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Sign Shares International | The Capsule Group

by SS contributor

Welcome…

Sign Shares Inc Sign and The Capsule Group is celebrating Christmas.

Published by Sign Shares  · 11h  ·

Sign Shares International | The Capsule Group

by SS contributor

Where do we begin, it has been a very long time that we congregated together, celebrating together, and spending time amongst each other just embracing life. Closing out the year with warm hugs, fresh smiles, new perspectives, and creative endeavors. We appreciate everyone that came out and share togetherness for an intimate gathering. Hosted by one of our own.

We have all been through a lot, enduring a pandemic, the passing of loved ones, separations, distance, it’s a a rebooted world that we interpret for.

It was such a heartfelt gathering seeing those that could come at the spur of the moment to those that we know well, and those we are now being introduced to happily moving on with our journey. Everyone welcomed each other sharing the support of our communities, our disability communities, and our beliefs of just embracing life with positivity. It shows us that we still stand strong for the love of the community and will always be there for another.

Networking and collaborations were fruitful as we had a fun time doing so. Our event took place at the savory Perry steakhouse at Town Center in Sugarland Texas. Our crew showed us wonderful hospitality and we highly recommend them, and we’ll visit them again. It was a lovely evening with Christmas lights throughout the Town Center. Thanks to everyone who brought a white elephant gift and participated in our reindeer games. Yes, we said it reindeer games!! The ugly sweater contest was optional, but after the pandemic, people just felt like dressing up and getting all sparkly.

We’re a diverse bunch as we featured a known artist highly respected amongst the art community, Mr. Ray Dunlap. Ray, a color-blind local Texas artist, defines his work as being spiritual and sees himself as a Contemporary Folk Artist. Born in Palestine, TX and lived in Tokyo Japan at the age of 21, Ray’s art is influenced by his country and contemporary hemispheres. We were very gracious to receive a piece of Ray’s art that was given away as a prize. Those that did not win the prize will be commissioning Ray’s wonderful work. That’s harmonious!

Congratulations to Mr. William Pool, our prize recipient of an intriguing painting entitled: ‘Paying Tribute To All The Tribes’. The artist, Ray Dunlap, description of his painting: “It’s about everyone’s mixture of DNA and characteristics that speaks volumes of communications that conveys that everyone is one community, one communion.”

We learned it was one of Mr. Dunlap’s paintings from the 1st phase of 15 paintings out of the entire 50-piece series entitled: ‘Awaking of the Whales’. What an honor to learn this from the artist himself as Ray shared with us what his two pieces meant. ‘Awaking of the Whales’ is a long series with a Japanese flair of 50 paintings that are comprised in a mindset while coming into a clarity of sobriety, while acknowledging the checkpoints a person’s life undertakes in a spiritual sense, a life framing experience that we all endure a rapture at some point in our individual paths, and walkways during our earthly lives.

Mr. Dunlap also brought a private piece he had painted that was on display. It was a very heartfelt piece as he painted it live while the person who thought they were commissioning a piece for the event, shared with Ray a personal checkpoint of their life’s tale from the recent past year, to include the pandemic, and all that transpired. Little did they know that Ray was able to produce their expressionism during the conversation. Call it a ‘live’ interpretive collaboration of the minds, and the result was a breathtaking emotion that no longer had to be contained by the person who shared with Ray. That is what Ray is good at, spiritual interpreting, spirit filled awakenings. We had questions from an audience member asking what the Japanese writing meant on the side of this painting. Ray indicated it was a simple poem, which he translated from Japanese into English… {The Flowers are becoming water…}.

Ray currently has art on display throughout Houston, TX with prior shows in Japan where he is quite popular.

