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I needed a solution for my own brain which was injured in a car crash. I saw a March 2004 Newsweek article by Mary Carmichael entitled “How A Brain Heals” featuring Dr Dobkin’s work with stroke victims at UCLA. He hooked paralysed stroke victims with supported harnesses to a treadmill to teach their legs to walk again and for some people it worked. I already knew that if I could support my brain it could recover. In rehab, I found one side of my body retained the ability to work the machines while the other side did not and that I could use the working side to train the broken one. I even emailed Dr. Dobkin and he very graciously answered me and gave me hope. I wanted to find some kind of brain program that would train back lost skills. I started with ‘Reader Rabbit’ and our granddaughter was my ‘trainer’. She shared the steps she took to sequence thoughts and I relearned this. I then begged the insurance company medical examiner to allow me brain rehabilitation and he did.

Why did you choose to use the Captain’s Log, as opposed to other software?

I prayed and asked God to guide me to the right solution. I looked on the internet and because I had a background in mental health I knew it was important to find a clinical solution that went from impaired to superior and trained the maximum amount of skills. I noticed a functional improvement in less than six weeks but it took me 18 months of training to regain finer functional capacity. It takes infants about eighteen months to learn categorization and language formation, yet sadly individual progress can be hampered by outdated theory that suggests there is a ceiling on recovery. We have watched many clients make impressive recovery even years after the injury and have found that sometimes the greatest progress is made after the paid weeks allowed by most insurance firms. The nine and eighteen month maximum medical recovery myths are built on outdated unproven science and will need to be shattered by evidence based medical research. Fortunately Brain Train makes available a professional product clients can use at home for one year with the supervision of a qualified professional.

Captain’s Log equips individuals to empower destiny with the language of success. My adventure with Captain’s Log started eight years ago after a brain injury and continues today as a clinician, consultant and brain scientist. I credit Captain’s Log for restoring my brain function and that of multiple clients and recommend this system because it works. Prior to the injury my husband and I spent 30 years as international motivational speakers.

Beyond the plateau is the location where learning excels. Creative ideas produce seeds for concepts which deliver contributions. The life of the seed is within itself. The future is shaped by a seed’s response to forces that surround it. Brain training can transcend negative circumstances because response becomes the servant instead of the master. This is where expert learning begins.

Learning lives in layers. A task once learned through repetition attains automaticity to make way for new input. Repetition alone minimizes danger but does not maximize reward and so presents an impoverished route to learning. User tailored applications with Captain’s Log can develop specific brain chemical increases which enhance learning and provide safe natural motivation.

Novelty followed by reward enables learners to sustain engagement. Without novelty or challenge the mind defaults to an automaticity mode and fewer brain resources are available for reward which decreases learning optimization. Rewards benefit from being genuine, time specific and measurable.

Captain’s Log uses novelty, engagement and multiple levels across sensory pathways to extend memory, processing, attention, motor skills and even proprioception ability. Brain Training develops categorization skills to reinforce action and supplies enhanced routes for information retrieval. Captain’s Log is tailored to allow for individual and functional brain differences.

In contrast generic training may improve visual tracking speed or game proficiency but little else. In Captain’s Log rewards are earned in time sensitive ways to produce goal setting response and increase self regulation.

Self regulation is a key component in learning as it reduces stress and strengthens attention, speed of processing and decision making skills. This positions individuals to become expert learners and decreases the effort required to learn. Preliminary studies using Captain’s Log indicate self regulation skills enable individuals to better filter extraneous information and assists category forming efficiency. Multiple studies in the elderly have demonstrated positive white and grey matter changes after training. JAMA research shows some benefits can be retained five years post training

Inner success equips people to back themselves. Transformation comes from the inside out by empowering learners to celebrate their destinies.

What accident did you have?

It was an auto crash. We were stopped at a light and someone rear ended us. To this day I have little recollection of the crash or the events that surrounded it. My husband and I sustained significant spinal injury and endured multiple spinal surgeries/procedures. My husband had to have his hips replaced. I was left with brain damage, cervical instability, a broken sternum and internal injuries. Our crash related expenses topped one million dollars. Additionally we were unable to work for many years and this was crippling financially. Victims are seldom compensated in proportion to their losses. We find it is better for clients in similar situations to focus on getting well than on litigation. In the end spending money to save your brain is a critical investment in your future as well as contributing to the happiness and security of the family.

At what point did you begin to have hope that you would actually recover?

