Lauren and I live in Connecticut, we met when I was bartending part time at a local restaurant. We didn’t get together right away, not until I ran into her at my friend’s restaurant, Side Street Grille in Hamden, CT. She stopped in to pick up dinner to go (she does NOT cook, not even boil water) and we’ve been together ever since.
Let’s face it, unless you’ve had a personal experience with a brain health issue, you will not likely be very familiar with “Brain Fitness”. I know I didn’t think about it until I had a reason to…then I began to think about it and live with it every day. My journey into the brain health world came suddenly, completely out of the blue as it does for many.
On the morning of December 18th 2000, my wife Lauren came into my office in our house where I was, as usual, working on my computer. It was the week before Christmas and she came in to give me a kiss goodbye before going off to work at the phone company. She and her sister Linda where going to do some last minute shopping after work and she mentioned she’d be home later. Shortly after lunch that day, I got a call from her friend Hilda at work…she told me that Lauren had some kind of seizure and was on her way to the hospital. Naturally I took off and raced to the hospital as fast as I could. When I got there she was in the room unconscious….she had suffered a brain aneurysm. I actually knew what that was having seen a documentary one time where the Doctors performed surgery to repair an aneurysm…I knew she could die.
Lauren was in the hospital from December 18th until February 1st and then went to Gaylord Rehab Hospital in Wallingford, CT. She was there another month and then came home. She steadily improved for about the next 18 months and has recovered nicely, all things considered. Lauren has a permanent short term memory disability…which to this day amazes me. She can remember word for word all her responses at Church but not remember a conversation we had just moments ago, the brain is an incredible work of nature. As her Doctor said, it’s like going into a library without the alphabet for direction, all the books are there but they’re hard to find when they’re not in order. Over the next several years I have tried to make things as easy as possible for Lauren. Making sure she gets the best care we can afford and to do our part in making sure she exercises, eats right, has fun and Maxes Her Memory. Looking back it’s hard to believe it will be 10 years this December 18th. Yes, I still remember the day all too well. Also, reflecting back, we unknowingly at the time implemented the 5 elements of a Brain Healthy Lifestyle with great success.
The research is clear, the best way to maximize your memory is to implement the 5 steps for a Healthy Brain Lifestyle:
1. Exercise your brain daily to stay vital
2. Maintain a proper diet and nutrition plan
3. Stay physically fit…exercise regularly
4. Discover ways to manage and reduce stress
5. Constantly learn, stay positive and find joy in your life
Lauren worked for the phone company for 20 years as a Network Translator and had to retire when she had her aneurysm. I worked in Restaurants for 15 years, went back to school, earned an accounting degree and then did Mortgages for about 8 years. Currently I work in the Health Insurance field out of a Money Concepts financial planning center in Rocky Hill, CT. Yes, the health insurance career was the result of our health experiences. Trial by fire I guess.
Max Your Memory was inspired by a book I read, The Alzheimer’s Prescription by Dr. Vincent Fortanasce. I realized that we were very lucky to have come such a long way with Lauren’s health. I saw, based on the information in the book, that we had incorporated many of the basic principles of good brain health. As soon as she could Lauren was exercising, we paid close attention to her diet and nutrition. Mainly, she had tremendous help and support from family and friends.
My mission here is to provide access to positive tools, resources and community. Demonstrate that there is hope, see that you can accomplish great things and Max Your Memory!
