We're supposed to be in NC at the beach right now with my husband's side of the family for a relaxing week of relaxing: a break, surrounded by people we care about, in one of my favourite places on earth. We'd both been looking forward to it for weeks—months, even—and had been using it to … Continue reading Beach Bummer: Complicated Feelings about a Cancelled Trip
When my friend arrived for the weekend this past Friday night, he asked, half-jokingly, if I was going to blog about his visit. "Do you want me to blog about your visit?" I asked. He shrugged noncommittally. I said that I would but that since my blog is semi-anonymous, any and all pictures would have to be … Continue reading Just Another Headless Bridesmaid Portrait: A Weekend Visit from a (Very Supportive) Friend
Just when I thought I’d broken up with Topamax, it’s weaseled its way back into my life. For good reason, I guess: seems that it was making more of a difference than I thought it was. Turns out that when your baseline is “seizures all the time,” it’s possible for a drug to lower this … Continue reading Why Hello There, Old Frenemy: Topamax Returns
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
On Saturday, we went to Toronto Island with friends for a fun summer afternoon break from the city because even when times are tough, we're the kind of people who're able to leave our troubles behind and enjoy the respite of beach life for a few hours *foreshadowing*. I should begin by stating that I'm … Continue reading Beach Life
I had an appointment with my epileptologist yesterday that was significant in two regards. In fact, I left feeling much better than I had walking in, which isn't always the case. (Please note that the fact that I often sit in the streetcar dejected and downtrodden after discussing the misworkings of my brain is not … Continue reading It’s Like Saying Goodbye to a Horrible, Clingy Friend: I’m Finally Breaking Up with Topamax
Another detour in my quest to go more than five days without my neurons misfiring. I haven't written an update since my appointment with the neurosurgeon on Friday, in part because I'm still a little stunned and upset and in part because my husband and I were out of town for the weekend, leaving me … Continue reading A Surgical Detour to Surgery
While having coffee with a friend yesterday morning, I missed a call from an unlisted number, which often, as I commented to said friend when I looked down at my phone, means a hospital. No voicemail. Grrrrrr. Coffee Friend and I had just been discussing how I've been eagerly—well, maybe "with a complicated mix of … Continue reading Cutting It Out(!): An Important Update
I seem to recall writing an overly emotional post about the Purple Walk for Epilepsy last year, and I'm about to unashamedly allow history to repeat itself. For everyone's benefit, I'll keep it short. What it comes down to is this: since living with chronic illness can be isolating, and since seizures can be stigmatizing, … Continue reading Purple Walking
Last Tuesday, I woke up early, put on more makeup than usual, obsessed over my hair for a bit, went to campus in a cab with the 'rents, donned a very-impressive robe, nervously waited around for a while, and was transformed from not-yet-officially-a-doctor to officially-truly-a-doctor in a tradition-filled ceremony attended by some of the people … Continue reading Dr. Me, PhD: And with That, I’m Officially a Doctor
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 