It was only around 5 p.m. last Tuesday night that I remembered that I was required to fast the morning of the PET scan that I had scheduled for noon the next day. I know plenty of people who're able to happily live without food for hours after waking up and manage to do so while … Continue reading Hanxiety, Medical Souvenir/Halloween Costume, PET, New Pet
An e-mail from a regular reader (hi, K!) after my last post, an entry that had nothing to do with the dysfunctional world of my neurons, reminded me that an update on the epilepsy front was long overdue. I blame my silence in this regard on a few factors: perhaps most importantly, "epilepsy fatigue" has … Continue reading My Brain Today
I had an appointment with my epileptologist this morning, in part a normal checkup, in part an opportunity to hear the results of November's hospital stay, when I was evaluated for epilepsy surgery. I imagine you're on the edge of your seat, so I won't keep you waiting. I'll also keep this short(ish): I've had … Continue reading Let’s Cut It Out: An Update
I interrupt your Valentine's Day festivities to inform you, on the off chance that you weren't already aware, that Saint Valentine is the patron saint of epilepsy. (OK, one of the patron saints of epilepsy.) So, using my convoluted reasoning, that basically makes today, Valentine's Day, Epilepsy Day—"Patron Saint of Epilepsy Day" is a bit … Continue reading Happy Patron Saint of Epilepsy Day!
My doctor called me on Friday to communicate the results of my recent bone scan. "The news isn't good," she said, somewhat dramatically, I thought, though my perception may have been affected by the fact that I picked up the phone while in the middle of an especially emotional scene in an episode of Nashville, my … Continue reading When Body Meets Soul
The day after my thesis defence was scheduled, my supervisor sent me an e-mail to tell me that my thesis defence had been scheduled (I had been cc'ed on the e-mail from my department's business officer, so I was well aware). In a message that was so nice it made me cry—OK, I'm a little … Continue reading “Relaxing”
A week or so after I was discharged from my EMU stay in November, I started experiencing pretty intense pain in my left side, especially at night, and especially with certain movements. As is my way, I decided that the best course of action, at least in the short term, was to ignore it. I've got … Continue reading A Little Roadblock: Chronic Pain, Mysterious Spinal Fractures, the “Joys” of Living with Epilepsy
Something weird happened between the time I started composing this blog entry and the time I'm getting around to posting it. I'll start with what I meant to finish writing a few days ago but, for lack of a better excuse, didn't, probably because I was too busy eating Tim Horton's chicken noodle soup and … Continue reading That Christmas Feeling
Eight years after we met studying abroad in Germany, six and a half after he moved to Canada, my American husband is now officially my American-Canadian husband. (As of not last Monday but the Monday before, but life's been a little weird as of late, so it's taken me forever to get around to documenting … Continue reading We Are (Now Both) Canadians!
Well, this is it: my fourth, and final, weekend in the epilepsy monitoring unit. One of the best parts about being here has been having a medication holiday. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm really not a fan of Topamax, one of the anticonvulsants that I take. Since … Continue reading Oh Hey There, Old Friend
