that there are so manysupport groups.
I would encourage survivors totake up, um, you know, whatever
support group they can.
I know on the website for thepaid rehabilitation, they have a
list of, uh, Brain InjurySupport Groups all across the
(24:31):
state.
Um, I know there are numerousFacebook groups.
I belong to a couple of them.
And, um, I think there are waysto get support that was not
available years ago.
Carrie (24:46):
There's ways to get support that wasn't available 15
years ago when I had mine.
So, yeah, it definitely changesa lot.
But, Laurel, I want to thank youso much for coming and giving
some of your time and being sohonest and sharing with us
today.
Laurel (24:58):
Thank you so much Carrie, for having me.
I really appreciate and love theorganization of Bind and I think
it really contributes a lot.
Carrie (25:06):
Thank you so much.
Alright, thanks.
Okay.
Um, so I just wanna also remindour listeners, um, if you wanna
contact us, of course you canemail us at bind
ways@thebind.org or you can findus on our website@thebind.org
slash find waves.
Um, also you can find us onInstagram.
At BINDWAVES, I encourage you tofollow us on all those places.
(25:28):
Follow us on Facebook at justthe BIN Brain Injury Network.
And if you want to become amember or volunteer for more
information, again, visit thewebsite, thebind.
org.
And as we always say, don'tforget to like, share, subscribe
on all your favorite platforms.
Remember, if you want to watchus, we're on YouTube, and you
can say you can watch us andlisten to us there.
(25:49):
And don't forget, you can findall our episodes on all your
favorite platforms on Thursdays.
So, until next time!
We hope you've enjoyed listeningto BIND Waves and continue to
support BIND and our non profitmission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace.
And we couldn't do that withoutgreat listeners like you.
(26:09):
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Instrumental
Carrie (00:10):
Hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor and a member of BIND,
and today we are welcomingLaurel, an attorney, a licensed
professional counselor, she alsohappens to be a survivor and a
member on the board here at theBrain Injury Network.
So welcome, Laurel.
Brian (00:25):
Welcome to BINDWAVES, the official podcast of the Brain
Injury Network of Dallas.
I'm Brian White, BIND'sExecutive Director.
On each episode, we'll beproviding insight into the brain
injury community.
We'll be talking to members andprofessionals regarding their
stories and the important roleof BIND's Clubhouse.
We work as a team to inspirehope, community, and a sense of
(00:49):
purpose to survivors,caregivers, and the public.
Thank you for tuning intoBINDWAVES.
BINDWAVES Let's get on with theshow.
Carrie (00:57):
Thank you so much for having me, Carrie, and really
excited about spending this timewith you.
I'm excited too.
It should be fun.
So for our listeners, I know youobviously, um, but for our
listeners, just tell us a littlebit about yourself.
Laurel (01:10):
Well, uh, right now I am an attorney and also a licensed
professional counselorsupervisor and my law practice,
uh, is composed of two differentaspects.
One is family law and divorce.
The other is statewiderepresentation of other
(01:33):
therapists in the state, such associal workers, LPCs, LMFTs,
psychologists, LCDCs, those typeof licenses.
The whole alphabet.
We don't know what any of thatmeans.
Carrie (01:47):
Mental health licenses.
Okay.
And you're also the mom of asweet little pet.
Laurel (01:53):
Oh, yes I am.
Miss Lucy Girl.
And I have a 20 year old son whois the most adorable person in
my life.
Carrie (02:04):
Wonderful.
Laurel (02:04):
Wonderful.
Carrie (02:05):
So, um, we're just going to jump off in the bat and say,
So, how did you acquire yourbrain injury?
Laurel (02:11):
I, I, um, had my brain injury when I was 17.
And I had numerous physicalissues before we actually
figured out what it was.
Um, so I had an ulcer.
Um, I had, the doctor thought Ihad diabetes.
(02:36):
Um, there were just numeroustests that I undertook.
Finally, I lost my hearing in myright ear.
And I was taken to anaudiologist and the audiologist
was the one that discovered thatI had a mass, um, in my head.
Carrie (02:58):
Oh, wow.
Laurel (02:59):
Um, and that that was the reason I couldn't hear.
And so, I, at that point, wentto, uh, the hospital, um, to
have some tests run to Find outa little bit more.
