EP223: Navigating Normalcy: Insights with Dr. Maria Stella Bonn

Redefining “Normal” After Traumatic Brain Injury: Dr. Maria Stella Bonn on Disability, Advocacy, and ChecklistsOn The Girl Doc Survival Guide, Dr. Maria Stella Bonn, Associate Professor of Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, discusses her 2011 bicycle accident–related traumatic brain injury and her writing on disability and “normal,” including the idea that everyone’s baseline varies. She reflects on unpredictable health changes, including a breast cancer diagnosis two years after her TBI, and how recovery reshaped her views on capability and judgment. Bonn says she wishes others would assume people are okay and let actions demonstrate abilities, offering a story of walking her kindergarten-aged child to school during recovery. She emphasizes the importance of an advocate, describing how her husband ensured therapies occurred, pushed her to persist, and helped expedite replacement of her skull flap after an emergency craniectomy. She also discusses improving information handoffs in healthcare and co-parenting through simple checklists.00:00 Meet Dr Maria Bonn00:35 The Bike Accident01:27 Normal Versus Disabled03:26 Life Can Change Fast05:05 Cancer After TBI07:02 What Disability Means08:37 Recovery With Her Child09:17 Why You Need An Advocate11:29 Medical Handoffs And Checklists13:28 Closing Thanks