SuperSurvivor: Beating the Odds with Judy Cage

After a massive stroke left her fighting to walk, talk, and think clearly, Judy Cage refused to accept the limits placed on her recovery. In this inspiring episode, she shares how determination, resilience, and a little “stubbornness” helped her defy the odds—returning to work, writing her book Super Survivor, and mentoring others along the way.
From invisible challenges to powerful breakthroughs, Judy reminds us that recovery doesn’t stop at six months—it’s just the beginning.



Guest Social Media info - @judykimcagetheauthorpage

Transcript

judy-cage 0:00

that all stroke survivors? you know, You know, I mean, generally they're told that you have you have six months after, after the stroke,

bindwaves-host 0:10

stroke, um, that you can.

judy-cage 0:12

you know,

bindwaves-host 0:12

know, recovered, or that you have the most neuroplasticity,

judy-cage 0:16

after 6 months. Um,

bindwaves-host 0:18

um, that may be the case, although,

judy-cage 0:21

that

bindwaves-host 0:21

um, that doesn't mean that healing or recovery stops.

judy-cage 0:26

Um, I, Things

bindwaves-host 0:29

things have come back Hi, I'm Brittany and a member of BIND and Brain Injury Survivor. And hi, I'm Carrie, a stroke survivor, and a member of BIND as well, and today we are excited to welcome Judy Cage. Judy is also a stroke survivor and an author and an advocate who has defied staggering medical odds and now helps others after navigate life after trauma. So welcome, Judy.

Bernard 1:04

Opinions shared by the guests of the show are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the hosts bindwaves or the Brain Injury Network. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and it's not a substitute for professional medical advice, the diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Thank you.

judy-cage 1:31

Thank you thank you so much.

bindwaves-host 1:33

Okay. And, um, if you would just kind of provide a brief overview of your stroke and your recovery journey so far.

judy-cage 1:40

Absolutely. Uh, well in, January of of 2019, I

bindwaves-host 1:45

I had a

judy-cage 1:45

a massive hemorrhagic stroke.

bindwaves-host 1:49

Um,

judy-cage 1:49

blood flooded my, the right side of my brain and so it took out the left the left side of my body. Um, I I had, uh, and I'll just go head to toe basically. Um, I I had, uh, double vision. Uh, my left arm fell out of my shoulder socket. Um, I had dropped foot and, uh, left side, entirely. Um, so, and then I and then I had, you know, cognitive issues, speech issues, um, you know, you know, I've lost some. Um, bodily functions, but, but um, I actually, a with the combination of. um, uh, you know, um, um, working massively at the therapy and, um, spontaneous recovery. was I was able to get most of it. Um, great. yeah. Yeah. Um, and, and a pretty, uh, Quick quick amount of time. Um, I was actually to to walk out of. acute rehab, um, and, uh, I, I basically had spent eight weeks total in the hospital. Um, but able I was able to walk out and then, um, after one one round of occupational therapy, actually actually returned to work. So I, I, um, uh, uh, some people might call it crazy. Um, I was just stubborn. That, stubborn. you know, after a stroke or brain injury, I think stubborn is a good quality to have. Mm-hmm. Yes. am I have valued it a lot now. Yeah. Yeah. So what do you think was your biggest improvement, um, since your stroke? Um, Um, you know, I'd say that it, it, um, It was probably the, that that recovery, the gaining that fallback, but then. um, uh, also I think the things that I've regained that I that I never thought I would like, um, my, um, uh, Reactions and my and my instincts and like my reflexes, have those have actually come back better than they were before. not I'm not entirely sure why, I'm not going to but I'm not gonna question it. Um, you Um, you know, now I. catch catch things, but as I drop 'em, instead of, you know, letting something fall and crash. Um, that, I mean, I mean, I was clumsy before, so I never expected that sort of back. back. Um. But but yeah, it, it's really just, oh oh gosh, the, yeah, the walking, um was, probably the best best I had felt. in a while, That's good. Yeah, I know. I tell everyone, I think for me, 'cause my stroke, I had a hemorrhagic as well. It was very similar. Mine was on the right side, affected the left side. I tell everyone, I think for me, my real independence was when I got rid of the cane because then I could carry my own coffee. I could actually open the bathroom door on my own. I didn't have to have someone go with me, you know, everywhere I went to open the door for me. So to me I was like, yeah, independence. Finally I'm there. Um, Um, I mean on a, on a more, know, know, it, um.

