It’s been just over a week since I came home, and I’m happy to report that I’m still here and that it’s still pretty much the best (and that I took down the stray Christmas decorations that my husband had left up since last year). Though I was feeling pretty darn good about leaving the … Continue reading Pretty Much the Best
New visitors policies for this hospital system were recently announced. I was told yesterday that under the updated guidelines, my husband can now be classified as an "Essential Care Partner" and visit me twice a week for two hours at a go. My nurse was fantastic about getting the requisite paperwork filled out so that … Continue reading Ninth Wedding Anniversary: A PDA (Sorry, Husband)
If you know me irl (internet slang!!!) or are a regular reader of this blog, you're probably aware that I'm someone who places great value on controlling every aspect of my life I possibly can. My ability to stick to rigid, self-imposed rules is, as I've learned, a power that I can use for good … Continue reading Seizures, Supplements, and Sweatpants (Control!)
It was my birthday last Saturday. I'm another year older! (Yay?) Yes, I've acquired some additional signs of my impending old age over these past twelve months. I've also, however, gained some real wisdom. (Yay for real this time.) It's been quite the year. I won't claim not to be the person I was in … Continue reading Another Year Wiser(ish), Very Thankful
Friday was the first day of summer, the summer solstice, and my husband's birthday. It was one of the first truly warm and sunny days of 2019, my wonderful mother-in-law was visiting, and even though I was/am still slowly emerging from a pretty rotten couple of weeks, the cause(s) of this rottenness likely triggered by … Continue reading It’s Officially Summer, and I’m Not Sure Why I’m Not Dreading the Next Few Months
I haven’t done much thus far to celebrate Epilepsy Awareness Month (March) or Purple Day (March 26). Though I had fantastic ambitions to throw a theme party for Purple Day, I was eventually able to acknowledge that given the energy that the tasks would require, it’s probably too soon after my latest period of seizure … Continue reading Let’s Be Aware (for Epilepsy Awareness Month)
Yesterday at neuro rehab, I received the results of a (very long, multi-part) memory test that I completed with my occupational therapist last week. I'll cut right to the chase and reveal that I didn't do incredibly well. My OT was careful to sandwich the news: "You have lots of strengths; this test showed that … Continue reading That Elderly White Dude: Reflections on a Memory Test
Deep within the hospital at which I receive the majority of my care, there's a hallway featuring terracotta plaques bearing the names of individuals and organizations who/that donated to a fundraising campaign sometime in the 1980s or 1990s. The exact date slips my memory, but the style of the installation suggests that it wasn't in … Continue reading A Grateful Patient: Thanks in/for Retro Terracotta
Well, it's been an interesting year. I knew that 2017 wouldn't be devoid of challenges: it started, after all, with scheduled neurosurgery that had been looming over me for much of 2016. I didn't anticipate, though—I couldn't have anticipated—how many twists and turns I'd navigate from January (intracranial grids implanted, almost the entire month spent … Continue reading 2017 in Review: Looking Back, Looking Forward, Looking at the VNS Scar on My Neck Every Time I Look in the Mirror
And now, back to a post that I was working on before I was distracted by less-pleasant events. As the title of this post gives away, I recently had my first post–brain injury night away from the security of my husband and apartment in the form of a Saturday–Sunday trip to London, Ontario. I had … Continue reading First Post-ABI Night Away from Home: Major Anxiety, Major Success
