I'm
back!
Well...
kinda.
You may remember...
July 28
I tripped over
a Rottweiler
and bonked
my
head...
I was
out
for
2 hours
lost to
the
world...
When
they found me
unconscious
they
"accidentally"
sent me to
The Heart Hospital.
For
one
day.
Dismissed -
I discovered
I'd had
a
concussion.
A
bad
one.
I tried
to
ignore
it...
That
didn't
work.
I
took off
work
for a
month.
Took
TJ
to
Mississippi.
Then...
I tried to bike.
I tried to work.
I struggled
to be normal
that fall.
Finally
November 12
I had to admit -
I needed help.
It took 9 doctors
before I
found
the right one.
Dr
Wonderful
Horner!
But what
he told me
hurt!
- You,
Dr Steussy,
don't know the meaning
of the word -
rest!
And
your brain
needs
Total
Cognitive
and
Physical
Rest.
That means -
No exercise
No computer
No tv
No work
No driving
No reading.
What kind of
life
is this?
What
could
I
do?
I
was
desperate...
Until
my wise sister,
Cally,
came
to visit.
Helen,
she said,
you have to take
all those
things
you loved....
and pack them
away
in a
backpack
and lock it
in
a closet...
And
you need a
new backpack
filled with new things
that can bring you
joy.
And
so
I
did...
I filled
my
days
with
baking....
art....
and,
of course,
cats.
Daily
I tracked
my
symptoms.
Weekly
my wonderful brother,
Nic,
and his wife,
Marti,
stopped by
for a
chat.
(and to knit a hat)
Months
blurred
by.
s
l
o
w
l
y.
Finally,
as
spring
began
to
stir...
My
head
began
to
clear...
I
returned
to
my
microscope...
I
found
my
camera...
Now,
9 months
post-concussion
I still
can't
bike...
Just the tepid
turns
of
an
exercycle.
Limited to
12
minutes
a
day.
I only get to
increase
2 minutes
each
week.
Baby steps,
says
Dr. Horner.
It's ok.
I'll
eventually
get
there...
Surely
by
the
summer....
I'll
be
climbing
mountains...
and
biking
multi-
centuries!
and
maybe...
just
maybe....
before
the
end
of
2013....
I'll
find
a
way
to
forgive...
that
danged
Rottweiler.
