I read...(drumroll please)......a BOOK! Yes, you read that correctly and no, I am not crazy (or not any more so than usual ;) ).
Yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and try to read a book. Since the accident, I have been unable to read without having a splitting headache on the right side of my head. I have also not been able to comprehend anything I have read. The most I have been able to read before having the pain occur was 4 pages...that is, until yesterday.
I took some headache medicine, put my heat wrap around my neck and settled in with the book (by my favorite author, J. Picoult). I bought it shortly before the accident and it has been taunting me for 4 months to read it.
I read....(wait for it)............ FORTY-NINE pages before the headache happened! You read that correctly...49...4-9...which is 12 times more than I have been able to read in months! AND I comprehended what I read instead of having to re-read the same page multiple times.
It was like finding water when you are parched with thirst....or finding money in a coat pocket that you forgot was there....or seeing an old friend after months apart....you get the idea. It was FANTASTIC!
Now, granted, it was an interesting and easy read for me so I am still not quite sure that I could read and comprehend that many pages of something academic. But it is DEFINITELY a HUGE milestone for me! And today, I FINISHED the book! (385 pages, baby!)
I have decided that my rice heat wrap is an essential part of my life now. So much so, that I bought some fabric last week so that I can make some to take to work with me when I go back next month. The fabric I chose has puzzle pieces on it. I thought that was fitting as I put the pieces of my life back together...and figure out which ones will still be missing.
In other news, I go to the neuro tomorrow. I haven't been in a month so we shall see how together my body is. I have not been feeling all that great the past week or so, but I have been dealing with it because in real life you sometimes just have to deal. Plus, I need to know how I am feeling without the appts because once work starts up again I won't be able to go every week (even monthly will be a stretch). Which is one of many reasons that I am still hoping to make a change in the next year to work closer to home/doctors ..but that is a subject for another day!
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." ~Charles W. Eliot
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
"It's been awhile..."
It's been awhile since my last post and some milestones have occurred. For one thing, at my last appointment with the neurologist, I was told that I couild wait a MONTH before coming back! It was like graduating! I was also told that I was "almost there" and to "do everything" so that we could see if there was anything that is still difficult for me. Of course, almost there means that I will likely always have this pain in my neck and upper body. But I guess that is just the new normal for me. Needless to say, I was very excited by the idea of being able to go one month without an appointment.
Fast forward to this week....
As part of doing everything, I practiced driving out of necessity. I had been saying that in July I would drive, and lo and behold on July 1 that is exactly what I did. My furbaby was in the emergency vet most of the day on the 1st for not eating, not drinking, vomiting and diarrhea. When we got her home that night, I discovered that we need some foods for her to eat on her bland diet. No one was available to drive me, so I ventured to the grocery store in MY car (I have been practicing around my parent's neighborhood in their cars). The grocery store is right down the street and it was later in the day so there was not much traffic. I felt like I might have a heart attack, but I did it!
The next day proved to be even more trying. I needed to get some treats for her to take her medicine with so I had to go up to the congested shopping mall. I kid you not, I had been driving not even 10 minutes again in my car when some woman in a Mercedes CUT ME OFF and came quite close to hitting the front end of my car! Ugh! I avoided her but was NOT pleased.
But the real trial came later in the afternoon. My furbaby had a follow-up appointment with her regular, amazing, awesome vet up in our County. No one was able to take us because they had appointments of their own. So I HAD to DRIVE in MY car ALL the way to the vet, which INCLUDES driving by where my accident was. Only for my furbaby would I do this! I don't think I breathed most of the way there, but we made it without too much freaking out.
However, since those driving excursions. my neck and shoulders have regressed and feel incredibly painful. I really don't want to go back to the neuro until my appointment so I am trying to do what I can to alleviate the pain. If it isn't better by next week, I will give in and change the appointment to sooner. It's disheartening b/c I was really thinking that I was able to drive again and was building up my confidence. But luckily I have a few more weeks to practice and build up my confidence (and stamina) again before I have to drive on a daily basis.
Fast forward to this week....
As part of doing everything, I practiced driving out of necessity. I had been saying that in July I would drive, and lo and behold on July 1 that is exactly what I did. My furbaby was in the emergency vet most of the day on the 1st for not eating, not drinking, vomiting and diarrhea. When we got her home that night, I discovered that we need some foods for her to eat on her bland diet. No one was available to drive me, so I ventured to the grocery store in MY car (I have been practicing around my parent's neighborhood in their cars). The grocery store is right down the street and it was later in the day so there was not much traffic. I felt like I might have a heart attack, but I did it!
The next day proved to be even more trying. I needed to get some treats for her to take her medicine with so I had to go up to the congested shopping mall. I kid you not, I had been driving not even 10 minutes again in my car when some woman in a Mercedes CUT ME OFF and came quite close to hitting the front end of my car! Ugh! I avoided her but was NOT pleased.
But the real trial came later in the afternoon. My furbaby had a follow-up appointment with her regular, amazing, awesome vet up in our County. No one was able to take us because they had appointments of their own. So I HAD to DRIVE in MY car ALL the way to the vet, which INCLUDES driving by where my accident was. Only for my furbaby would I do this! I don't think I breathed most of the way there, but we made it without too much freaking out.
However, since those driving excursions. my neck and shoulders have regressed and feel incredibly painful. I really don't want to go back to the neuro until my appointment so I am trying to do what I can to alleviate the pain. If it isn't better by next week, I will give in and change the appointment to sooner. It's disheartening b/c I was really thinking that I was able to drive again and was building up my confidence. But luckily I have a few more weeks to practice and build up my confidence (and stamina) again before I have to drive on a daily basis.
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