Episode 25 · Aug 2, 2026 · A Healthy Conversation
with Kim Block
About this episode
Kim Block spent nearly four decades as an anchor and reporter at WGME, the CBS affiliate in Portland, before a traumatic brain injury abruptly changed the course of her life. Co-hosts Dr. Lisa Belisle and Dr. Jeff Barkin open the conversation with Block's winding path into journalism, from nursing school at Indiana University to commercial radio in Maine, and eventually to television. Block describes the skills the work demanded: rapid cognitive processing, sustained attention, live delivery under pressure, and the constant intake of breaking news, often for hours at a stretch.
Block reflects on the particular pressures facing women in broadcast news, including the scrutiny over appearance that her male colleagues did not share, and the time it took to find the balance between warmth and credibility that audiences respond to. The conversation then turns to the day Block fell on an icy surface near her home, struck the back of her head, and went on to anchor that evening's newscasts before recognizing that something was seriously wrong. She describes the months of neuro-rehabilitation, vestibular therapy, speech therapy and other intensive care that followed, and the slow, incremental nature of recovery from a traumatic brain injury.
A central theme of the discussion is the gap between how Block appeared to others and what she was experiencing. She notes that looking well while carrying significant ongoing effects is a common and isolating feature of brain injury, one that can make it difficult for patients and families to fully grasp the injury's persistence. Block describes her involvement with LoveYourBrain, a nonprofit that offers yoga and peer community programs for people affected by brain injury, as one way she has continued to use her skills as a storyteller. Belisle and Barkin discuss with Block what recovery actually looks like when returning to a former role is not possible, and why sharing one's own story can matter to others navigating similar circumstances.
Mentioned in this episode
More about Kim Block's farewell statement at WGME
Also mentioned: LoveYourBrain
From this episode
“It felt like nobody really understood what a battle this was, and it still is to this day. And you can't wear a big sign that says TBI. Be nice to me.”
“What I love about where my career took me is that I wound up becoming a medical health reporter for many years for WGME TV. So I really got to fulfill that drive I had.”
“My first real shock about moving from radio into television is that it mattered what eyeshadow I wore.”
“If I am in the process of mentoring anyone, I do say you really have to be sure that this is a passion for you because it is the type of industry that can suck you dry.”
“I often wish people would just say, who know me, like, but how are you feeling? And I'll say today is a pretty good day.”
“It took me a while to get that balance that you really need to have as an anchor.”