The Architecture of Neural Repair with Dr. Pengzhe Lu

​​For decades, the diagnosis of a complete spinal cord injury came with a period at the end of the sentence: no regeneration possible. But Dr. Pengzhe Lu has spent his career challenging that finality. In this episode, we travel into the microscopic world of the Center for Neural Repair at UCSD, where Dr. Lu is engineering neural stem cell grafts to act as biological bridges across the lesion site. We explore the incredible complexity of convincing axons to grow through a hostile environment and the emerging role of 3D scaffolds in rebuilding the body’s architecture. This is a conversation about the persistence of science, the definition of the miracle year when viewed through a cellular lens, and the tangible steps being taken to translate laboratory breakthroughs into restored function for SCI families, including complete injuries, waiting for a cure.

#BeginAgain #HopeforEverything

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

https://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/centers-programs/neural-repair/scientists-team/paul-lu.html

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

A Raw Look at Redefining Possibility

How do you rewrite your life's story when the plot twists become unbearable? Louise joins author Rebecca Faye Smith Galli to navigate the intersection of profound grief and the sudden onset of Transverse Myelitis. Unlike acute traumatic injury, this rare inflammatory condition presents a unique medical puzzle, attacking the spinal cord from within. Becky shares how she processed the paralysis that followed, a diagnosis that arrived amidst the heartbreaking loss of her brother and son. They explore the biology of resilience, the difference between surviving and healing, and how writing became a tool to document the intrigue of a body and life transformed. This conversation challenges the pressure to be positive, offering instead a raw look at redefining possibility when the unexpected happens.

#BeginAgain #HopeforEverything

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Rebecca Faye Smith Galli: rebeccafayesmithgalli.com

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Macrophages and the Battle for SCI Repair with Dr. John Gensel

What happens when the cells sent to heal the body after a bodily trauma decide to stick around, becoming a permanent roadblock to recovery, as they do in acute SCI? Is it possible to reprogram the immune system to stop standing guard over the damage and instead open the pathway for repair?

Louise sits down with Dr. John Gensel, a neuroscientist and the Director of the Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center at the University of Kentucky. John has dedicated his career to the microscopic world of macrophages—the body's internal healing cells—and the mystery of why they behave so differently in the spinal cord than anywhere else in the human body. He shares how his lab is working to flip the switch on chronic inflammation, looking for ways to turn a person's own biology from a roadblock back into a healing and repair agent, and an ally to recent NVG-291 breakthroughs. Stay tuned as they explore the cellular frontier of SCI science and what it means for the future of personalized recovery.

#BeginAgain #HopeforEverything

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

John Gensel: https://medicine.uky.edu/users/jcge224

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

The Crash That Saved My Life with Jesi Stracham

Can a tragedy actually save your life? It is a paradoxical question, but for Jesi Stracham, the moment that broke her body was the catalyst that fixed her life. In 2015, a motorcycle accident resulted in a T4 complete spinal cord injury, stripping away her physical mobility but granting her a sudden, terrifying clarity. Jesi transitioned from a reckless lifestyle to facing the raw, unglamorous reality of paralysis, a shift that forced her to take extreme ownership of a future she hadn't planned for.

Louise and Jesi discuss the disorienting first 30 days following a spinal cord injury, exploring what happens inside the body and how the understanding of such a permanent change evolves in real time. They talk about the ripple effects of trauma on family and relationships, and the pivotal moment when survival mode must transform into active rebuilding. Jesi opens up about how she channeled her innate competitiveness into becoming the first paraplegic to complete the World’s Toughest Mudder 24-hour obstacle course and how that drive led her to found the Wheel With Me Foundation. Now an author, Jesi details her journey in her new book, The Power of the Roll & Throttle, sharing the mindset required to reclaim agency and the unexpected motivation discovered through injury.