And this was, uh, I actually hadthe surgery, the, the surgery,
um, to remove the brain tumor,December 26, 1979.
(03:25):
And so at that time there was noMRIs, no PET scans, no
ultrasound and, um, CAT scanshad started to be used on
patients.
Um, early in the 1970s, so itwas actually still a very new
procedure, but it was one thatwas extremely helpful in
(03:50):
defining the fact that I had abrain tumor.
Carrie (03:53):
Wow, that's crazy to think that technology has come
so far.
So far.
We're so lucky, but so you were17, so you had your brain
surgery while you were still inhigh school.
That's correct.
I was my senior year.
Oh wow.
Did that impact, I mean, make itharder for you to graduate?
Did it take longer?
Or did you just power on throughand get it done?
Laurel (04:15):
I mean, I was not capable of studies for pretty
much my whole senior year.
Interestingly enough, I had doneenough of my classes so that the
only class that I really neededto Um, graduate was English.
(04:41):
And, um, the first part of theschool year, we didn't know yet
what I had.
And so I would just throw up inthe morning and go to school.
And it just got to be routineand I, it's just one of those
things that's kind of likeputting lobster in a pot where
(05:02):
it just gets warmer and warmerand warmer and you don't realize
it.
I mean, I was having so many,symptoms and I just kind of
managed day to day, um, and thenwhen they figured it out, it was
halfway through the year.
And so I pretty much had notreally done well or efficiently
(05:25):
in my first semester.
And, um, I had a really, reallynice English teacher named Mrs.
Crowe, um, at Richardson HighSchool, and she let me miss,
like, a whole section of school,and I'm not sure if they would
(05:48):
have done that today, but backthen, um, I mean, I was an honor
student, and I had, you know, Iwas in all honor classes, and an
excellent student, um, And, um,so she just let me not do stuff.
Um, and it really, uh, allowedme to graduate on time.
(06:14):
So, it's kind of interesting tothink back to that period of
time because Here, girls wereworried about what they were
going to wear to homecoming, andI was worried about whether I
was going to throw up that dayor not.
And, you know, other people wereworrying about what dress they
(06:34):
were going to wear to prom, andI was trying to figure out what
wig I was going to wear to prom.
So, it was definitely adifferent reality for me.
I had a very supportiveboyfriend, David Connell, and
his parents were wonderful.
Max and Pat Connell.
Um, and so, um, You know, it'sjust, it was a very different
(06:59):
experience for me than for mosthigh schoolers.
Carrie (07:03):
I would say so, um, that's great.
But it's good that you had asupport system, and it's good
that your teachers were thattrusting, because yeah, I don't
know that that would happentoday.
Yeah.
But, I mean, it's alsoimpressive that, I mean, a lot
of people with a brain injury,you know, we're It's hard to
study, even after we've gonethrough our recovery and our
(07:23):
cognitive training and all that,but you didn't only graduate
high school, you went on and gota law degree.
So that's pretty impressive.
So where did you go to lawschool and how did that all work
out?
Laurel (07:34):
Well, I, I had really started wanting to be a lawyer
when I was 15 or 16.
I'm not even sure why.
Um, it was, it was somethingthat not only was a goal of
mine, but it was something I wasgoing to do.
So, I didn't really let Or Ididn't try to let what had
(07:59):
happened to me interfere with myability to go on with school.
And for some reason I was ableto do it.
So, uh, I went to Baylor LawSchool, you know.
Sic em Bears.
Sic em Bears.
Um, had a, you know, really goodexperience there.
Small classes and, um, that wasdefinitely a really good law
(08:24):
school for me to go to.
Carrie (08:25):
It's a great school.
I'm biased, I went there too.
Not to the law school, but mycousin and my uncle went to the
law school.
It's, it's a good school.
It's a good school.
Yeah, awesome.
Well, um, I guess do you thinkthat your brain injury in any
way impacted your career as anattorney?
Laurel (08:43):
I don't think really as an attorney so much.
I mean, I think, Because I wentthrough that experience, and
then I went on after I became anattorney to go become a licensed
professional counselor, that Ithink really impacted my ability
(09:03):
to be a good attorney, meaningthe type of work I do is very
emotional, doing family law, andI think my experiences and my
education and background as anLPC, as a counselor, really
helps out with the family lawsituation.
Carrie (09:23):
What made you decide to get your LPC?
