Topic: Health & Wellness

On July 11, 1988, Dr. Claudia Osborn, a prominent physician practicing internal medicine in the Detroit area, was riding a bicycle when a car going the wrong way struck her. She got thrown in the air and landed on her head. She does not remember it happening. What she does remember is her recovery from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and in 1998 she wrote what is widely considered the defining TBI memoir with Over My Head: A Doctor’s Own Story of Head Injury from the Inside Looking Out. Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Dr. Osborn shares her story of her life prior to her TBI and her life now. She misses who she once was; but has adjusted herself to accept who she is presently. Dr. Osborn states, “I was a happy woman before my injury. I am a happy one today.”

Claudia Osborn is an Associate Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

She is also an advisor on TBI education and prevention to government agencies including the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Washington DC, and the Michigan Department of Health. Post rehabilitation, she taught first year medical students at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, until her lecture schedule took her across the continent and commanded all of her professional time.

Pre-injury, she was a physician in Detroit with an office and hospital practice in Detroit who also instructed interns and residents. That life ended abruptly one summer evening when her bicycle was struck by an automobile and she sustained a traumatic brain injury. She underwent extensive rehabilitation in Manhattan at the Brain Injury Day Treatment Program of New York University Medical Center founded by Dr. Yehuda Ben-Yishay.

Following her return to her home in Michigan, she began writing. At first, it was a form of therapy. It soon became a cause in itself borne of a need to “be understood by others.” Even with the assistance of her mother, who organized her notes and journals and edited her manuscript, the book took seven years to complete.

Over My Head, which Publisher’s Weekly calls “exceptionally well written,” was published by Andrews McMeel in April, 1998. It was an Alternate Selection of the Literary Guild Book Club, and a condensed book in the March, 1998 edition of The Reader’s Digest. In the spring of 2001, she was honored by Psychology Today for her contribution to mental health.

Dr. Osborn is a graduate of Vassar College and Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists.

Kendall Renee is a singer, songwriter, recording artist, and Lola’s dog mom from Southern California. Her music is her greatest passion, but Kendall’s music is all about the message. She strives to write songs that resonate with her listeners. Kendall strives to make others feel understood and less alone with her songs, as she felt these emotions in regards to her food allergies. Kendall is anaphylactic to 95% of all foods and must use a feeding tube in her stomach to receive nutrition. Kendall is also severely allergic to airborne particles of all nuts. Kendall carries auto-injectable epinephrine with her at all times – and has used it to save her life eight times to date.

None of this has stopped Kendall from pursuing her dreams and career. She released her first album, Original in 2016, dedicating its message to individuals with various differences. Alongside her career as a songwriter and artist, Kendall travels around sharing her songs and story in the hopes of inspiring others going through their own medical struggles. She believes that disabilities can be turned into “superpowers” and can be used to do great things in this world.

Aside from her music career, Kendall was also a highly competitive US Figure Skater for thirteen years. She is currently working on a project to showcase the stories of different individuals with disabilities. Kendall has partnered with Aerie by American Eagle Outfitters, as a changemaker to create a music video showcasing the stories of individuals with special needs. The song and video, for Aerie, focus on bringing hope and inspiration to others worldwide.

Kendall is also a food allergy awareness advocate, working to educate the public about food allergies. She has been a powerful voice within the food allergy community for many years. Kendall serves as a FAACT Ambassador, for the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team. She has shared her story in the media on several occasions including: Good Morning America, The Young Icons, ABC7, KTLA, Ability Magazine, and more.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Kendall discusses her life with anaphylaxis, how she advocates for individuals with differences, the body positivity she exudes on social media platforms, and her music. Through her songs, Kendall hopes that every listener realizes that it is okay to be different and that there is nothing wrong with the original. As Kendall states in her song, Original, “Wise beyond your fears, resilient beyond your years. Don’t forget you’re original.”

Kendall Renee (kendallreneemusic.com)

Daniel’s Music Foundation was founded by the Trush family in 2006 to empower individuals with developmental and physical disabilities by combining music programs with community and socialization. We believe in inclusion, diversity, and the right of all individuals to creatively express their best selves.

Music in various forms played a critical role in every phase of Daniel’s recovery. From the songs that kept him connected to reality during his coma, to the keyboard playing that helped him regain his motor skills; and even the music history class he took that ultimately inspired him to help others. Most importantly, it was music that maintained his connection to the people around him – and to the very essence of life.

Interviewed by our Founder and President, Alexandra Nicklas, Daniel and Ken Trush share about Daniel’s difference and how he recovered against the odds with the healing power of music. Daniel and Ken additionally discuss the mission of Daniel’s Music Foundation, their online episode series Smile-O-Meter Friday, and next steps for Daniel’s Music Foundation, which recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. The interview also highlights the Trush family’s strong advocacy for disability awareness.

You can find out more about Daniel’s Music Foundation and Daniel’s journey by visiting: Daniel’s Music Foundation (danielsmusic.org).