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Jesi Stracham's new Book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Roll-Throttle-Spinal-Injury/dp/1476698511

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Inside Stem Cell Research for Spinal Cord Injury With Dr. Mark Tuszynski

What can stem cells actually repair after a spinal cord injury, and where are the boundaries? What learnings might be drawn from ALS, MS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s for SCI research? How should patients and families interpret early clinical SCI trial results? And what does a therapy like NervGen mean for the broader research landscape?

In this episode, Louise sits down with neurologist and researcher Dr. Mark Tuszynski of the University of California, San Diego, to examine the realities of stem cell research for spinal cord injury. They explore the biological barriers to regeneration, why recovery is rarely driven by a single intervention, and how clinical trials are designed, paced, and evaluated.

The episode offers a clear, honest, science-first perspective on progress, patience, and what meaningful advancement in spinal cord injury research really looks like today and what we can expect.

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Mark Tuszynski: https://neurosciences.ucsd.edu/centers-programs/neural-repair/projects/index.html

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#293 Revisiting Blink: A Holiday Special, He Talked with God

In this holiday revisit, Blink of an Eye returns to He Talked With God, a moving episode from Season 1 that explores the intersection of catastrophic injury, faith, and human resilience. Spinal cord injuries often occur suddenly, frequently while people are away from home, often on vacation, and unprepared for how quickly life can change, leaving families to navigate life changing injuries and complex medical trauma in unfamiliar circumstances.

Revisiting this early conversation during Season 6 offers a moment of reflection on how deeply personal journeys of injury, belief, and survival continue to shape lives over time. This episode invites listeners to consider the enduring questions of meaning, connection, faith in purpose and what is possible that arise in the aftermath of spinal cord injury—and why these stories remain essential to tell.

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding! Www.BLINKofanEye.org

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and medical, rehab and life tips resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 365 days of renormalizing. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory, self-awareness methods, relational advocacy, mediation interventions, and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

The Future of SCI Neural Repair With Dr. Andrew Stewart

What does it mean to rethink spinal cord injury recovery when the world has told you that healing has a limit? How do you hold on to hope when science, for decades, insisted that the chronic stage of SCI was a closed door? And what happens when new research begins to challenge those long-held assumptions, inviting us into a different kind of possibility?

In this episode, Louise talks with neuroscientist Andrew Stewart, whose work sits at the forefront of emerging SCI science. Andrew brings us into the biology of the injured spinal cord and the breakthroughs that are beginning to reshape what we understand about repair, recovery, and the potential for regeneration. Together, they explore the momentum building around therapies like NervGen, the questions researchers are finally able to ask, and why the nervous system may be more adaptable than anyone believed even a decade ago.

This conversation blends scientific clarity with grounded hope, offering a window into the persistence, curiosity, and careful optimism driving today’s most promising advances in SCI healing.

Be part of supporting BLINK of an Eye nonprofit as we support SCI families in crisis and advance science. Give $25 today! www.BLINKofaneye.org

Resources

Andrew Stewart: https://medicine.uky.edu/centers/scobirc/users/anst265

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

Shot, Survived, and Still Rising: The Life of Damon Walker

What happens when everything changes in a single moment—not just from SCI but from an unexpected kind act of a stranger? Damon Walker was living fast, avoiding reflection, and giving little thought to tomorrow—until the gunshot. The sudden spinal cord injury that followed didn’t just take away physical mobility; it demanded emotional honesty, a different kind of strength, and a complete rethinking of self.

In this conversation, Damon opens up about the pressure to remain tough, the guilt he carried, what he wishes he had known before rehab, and the hardest parts no one warns you about—social isolation, identity loss, and the quiet mental battles that don’t show on the outside. We talk about faith, masculinity, fear, moments of grace, and his process of learning to slow down and listen to life instead of outrunning it.

Damon also shares his thoughts on today’s generation of newly injured spinal cord survivors, what inspires him about the future of SCI medicine and mobility research, and why hope shouldn’t be seen as naïve… but as fuel. At the end of our talk, he tells the full story of the night it all changed—the gunshot, the Good Samaritan who picked him out of the gutter, the rush to the hospital, and the moment he realized nothing would ever be the same.

Sending love

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com