Bio
Neuro Advocate | Writer | Philosopher | Researcher | Caregiver
I'm Sherry Webb Phipps. I am a neuro advocate in Texas whose work focuses on how brain development, brain injury, and neurodegenerative conditions intersect with law, medicine, and systems of care. For twenty-five years, I have independently researched brain injury, disorders of consciousness, digestive disorders, and the realities of accessing medical care, reading clinical literature and continuing-education materials as a daily practice. I collaborated with the late Professor Thomas Borody in Australia, a pioneering gastroenterologist known for microbiome-based therapies, and helped implement a treatment plan that led to my son's Crohn’s disease going into remission—a proof of concept for my research-first, systems-level approach.
Before my life revolved around medical advocacy, I worked in private lending, originating loans and packaging them for secondary markets. I taught myself Texas real estate law and learned to navigate complex contracts, regulations, and risk analysis—skills that translated directly into reading statutes, medical records, and clinical evidence. I now apply that same analytical rigor to research and policy work that recognizes the neurobiological realities of emerging adults while holding systems accountable for how they treat vulnerable people.
My advocacy became personal when my husband Danny sustained a severe brain injury and entered a minimally conscious state, and when I began navigating care deficiencies and access relating to my father, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease. I work to expose gaps in compassion and continuity of care while insisting that every decision begin with the person at the center, not the convenience of the system. I have seen how hospital and regulatory structures can erase the voices of patients whose brains make them dependent on others for protection, interpretation, and safety.
As a neuro advocate and Texas policy advocate, I write white papers and policy briefs—to support legislation and practices that protect neurologically vulnerable people: emerging adults who need legal protections that match their level of brain development, people with disabilities in medical settings, and people with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease who are at risk of isolation or neglect. I also coordinate informal peer support for families dealing with coma and disorders of consciousness, and I write essays and educational pieces (including work at ComaWhisperer.com) that translate complex medical and ethical issues into language families can actually use.
At home, my husband Danny and I built a life around from-scratch Texas family-style cooking and designing meals for family gatherings with our kids. Years of studying cyclic economics and doing recreational mathematics have sharpened my pattern recognition and systems thinking, which I bring into both clinical problem-solving and legislative frameworks. After Danny’s brain injury, I deepened my meditation and Qigong practice with the generous help of my friend Martin Faulks, a monk and meditation specialist in the UK, whose guidance supported the internal stability required for long-term caregiving and advocacy.
Danny and I homeschooled our three sons from the beginning through high school, teaching each to read by the age of three and encouraging them to pursue their dreams. That same commitment to knowledge and potential runs through my caregiving, research, and advocacy. I'm a down-to-earth nerd who reads constantly, asks difficult questions, and cares deeply about whether systems treat people fairly—especially when neurological realities make it harder for someone to be heard.