Well, I did it! All went pretty much according to plan, and I now have a VNS implanted in my chest. I'd like to claim that I've roared my way into cyborg status, but so far I've been in more of a whimpering state. Roaring will have to be a longer-term goal. I meant to … Continue reading I Am Now a Cyborg: Hear Me Whimper
The time's upon us: it's Halloween, yes, but it's also the day a VNS device will be surgically implanted in my chest. My husband and I are, in fact, at the hospital waiting for my operating time. Though I was a nervous wreck yesterday and over the weekend, I'm now (relatively) calm about the whole … Continue reading It’s a Great Day to Have a Device Implanted in My Chest! (Oh, and Happy Halloween, Everyone.)
I got home from a trip with my father last Tuesday afternoon. Our vacation was lovely: a perfect mix of relaxing, spending time with family, and being distracted from my upcoming surgery. Though I had a few seizures, we had a safety plan in place, and it worked exactly as it was supposed to. The … Continue reading Post-Vacation, Pre-Op Business/Busyness
As the self-explanatory title of this blog post makes clear, it's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. Though 2017 has been difficult in ways that are sometimes hard for me to articulate, my Year of the Disobedient Brain has, in many respects, allowed me to better recognize my privilege and focus on the things for which … Continue reading Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!
Over the course of two days, it's abruptly turned from sundress-and-Birkenstocks weather to sweater-and-sneakers season. The change hasn't been entirely unwelcome; there's only so much late-September sweating I can do before agonizing over global warming starts to interfere with my enjoyment of the sunshine. It has, however, resulted in some interesting-to-me (almost definitely boring-to-you) reflections. … Continue reading It’s the End of September, and I’m Not Freaking Out
I'm a little late—what else is new?—with this, but I thought I'd write a bit about my latest visit to the neuro ward, a.k.a. my home away from home this year. First: I've been out for a while now, so yay! In fact, with the medication adjustment done in hospital, I'm super stable. In fact, … Continue reading Belated Update: Another Visit to 5B (Yeah, I Know)
I met with my epileptologist last Wednesday to follow up on the hospitalizations that seem to have plagued me this summer. Each of these mini vacays (ha…) from my everyday life has resulted in a heavier medication load than ever before, and since I've been deemed ineligible for resective surgery (for now, at least), I'm … Continue reading Becoming a Cyborg/Making Decisions/Drawing Questionable Pictures
It's been a while. (I'm sorry.) I have three major updates, as well as many minor ones, but I haven't been able to get myself to open a tab, write a few paragraphs, and click "publish" in over what—two weeks?—so I thought I'd start with something short and sweetish to break the proverbial ice and … Continue reading Rebreaking the Proverbial Ice
Forty-five seconds. A blip, and likely an inevitable one, after which I rolled over and went to sleep. I'm making a real effort to convince myself that forty-five seconds mean nothing, but they keep tossing around my head, unwilling to simply be what they were—one complex partial seizure among dozens I've had this calendar year. … Continue reading Forty-Five Seconds
I’m home! A neurology resident stopped by my room yesterday and told me that since I was doing better than expected, I would be discharged and my medication titration would continue on an outpatient basis. And so the wires on my head were taken off, prescriptions were called in to my pharmacy, a discharge summary … Continue reading Home
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 