Was it just the way the law firmwas going or was there another
reason for that?
Laurel (09:30):
No, it didn't have anything.
In fact, when I started to doit, it was like a totally
separate thing in my mind.
And it was a desire of mine tolearn more.
One of the things that isdifferent now than back then in
(09:51):
the 70s when I had this is therewas no understanding of the
connection of counseling ormental health to brain injury.
And, you know, nowadays you havesocial workers that work in
children's hospitals, otherhospitals.
(10:12):
You have, uh, counselors thatwork, um, you know,
rehabilitation or the otherbrain injury rehabilitation
facilities.
And back then, there was just nounderstanding at all of the
connection between the medicalaspect of a brain injury and the
(10:33):
emotional aspect.
And I recognized that I had alot of emotional baggage,
obstacles, issues because of mybrain injury that had not been
dealt with that I wanted tolearn more about.
(10:56):
Um, and I think that's why Idecided to start going to
counsel, the counseling school.
Um, I mean, I started to go tocounseling and then I enjoyed it
so much, I was like, maybe thisis something that I could do.
So, I decided to take one classand see what it felt like for
(11:17):
me.
And, I just enjoyed it so much.
So I just kept going until I gotmy, uh, counseling degree.
And then I took my statelicense.
Carrie (11:31):
That's awesome.
That's really great.
Um, do you think that, becauseyou had a brain injury that,
that, like, helps you in your,to be a counselor?
Laurel (11:41):
Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely, because I can relateso much to so many things that
people talk about.
I mean, you said it yourself,I'm a survivor, which means
there have been experiences andthings that I've gone through.
I know that one thing that Iexperienced much more severely,
(12:02):
um, probably, uh, I don't know,10 years after my, my surgery
was, I had survivor's guilt.
Um, why was I able?
To, you know, fairly recover,um, at least it looks like that
(12:22):
from the outside that I'verecovered and able to go on to,
you know, I have two master'sdegrees.
I have a law degree and on paperit looks like a successful
resume.
Why was I able to do that?
And there's so many people whotried just as hard and who are
(12:45):
just as worthy that do not havethe same experiences.
Um, and so I know that that wassomething I really struggled
with for, for many years.
Carrie (12:59):
That's interesting.
Um, Because, I mean, we all knowevery brain injury is different.
I mean, the listeners have heardthis.
Y'all hear us say it all thetime.
Um, but that is one thing that Itry to tell new injuries, new
brain injury patients.
Don't compare yourself to otherbrain injury patients.
When you're in the big therapyroom and you're all working on
(13:20):
your PT and their PT and you seesomeone that you feel like has
had the exact same kind ofstroke as you, or whatever it
may be, and they're using boththeir arms and they're working
hard and you've got, like me,you've got one arm that just
won't work and won't function.
Don't focus on that other personand how well they're doing and
how bad you're doing.
You've got to focus on you andwhat you can do and work on it.
(13:42):
And like, like I said, my, youknow, my left arm has never come
back and I don't focus on thatas a negative.
I had a wonderful OT who taughtme.
How to live with that, with itnot being functioning, and so
I'm not, well, I'm not going tosay I'm not jealous.
I'm a little jealous, butfortunately I had finished
college before my brain injury.
I don't think I would even havethe energy or the desire to go
(14:04):
back and do that now, but thenagain, I'm a little older now
too, so.
Laurel (14:08):
Well, I think so much of societal expectations are in, in
some way, you know, hope.
People see that.
People experience that.
People know that.
Um, and there's so much unknownabout brain injuries and
(14:32):
appropriate ways to talk withpeople with brain injuries
about, um, kind of what's goingon with them.
Carrie (14:42):
Sure.
Yeah, and I think the counselingis, you know, a lot of people
don't realize maybe you do needcounseling.
I mean, I didn't want it.
But, you know, I took advantageof what I could and, but yeah, I
get that.
Um, but, so how do you use yourLPC now?
Do you use it within your lawfirm?
Or is that just, is it like twoseparate jobs?
Laurel (15:01):
For about ten years, I did two separate jobs.
Um, and then I decided to justfocus on my law career.
So, now I have, um, my LPClicense, but I do not practice
as an LPC at all.
I do not practice as acounselor.
So I just use my counselingskills with my family law
(15:26):
clients.
