After a scary incident a few nights ago, my husband and I are finally in the process of doing what we've said that we would for the past I-don't-know-how-many months/years: fortifying the exit from our apartment with a high-tech (to me, at least) door alarm and with a low-tech but extra-tall baby gate. These provisions … Continue reading Fortify the Home, Contain a Wanderer: How to Sleep Better at Night
Sometime last week, I augmented my collection of bathroom safety devices with the most impressive addition to date: a "Deluxe Aluminum Shower Chair with Back" (pictured below). I already owned a bath bench (notably backless), as well as a grab bar, which was recommended to me by the occupational therapist I saw last year at the … Continue reading Splish Splash: Bathtime Safety, or Why You Should Invest in a Bath Chair
I’ve come to see Purple Day as an opportunity to spread epilepsy awareness, partially by reflecting on my personal epilepsy-related triumphs, challenges, etc. In all three of these senses—triumphs, challenges, and etc.—this year has been, I’d say, my most interesting yet. Since it’s Purple Day tomorrow (edit: actually the day after tomorrow, from the perspective … Continue reading Obligatory Purple Day Post: Epilepsy Awareness, Positivity, and a Years-Old Purple Jell-O Jiggler
I recently mentioned in a post on Facebook, I think it was, that a nurse in the neurology ward suggested that assembling LEGO sets of around 500 pieces would be useful in my recovery process since I was (and still am, though to a lesser extent) having trouble with fine motor skills. This is when … Continue reading The LEGO Fairy
Last Friday—yes, I'm a little behind on my posts—a physiotherapist came to our apartment to help me learn how to be less terrified of going down the stairs and do simple exercises in order to become a little less deconditioned after two months of doing almost nothing but chillaxin' (i.e., lying in a hospital bed). … Continue reading One Step at a Time (Really): First Visit from the Physiotherapist
I've tried a few times to write a coherent post summarizing this most recent hospitalization and, as you might imagine, keep epically failing. And so I've decided to go ahead and use one of my favourite formats: the lazy point form. Here are a few of the many things that have happened since I last … Continue reading The Saga Continues Then Ends: A Spotty Blog Post (Sorry)
First, I'm having a lot of trouble writing these days—locating words, typing, using simple grammar without immense effort, etc. (my personal hell, if you know me well enough), so please, please, be gentle with me if you find mistakes in this post: I've decided that it's fair to blame it on the seven brain medications … Continue reading And the Saga Continues
Yesterday was momentous in that it marked the first day post-surgeries that I was allowed to wash my hair. It was glorious. It was also strange. Until this past fall, my hair stretched halfway to my waist. Then my surgery was initially scheduled, and I got a series of cuts to prepare myself for the … Continue reading Washing My (Stubbly, Pathetic) Hair: When Mundane Tasks Become Your New Excitement
I’ve been meaning to write an update for days—weeks?—now. However, for the first chunk of this hospital stay, I didn’t feel well enough to do anything but sleep and pity myself, and now that I’m a little more functional, lying around all the time is making me lazy. And so I figured I better devote … Continue reading A Quick, Disjointed, and Incomplete Update: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
I'm back in Toronto after a few mostly nice weeks in BC with my parents. For suspension-building purposes, I'll start with the good. The trip was pleasant in that it was, on the whole, relaxing, a great opportunity to see friends and family and to take care of myself while recovering from my recent concussion. … Continue reading Christmas CheER and Another Surgery Countdown
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 