bindwaves-host 5:21

um,

judy-cage 5:23

On a on a higher level where you're impacting more people, um, I would say driving and getting that back was also pretty key. Yeah, that's, yeah. That was mine. And they're putting others on the road at risks. Yeah. Right. So, um. What was your career before your injury? um, Um, before my my injury I was a, um, A compliance

bindwaves-host 5:50

officer for

judy-cage 5:51

commercial commercial warranty. Um,

bindwaves-host 5:54

I had started

judy-cage 5:56

of in the and it's kind of in the field of accounting, audit, then then risk and controls. Okay. And, um. No, go ahead.

bindwaves-host 6:06

I'm sorry. I was just gonna say, and were you able to go back? You were able, I mean, I, from, we talked, I think you were able to go back into that and, um, I was, you were, they were very accommodating, if I remember correctly. So, Very much so, um, I, they, the company is great in terms of,

judy-cage 6:24

you know,

bindwaves-host 6:25

you know, they had, um,

judy-cage 6:27

uh, you know,

bindwaves-host 6:28

you know, they followed the rules of long term disability. Um,

judy-cage 6:31

of of that company and, um, the company itself, um, was a

bindwaves-host 6:37

was a bit more stringent and unpleasant, but the, um,

judy-cage 6:41

But

bindwaves-host 6:41

but my company itself, um, were super supportive. They,

judy-cage 6:46

gave me as much time as I as I needed to go through through the therapy and then go through the outpatient therapy. Um, and then they always wanted to listen to my doctor and, you you know, we as we move forward, so. um, my, my stroke doctor said after the outpatient I was permitted to work four hours a week. Um, Um, which I thought that was crazy until I started and understood that, wow, four hours is actually pretty hard. Um, and and then I just built my way back up. Um, I and I was working, um, I was I was working, um. I'm sorry, on, On, um, on long term until like, like, I built it back up until November of that, of, um, five years. And then, um, they kicked me off for where they take me hours and then shortly after that I was actually promoted. So.

bindwaves-host 7:48

That's awesome. And were, did you find that you needed any additional like or new accommodations to help you do your job that you didn't need before the stroke?

judy-cage 7:59

I I did, um, before the stroke, I would always push I and I think, you know, I mean, I guess that's how, but, um, uh, they allowed me to work, um, you know, you know, kind of closer to, you know, up later. where If I if I was, I started, I would start at like 10 instead set of, you know, 8:30 or or nine. Um, and and then if I. needed, if I If I was failing cognitively, uh, my boss would tell me to He would see see it on my face on video calls, or hear it in my voice, and would he would just say, Judy Uhuh, like, Uhuh, like, shut down. And, um, was was incredibly helpful. I mean, sometimes I would be stubborn and say, boss, boss, I can, I can get through this. It's not a problem. But they, absolutely was great. Supportive feeling to know he was looking up.

bindwaves-host 9:00

That's great. That's good. Um, so part of your journey, like did, are you part of any organizations or support groups? I am, i'm, I'm

judy-cage 9:10

am a a peer mentor at the hospital. Um, and and also I, I also talk to numerous stroke survivors. I tell everyone to pass them my way so I can. help them out. Um, I am part I'm part of the, uh, stroke support group group at the hospital. Um, and when, when, uh, pre COVID, um, the, hospital also also had a patient advocacy group, and I was a and I was part of that as well.

bindwaves-host 9:42

That's great. And I know that through all this, after your stroke, you went out and wrote a book. Called Super Survivor. So how, how did you decide to write a book in the midst of your recovery and trying to go back to work and do all of that? That's pretty amazing. Thank yeah.

