One and a Half Years

Today is exactly 1 and 1/2 years since my first stroke.  I also had an appointment with my neurologist.

This really has been an Eclectic Journey.  One that continues.  Along the road I've been able to find things that in spite of my disability I have been able to enjoy and even improve at.  In fact one of those things has come directly from my cognitive therapy; writing!

In an effort to remember what goes on from one minute to the next my cognitive therapist has had me writing down EVERYTHING.  So I kind of got into the habit of writing down not just my actions but my thoughts and emotions.  I've written volumes (whatever a volume is) in the last 18 months.  In fact, between my journal I write by hand, my PDA and computer I'd venture to say my life is probably one of the most documented ever.  For some strange reason, even though when I talk or even think to my self my thoughts are broken and get confused, I can write and the thoughts are smooth and well, less confused.  I have a theory that my writing, which is slow, causes my brain to work at the speed of my fingers and thus can do a better job of processing.

Then there is riding my bike.  For some reason anaerobic exercise causes me to have nerve pain.  Sometimes I have to stop and sit down after walking up the steps in our house to get the nerve pain to settle down.  I found though that aerobic exercise does not cause me the same pain.  I can ride my bike for a long time with no pain.  In fact the longer I ride it, the more "in synch" my anaerobic and aerobic systems become and the longer I can then ride.  This could be because I was riding a lot before my strokes. 

My neurologist was happy with where I'm at.  I have to say this.  Considering what I thought my life was going to be when I first heard those words, "he has clots in his brain and is having a stroke" and everything going dark, I'm pretty happy with where I'm at.  I have to do another EEG.  That's because of an episode I had over Easter.  I seem to have completely lost three days.  He is going to check to see if perhaps my medicine that is supposed to stop my seizures isn't pulling its weight.