Well, that certainly wrapped our event with a bow! The food was spectacular, the ambience was loving, and we thank everyone for creating these fond memories with us! “We all share the same sky. We are all one community!”. Thanks to our Host: Taylor S. our blog contributor, and more. Special thanks: Megan for interpreting for our guests, Perry’s Steakhouse, our Sign Shares International, Capsule Group Crew, and our Creator! Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, onward to the next gathering! Love & Light! Take it away Taylor for our next Holiday Blog shenanigans. Artist Web Page: Ray Dunlap @ https://www.instagram.com/dunlapian/

Special Attendee Thanks To:

Linda Guerrero – Fort Bend Recognized Realtor & First Vice President Board Member for Women’s Council of Realtors. https://www.coldwellbanker.com/Col…/Linda-Guerrero-593937a

Patti Molina: Business Entrepreneur & Community Advocate, Specializing in Visually Impaired Community members & Outreach for Women in Domestic Violence Situations.

www.mytaxmultiservices.com

Shirley Fluker T: CODA – Medicare, Life Insurance and Retirement Specialist For Deaf & Hard of Hearing Community Members. https://hearingbusinesses.com/

Megan Mantey: Specialty Interpreter Sign Language & Advocate. Deaf & Hard of Hearing Proud.

Taylor Southerland: Our Hostess with the Mostess. Sign Language, Blogger, and more.

Kay & Bill Arnett: Specialty Sign Language & Advocate. It isn’t a party with out these two. We love them bunches!

🖋 💌 Vic Trammell: Executive Coordinator – Commercial Landscaping Services North Houston Areas. His music tastes are impeccable.

Christina Goebel: Published Author, Administrator, Teacher, & Advocate for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

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https://www.goodreads.com/…/show/17533964.Christina_Goebel

Visit On WordPress For More Picts: https://sign-shares.com/…/christmas-party-shenanigans…/

Brain Injury Awareness Month

Because our brain is central to everything we do in life, anything that limits the capacity of our brain to function at less than optimal levels has the potential to drastically impact our lives. Each area of our brain controls a specific function, or group of functions. So one of the key factors that identifies how a brain injury will manifest itself is the specific location of the brain injury.

There are two over-arching types of brain injuries. These are Traumatic Brain Injury and Non-Traumatic Brain Injury. Traumatic Brain Injury is caused by trauma, also known as some form of impact, where the force exerted against some portion of our head exceeds our body’s natural capacity to deal with that force. Non-Traumatic Brain Injury is a term that covers the many different means outside of an external impact that can damage our brain.

It is estimated that about 1,000,000 people per year visit the emergency room (A&E) for head injuries. Traumatic Brain Injury is caused by events such as vehicle accidents, physical assaults, injury acquired while playing sport, and falls. A feeling of sickness and/or dizziness may be a side effect of this injury. A mild Traumatic Brain Injury is also known as a concussion while a period between 15 minutes and six hours of loss of consciousness or a period of up to 24 hours of post-trauma amnesia would indicate a moderate Traumatic Brain Injury. Durations exceeding those just mentioned above would indicate a severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Physical after effects of this type of injury may include symptoms such as balance issues, headaches, fatigue, and dizziness. Cognitive issues could include memory loss. Emotional issues such as anger could follow as well. The force and location of the injury will play a major factor on what symptoms manifest themselves and everyone in the patient’s support circle should be aware of these possibilities in order to protect the patient and themselves.

There are many things that can cause a Non-Traumatic Brain Injury. A few examples would include brain aneurysm, brain hemorrhage, brain tumor, an stroke. While these root causes appear less dramatic at onset, the damage that can potentially be done is no less impactful.

A cerebral aneurysm is the swell in the wall of a weakened blood vessel in the brain; like a blister. This will exert pressure on the surrounding tissue. Most often, this pressure will not present identifiable symptoms. The danger is that if/when the aneurysm bursts, catastrophic brain injury is possible.

A brain hemorrhage can be caused when a cerebral aneurysm bursts. This is also sometimes called a hemorrhage stroke or brain bleed. There are four different types brain hemorrhages.

