I met Brad through one of the brain injury facebook groups and we began chatting about the nature of his problems. We found ways to further the explanation of his problems which was great because these topics are difficult to discuss. After his brain tumor was removed Brad was diagnosed with a rare condition called Hypertrophic Olivary Degeneration (HOD). The olivary nuclei are brain regions located bilaterally in the medulla oblongata that contribute to all types of brain functions including motor function and other basic activities.            

https://rarediseases.org/gard-rare-disease/hypertrophic-olivary-degeneration/

It's easy to get caught up in the differences between brain injury as a result of a bump on the head, compared to having a brain tumor removed, compared with having the olivary nuclei degenerate. These conditions all seem rather different. However in all cases the brain is physically altered/injured, and the goal of this podcast is to talk about the experiences that come with such conditions.

In the introduction of this episode another podcast gets mentioned, where Brad was also featured and the nature of his HOD was discussed. I mention this podcast not as an attack or a criticism of that program, but as a counter example to show how limited most discussion are when it comes to strange invisible problems that come with brain injury. Usually the details of the invisible problems are left undiscussed.    

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=23698007

Experiencing My Brain is a podcast devoted to detailed discussion with brain injury survivors about their experiences, problems, and ways that they have found to navigate their lives. These stories are important to help the non brain injured world make sense of the problems that come with brain injury.