judy-cage 10:02

Um,

bindwaves-host 10:03

well, when I, a few months out of the stroke, I, um,

judy-cage 10:09

a.

bindwaves-host 10:09

Had

judy-cage 10:09

Set

bindwaves-host 10:10

set my mind on a goal and I said, let me run the Broad Street run in Philadelphia.

judy-cage 10:16

which is a 10 mile run. I'd

bindwaves-host 10:18

I had never run long distances before. I, you know, kind of detested it. Even in my track career, I had a career, I had

judy-cage 10:26

did short

bindwaves-host 10:27

short distances.

judy-cage 10:28

um, and,

bindwaves-host 10:29

um,

judy-cage 10:31

I had,

bindwaves-host 10:31

i, so I started a blog to document that journey saying, um, yeah, I look at this, I wasn't rocking a few months ago and now I'm gonna run 10 miles through the city of Philadelphia.

judy-cage 10:44

And

bindwaves-host 10:45

um.

judy-cage 10:45

but

bindwaves-host 10:46

but then that was stopped short. My doctor said, do you think you should ask your doctor

judy-cage 10:51

whether

bindwaves-host 10:52

whether you can run 10 miles? You know? And

judy-cage 10:55

I said,

bindwaves-host 10:55

I said, oh, doc, do you think you can run 10 miles?

judy-cage 10:59

And he

bindwaves-host 10:59

and he says, um,

judy-cage 11:01

says,

bindwaves-host 11:01

he said,

judy-cage 11:01

like I

bindwaves-host 11:02

like, I could run the 10 miles, but at the training you would, would be bad for blood pressure going up and down. Oh.

judy-cage 11:08

Um,

bindwaves-host 11:09

so I had to switch goals or switch gears. I,

judy-cage 11:13

a

bindwaves-host 11:13

there was a whole number of.

judy-cage 11:15

other

bindwaves-host 11:16

goals like going to, um, get a professional certificate at the Berkeley School of Music.

judy-cage 11:21

Um,

bindwaves-host 11:23

i,

judy-cage 11:24

just

bindwaves-host 11:24

just wanted to kind of

judy-cage 11:26

dabble and live

bindwaves-host 11:27

and live in life.

judy-cage 11:28

And,

bindwaves-host 11:29

and, um,

judy-cage 11:30

and once

bindwaves-host 11:30

once the five year mark, um,

judy-cage 11:33

um, I

bindwaves-host 11:34

I had turned

judy-cage 11:36

that

bindwaves-host 11:36

that blood into,

judy-cage 11:37

um,

bindwaves-host 11:38

because

judy-cage 11:39

the

bindwaves-host 11:40

the five year survival rate forrr stroke.

judy-cage 11:42

was in the,

bindwaves-host 11:43

in the study that, like one of the very few studies you find out there, um, was 26.7%.

judy-cage 11:50

So when

bindwaves-host 11:51

when I,

judy-cage 11:52

Um, past

bindwaves-host 11:53

passed that, mark and I, I had kept,

judy-cage 11:56

I had

bindwaves-host 11:57

I had kept

judy-cage 11:57

my

bindwaves-host 11:58

my stroke and my struggles private for so long.

judy-cage 12:02

Um, and I

bindwaves-host 12:03

and I had done that for the workplace, but also to my neighbors so that I wouldn't get, you know, the pitying looks or know, just, um, kind of all the questions. Um,

judy-cage 12:16

the

bindwaves-host 12:16

all the questions, you know. Sure are fine.

judy-cage 12:19

Um, but um, I had

bindwaves-host 12:21

I just had just kept it quiet and I didn't want anyone to know

judy-cage 12:26

professionally. Um,

bindwaves-host 12:28

and

judy-cage 12:30

as

bindwaves-host 12:30

as I did more and more peer,

judy-cage 12:33

um, I

bindwaves-host 12:36

I felt like the same questions were repeating. Um, and also.

