Bonni Brodnick Blog

Terminal Warehouse was buzzing as stationary bicyclists zealously showed support for CycleNation, the American Stroke Association's fundraiser. It was an honor to be invited to speak about my book,  My Stroke in the Fast Lane. I thought back to the first time I went into the city alone, I wasn't as strong. Z., my good friend, assured me that he would meet me at the gate at Grand Central. "Don't worry, Bonomo. I'll be there."  But the overriding feeling I had on this particular day was one of gratitude: that this body could take the train to the city, walk to the #7 to take the subway downtown to Hudson Yards, walk a few blocks to CycleNation, and then repeat the journey home. I couldn't resist this shot with the EMT team. When I mentioned that I was a stroke survivor, the gentleman on my left kept saying, "God bless you. God bless you." <> <> <> Just got back from the cardiologist. After taking the usual EKG, he told me my heart...

This will be a very busy week! On Thursday, 3/12/26, I'll be speaking at the American Stroke Association's annual event, CycleNation , down in Chelsea at Terminal Warehouse. I'm going on at about 7pm and will discuss my book,   My Stroke in the Fast Lane: A Journey to Recovery , as well as how the organization touched my life, specifically that Easter morning several years back.  After having a stroke on Interstate-95 at 65 mph (I know! It's everyone's worst nightmare), the ambulance brought me to a hospital that gave me a tPA (or clot buster). It didn't work.  I was still in critical condition. My heart was hovering over 30 bpm, with some beats occuring every 8 seconds.  With crucial minutes still ticking, another ambulance whisked me 43 miles north to Yale-New Haven Hospital, who were able to help me.  I am incredibly grateful to the American Heart / Stroke Association for its steadfast commitment to funding, facilitating, and accelerating the impact of i...

Pamela Kogen  (my sister, a brilliant artist herself [if I must say so myself]) and I took a drive to Beacon, New York, a river town along the Hudson. Our destination: Dia Beacon. Formerly a Nabisco box-printing facility, it is now a museum dedicated to contemporary large-scale installations, paintings, and sculptures from the 1960s to the present day.  My favorite installations were: "Torqued Ellipses" by  Richard Serra Watching the light from the windows dance on these massive abstract sculptures was mesmerizing. These bold monuments measure 14 feet high and are made of weathered steel.  "Standing Walls," by  Larry Bell Stunning (as my mother used to say).    It was set on a pink rug (which I learned viewers can NOT walk on to get a closer view). The sheer blue-tinted glass panels are strategically arranged to create a minimalist elegance that feels as if they are floating. The two elements — the rug and the glass panels — give a striking geometric e...

Andy Hammerstein wrote the delightful and dishy book, "The Hammersteins: A Musical Theatre Family." In my interview with him in Bedford Magazine , "Getting to Know You: Oscar Andy Hammerstein III" , he discussed the dawn of Broadway theater and the brilliance, wit, and whimsy of a prolific family who truly impacted American entertainment. So being prolific is in his genes! Along with being a writer, this mega-/multi-talent is also a painter whose new work is beautifully articulated with vibrating strips of color that are layered, offset, and repeated at varying intervals. The process creates abstract, moving landscape-like fields whose relationships of color are more important than individual color.  Hammerstein has strategic discipline in everything he does, be it as a writer or a painter. This current work, at Chroma Fine Art Gallery, illustrates Andy's true mastery of color, interaction, and design.  <>  <>  <> "Underlying Geometry...

Noa Wind, Program Director/NYC; Katie Casamassina, Associate VP/Development/NYC; Cristina Civetta, host/Congenital Heart Disease Survivor; Bonni Brodnick, Stroke Survivor; Cara Pensabene, MD, VP Medical Director, Mastercard Standing with Cristina Civetta, one of my Survivor Sisters If you're lucky, like me, you can survive a stroke. Among the many things I attribute my recovery to is the American Heart Association and their dedication to supporting groundbreaking research. They also do public education, community programs, and lots more, but here is where the organization touched my life. After having a stroke while driving on Interstate 95, I was sent to Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, where I was in critical condition. My heartbeat was hovering at 30 bpm, with some beats occurring every 8 seconds. If the neuro-ICU unit at this hospital didn't have cutting-edge life-saving procedures, I would not be here writing to you today. As an ambassador to the America...

Could I possibly be ...? Wait ... whatttt?  I wanted to embrace my auspicious day with grace and gratitude. I wanted to be calm, cool, and collected on The Big Day. Meditation every morning surely helped.  As a Stroke Survivor, I treasure  every single  thing. I even appreciate sitting upright in my desk chair and typing this to you, because there was a time when that would be impossible. And I'll never forget it. A stroke underscores the absolute preciousness and precariousness of life.  And whilst I was recovering, I never, ever imagined I would hit this birthday. Ever. Okay. Say it, Bonni. And say it proudly: I am 70 years old.  Many thanks for all of the phone calls, texts, messages on Facebook and Instagram, friends. I am ever grateful for it all.                                   Love,                  ...