Perspective with Donna

I’ve become more aware of my gratefulness in an interesting way. Because of my TBI ten years ago, I volunteer at BIND (Brain Injury Network of Dallas) and find this to be an enriching way of giving back to others who have survived a brain injury. On Facebook, I joined two brain injury support groups. I thought this would be another good way to give back to others. Unfortunately, I found the posts to be depressing. These people had issues I did not have and probably should have had. In walks...

We’ve all heard the adage you reap what you sow, but do ever really think about it? I remember many years ago planting a vegetable garden. I bought seeds for tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini because I used these vegetables daily. I did not plant beets or turnips because I didn’t like or use them. Why would I plant things I had no use for? Most of us plants things in our garden subconsciously. Who we are as people is what’s planted in our garden. I plant love, forgiveness, respect, patience,...

My mother’s pick of poison was a belt. Back in the day, she wasn’t the only parent that used their hand or some object to discipline their children with. I remember very clearly a day when I knew that belt was going to be used on me. I dressed in layers so I wouldn’t feel the pain. There. I said it. Pain. Is discipline supposed to be painful? What am I learning from this? What I learned is that the benefit of the whipping lost its value. Isn’t there a better way? I also clearly remember a...

We all have our obstacles. Mine may differ from yours, but how we chose to handle them can determine the outcome of your circumstances. I had a divorce and an ATV accident ten years ago happen almost simultaneously. To be honest, the divorce was on the horizon for the last ten years of my marriage. The kicker was the accident. I was pissed off about it because the injuries from it left me without a job and my beloved game of tennis. Instead of crying in a corner, I pulled up my girl girl...

Music is a great motivator for me. Sometimes certain lyrics will hit a bell. A song called Miss you by Missio has a lyric in there that says “I see you the way I hope you see yourself”. Do I see myself the way others see me? I receive praise and compliments all the time. I appreciate them but don’t really take them to heart. Why? I have this yacking monkey in my head that likes to say negative things about how I look or disses me for not being better at this or that. I am practicing the art...

Do you have a tendency of beating yourself up? I have had this tendency my whole life. I've become more aware of this in the last two years. Last week, I went to target practice with the two guns I've owned for a few years. I could not cock back the gun! You know many bullets I shot?? Zero! I came down on myself pretty hard for two hours. How can I suddenly have a problem doing something I've been really successful doing before? After two hours of berating myself, I was able to change my...

I fell in love at the ripe old age of 8. We would visit my grandmother and Jeff lived across the street. Back then, kids played in the street until we were called in for meals. Both of us came from strict, religious homes where love was not forthcoming. The love we had for each other was pure and simple. No strings attached. A few years after my divorce, I hooked up with Jeff on Facebook. We had a long distance romance for 9 months, and then lived with me for two years. I thought I was in...

I see a lot of things on Facebook. Some things make me giggle and other things piss me off. Sometimes something worthwhile comes up that resonates with me. This post did. Not sure who the author is. A woman had a pet snake that she loved very much. The snake was about 7 feet long and one day it just stopped eating. After several weeks of trying everything the lady still couldn’t get the snake to eat. The woman took the snake to the vet and explained the situation. The vet replies “I see …...

Sexual abuse is not a fun topic. I want to share my story with you about my brother's claim that our mother was having a sexual relationship with him. Is it true? Through conversations with my brother, he claimed that my mother's older brother abused her. The age difference was fifteen years. I wanted to believe him and I did. Until I couldn't. I caught him a lie about this claim. It made me question whether anything he told me was true. How do you have a relationship with a liar? My...

The word divorce doesn’t bring anyone warm fuzzies. I’ve been divorced almost ten years now. It took quite a few years for me to realize that I disliked my daughter because she reminded me of her dad. I can’t believe I fell into that crack. What would possess me to treat her like crap? A look inside myself wasn’t easy. I don’t like or trust my ex husband for reasons I won’t list here. This is not my daughter’s fault. I am taking my shit out on my daughter and that’s not fair. Realizing what...

Bob suffered heartburn in his teens. He lived on Tums and graduated to Prilosec which he took for 35 years! What is acid reflux? Technically, it’s called Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). This is a chronic disease that occurs when stomach acid or bile flows into the food pipe (esophagus) and irritates the lining. At the entrance to your stomach is a valve, which is a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Normally, the LES closes as soon as food passes through it....

Does anyone out there have gut issues? I have been diagnosed with leaky gut four times by four different doctors. Instead of jumping into a resolution headfirst, I took a shortcut by removing dairy out of my diet for two weeks. I didn’t notice any difference. My stomach threw up a red flag in December. After having diarrhea for two months and then struggling to go at all, I had to do something. A good friend told me about colonics and she referred me to Gen. What a godsend! I have done...

Jeff remembers being sad at the age of eight. He started drinking at 14. He then added some drugs to the mix. Depression was something he dealt with for many years and suicidal thoughts were always there. At 21, he had a brain tumor removed and had five additional surgeries thereafter. Jeff has done deep brain stimulation. This involves implanting electrodes within certain areas of your brain. These electrodes produce electrical impulses that regulate abnormal impulses. The amount of...

At the age of 38, Carrie was going about her business when she suddenly felt weak and the left side of her body went numb. She knew she was having a stroke. She waited for her father to come back into the house because she couldn’t get to him. Carrie spent two weeks in ICU and four months in rehab. Someone else might have curled up in a ball and had a forever pity party—not Carrie. She wears an AFO (ankle-foot Orthosis) support brace to help with her mobility. I should mention that she is a...

Kick It With Donna episode 69 Do you ever have a hard time releasing resentment and anger? My issues with abandonment from my mother go back a long way, but I had an issue with my dad too. I’ll share how I overcame and found peace. Show notes: My mother and father were raised Catholic. Neither one of them were church goers. I was baptized in the Catholic church. My brother was born eighteen months later and was not. During the time of my mother’s pregnancy, her sister came home with...

Kick It with Donna episode – 68 Ever wonder why you do things that make sense at the time and in hindsight make no sense at all? I’m sharing an experience today that helped me learn that I am not always right. Show Notes: Through the process of healing myself from the inside out, I am discovering parts of me that are not so pretty. It isn’t easy to look at myself and find truth in the ugly. However, I’m finding that it gets easier with more practice. How do I learn and grow unless I do...

Kick It with Donna episode 67 – Bridging The gap Between Holistic and Conventional Medicine – Does Osteoporosis have you in a bone crushing bind? Therapy without meds is an alternative. The podcast falls under the Bridging the Gap between Conventional and Holistic medicine. I have two guests today. Deb McFarland is the founder of OsteoStrong in Carrollton. Geraldyne Van Arnam has osteoporosis and is interested in hearing about Deb’s method of therapy without meds. Geraldyne was put on a med...

Kick It with Donna episode 66 Bridging The gap Between Holistic and Conventional Medicine -Reiki with Dr. J Dr. J’s Tranquility Reiki Spa. What is Reiki? It can help you alleviate stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, eases pain and helps promote overall mind-body- spirit. Show Notes: My guest today is Jonathan Hochberg. He is a Reiki Master for sixteen years. What is Reiki? Reiki (pronounced Ray-Kee) is a complementary therapy for all kinds of illnesses (both physical and...

Kick It with Donna episode 65 Varsity Blues How do we make sense of the college admissions scandal? Were you a helicopter parent or were you a parent who tried to remove obstacles from your kids path? Show Notes: I have two guests with me today. Chrissy Conner and her daughter Madison Auge. Madison is 22 years old and is graduating from Oklahoma University this May. Her degree is in Human Relations. Chrissy owns and operates her own recruiting company, Conner International. She recruits...