Daniel Trush: President and Co-Founder for Daniel’s Music Foundation

Daniel is the President and Co-Founder of and inspiration for Daniel’s Music Foundation and along with his family, is actively involved in all aspects of the organization. Surviving a ruptured brain aneurysm at the age of 12, he is a talented songwriter and performer and is the man responsible for naming DMF’s key performance indicator, the “Smile-O-Meter,” which focuses on the changes in attitudes and outlook reported by DMF participants—a measure the organization takes very seriously. Most importantly, Daniel is the life force that drives DMF and he serves as the ambassador for the mission. He is a living example of acceptance, kindness, and joy.

Ken Trush: Co-Founder/Chair of Board of Directors for Daniel’s Music Foundation

Ken Trush is a non-practicing CPA and is a partner at Spring Advisors, an M&A advisory firm that works with marketing agencies, design & development firms, and consultancies. Prior to Spring, Ken was a founding shareholder, CFO and EVP of Corporate Development at Agency.com, a digital agency that grew to 1,700 employees in 14 locations in 6 years (1995-2000).

Ken is also a Co-Founder of Daniel’s Music Foundation (DMF) and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Ken works closely with his son Daniel, the DMF management team, and staff (20 total employees; 6 full-time), in the development of the music programs and in the marketing, development, and operational areas of the foundation. He developed the concept of “The Danny Awards” during the summer of 2019, an annual celebration of musical talent from around the world and is the driving force behind their Virtual Community.

Dr. Gregory Snyder majored in Molecular Biology with certificate programs in Neuroscience and Spanish at Princeton University. In June 2013, Greg suffered a traumatic fall while hiking with his dog, which resulted in broken vertebrae and a spinal cord injury. After two spinal fusion surgeries and a lengthy Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay, Greg got stronger each day and learned how to adjust to a life as a T9 paraplegic – to become independent again. The experience of immediately becoming a patient with a chronic health condition enlightened Greg as to the real difficulties and inefficiencies of our healthcare system. After rehabilitating for one year, Greg finished medical school at Jefferson Medical College.

Currently, Greg is an Attending Physician of General Internal Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, which is part of the Mass General Brigham Health System. He is also an affiliate faculty member at Ariadne Labs, an entity that studies the implementation of best practices for healthcare delivery and works for innovative startups that are attempting to improve the quality and access to health care, including through telehealth.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Greg shares his story and the lessons he has learned as a paraplegic doctor. He discusses how as a patient, along with his perspective as a doctor, he was able to gain an understanding of the requirements one must need to receive quality care. Greg is a strong advocate for doctors to see differences in today’s medical field. He states, “We could find value in the subtle difference between being a patient learning from a doctor and being a doctor learning as a patient. This will make for good, patient doctors.”

Victoria Garrick is a former Division I and semi-pro volleyball player, TED Talk speaker, mental health and body-image advocate, podcast host, and self-love enthusiast. She is deeply passionate about inspiring, supporting, and motivating people from all walks of life. Victoria walked on to the number one ranked University of Southern California (USC) volleyball team in 2015 and then became a four-year starter. She won a Pac-12 championship, made two National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Elite Eight appearances, finished first in the Pac-12 conference with the most total digs in 2018, and ended her career with the top five most digs in USC program history.

Despite a successful athletic career, the high-pressure environment and intense demands of her student-athlete schedule took a toll on Victoria’s mental health. She shared her story of battling and overcoming depression, anxiety, and body image issues as a student-athlete, in her 2017 TED Talk, “Athletes and Mental Health: The Hidden Opponent.” In 2019, Victoria founded a non-profit organization and advocacy group with the same name, The Hidden Opponent, that raises awareness for student-athlete mental health and addresses the stigma within sports culture.

As a retired athlete, Victoria has come full circle with her challenges with mental health and body image. She is an advocate for body positivity and body neutrality. Victoria is an inspiration to young girls and athletes everywhere encouraging them to love their bodies and to be vocal about their mental health. She continues to travel the country speaking on college campuses about mental health and creates daily content for her army of over one million people, who follow her message of authenticity and self-care on social media.

Interviewed by our Founder and President, Alexandra Nicklas, Victoria shares her story of overcoming the burden of mental health, the important lessons that she has learned about herself on and off the volleyball court, and how the stigma of athletes with mental health has evolved. It is evident that Victoria, through her dedication and support, has created a community of athletes that share their struggles, which helps others know they are not alone. Victoria says, “I hope to influence people to be the best version of themselves, and I hope to do this every day.”

Marissa LaRocca is an award winning author of two #1 bestsellers on Amazon, Starving in Search of Me: A Coming-of-Age Story of Overcoming an Eating Disorder (a confessional and self-help guide) and Finding Self-Acceptance and Everyone Is a Freak: Anonymous Confessions About Sex, Sexuality, and Desire. She is also the CEO and Founder of Pilot Press.