1. Subdural hemorrhage
2. Extradural hemorrhage
3. Subarachnoid hemorrhage
4. Intracerebral hemorrhage

A brain tumor is an abnormal mass of cells within the skull.These cells are multiplying at a rate faster than normal body cells. Tumors or either malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous). Malignant (cancerous) tumors can spread to other parts of the body via the blood stream and/or the lymphatic system. Because this spreading can happen rapidly, early detection and early treatment are critical to recovery. Benign (non-cancerous) tumors do not migrate to other parts of the body, but they do continue to grow and that growth exerts pressure on the brain which can cause damage.

A stroke is an interruption of blood supply to some portion of the brain. It’s the oxygen in the blood that the brain needs. There are two different types of stroke. The hemorrhage stroke was noted in the brain hemorrhage section above. An ischemic stroke is one that is caused by a blood clot in a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. The symptoms of a stroke include:

1. F-Face. Part of the person’s face starts to droop making it difficult for them to smile.
2. A – Arms. The person cannot fully lift their arms.
3. S – Speech. The person has difficulty with speech, often becoming slurred.
4. T – Time. A person displaying these symptoms must receive immediate medical care to counteract the root cause of the issue and limit the damage to the brain to be as little as possible.

We reach out to our family and friends who have suffered this type of injury or who have had someone in their circle go through this experience. “The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each neuron connected to 10 thousand other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe.” – Dr. Michio Kaku

Two Sign Shares Inc staff have biked 701.4 miles as Team Eva and Ant in honor of loved ones who have fallen to cancer and to raise money for children with the disease. The event was organized by Great Cycle Challenge USA, a company that has “raised $16,070,740 in support of research to develop better treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer” over the past four years.

Eva Storey, CEO and president of Sign Shares, rode 350.7 miles in honor of a former interpreter for the agency, Sharon Miller-Bless, who was a tri-lingual interpreter for the interpreting agency. “Sharon was more than an employee, but a dear friend,” Storey said.

Anthony Butkovich also rode 350.7 miles in honor of his mother, Grace Marie Rataino Butkovich. According to his dedication page, his mother was an advocate for alternative therapies for cancer. “She literally traveled the world studying the root of all cancer and seeking cures in countries that permitted unorthodox treatments.”

Over the month of June 2019, Storey and Butkovich showed determination when they biked in outdoor and indoor conditions, jointly and independently.

According to website participants, they undertook this journey because “cancer is the biggest killer of children from disease in the United States. Over 15,700 children are diagnosed every year, and sadly, 38 children die of cancer every week. Kids should be living life, not fighting for it.”

Many people with hearing loss and deafness use a variety of tools to assist their telecommunications, including video and caption phones. Another tool has been added to their access—captioning with Skype.

Skype is known for providing audio and video communications. When Sign Shares Inc. staff held a recent video conference, they learned that Skype now provides captions for video. They were pleased with the quality of the captions for personal use.

Until now, captioning for video has been limited and was mainly available through captioning in YouTube videos, but not for interpersonal communications. With this latest upgrade, individuals with hearing loss and deafness can supplement their video communications with family and friends instead of relying on a combination of lipreading and messaging.

More experience with Skype will determine its value for professional use. When business meetings are important, or when multiple individuals need to teleconference, contact Sign Share Inc. and The Capsule Group to determine the best accommodations for your needs. This involves considering the individual preferences of the personal with deafness or hearing loss, the location of the meeting, the number of individuals involved, as well as room acoustics and the distance the employee will be from the speaker.

In most situations, employers are required by federal laws to provide accessible meetings that provide a similar experience to the one that any other employee receives, and the Sign Shares Inc/The Capsule Group team will ensure that your employees receive a smooth delivery of services.

As for personal use, Skype’s captioning is a welcome tool to enhance communications with family and friends.

Skype is a free service available online and via a cell phone app. Click here to learn more about Skype or create your account.

Once you download Skype, which is available on desktop or cell phone, you can set the subtitles to run captions while the other person speaks. According to the company’s website, “Live captions & subtitles are available in Skype on Android (6.0+), Android tablet, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, and Skype for Windows 10 (version 14).”