Welcome back, Janice By JR P.

Janice L. Woltz has returned to The Denbigh House. She returned to get job skills and to live independently in the community. Before she left Janice worked in the Communications Unit but says “it’s difficult”. She feels it’s more challenging in the computer area. She was gone for over a year.

Janice says she likes it here as her friends are here! She feels the staff here at The Denbigh house can help her by getting a communications device so she can get a job. Welcome back, Janice!

Taking Care of Diabetes EveryDay!

by J.R. P
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which one's body cannot produce the insulin required to serve the food one eats. I have had type-1 for 34 years (since 16). The longer one has it, the more complications can occur. Having eye trouble, kidney disease, loss of one's limbs can occur. Exercise helps reduce these complications, along with proper insulin control which is a blood sugar between 80 and 180. ANYONE WITH A FAMILY MEMBER WITH DIABETES IS AT RISK. Get a blood test if you show symptoms of diabetes or call your doctor for more information.  Tips for helping Diabetes include eating properly, exercising after meals, taking care of one's feet (due to amputation concerns) eating properly and light rest at times. ALSO CHECK YOUR VISION AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR. Thanks! JR from the Denbigh House.

The Story Of Patrick Henry

By Geoffrey B..


Patrick Henry was born on May 29, 1736.  He was a American Attorney and was married to Sarah Shelton.  In his career, he was a planter and by June 1st, 1779 he died.  Now we have a mall named after him called The Patrick Henry Mall.  The Denbigh House loves going to The Patrick Henry Mall because in March, it is Disability Awareness Month.  In 1987, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed it for that month.  He said, "Upon Americans to provide the "encouragement and opportunities" necessary for people with developmental disabilities for to reach their highest potential."


The Denbigh House comes out to The Patrick Henry Mall on Disability Awareness Month because it shows that just because we have a disability that does not mean we can't dance, sing or do anything that a normal person without a disability can do.  Like I said a 1000 times over and over again.  Never underestimate the power of a person with a disability. If you the whole story about Disabilities Awareness Month click on research! Thank you!

Listerine: Based on a True Story!

By Geoffrey B.


First off, I want to thank my fiancé, Keisha Smith for giving me this information she got in her history class in college.  Listerine was named after Dr. Joseph Lister.  He was advocating  the idea of having germ free surgeries by sterilizing instruments.  Listerine was invented in the nineteen century for an antiseptic.  Then in the 1920's it was a solution for halitosis a.k.a (also known as) bad breath.  Since it was an antiseptic, when you read the directions in the back of the bottle it says "Do Not Swallow" because it was also used for healing wounds in a person's body.  So members and staff of The Denbigh House, morning and night, try your best to brush your teeth and use Listerine to have a clear mouth so your breath won't be kicking like Bruce Lee! Also, on the run, you can use the Listerine Breath Strips.  It is great if you are running a little bit late to work or any where you go!  If you want the whole story about Listerine or about Joseph Lister, click on information.  Thank you!

Summary of Daily Press Article

by Ginger B.
York High’s Khalil Duncan Jr. received a head injury his first week of high school.  He had had three previous concussions, however, he had never told anyone, not even his parents.  Being a true athlete, he wanted to continue to play, therefore, he didn’t did not tell his parents about his previous concussions. 

Khalil received his fourth concussion(brain injury) at soccer practice in September.  His symptoms progressively worsened. He was confused, had balance issues, headaches, and dizziness along with other problems.  Although Khalil had to persevere through the head injury and the problems along with memory loss  that come along with a lot of brain injury patients, he has made leaps and bounds with his brain injury.  He has graduated from York High School and has been accepted into North Carolina State University! 

Dr. Aisha Joyce explained most second impact hits to the brain 50% of the time result in death and there is nearly a 100 percent chance the second impact could result in permanent disability.

We can take away a positive attitude from Khalil’s situation. With a positive outlook, hard work and taking care of yourself properly after a brain injury, it is possible to have a very good outlook!

If you would like to know all of the details about this situation you can reference the Daily Press on June 13, 2014, written by Ali Rockett (alrockett@dailypress.com).