Through her innovative publishing company, Marissa empowers authors and influencers with her book coach strategy and savvy knowledge of writing a book from start to finish. Marissa also is a contributing editor for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She advocates daily for women’s health and gay rights.

Marissa struggled to find her identity as a young woman, battling Anorexia Nervosa and elucidating her sexuality and authentic self. Marissa is truly one-of-a-kind; confident, chic, creative, and clever. On her website page for Pilot Press, Marissa remarkably states, “I’ll be beside you the entire time like a warm, comforting beverage. I’ll be your partner. I’ll be your mentor. I’ll keep you motivated and accountable, and I’ll break down the process into one step at a time.” Marissa is the advocate and best friend you did not know you needed, until now.

Alana Nichols is a three-sport phenomenon in wheelchair basketball, alpine skiing and paracanoe. She grew up in Farmington, New Mexico; and Alana was an avid snowboarder throughout her youth. In 2002, however, Alana landed back-first on a rock while attempting a backflip on her snowboard. The injury caused her to be paralyzed from the waist down. Alana did not let her athletic career stop there, though, as she began playing wheelchair basketball just two years later and helped Team USA to win gold at the Paralympic Games Beijing 2008. Alana is the first U.S. female Paralympian to win gold medals at a Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. She has continued to satisfy her competitive side by competing in surfing competitions, and has become a strong advocate to add surfing to the program for the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

Alana is a true advocate for people with disabilities with a goal to develop community involvement programs and Collegiate Scholarship programs in underdeveloped countries. In May, 2014, Alana was inducted into Warner Brothers’ “Superman Hall of Heroes” in the inaugural class of real-life heroes. She serves on the board at ESPNW, The Women’s Sports Foundation, and The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Alana is an advocate of sporting opportunities for girls and women.

Interviewed by our Different & Able President and Founder, Alexandra Nicklas, Alana, an icon of courage and excellence in Paralympic sports, discusses her journey growing up as a young athlete falling in love with sports. She shares the account of her life changing snowboarding accident and how she reacted to being told she would never walk again. Alana has stated, “Do the best you can, with what you have, everyday.”

For as long as I can remember, I have always had obsessive thoughts. These thoughts would make me do certain rituals; if I didn’t do them, I believed something bad would happen. That is what obsessive behavior can do. As a child, and even now at 29 years old, I have had obsessive thoughts such as needing to make sure the faucets in bathrooms are turned off completely or that my clothes have no spots on them. If I don’t pay attention to these thoughts, I fear that there is a chance of a flood in the house or that people will denigrate me when they notice a spot on my clothing. The thoughts come and go. While I sometimes got fixated on these thoughts, they didn’t seriously affect my mental health until my college years. That was when I began to recognize signs of a possible disorder.

During my senior year in college, I began having the obsessive existential thought: “I don’t like to see”. This thought bothered me a lot. The thought was so powerful that I started believing that I did not really like to see. This thought caused me great emotional distress; what’s more, I started having other intrusive and unwanted obsessive thoughts. I was now caught in a spiral of thinking unwanted thoughts; they led to anxiety and depression. My anxiety caused a racing heartbeat, feeling nervous, scared and panicky. Simultaneously, my depression caused decreased appetite and concentration, fatigue, lack of pleasure and excitement as well as feelings of sadness. I knew something was wrong and I could not shake it away on my own. This was when I decided I needed professional help.

My first stop for help was seeing a psychiatrist who explained to me about Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) medications, commonly known as antidepressants. I was hesitant to take any because I have always had bad reactions to medications. However, because of my trust in the psychiatrist, I started taking Zoloft. Over a span of six weeks, gradually he increased the dosage to 150mg. With the 150mg of Zoloft, all of a sudden, I had more energy, better concentration, appetite and a more regular sleep cycle. The psychiatrist felt that my symptoms were part of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a specific type of emotional and behavioral difference. He recommended that, in addition to taking the medication, I see a therapist who would provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

I accepted his recommendation and found a therapist who specialized in CBT and I started seeing her once a week. She helped me implement a daily schedule to control the obsessive thoughts, plan for pleasurable activities, and use my rational scrutiny to test my irrational depressive thoughts. Therapy was not always easy. There were times I struggled and failed, and times when I did not want to continue the hard work to get better. As time went on, however, I found that I had an inner strength that made me trust my professional support system and pushed me to keep going; I knew that, eventually, I would get out of my episode. So, with months of hard work, in combination with my medication, my obsessive thoughts decreased and my depression and anxiety subsided.

My treatment team was a big asset to my life and well being. The therapies and the emotional support of my professional treatment team and my friends and family helped me get through my struggles. I believe that, without them, I would not be at the point I am at today. The experience of living through severe bouts of OCD has given me emotional strength. I have learned over time to always stay positive and know that bad times don’t last forever. We all live in an imperfect world in which everyone has struggles of one kind or another. OCD, anxiety and depression are my struggles.