judy-cage 12:41

people wanted

bindwaves-host 12:41

to know that it was possible

judy-cage 12:43

that you could go back

bindwaves-host 12:44

to work, that you could,

judy-cage 12:45

you know you know,

bindwaves-host 12:46

you know, rebuild your life.

judy-cage 12:48

Um,

bindwaves-host 12:48

um, so I wanted to put that out there. I said, I'm,

judy-cage 12:52

I don't

bindwaves-host 12:52

I don't know why I'm hiding. It's not doing anyone any good for me to hide this. So

judy-cage 12:58

why

bindwaves-host 12:58

that's why.

judy-cage 12:59

and wrote it.

bindwaves-host 13:01

Yeah. Which gets us into our next question. Um, how do you challenge ableism and invisible illness stereotypes?

judy-cage 13:10

Well, um,

bindwaves-host 13:11

um, mostly I, I present very normally. Um, I, the, the more people that I meet, they tell me there's no,

judy-cage 13:22

a

bindwaves-host 13:22

no way had a stroke. They don't, they don't either. Don't believe it, not that they would be conscious of it.

judy-cage 13:27

Of it.

bindwaves-host 13:27

Of it. Most of the regular people

judy-cage 13:30

Um,

bindwaves-host 13:30

um, are regular healthy individuals who haven't had a brain injury or, stroke.

judy-cage 13:34

Um, they see

bindwaves-host 13:36

they see me and they treat me like.

judy-cage 13:38

am perfectly healthy. And

bindwaves-host 13:41

and in doing that

judy-cage 13:43

has

bindwaves-host 13:43

as contrasting

judy-cage 13:45

my own awareness

bindwaves-host 13:47

that this is what

judy-cage 13:49

the

bindwaves-host 13:49

the rest of the world, or sorry, the rest of the healthy world,

judy-cage 13:53

sees me as, or this is this is how they naturally move about the world. But

bindwaves-host 14:01

my understanding

judy-cage 14:02

um, all of

bindwaves-host 14:04

all of this, now I can show.

judy-cage 14:07

and

bindwaves-host 14:08

and announce, um,

judy-cage 14:10

know, the

bindwaves-host 14:11

the viewpoint of a non-healthy person.

judy-cage 14:14

excuse

bindwaves-host 14:15

excuse me. And so then as I can point

judy-cage 14:17

out, I can

bindwaves-host 14:19

I can also advocate for,

judy-cage 14:21

people in the

bindwaves-host 14:22

well, the workplace

judy-cage 14:23

could use

bindwaves-host 14:24

use resting stations or electrolytes or,

judy-cage 14:27

Or, you know,

bindwaves-host 14:28

you know, di different hours if they need it. Um,

judy-cage 14:32

and just

bindwaves-host 14:34

just trying to create as much awareness.

judy-cage 14:37

that as possible.

bindwaves-host 14:38

That's good. So is there anything specific that you found that you can do or do to empower others with chronic or cognitive challenges?

judy-cage 14:50

Oh gosh.

bindwaves-host 14:51

Gosh, I have learned so much about hu

judy-cage 14:55

Because I

bindwaves-host 14:55

as I was so stubborn with,

judy-cage 15:00

with just

bindwaves-host 15:02

just overdoing it and then crashing.

judy-cage 15:05

and

bindwaves-host 15:05

um, and then finding what my brain, uh,

judy-cage 15:08

needed for like to

bindwaves-host 15:11

like to keep going.

judy-cage 15:12

Um,

bindwaves-host 15:13

um, so if I got tired, of course the cognition disappeared,

judy-cage 15:17

my

bindwaves-host 15:17

my

judy-cage 15:18

would

bindwaves-host 15:18

would slow down.

judy-cage 15:19

Um, and

bindwaves-host 15:20

and so I've learned, um, I've passed on to other peers, um, that, you know,

judy-cage 15:29

kind of

bindwaves-host 15:30

kind of filter things out just by shutting off all stimulus.

