Good things are happening. First and, probably, foremost, I’ve started taking steps (using an “air walker” and with the assistance of two physiotherapists, but still). My first attempt I managed six; now I’m up to around twenty-five. It’s absolutely and unbelievably exhilarating to “walk.” It’s also very, very exhausting. Second, I passed my swallow test! … Continue reading (Literal) Steps Forward
… and, to be honest, I only remembered because a friend sent me a text wishing me a happy Purple Day. I’m pretty sure the fact that it totally and completely slipped my mind makes me a bad PWLWE (Person Who Lives with Epilepsy). Or maybe it has more to do with the other “stuff” … Continue reading It Was Purple Day (for Epilepsy Awareness) on Saturday
I recently wrote a longish autobiographical piece about my childhood OCD-based fear of waterslides. (It’s still not polished, and I’m not sure what I’ll do with it after the final edit, so I’m not posting it here.) Waterslides weren’t the only way OCD affected my life when I was a kid, and my brain eventually … Continue reading Isolation, OCD, and a Request
It was on a particularly challenging day last week that I received a message with an offer so generous it made me want to cry. (OK, fine; some tears were shed. I’m becoming an increasingly emotional beast with each passing year.) It was from my LEGO Fairy, who wanted to know if she could purchase … Continue reading Return of the LEGO Fairy
If you know me in “real” (scare quotes because what’s real, even, in this day and age?) life or read this blog, you almost certainly know that I’m a LEGO superfan. Those little plastic bricks aided me as I recovered from a brain injury; they’ve distracted me during long hospitalizations; they’ve rewired neurons fried from … Continue reading Yet Another LEGO Appreciation Post
Tonight is New Year’s Eve. It isn’t a “holiday” my husband and I have traditionally celebrated in any major way, mostly because my bedtime is around 9:00 p.m. This year will be much the same; our plan is to play a game in the late afternoon, have a festive meal (with the Christmas crackers I … Continue reading Looking Forward (Happy NYE!)
I'm taking a few minutes from my Boxing Day to wish you a happy holiday week (if that's relevant to you). I hope that you're striking a balance between celebration and safety and that you're responsibly marking the season in a way that feels right to you. In other words, Merry Christmas! Or not. My … Continue reading This Christmas
In case past blog posts haven't made it abundantly clear, I am, in general, a Christmas person. Like, the kind of Christmas person who would, and did, just this year, purchase five (yes, five) Christmas-themed sweatshirts, not to mention a Christmas-themed T-shirt and several pairs of Christmas socks. The kind of person who wears that … Continue reading Christmas Feelings
It's been a challenging few weeks. My dietitian and I have been experimenting with slowly ramping up the carbohydrates in my meal plan. It's all trial and error, really, this trying to find a balance between managing my seizures and working toward my weight-gain goals. The process is rewarding when I make tangible and relatively … Continue reading A Blip Is (Just) a Blip
Today something I’d started to think would never happen at long last did (happen, that is). Call it a September miracle, call it the cumulation of over nine months of intensive medical treatment, call it what you want. All that matters is that I’m home. Not that I was excited to leave or anything. I’ve … Continue reading And Now, Home(!)
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 