Corner Turned and Definitely Looking Up
<Lisa here. Just a wee bit of sistah filtering going on below. And images, cuz he asked for ’em.>
Hi Everyone,
It’s Sunday, and Nicole is sleeping peacefully beside me whilst I pen this blog entry on my iPad using the Brydge keyboard (shameless plug, but I get no commission). Writing is taking excessively long cuz my screen time is still limited. I’m doing 15-minute shifts with a sensory break in-between. At least the words are starting to come out of my fingers now, even with only those two neurons bouncing around inside my head. I’m still dependent on my awesome sistah Lisa to filter my posts and add humor and images cuz I’m not quite able to get enough concentration going long enough to find or make good pictures yet, and I feel like my writing is pretty boring – do you? Lemme no in the comments.
I’m still not sleeping through the night, but it is getting better. This morning around 5:30 I finally gave up trying to sleep and futzed around for an hour before I got around to working on this blog. The other night it was 4:30, and nights before it’s been the very wee small hours of the morning (like 1am, 2am, 3am…)
It’s been a busy weekend in Lake Staplebegone, with some great meals and wonderful visits. Many thanks to TRS members for Shabbat dinners, and to neighbors and friends for their various meals I’ve devoured with gusto. I am so feeling the love! If you know me, you know I’m a hugger, and although Nicole has asked visitors to limit both their time and hugs, but I’m finding it very hard not to return some of the love hugs. But, it is flu season and we so much don’t want to have to battle those bugs along with my somewhat slow recovery from brain surgery.
Along those ‘lines’ (no staples, just a trace of scabs remain), I think I really turned the corner in the last 72 hours. I’m thinking that sloshy feeling will never go away so I might as well get used to it. It’s now feeling a lot like being on a small boat at sea, rocking unpredictably in any direction, but not rocking like in a storm. More like just bobbing around. So I guess I’m getting used to the feeling like getting your ‘sea legs’ – my old Navy buds will recognize what that’s like.
Image credit: Folini & Sons
I’ve a new description for when I move my head: There is a ‘magic glass’ where Marvin used to be. When I tilt my head in any direction, it feels like the glass is pouring water out. When I straighten my head up, it magically refills almost instantly. It’s an odd feeling that I’m getting used to too. OT Patti has me doing head moving exercises, and I’m trying to be diligent about this – I need to get past the slight disorientation. It seems tied to the speed at which I tilt or turn my head. A fast turn feels really sloshy, like the water is sloshing out of the magic glass. But, I try to turn my head a little faster each day. Looking up. Looking down. Looking all around.
Another new development: I’ve moved upstairs to our own bed over the weekend. Still using the downstairs ‘hospital ward’ suite for daytime use and showers, but up at night with Nicole spotting me on the stairs, and I’m not allowed to go down the stairs till she’s up to spot me on the way down. Holding the handrail for dear life, and using the cane. The bottom step is a bit more, and slippery ’cause it’s hardwood while all the other steps have a carpet runner for better traction. OT Patti is very encouraging, and PT Larry as well.
Speaking of Larry, I proudly took him to the basement on Friday and showed off my exercise room – he really liked it and cleared me for light exercise – no TKD kicking, but I can use the bar and floor for stretching (not extreme) and crunches. He also had me use the punching bag – and my magic glass wasn’t any worse. Of course I wouldn’t knock out a wet noodle with those half-hearted punches, but I hope that will improve over the next few weeks – maybe I will be able to knock out a wet noodle!
He also had me sit on the Pilates ball, that was very tippy. I have orders to have CJ pump it up to full firmness before trying that again. And I want to get an exercise bicycle, the kind you use upright. We have a recumbent one but that hurts my bad hip too much. Need to budget some cash for that!
So, all in all, things are looking up. And with Pam’s help, we’ve transitioned the company website to the new design, and are now working out the small details slowly. It’ll be a continuing process of migrating just the best content over from the old site design. Cherry-picking and rewriting – that will be good fodder for future Tip o’ the Day shows once my hair grows back out and I can concentrate enough to read the teleprompter. Pam’s continuing to produce shows from the raw footage I shot (12 shows!) back in August, so no big hurry on that – slow and steady for me for now!
Superpowers in full: My new-found awareness of my feelings is evening out – less weeping these days, which for a guy is great to be appearing at least marginally more macho these days. My visitors say I’m speaking with much less hesitation and talking faster than even just a few days ago.
I still have super-sensitive hearing, and can hear radar much more clearly now – everything has a much more specific tone or tones, and when everyone is talking it sounds like they are shouting. I can also remember stuff much better now, just some pesky words that I can’t lay neurons on till someone says the word. But from then on I have it. Like I couldn’t remember Judy Garland’s character from Wizard of Oz till Nicole said “Dorothy”. I had Toto and Auntie Em just fine.
Plus, everything I eat tastes awesome – even brocolli! I’ve restarted my supplements, which according to Sheldon Cooper means I have very expensive pee. I’m taking tart cherry extract for my bad hip, along with a long list of other supplements, many of which I learned about from reading Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity book. If anyone wants a list of them, give me a shout in the comments and I’ll gin up a list.
My family and friends are the best! Yesterday CJ had lots of independent time – translate that to he went out with friends and it was just Nicole and me with a few visitors and naps in-between for me. Today and tomorrow (Columbus Day holiday) I think Nicole is going to press hard with CJ to move substantially forward on his college application stuff. I am very hopeful he’ll finish in time to apply early action to Northeastern University (and MIT as a big stretch), and get accepted so he can concentrate the rest of his senior year on grades and a busy Jan-June in cyber-security and FBLA competitions, along with track & field. I am of course so proud of CJ, especially how much he’s been helping out around the house since the whole Marvin thing started. And he’s promised to drive me around in his car (which was once mine) when I’m ready to brave the local traffic; still too sloshy for any driving around by m’self.
I am so grateful to everyone for the meals, visits, prayers and love sent our way, and with my new-found clarity of thought – which I hope persists forever. I am no longer ‘waffling on the fence about so many issues and feeling very positive these days about the human race and life in general. A bit miffed at the bad stuff happening all over, but overall (sic) I have high hopes for all of us and the world in general. Y’know, act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic, as Dale Carnegie used to say (at least I think it was him).
Bye for now, and I’ll try to improve my prose as more neurons get involved in my recovery!