judy-cage 15:34

Like

bindwaves-host 15:35

like if we, if I was on a Zoom call,

judy-cage 15:37

um, I

bindwaves-host 15:38

I would, you know, put on closed captioning.

judy-cage 15:41

But

bindwaves-host 15:41

but if, if there were a bunch of words on the screen, I would also just turn off the camera

judy-cage 15:47

and put

bindwaves-host 15:47

and put my head down and listen to what was

judy-cage 15:49

going

bindwaves-host 15:50

going on

judy-cage 15:50

that

bindwaves-host 15:50

so that I could actually absorb some of it.

judy-cage 15:53

Um, and

bindwaves-host 15:54

and so,

judy-cage 15:56

when

bindwaves-host 15:56

when people don't realize that when you're at a restaurant.

judy-cage 16:00

you know,

bindwaves-host 16:01

know, you can't

judy-cage 16:02

any of

bindwaves-host 16:03

any of it. That noises are bouncing off the walls, um,

judy-cage 16:08

uh, that,

bindwaves-host 16:09

that,

judy-cage 16:09

I,

bindwaves-host 16:09

know, say,

judy-cage 16:11

Okay. But

bindwaves-host 16:12

but

judy-cage 16:13

possible put in an

bindwaves-host 16:14

put in an ear plug know,

judy-cage 16:15

know, uh, or

bindwaves-host 16:16

uh, or put in both.

judy-cage 16:18

Um, it

bindwaves-host 16:19

it is possible to help kind of lessen that cognitive load.

judy-cage 16:25

then,

bindwaves-host 16:26

um, also the fact that,

judy-cage 16:28

um,

bindwaves-host 16:28

um, your.

judy-cage 16:31

uh, you know,

bindwaves-host 16:32

you know, you not only have physical energy that you spend

judy-cage 16:36

mental

bindwaves-host 16:37

energy, emotional,

judy-cage 16:39

Um,

bindwaves-host 16:40

um, and taking into consideration everything that,

judy-cage 16:44

um, have

bindwaves-host 16:45

you have to process within the day and if you have events later in the week and

judy-cage 16:50

of

bindwaves-host 16:50

kind of balance out your load,

judy-cage 16:52

Um, and knowing that

bindwaves-host 16:55

that and sharing that, just, you know, from my mistakes or from my lessons, I,

judy-cage 17:00

able to share that with other survivors.

bindwaves-host 17:03

that's really good. I'm gonna take a quick little break and just remind our listeners. To go ahead and click that like button, click that follow button, click that share button, just click all the buttons that have thumbs up and we'll go from there. But I was gonna say, I mean, I think that is so true, and I love that you recognize that in yourself and that you're sharing that with others. 'cause I know once I finally got back to being normal and thought everything was good, we started the podcast, I wanna say 10 to 12 years after my stroke. And. The first day we did the podcast 'cause just the way that things worked and it was a free thing. Someone was doing everything for us. In the beginning. We did like five podcasts in that first day, back to back to back to back. I mean, I was a corporate trainer, so I was used to talking all day. I don't mean I don't, I'm used to talking all day regardless. I'm happy to do that. But at the end of that day, I went home and took the longest nap before bed 'cause I was so mentally drained and. Everything about me. I, my body hurt, my brain hurt. I just, I was like, I, that was so much to do, and it's one of those things that I guess people take for granted in a normal day. That there's, there's, you know, they're fine. But we have found that in the clubhouse that we tell new survivors, if you can't make it the full whole day, the, in the beginning, not a big deal. You're here to work and do as much as you can do, and if after five hours you go, no, I need to, or three hours I need to go home. Or we do have a room that has, we have a quiet room that has recliners. If you need to go take a 15 minute break, no questions asked, go ahead. So it's, that's one of those, yeah, that I think a lot of people don't realize. Again, it's that you look fine. Why are you tired? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

