As you might imagined I was thrilled to hear that surgery would not be needed to repair my knee. Nevertheless, I found myself both frustrated and disappointed at the same time. My frustration and disappointment arose out of the reality that I may not be able to pursue my black belt through the black belt cycle. Consequently, I may not be able to test for my black belt this … [Read more...]
Archives for February 2009
When things DO NOT go as we PLANNED — Part 1 of 2
By Second Chance to Live
Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live. As I have shared with you in past articles I passed an 8 hour progress check at the martial arts school where I have been training for over 7 1/2 years. The progress check occurred November 8, 2008. On December 1, 2008 my Sensei met with me to tell me that I passed the progress check and would be able to enter the black belt … [Read more...]
Second Chance to Live’s Second Anniversary — February 6, 2009
By Second Chance to Live
Hello my friend. My name is Craig J. Phillips. I am a traumatic brain injury survivor and a master's level rehabilitation counselor. My traumatic brain injury occurred when I was 10 years old in 1967 when my skull was fractured in a motor vehicle accident. In 1967 neurological rehabilitation was not available so I was essentially on my own. I taught myself -- with the … [Read more...]
Brain Injury, Self-Esteem, Self-Respect and Significance
By Second Chance to Live
Hello and welcome back to Second Chance to Live my friend. I am happy to see that you decided to stop by to visit with me. Over the past several days I have been thinking about the concept of significance. As a traumatic brain injury survivor, I have struggled to find my place of significance in the world. In my attempts to establish my significance, I sought to define my … [Read more...]