This has been a pretty intense week, to put it mildly. From sizeable craniotomy to grid placement to brain swelling to black eye swollen shut to intense pain and nausea necessitating heavy-duty meds to gradual and ongoing recovery, it’s certainly been one to remember. I’m in the EMU now, with the grids implanted. I continue … Continue reading Surgery Update, Week 1
Last night, my husband found me unconscious on our kitchen floor. When I didn't become reactive in a timely manner, he called 911. A dramatic opening for a blog post, I know, but it's the simple truth, and epilepsy is a drama queen of a chronic illness when it wants to be. I won't … Continue reading Kitchen-Floor Crisis: A Visit to the ER
Being in an epilepsy monitoring unit is, it seems, the best anticonvulsant I've tried yet. At home, I have at least a few seizures a month, and that’s while on my medications. Here, I just finished tapering off Vimpat and still haven’t had a single “event.” Gotta get the seizure train rollin’ if I want … Continue reading Best Anticonvulsant Ever
Two weeks ago, four days after I had been discharged the first time, I was readmitted to the hospital. The reasons for this return are complicated, meaning that I don't feel like getting into them right now, but suffice it to say that my reentry into the world of twenty-four-seven medical supervision was swift, unexpected, … Continue reading Readmission/Return
Over six weeks later, and I've finally been discharged from the hospital. Over six weeks: that's a month and a half of my life. And the saga's not over yet. Not really. Health problems of this nature aren't (surprise surprise) miraculously resolved when you're handed your discharge papers and head home. I've got a ways … Continue reading Looking Back, Moving Forward
Friday morning, I was awoken around six by the voice of a middle-aged woman. I opened one eye just enough to see that she was sporting delightfully over-the-top scrubs, the kind with a cartoon motif that assistants in pediatric dental offices wear. "I'm from the lab, sweetie; I just need to draw some blood." Of course you are. Of course you do. After looking … Continue reading Pin Cushion: Reflections on Patient Passivity
It's been almost a month. Crazy. It's been almost a month, and I'm not sure when I'll be discharged, but it definitely won't be in the next few days, and I'm secretly happy that it won't be in the next few days since a little part of me knows that it isn't time to go home yet. My … Continue reading Hitting Four Weeks and Experiencing Emotions
It's been over two weeks now, and I'm still chillin' in the hospital. Positive spin: I get to eat that amazing hospital food that I featured in my last blog entry; all social engagements must take place at my bedside, which is convenient for me and immensely inconvenient for others; I have lots of time … Continue reading Two and a Half Weeks Later
Nine days in to my current hospital stay, I feel well enough to waste some of my limited computer time blogging when I could be, oh, e-mailing my mother (sorry, Mom) or taking care of business (sorry, business). I don't, however, want to burden my brain or readership by blogging about anything serious, so instead, I will focus on something happier: … Continue reading Hospital Food and Ticking Boxes (Highlights of My Current Existence)
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 