Michael Paul Mason

This week, I’ll be attending the Eighth World Congress on Brain Injury, to be held in Washington D.C. March 10-14th. It will be the first time the congress will be held in the US, and it will be occurring during Brain Injury Awareness Month, so I’m hoping the combination results in a big surge of awareness of prevention and research.

On Saturday the 13th, I’ll be presenting a talk called “The Twittered Brain,” which is based on results from a survey I conducted about the use of social networking among survivors of brain injury. If you happen to be participating in the conference, make sure you drop by and say hello.

This Friday, I’ll be at the Brain Injury Association of Iowa’s annual conference in Des Moines,  presenting a talk called “Love in the Time of Brain Injury,” which tells the story of Jen and Seth Adams (pictured left). Just a few months after the wedding, Jen sustained a brain injury that radically changed the course of her marriage.

Click here for details about the talk.

Last week, I had a chance to attend the Brain Injury Association of America’s Business College, which was located at the Historic Menger Hotel, just a stone’s throw from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.

The Menger was built in 1859 and, as you can see in the picture, retains much of its splendor today. In addition to being one the city’s most haunted spots, it also houses a wealth of historical intrigue. The Menger cigar bar, for example, was used by Teddy Roosevelt to recruit Rough Riders.

Hotel Menger website.

photo by Michael Cooper

One of the perks of being a writer is that I get to meet extraordinary individuals–and sometimes they’re right under your nose. Special thanks to up-and-coming Tulsa photographer Michael Cooper for a series of great shots I can use for upcoming pr.

Three burn survivors and myself at Brooke Army Medical Center

This past week, I toured the Burn Care Unit at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas. In case you haven’t heard of it, BAMC is the place that treats every service member who returns from Iraq or Afghanistan with a serious burn.

Remember Olympian hopeful, snowboarder Kevin Pearce? Read about his situation below:

Star challenger watches Olympics from brain injury facility

Take a peek at the video above and watch the future of lung care in action. Researchers at Toronto General Hospital are perfecting the process of lung perfusion, which keeps lungs healthy outside of a body. While I was there, I was able to feel a set of pig lungs breathing in my hands. I also had a chance to speak with Andy Dykstra, the first person to receive a set of transplanted perfused human lungs.

Most Oklahomans don’t know that our state motto, “Labor Conquers All,” speaks to a time when Oklahoma was a pro-labor state.

While producing a new episode for Goodbye Tulsa, I recently had a chance to speak with Gary Ketchum about labor issues in Oklahoma. You can listen to the podcast here.

From an article I wrote for  BrainLine.org:

Most people involved in brain injury rehabilitation know that a brain injury has a terrible effect on a person’s social life. After the injury, it’s much harder to get out and meet people, and so it becomes even more challenging to maintain old relationships and create new ones. But after observing some injured friends using Facebook, I suspected that social networking might play an important role in the recovery of our social lives following injury.

Click here to read “Is Facebook the Newest Brain Therapy?“

From an op-ed I wrote that appeared in The Oklahoman:

Just as the Iraq War has drawn attention to the plight of civilian brain injury survivors, the concussion findings have encouraged a rally of public health advocacy that centers on preventing sports-related concussions by knowing how to avoid them, treat them and keep them from happening again.

Until August of last year, there wasn’t a single coach in any youth athletics program, college sports department or professional sports association in America who was required to know the proper response to a concussion. That all changed recently in Oregon with “Max’s Law,” which requires coaches to complete training that helps them identify sports-related concussions.

It took the catastrophic injury of a high school quarterback in Oregon to bring reform in that state. Must an Oklahoma college football star die from a brain injury before we employ the appropriate safety measures?

Read “Football Concussions an Oklahoma Concern”