This is the year that I am hopefully going to FINALLY publish the book that I have been writing for the past 10 or so years. "A Stroke of Power: the holistic approach to stroke and brain injury recovery" is getting a ton of work put into it and I have been making some huge progress. The chapters are all coming together and the research is being done that is going to help me to share my theory on the "WHOLE-istic" approach to stroke and brain injury recovery with the world. 

It is my dream that...
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I really only seem to update this annually these days, but life has gotten busy! It's been crazy in all the best ways. 

Let's start with what my adult life looks like lately - I am working full time for a regulatory consulting company. I am on their Marketing team and absolutely love it! I work from home most days too, which means that commuting is super easy. It also means that I get to work out of mine and my boyfriend's condo, which is right on the lake. Paradise! 

Speaking of the homestead,...
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Amazing! There is finally some easily accessible information available about AVM! For years after my diagnosis (back in 1996), there was just nothing out there about the condition because there was no real research being done! It was assumed that the condition was much more rare back then too (the numbers that I was given are dramatically different than the ones given in this article). 

But this is a huge step in the right direction at least! It's about a need for greater awareness too. Just k...
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Sometimes, the universe sends little hints that all of your efforts are going to be worth it and that everything really is going to work out in the end. This past week, I had a massive one of those experiences, and it’s the simplest little thing that is the most significant too… I can feel the ground underneath my right foot.

That is HUGE NEWS, because that was the first thing that I lost with my first stroke back in 1998. I was 13 years old and it was March Break. I was spending it at ...

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Today's epic realization: I am already better.

In fact, some days I would dare say I am better than better. (I'm talking about my recovery of course, but isn't it amazing how much that blends into the rest of our lives as stroke survivors?) 

But it's true when I think about it! I have days when I am so functional that even I can't tell that I have had one stroke, let alone two of them. My hand works and I have all of the fine motor control. My leg co-operates and I can walk normally. There are ...
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You know how my last post a few months ago was all about personal growth and change? OH BOY has there ever been a lot of that since then!! Alex and I moved in together at the beginning of February... literally only a few days before I broke my right leg!! Yup - broken my tibia and fibula and fractured my tibia. I need to learn to watch where I am putting my big clumsy feet LOL....

So since then, we had to move again (all in a matter of about two months). But now we are close to downtown Hamilt...
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A friend of mine shared this link with me today... a heartbreaking story (as many AVM-related stories are), but it has a happy ending  :)

Check it out here: http://tiphero.com/identical-twin-difference/

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This time though, it isn’t literal (I had a couple of brain hemorrhages back in 1998 and 2001, for anyone who doesn’t know). This time, the thing that is blowing my mind is actually the power of that very organ.

I had a pretty serious stroke right after that last brain hemorrhage, which I am still recovering from. But for the past few years now, I have been working on teaching my body to remember how to be functional. This is accomplished through some pretty intense visualization tech...

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 17^th, 2013 – Oakville, ON – This summer, one young lady and her family are making a rather loud statement to raise funds and awareness… in the form of a benefit concert.  Veronica McCombe is bringing her foundation (The Special AVM Research & Awareness Fund, benefiting The Hospital For Sick Children) to Coronation Park on Saturday August 17^th, 2013 to rock the stage with an afternoon and evening of live music, guest speakers and fun!  This is the first year ...

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  Well, it's official - we have the schedule all filled up for the day of the show!  Come on out to Coronation Park on Saturday August 17th, and see...

• 3:30pm - Sarah Jordan
• 4:00pm - Rebekah Stevens
• 5:00pm - J'aime Payne
• 6:00pm - The Reverand H.C. & The Grievous Angels Choir
• 7:00pm - Barry Szeto
• 8:00pm - J'Nai
• 9:00pm - Zara Ahmed (Zara is coming to us all the way from Montreal!  She grew up in Oakville and is returning home to headline at SHINE!)

Looks like a fantastic afternoon of live music and fun...
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  Go to http://TheSHINEFestival.webs.com to purchase your tickets for The SHINE! Festival... only $20!  This promises to be a great day of live music, friends and fun in the sun.

  The band line-up has been nearly completed... we are still looking for a few smaller acts to fill in the gaps between bands, but otherwise it is shaping up to be a pretty great day  :)
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