I didn’t have hope, I had determination. I moved forward because to live with the brain limitations was unthinkable. In multiple measures I was diagnosed in the bottom 1-3% of the population in brain function yet in those brain areas resistant to brain trauma I remained in the top 2 %. I could not afford to consider failure, rejection or the prognosis of others. I have since recovered a great deal of functional capacity.

In life we need to back ourselves and remember who we are. It actually got worse before it got better for me. I still remember the terror I experienced when my brain could not perform the simplest tasks and the shock on the faces of friends, family and colleagues as they faced this with me. They were loyal and protective and I continued one step at a time.

Have you recovered to a higher level than you would have thought was possible?

I didn’t think about this, I couldn’t afford too, I just did my best. One day about a year after starting Captain’s Log it came to me that I needed to go back to university and recover my professional skills. My surgeons graciously wrote me recommendations and I was accepted. The students and professors were wonderful and supportive, they helped me find my way.

I told myself if I passed the course I would continue but when the first papers came back with passes but not so great scores I was crushed. I interned with a seasoned professional Dr. Rohn Kessler, he and his wife faithfully encouraged me to believe in my ‘Spark of Genius’ and continue. The Brain Injury Association found me a mentor because I wanted to know someone who had gone on to a doctorate after a brain injury. They assigned me to Dave Stevens, a trial lawyer in another state who is a great friend and encourager. I continued to move forward, attain multiple qualifications and today I work as a brain scientist and help others recover their brain potential.

You seem very passionate and “driven” about your life and also about spreading the word about Captain’s Log. And you make "no bones" about saying what you think about things! Were you always this way, or do you just feel that this is an extra important subject?

Before the crash my husband and I lived wonderful lives as motivational speaker and an international missionaries. I shared with people that where God is there is hope and help. I learned that the important things need to be said clearly. Recovering the brain is one of those things. When people put all their energy into inferior solutions they lose hope. Brain Train helped me and it has helped multiple others who I have worked with. The elegance of this therapy is the ways it can work with those at most any level of functional deficit to deliver improvement. As a brain professional I use Captain’s Log because it works and I am passionate about it because it is the product I credit with restoring my brain. You can watch for future research papers written by me on what makes brain training successful.

I am so thankful for the vision and foresight of the Sandford’s. They pioneered this solution when others failed to see its worth. Many treatments offer the chance to get into a normal range of function. Normal was not enough for me I wanted recovery and that is what I aimed for. In the beginning I was driven because I was afraid and needed to prove to myself that I could still function. Now I am passionate about living and working with people who care for others and do things that matter.

Where do you get all of that energy?!

I am insatiably curious and there are always more opportunities and ideas that present themselves than there are hours in a day. Eric Kandel, brain scientist, cell biologist and Nobel prize winner for his work on memory said as he got older he realised he couldn’t dance at all the weddings. He lives life to the fullest and chooses his weddings carefully. He makes the most of every dance, this is my plan too.

What personal traits do you think drove you to persevere where other people might have just given up?

Faith in God, an indomitable will and seeing through the eyes of experience the fate of those who give in to despair. It was not my destiny to live without hope and it not yours. Life is like a game except the only way you lose your place is by giving up. Anything worth pursuing will be challenged. As a brain injured person I was mistreated, my credentials were questioned and I had a first time ever experience. I was fired and left unpaid in a position I had faithfully served for over four years. Maybe something like this has happened to you.

You are not the sum total of what happens to you but rather you become who you are because of what you learn through life’s challenges. A very important project I am involved in was birthed in those days of heartache. It was a door many people can wait a lifetime for and never see. When you choose to reframe your destiny, your tools can come at unlikely times and through unusual sources. The future of the seed is within itself and your future is waiting on the inside of you. Go and meet it. When adverse circumstances surround you like quicksand it is more important to learn to float to the top where there is a solution than to sink and struggle with a blaming mentality.

What advice would you give to someone else finding themselves in the same predicament?

Learn to say thank you, especially to your family and accept their limitations. No one can be there for you but they will do their best. My husband and I have worked through the roadmap of life together. Stop caring what people think and think more about how they care. Make getting your brain back your first priority. Find a quality brain professional who will work with you to use Captains log 4 x a week for 45 minutes a day. Say goodbye to the person you were because you will lose your sense of direction by looking backwards. The way to reclaim yourself is by giving the present your full attention. Your diligence now will prepare your future. You will mess up, forgive yourself and try again. Life is like an ocean there is always another wave, wait for the next one and use past experience to improve your learning curve. Kindness and laughter are yours to enjoy. Follow your dream and back yourself. In the end who you are matters more than what you do.