Meet The Board

Born and raised in Colorado I had the privilege of going to the mountains often. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful but as you stand on the high mountain top where the air is thin, the soil rocky and the temperature is cold, you quickly realize moving down into the valley is where life is sustained and abundant. Our lives are like that mountain top experience, it’s in the valley we grow.

Five years ago our family started on a journey into a valley after our son, then 15, suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm, causing a massive stroke. Prior to this journey I did not have much experience with brain injuries or strokes and the life that comes with them.

I have learned that the brain is an amazing organ and that through LOTS of repetition of movement, new pathways can be made to perform functions lost to brain injury. Therapy sessions for speech and occupational and physical therapies have helped my son tremendously. 

My desire to help others get what they need to continue to progress after a brain injury is the reason I have committed to take part in the Healing Heads Foundation. 

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and Brain Injury Specialist for Brain Links, a TN grant-based program supporting professionals who work with people with brain injuries.  I am board certified by the ANCDS in neurologic communication disorders and sciences. I was the Clinical Service Supervisor for JFK Johnson’s Center for Head Injuries’ Cognitive Rehabilitation Department where I worked with people with brain injuries for twenty years.  I am a Certified Brain Health Professional. I have served in many leadership roles, including President of the NJ Speech Language Hearing Association, and ultimately received their Honors of the Association Award for distinguished service.

My interest in helping people with brain injuries started a long time ago. In high school, I was thrown out of a car and sustained a significant concussion along with some injuries that caused me pain for decades. I was lucky not to have any long-term cognitive issues and the experience triggered a desire to help others with brain injuries and sparked a fascination with the brain that lasts to this day.

I served as clinical advisor for two years and then joined the board in 2019.

I was a Spanish teacher from 1985 until 2013 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I completed chemotherapy and was just starting radiation treatment when my husband, Mike, suffered an ischemic stroke following sinus surgery. From that moment on, my role changed from that of a teacher and breast cancer survivor to that of an advocate, caretaker and researcher. 

The stroke my husband suffered was massive — devastating the entire right side of his brain. There were irregularities on the left side as well. He was wheelchair bound, and the prognosis was discouraging. The prevailing thought at that time was that almost all progress is made within the first year following the stroke — with little improvement expected after that amount of time. Refusing to accept that mind set, I researched and studied about neural plasticity — the brain’s ability to change throughout a person’s lifetime to the extent that even a specific function can be transferred to a different part of the brain. Intensive therapy, water therapy, acupuncture, and alternative therapies all played into my husband’s recovery — almost all of which occurred long after the 12 month timeline. 

Today, he can walk with the help of a cane and his mental acuity is remarkable. His neurologist shakes his head when he sees him. “I see patients that have half the damage your husband has, that can’t do half of what he can do.”

 My husband and I were lucky — we had the financial ability to pay for therapy when insurance would no longer pay. It is my firm belief that everybody should have this opportunity regardless of their financial situation. For this reason, HHF was founded. For this reason, I am proud to serve on the board of HHF.

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My name is Larry Nall, and I am a board member for the Healing Heads Foundation. My wife and two daughters and I moved to Franklin, TN in 1996. I started my career in hospital finance and spent the last 25 years with Cigna, Unite Healthcare and lastly was the SVP of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Network Management before retiring in May of 2020.

In November 2019, at only 58, I had a massive brain stem stroke leaving my left side compromised. After spending 2 weeks in the Trauma ICU at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, I was transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta where I spent 2 months of inpatient rehab, where I was one of the oldest there. Although I was around healthcare my entire career, I found out that I knew very little about strokes as I thought you had to be old and that you could not recover.
Wrong and wrong.

I had just started going to their outpatient clinic (Pathways) when Covid hit. Because I was considered high risk, due to my tracheotomy and feeding tube we were sent back to Franklin, TN in March of 2020.

Ironically, both of our daughters are Pediatric Therapists for kids with special needs. Keely is an OT and Katee is an SLP. They took the lead on researching Neuro Providers in Middle Tennessee. While my wife Julee, started researching Neuro Plasticity in addition to becoming my full time caregiver. She made sure I got therapy 6 days a week.
 

I am fortunate I did not have my memory or vision impacted. Now, I am able to drive after a year of rehab. I am excited to be on the board and hope to use the platform to help others and share my journey. I look forward to giving back.

Kerry Wilson has been an owner of a non profit organization since 2019. She also works in the Insurance Industry and has vast knowledge of 501C3 protocols, different computer systems and software, allowing her to best assist with Healing Heads. She is a mother and a wife and keeps very busy. She enjoys working with the team at Healing Heads as it helps her better understand strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Her husband has had three strokes and knowing the resources, if needed, are out there is very comforting. Healing Heads has been a great addition to the knowledge she already has in the medical / caregiving field.