Last Friday, I flew from Toronto to Seattle to visit two of my favourite people for a few days before visiting more of my favourite people in Victoria. You know that feeling of nervous anticipation when you’re boarding a plane and waiting to see who’ll be your seat mates for the next several hours? Well, … Continue reading Swissair
It’s rapidly getting chillier outside, and I’m rapidly getting more panicky about how I’m going to handle the winter months. Some people joyously welcome October and the changing leaves, donning their leggings and oversize sweaters and ordering their pumpkin spice whatevers (OK, I do this too; don’t judge). I agonize about the coming snow and … Continue reading In Anticipation of Winter (Bad Circulation, Bad Attitude)
One night last week, I had just finished brushing my teeth and was heading to bed when I stopped dead in my tracks, paralyzed by fear. “What’s wrong?” my husband asked. “I feel a SENSE OF IMPENDING DOOM,” I replied, in exactly those words. As per my recent explanation/tirade, the period after a tonic-clonic seizure can … Continue reading Sense of Impending Doom
When it comes to movies and TV, I'm a woman of extremes: I'll watch, for example, anything with a rating of over 80% or under 30% on Rotten Tomatoes with a comparable degree of pleasure. I don't know if it's because I have several chronic health conditions or if it's just a personality quirk, but I'm also … Continue reading Impossibly Healthy-Looking Sick Kids + Implausible Plot = My New Favourite Show
As I write this, it’s 6:20 a.m. I realize that many—most?—members of the workforce are awake now, but being on a leave of absence, I have no incentive to be up at this hour. And hey, this is a medical leave of absence, and my seizure frequency increases when I don’t get enough sleep. (Seriously, … Continue reading Bad Neighbour
Last summer, my mom bought me a Fitbit, which, for the unacquainted, is more or less a glorified, technologically advanced pedometer. The variety I got—the Zip—discretely clips on your belt, in your pocket, in your purse, or wherever else you choose to carry it and comes in a selection of colours to suit your preference. … Continue reading OCD and the Fitbit
A few weeks after I went to the doctor following my first seizure, I got a letter from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation revoking my learner's permit. My expired learner’s permit. Brutal, right? For multiple obvious and valid reasons, the inability to drive is one of the biggest practical and social issues faced by people … Continue reading Drive to Drive
One of the worst parts of the morning after a “big seizure” (technical term) is being too brain dead—figuratively, of course—to think properly, hence the uncreative title of this post. On the plus side, however, I can blame any typos/inelegant sentence constructions/etc. on my neurons’ latest riot. Anyway, I decided that it was high time … Continue reading What It’s Like to Be Postictal (in My Own Very Personal Experience)
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I haven't been looking forward to Labour Day. Seeing as I seamlessly transitioned from taking to instructing courses, I’ve never lost that fall “going back to school” excitement/anticipation despite being in a year-round doctoral program. I love the rhythms and structure of the academic … Continue reading (Not Going) Back to School
I apologize if you find the title at all insensitive. I tried to resist—I really did—but alas: I'm a sucker for a pun. If it's any comfort, all shaking to which I refer in this post is expressly my own. We’re flying to North Carolina on Saturday for a week in the Outer Banks with … Continue reading Shakes on a Plane
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 