And obviously when I'm assistingcounselors with a complaint they
got with the state or, you know,needing a deposition or records
requests, something like that.
Of course, I'm able to draw uponboth my legal knowledge and also
(15:47):
my, my experience as an OPC.
Carrie (15:50):
That's awesome.
Okay.
Um, so, um, I'm going to take aquick little break here and just
remind our listeners to go aheadand click that like button,
click that share button.
If you're on YouTube, click thatnotify button.
Just click all those happybuttons.
Okay.
So, now, what was I going tosay?
Um, I guess one of the, um, oneof our members asked, so like,
(16:14):
what type of time managementskills do you use to go between,
well we didn't even talk aboutthat yet, let's back up for ask
that question.
So, I mentioned you're also onthe board here at BIND.
Correct.
So, how did that happen?
Laurel (16:29):
Really, it started because I started giving money
to BIND and the executivedirector would write me sweet
notes thanking me for thedonation and so at some point, I
was doing a lot of dog rescuestuff, which I really enjoyed.
(16:52):
At some point, I decided that Iwanted to make a change.
And so, I was aware of BIND, um,through kind of that
interaction.
And, um, so, yeah.
So here you are.
Here I am.
I do want to say though that Ido have, um, still have, uh,
(17:16):
symptoms of my brain tumor or mybrain injury that are not
readily noticeable.
Um, one of the difficulties Ihave is swallowing.
Um, and so, Um, I had to reallylearn to eat again.
And that swallowing is probablyone of the biggest problems I
(17:40):
still have.
Is choking on my food orswallowing or things like that.
Um, my hearing did not come back100%, but it's fairly good.
Um, and then I think you and Ihave talked before about the
fact that Every once in a whileI just become unconscious.
(18:02):
We all have those brain farts,yeah.
So, um, fortunately that's neverhappened while I've been at work
or while I've been in thecourtroom.
Um, you know, I think Godwatches out for me.
But, um, You know, I don't wantto give the impression that
everything's rosy for me.
(18:23):
Um, that I've, you know, 100percent recovered and I'm
totally fine.
Carrie (18:29):
Right.
I mean, we all say that, youknow, brain injury recovery is
forever and there are still, andI appreciate you admitting that,
because a lot of people thinkthat, Yeah, I mean you, you're
one of those that it's more ofthe silent disease, you know,
you look 100 percent normal, 100percent fine, there's nothing
wrong with you.
Um, so I appreciate you beinghonest and telling us that, you
know, there are days that youstill have fatigue or brain
(18:51):
farts or whatever you want tocall them and I'm, I was
laughing at you as you weretalking about the swallowing
because I had issues with thattoo.
I mean, A lot of, you know,stroke patients have that
problem and the aspiration andso it's kind of funny.
It's kind of a running joke hereat BIND.
Um, we have so many speechtherapists on staff and like
when we're eating lunch or drinkwater the wrong way and
(19:13):
someone's just coughing andcoughing and other people are
like freaking out and the speechtherapists are where they're
just going and they're justaspirating.
They're fine.
They'll be fine.
Just give them a minute.
Laurel (19:22):
So when I start start choking, you know, my my family
looks at me like, okay, is itgonna resolve by itself?
And then finally, if I'm stillchoking, choking, choking,
someone will come over and patme on the back and help me, you
know, dissolve, whatever, orresolve, whatever, and then I'm
(19:43):
like, okay, I'm fine again, so.
Fortunately, my family haslearned that they don't freak
out anymore.
Carrie (19:51):
Yeah, mine too.
Laurel (19:52):
Yeah, they've just kind of adjusted, right?
Carrie (19:55):
They kind of have to.
Again, it's not just us thathave the injury, it's the whole
family.
So they have to relearn how todo that.
Yeah, it's definitely a newinteresting thing and it's
awesome that um, I mean I knowyou got married since then too
so, you know, he's learned howto deal with that.
I know he helps you with a lotof stuff like your CECU training
(20:19):
and that's kind of, you know, Iknow you do a lot of that.
You do a lot of training for theLPCs, for other LPCs.
Laurel (20:25):
Yes, yes, I do.
I have almost a monthly webinarwhere I am able to, um, you
know, Give a one hour CEU.
Uh, my next one is October 4th.
And um, so I'll put a plug infor that.
(20:46):
Feel free to look at my websitelaurelclement.
com if you want to sign up.
