What Clinical Trials Really Look Like: A Patient Advocate's Guide (Part 1)

The Rupture of Losing Your Job | When Work Becomes Who You Are

Submit a dispatch. BestGuessistan wants to hear from you. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557991/fan_mail/new] Who are you when the role disappears? Modern culture teaches us to define ourselves by what we do. We introduce ourselves by our jobs, tie our worth to our productivity, and often struggle to separate our identities from our careers. So what happens when that role suddenly disappears? In this episode of Rupture, Wendy Lurrie speaks with organizational psychologist and cultural behaviorist Dr. Lauran Star about job loss, workplace trauma, and the profound rupture that can occur when our professional identities are stripped away. Having experienced layoffs from both sides of the desk, Dr. Star offers a rare perspective on the emotional realities of losing a job, the systems that fail us, and how we begin rebuilding when we're forced to answer a different question altogether: Who are you when you're no longer who you used to be? This conversation explores grief, identity, mental health, generational differences in our relationships with work, and why perhaps our jobs were never meant to define us in the first place. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestGuessistan Subscribe to our Substack: https://bestguessistan.substack.com/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestguessistan/ Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestguessistan/

Designing Better Clinical Trials for Brain Injury Patients | Patient Advocacy Part 2

Submit a dispatch. BestGuessistan wants to hear from you. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557991/fan_mail/new] There is still no standard treatment developed specifically for concussion. In this episode of Rupture: The World of Best Guessistan, Wendy Lurrie continues her conversation with clinical trial experts Kelly McKee and Mindy Cameron to explore why that is, and how clinical research could better serve people living with traumatic brain injuries. From decentralized clinical trials and home visits to caregiver support, accessible informed consent, wearable technology, and patient-centered study design, this discussion examines how reducing patient burden could improve both participation and scientific discovery. If we want better treatments for brain injury, we need to stop asking patients to adapt to research and start adapting research to patients. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestGuessistan Subscribe to our Substack: https://bestguessistan.substack.com/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestguessistan/ Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestguessistan/

She Treated Brain Injuries Until She Had One

Submit a dispatch. BestGuessistan wants to hear from you. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557991/fan_mail/new] Mandi Dickey spent years helping patients recover from brain injuries as a board-certified neurology nurse practitioner. Then a car accident gave her a traumatic brain injury of her own. In this deeply personal conversation, Mandi and Wendy explore what happens when medical expertise collides with lived experience. They discuss why so many concussion patients are dismissed, the surprising ways brain injuries affect the entire body, the emotional toll of identity loss, and the financial and healthcare systems that often leave people to navigate recovery alone. Together they challenge outdated assumptions about concussion, explain why "mild" traumatic brain injury can have life-changing consequences, and make the case for bringing lived experience into healthcare. Whether you're living with brain injury, supporting someone who is, or simply curious about how healthcare can better serve patients, this conversation offers compassion, practical insight, and hope. Follow Mandi on her podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/@brainwellnessnp4328/ Check out more of Mandi's work and resources for concussion patients on her website: https://brainwellnesssolutions.com/ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestGuessistan Subscribe to our Substack: https://bestguessistan.substack.com/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestguessistan/ Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestguessistan/

What Clinical Trials Really Look Like: A Patient Advocate's Guide (Part 1)

Submit a dispatch. BestGuessistan wants to hear from you. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557991/fan_mail/new] Clinical trials can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even frightening, especially for patients navigating a new diagnosis or searching for better treatment options. In Part 1 of this two-part Rupture conversation, Wendy welcomes patient experience expert Kelly McKee and patient advocate Mindy Cameron to explain how clinical trials actually work from the inside out. They break down the terminology, the people involved, and the realities of participating in medical research. Together, they discuss: * What clinical trials are designed to prove * The role of placebos and standard treatments * Endpoints, biomarkers, and informed consent * Inclusion and exclusion criteria * The many professionals behind every study * The real-life burden placed on patients and caregivers * Distrust, fear, and misconceptions surrounding research participation * Why patient voices and experiences deserve greater recognition This episode offers an honest, patient-centered look at a system that shapes nearly every medicine and treatment we rely on today. Subscribe to Rupture for Part 2 of this important conversation on patient advocacy and the future of clinical research. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestGuessistan Subscribe to our Substack: https://bestguessistan.substack.com/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestguessistan/ Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestguessistan/

His Scans Were Clear, His Life Was Not | Rob Baugh on Living With TBI

Submit a dispatch. BestGuessistan wants to hear from you. [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2557991/fan_mail/new] After a traumatic brain injury during the pandemic, Rob Baugh was told what many concussion patients hear: go home, rest, and you'll be fine. He wasn't. Years later, Rob still lives with chronic headaches, aphasia, cognitive challenges, and the ongoing reality of an invisible disability. In this conversation, Wendy Lurrie and Rob explore what happens when medical systems fall short, how brain injuries reshape identity, and why the phrase "just a concussion" can be so damaging. They discuss caregiving, workplace accommodations, emotional changes, advocacy, and the difficult process of learning to live in the "after." For anyone navigating brain injury, chronic illness, disability, or another life rupture, this episode offers validation, honesty, and hope. Check out Rob's podcast, Life Rewired here: https://www.youtube.com/@liferewiredpodcast Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BestGuessistan Subscribe to our Substack: https://bestguessistan.substack.com/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestguessistan/ Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bestguessistan/