Better than a PhD

I’d been both dreading and looking forward to yesterday afternoon’s care conference. It was a social worker who offered to get the biggest players on my health-care team together in a virtual room to discuss a major life change that my husband and I have in the works. I’m someone who deals with anticipatory anxiety … Continue reading Better than a PhD →

Classic

This coldhearted lady spontaneously burst into tears this morning while completing a crossword puzzle and listening to Bach (Suite No. 3 in D Major, BMV 1068: II. Air, to be precise). I seldom cry, but when I do, my eyes make up for lost time. It’s as if my tear ducts reserve their salty stores … Continue reading Classic →

Thanks(giving)

In the space of three or four days, an unusually late burst of summer turned to weather that’s unmistakably appropriate for autumn—early winter, even. I ripped the tags off my new coat, which I felt ridiculous buying a few weeks ago, when it was uncomfortably hot out, and wore it for the first time on … Continue reading Thanks(giving) →

Another Year Older, Definitely a Little Wiser

It’s my birthday! I’ve never had a particularly hard time accepting that with time comes increased age, perhaps because I’ve always felt as if I occupy a body and brain older than my own. And yes, I’m sitting in a wheelchair, admiring my latest embroidery project, drinking a Boost, digesting some pudding, and planning my … Continue reading Another Year Older, Definitely a Little Wiser →

(Re)visiting

I spent most of Saturday catching up with a friend who lives in Ottawa. It occurred to me while waiting for him to arrive that I’d last seen him more or less exactly a year ago. The circumstances then were quite different: I was in acute care at the time, I heavily relied on help … Continue reading (Re)visiting →

Pushing

Earlier this week, I returned to a volunteer activity that holds immense personal meaning for me. I couldn’t participate last year for reasons that will be obvious to regular readers of this blog, and I was determined to be well enough to get back to it this September. I was careful to commit in a … Continue reading Pushing →

Fangirl

Here I am, about to fangirl a fangirl. I had an appointment yesterday morning at the hospital at which I receive most of my epilepsy care. For the past few months, I’ve shuddered at the mere mention of the hospitals that I associate with being really sick, but I approached this visit with a surprisingly … Continue reading Fangirl →

Six Months!

Exactly six months ago, I left the hospital and came home to a new apartment and to a life that was full both of possibility and, at the same time, of uncertainty. I remember the excitement; I also remember the nerves. The future was mine to embrace or to mess up. I like to think … Continue reading Six Months! →

On My Own Two Feet

Sometimes it seems as if my recovery is proceeding at a snail’s pace—three steps forward, two and a half steps back—and then, out of the blue, I notice a cascade of changes. Friends very generously stopped by to hang out with me on Wednesday so that my husband could go to a work function. (Thanks, … Continue reading On My Own Two Feet →

An Afternoon on the Town

My husband and I talked all summer about going to Koreatown, which is within easy, TTC-accessible distance of us and is the site of a few of my favourite stores, one of my favourite parks, and, importantly, a Baskin-Robbins. In other words, a trifecta of happiness. This must’ve been the fourth or fifth Sunday in … Continue reading An Afternoon on the Town →