judy-cage 18:59

Or,

bindwaves-host 19:00

Yeah. Um, I used to have, oh, I'm so sorry. I used to have, um, um,

judy-cage 19:05

a

bindwaves-host 19:05

a lot of TIAs, uh,

judy-cage 19:08

the

bindwaves-host 19:08

from the age of four,

judy-cage 19:09

um,

bindwaves-host 19:10

um, because I have Moyamoya

judy-cage 19:11

syndrome,

bindwaves-host 19:11

syndrome,

judy-cage 19:12

Um,

bindwaves-host 19:13

and, uh,

judy-cage 19:15

I, you know,

bindwaves-host 19:16

you know, in the office, um, you know, once I was in my early twenties and on, um, prior to my surgeries and prior to the stroke, um,

judy-cage 19:26

you know, I

bindwaves-host 19:27

I would have a TIA. And I would have to leave work.

judy-cage 19:31

and I

bindwaves-host 19:32

I said I had a really bad headache, and

judy-cage 19:37

my coworkers would look

bindwaves-host 19:38

would look at me and say,

judy-cage 19:40

have

bindwaves-host 19:40

I have never gone home 'cause I've had a headache. I'm like, oh, you've never had one of these. Right.

judy-cage 19:45

Um, and so,

bindwaves-host 19:46

and so, yeah, absolutely. Mm-hmm. So what is a TIA again, just to elaborate.

judy-cage 19:54

is ischemic attack. It's

bindwaves-host 19:55

attack, stroke.

judy-cage 19:55

stroke.

bindwaves-host 19:57

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So, wow. Especially invisible injury. I look invisible. A lot of people are like, you don't look like you have brain injury. I'm like, well, I do. And then sometimes my day too, I go home and I'm tired, like I will skip dinner and everything. I'll be like straight to bed. Then I'll wake up, I'm like, oh, it's the next day. Let me recharge my battery. Right. Yeah. Well, um, I know you said that you. Had a track career and you attempted or thought about, I know, I'm, I'm, I know, I know. But so what do you do for fun outside of work? Do you still like to run or jog or, I mean, what do you do to relax after a long day?

judy-cage 20:37

Oh, I do

bindwaves-host 20:38

I do not

judy-cage 20:39

Um, do

bindwaves-host 20:40

do anything faster than walking

judy-cage 20:43

I have to.

bindwaves-host 20:44

Unless I do mm-hmm. Fair.

judy-cage 20:45

sometimes I, I

bindwaves-host 20:47

i, I run after the dog

judy-cage 20:49

a, you know, from a scooter, um, uh,

bindwaves-host 20:53

uh, I.

judy-cage 20:54

you know, I'll

bindwaves-host 20:54

i'll listen to music. Um,

judy-cage 20:56

I will,

bindwaves-host 20:58

i'll,

judy-cage 20:58

um,

bindwaves-host 20:58

um, you know, sometimes if I have

judy-cage 21:01

energy, I will

bindwaves-host 21:02

i'll binge watch some Netflix.

judy-cage 21:05

Um, but I'll,

bindwaves-host 21:06

i'll, I'll

judy-cage 21:07

the

bindwaves-host 21:07

snuggle with the dog,

judy-cage 21:08

Usually,

bindwaves-host 21:09

but yeah, that,

judy-cage 21:09

favorite

bindwaves-host 21:10

be good. A good thing to do. Yeah. I would say I'm a firm believer in there's no need to run unless someone's chasing you.

judy-cage 21:17

Yeah.

bindwaves-host 21:20

I mean, I'll leave it at that, but yeah, even when I was healthy, I was not a runner.

judy-cage 21:26

When I'm

bindwaves-host 21:26

when I'm late to an appointment

judy-cage 21:28

my

bindwaves-host 21:29

day to my chiropractor, he's a couple blocks away. Mm-hmm.

judy-cage 21:32

try to, you

bindwaves-host 21:33

to, you know, pick up my feet and go,

judy-cage 21:36

I've

bindwaves-host 21:36

but I've found that I can run run the, when

judy-cage 21:39

something

bindwaves-host 21:39

it's something that I really am excited about,

judy-cage 21:42

if it's

bindwaves-host 21:42

but if it's something that's

judy-cage 21:43

of, you know,

bindwaves-host 21:45

you know, boring or monotonous or, you know,

judy-cage 21:48

um,

bindwaves-host 21:48

um, I can't just mechanically pick out my feet, the.