Recreational Activities After the Brain Injury

By Shasmin Asbury

After going around the Denbigh House and making friends with everyone, some questions came about. I asked each member two question, one being what activities do they like to do since their brain injury occurred? Most people told me that they like to play sports, spend time with family, work, and watch television or movies. Greg said that he like trying to learn because he would like to learn as much as he can. I then asked the members what activities do they find hard to do since their brain injury occurred. Many of the members said that they have trouble with some sports, such as swimming, running, baseball, and basketball; memory, independence, transportation, and computer skills. Matt said that he has trouble with everything because he cannot drive and he isn't allowed to do anything. Most of the members here at The Denbigh House cannot drive because of the various brain injuries that have impaired their abilities, so, it plays a major factor in each of our lives. Everyone has different skills for what they can do, like Ginger who has a green thumb and works on her garden with care and John O., who can fix any type of computer problem you may have. But, because of these brain injuries, everyone has their different things that they cannot participate in anymore, like Barry and his organization skills and Stephen with his computer skills. There are things that we can't do now that we have gone through what we have, but our plan is to find activities that we can do and enjoy doing them.

NEAT Way to get in shape

by: John B.   Excerpted from Sat., May 31, 2014 Daily Press “Life Health” by James Fell

All us “Couch Potatoes” need to find realistic ways to motivate ourselves into good health. As we age and become less energetic and in more need of ways to preserve our aging flesh, we become less interested in real exercise in a period of life that requires some activity to maintain a decent level of health.

James Fell, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and founder of “sixpackabs.com” says: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is not to exercise but to be physically active”. He proposes the position of “moving around doing stuff that is not sport or exercise”, or “NEAT”.

NEAT- Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, which is scientist speak for “moving around doing stuff that is not sport or exercise”. As per Fell, “NEAT has the potential to burn substantially more calories per day then exercise for the average person”.

Fell indicates that “Those with Type 2 diabetes or even pre-diabetes have low lactate thresholds, meaning they’ll be wiped out very easily from even moderate effort”.

Well, how do we do this?? Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk as opposed to drive.. or park further away to force you to walk more. Set an electric calendar to remind you to get up and away from your desk if you are desk bound. Instead of trying to finish a task with minimum amount of steps, take the maximum amount of steps to accomplish the task. Make housework, yard work, walking, not just work but a low intensity type of exercise… and ALWAYS… make it fun!!

Introducing Our New Intern Christina

By Barry F.

It was my pleasure to interview Christina Snyder. She is an occupational therapy assistant major from Tidewater Community College.  Her expected graduation date is 5/20/15.  She is at The Denbigh House on a seven week internship program.  Christina volunteers in the Communications Unit most of the time.  When asked what she knew about brain injury she replied that all brain injuries are different and they can cause multiple problems with functional ability.  Her goal is to assist members to adapt to their injuries.

She found out about The Denbigh House at the Tidewater Community College.  Her hobbies are crochet, arts and crafts, and family time.  When asked what she wished everyone knew about her, she said that God is important to her and He has helped guide her to where she is today.  She expects to graduate by May of 2015.

Her goals are to get a job in geriatric nursing and to put her children through college.  Christina is originally from Port Orchard in Washington State.  I think Christina will be a good addition to The Denbigh House staff and I wish her well in her future endeavors.

KAREN"S INTERVIEW

Our New Intern is Karen Kaufman. She goes to Christopher Newport University ,  she’s majoring in Psychology with a Leadership and History minor. Her internship is for  the next three months. She starts June 3, 2014. She’s been a volunteer since October. She will assist in the advocacy and outreach and communications unit. She knows that brain injury can affect memory, that people w/TBI can have flashbacks, and have problems with emotional stability. She’s taken classes on what brain injury can do and she looks to forward to learning more. She wants to learn more about the brain –injury community and what she can do to help. She found out about the Denbigh House through a professor who suggested she apply for the position. She likes to run,  paint,  read,  travel and see new things. She wants to everybody to know she likes Disney and Pixar movies and training for a ½ marathon. After she graduates she want to  get a masters or PHD in Psychology specializing in the  treatment  of survivors of TBI .She is from Fairfax, Virginia.

Our New Intern, Breeze

By Richard D.

Our New intern, Breeze, will be working on Mondays, here at The Denbigh House, with the Communications Unit.  

I interviewed her on Monday, June 02, 2014 in the afternoon and it was a delightful exchange. I can see that Breeze is cut out for her chosen profession of being an occupational therapy assistant.

Breeze is currently enrolled at Tidewater Community College studying to be an OT assistant and from the connection we made in my inter- view, I would venture to say that once she begins, she will become a competent and dedicated member of any therapy team that she winds up working for.

Breeze delights in boogie boarding and enjoys all beach activities in general and studies HGTV to add to her Arts and Crafts knowledge. She enjoys cooking and trying out new recipes on her husband.

Breeze enjoys working first hand with her patients, likes to be “one of the gang” and I am sure she will be well accepted by all those that she finds herself working with.

Breeze enjoys all types of comedy, especially the Simpsons and in the brief exchange that we had, I could tell that she has a good since humor herself and that is an important asset for any occupational therapist.