Carrie (20:51):
Awesome.
Most of our listeners, I think,would know, but maybe not, and I
know, but I'll let you tell us.
What is a CEU?
Laurel (20:58):
Continuing Education Unit, and that is something that
a therapist, a licensedtherapist, would need yearly for
the stay.
Carrie (21:09):
Okay, yeah, so you have to have so many hours every year
to renew your license orwhatever it is.
Laurel (21:13):
Yeah, it's actually every other year, but You don't
want to wait until the last one.
Carrie (21:17):
Right, exactly.
So, now I'm going to go back tothat question I was going to ask
earlier.
So, what types of timemanagement skills do you use
that help you, like, travelbetween being a board member,
between being an attorney,between being an LPC, between
being Lucy's mom, between beinga mom mom, between being a wife?
I mean, that's a lot of hats.
Laurel (21:37):
That is a lot of hats.
One of the things that I havelearned to do is Narrow down my
methods of communication.
I don't give out my cell phoneto anybody but family members or
really close friends.
Um, I either text or email.
(21:58):
Um, I don't have, um, and evenif people do call me, I have a
voicemail message in anotherlanguage that usually, uh,
discourages people from leavinga message.
Um, and so, for me, narrowingdown the communication methods
(22:22):
really helped me to be able tokeep my calendar straight.
Carrie (22:28):
That's interesting.
That's a good idea.
What would you say is yourbiggest takeaway from your brain
injury?
I mean, like you said, you wereso young.
Laurel (22:39):
Well, for me, probably my health.
I, um, I have probably workedout four times a week for 45
years.
Good for you.
So I would say that not beingable to walk, um, not being able
(23:01):
to eat, not being able to writehas a extreme impact on your
appreciation, I think, for beingable to do those things.
And so, I really try toexercise, you know, and I love
(23:23):
exercising because I recognizethat that is one of the ways
that I can stay healthy and bein better health and not go back
to, uh, That person thatcouldn't even get out of bed.
Carrie (23:38):
Good for you.
Yeah, that's good.
I like that.
Um, so what advice would yougive to other survivors or new
survivors?
I should say it's maybe not justother other in general, but.
Laurel (23:48):
Well, I think you talked about it yourself And that is
recognize that every braininjury is different.
Recognize that everyone hasdifferent um, capabilities and
abilities.
I think one of the things that'sgreat about, you know, 2024 is
(24:09):
the fact that there are so manysupport groups.
I would encourage survivors totake up, um, you know, whatever
support group they can.
I know on the website for thepaid rehabilitation, they have a
list of, uh, Brain InjurySupport Groups all across the
(24:31):
state.
Um, I know there are numerousFacebook groups.
I belong to a couple of them.
And, um, I think there are waysto get support that was not
available years ago.
Carrie (24:46):
There's ways to get support that wasn't available 15
years ago when I had mine.
So, yeah, it definitely changesa lot.
But, Laurel, I want to thank youso much for coming and giving
some of your time and being sohonest and sharing with us
today.
Laurel (24:58):
Thank you so much Carrie, for having me.
I really appreciate and love theorganization of Bind and I think
it really contributes a lot.
Carrie (25:06):
Thank you so much.
Alright, thanks.
Okay.
Um, so I just wanna also remindour listeners, um, if you wanna
contact us, of course you canemail us at bind
ways@thebind.org or you can findus on our website@thebind.org
slash find waves.
Um, also you can find us onInstagram.
At BINDWAVES, I encourage you tofollow us on all those places.
(25:28):
Follow us on Facebook at justthe BIN Brain Injury Network.
And if you want to become amember or volunteer for more
information, again, visit thewebsite, thebind.
org.
And as we always say, don'tforget to like, share, subscribe
on all your favorite platforms.
Remember, if you want to watchus, we're on YouTube, and you
can say you can watch us andlisten to us there.
(25:49):
And don't forget, you can findall our episodes on all your
favorite platforms on Thursdays.
So, until next time!
We hope you've enjoyed listeningto BIND Waves and continue to
support BIND and our non profitmission.
We support brain injurysurvivors as they reconnect into
the life, the community, andtheir workplace.
And we couldn't do that withoutgreat listeners like you.
(26:09):
We appreciate each and every oneof you.
Continue watching.
Until next time.
Until next time.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.