judy-cage 21:52

to.

bindwaves-host 21:53

Yeah, I, I can't, I still have to wear an a AFO on the left leg, so my knee, my leg never came back. So I, I don't walk normal, so running is just not an option. Mm-hmm. But I can kinda walk a little fast, but it doesn't help that I have little legs too, you know, all four foot 11 of me never could walk very fast, so. Hmm. So what's one piece of advice you would like to leave with our listeners?

judy-cage 22:25

one, um, big piece.

bindwaves-host 22:28

and, um, I think you

judy-cage 22:29

talked

bindwaves-host 22:30

talked about it, um, on your pod,

judy-cage 22:32

um,

bindwaves-host 22:33

um, or

judy-cage 22:34

Is that all stroke survivors? You know, You know, I mean, generally they're told that you have you have six months after, after the stroke,

bindwaves-host 22:45

stroke, um, that you can.

judy-cage 22:47

you know,

bindwaves-host 22:48

know, recovered, or that you have the most neuroplasticity,

judy-cage 22:51

after 6 months. Um,

bindwaves-host 22:53

um, that may be the case, although,

judy-cage 22:56

that

bindwaves-host 22:57

um, that doesn't mean that healing or recovery stops.

judy-cage 23:01

Um, I, Things

bindwaves-host 23:04

things have come back

judy-cage 23:06

years

bindwaves-host 23:07

after,

judy-cage 23:07

my stroke. Um,

bindwaves-host 23:09

um, as long as you,

judy-cage 23:11

um, you know, you,

bindwaves-host 23:12

you know, you

judy-cage 23:13

of

bindwaves-host 23:13

kind of improve that by continuing work on things or, you know,

judy-cage 23:17

know, um, if you

bindwaves-host 23:19

if you brush your teeth, stay with your non-dominant hand,

judy-cage 23:22

maybe,

bindwaves-host 23:23

be, you know, rewire your brain,

judy-cage 23:26

um,

bindwaves-host 23:26

um, to have more connection. And,

judy-cage 23:29

I

bindwaves-host 23:30

um, I just wanna let people know that they shouldn't get discouraged if they only think that they got the six months to

judy-cage 23:36

get

bindwaves-host 23:37

get things done.

judy-cage 23:37

That, that there

bindwaves-host 23:38

That there is a lot longer. Yeah, I totally agree. Yes. And we do say that a lot. Brain injury is lifelong recovery. And we have, we're fortunate enough to have our life to continue to work on recovery. And I agree. I see 16 years later I can still see progress being made. Maybe, you know, not like leaps and bounds progress, but progress. So, um, is there anything that you feel like we should have asked you that we haven't covered yet that you would like to add in?

judy-cage 24:17

Not that I can think of really.

bindwaves-host 24:19

Okay. Um, well then I'm gonna say thank you, Judy. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and words of wisdom and keep helping other survivors out there.

judy-cage 24:29

Absolutely. I

bindwaves-host 24:30

I love doing it. Thank

judy-cage 24:31

so much.

bindwaves-host 24:32

so much. Thank you so much. You're welcome. And thanks to all our listeners for listening. And remember, you can find our new episodes on all your favorite platforms. Until next time. Until next time.

Bernard 24:47

We hope you've enjoyed listening to BIND Waves and continue to support Brain Injury Network in our nonprofit mission, we support brain injury survivors as they reconnect into life, the community, and the workplace. And we couldn't do that without great listeners like you. We appreciate each and every one of you. Please remember to click the like button, the share button, and the subscribe button on YouTube. And follow us on Instagram at bindwaves and Brain Injury Network on Facebook. You can email us at bindwaves@thebind.org or go to our website bondwaves.org or call us at (972) 769-2463. Please continue watching. Until next time.