Category: Strength

I did it!

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Okay…so it’s not rocket science and didn’t require a tremendous amount of physical exertion, but I made my trip to
the gas station/grocery store. Dave drove and stuck with me in case I started to feel ill and needed to run out. We went in for two things: orange juice and ice cream.

I zeroed in on the ice cream, Dave picked it out, then I walked down to the orange juice. Luckily I kind of had an idea of where they were, so that wasn’t too difficult, but I did start to feel icky. Sick to stomach, eyes funny and headache right smack dab in the middle of my head. I still don’t feel that great, but I did it and was able to go into a store.

We might go back in tomorrow for a short visit again until I can feel better for a longer period of time. Dave may get all of his stocking stuffers this year from the gas station/grocery store! LOL

I know going into a gas station/grocery store isn’t a big deal, but it was to me. Not sure I’m crazy about how I feel at the moment, but I need to continue to get over this issue with stores. I’m depressed it didn’t go better though and disappointed that the short amount of time I was in the store still affected me that way.

Thankful

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For the obvious reasons, I’m extremely thankful at this year’s Thanksgiving.

I’m thankful for:

✤ Surviving my ruptured brain aneurysm.

✤ That God guides the hands of my neuroradiologist during
surgery.


✤ My employer and co-workers for showing their support.


✤ My family’s love and constant support.


✤ Dave, for being by my side every day  of my 20-day hospital stay, as well as putting up with me at home 24/7!


How about you?

Some Ideas

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Yesterday was a rough day. I did far too much the last two days with the trip down for the MRI/MRA and then two visits and the store on Wednesday. I felt horrible Wednesday night and almost all of yesterday with bad headaches, VERY tired and some other lingering effects that I was told the Vicadin may be causing.

My nurse visited yesterday and she may have shed some light on a couple of things. Apparently some of the symptoms I have displayed the last couple of days with the double vision, confused vision, headaches and nausea, may simply be caused by 20 days in the hospital and two weeks as home!

She said it’s quite common for folks who haven’t had a lot of stimulation outside the hospital or home to experience exactly what I did. Even the hair loss. Obviuosly, I’m not washing my hair on a daily basis just yet because it really poops me out, so there will be an accumulative effect on the days I DO wash my hair. Makes far more sense.

I will still ask my Dr. on Tuesday about all of these things and hopefully he can tell me what I should and shouldn’t expect and what is and isn’t related to the surgery, so I won’t freak
out…which I am KIND OF doing until I know better.

I feel better today and hope to get out for some fresh air later as Dave said he’ll let me boss him around in the garden to button it up the for winter. I hope we’re still speaking to one another when we get back in house! LOL

Also, the occupational therapist came yesterday and she gave me some other good advice for everyday-living type of things for therapy.

A lot of people, including all the folks from Health Reach and on the message board, say that with this kind of situation, depression is not uncommon. Great! Just what I need for the
holidays! Hopefully, with the help of my fantastic psychologist, I can avoid that trap.

Update

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I’m on day 10 at home. I’m having a headache pretty much every morning. Some days much worse than others. I’m finding that if I do too much in the morning, which is when I feel the best after breakfast and a pain pill, I feel much worse around 1:00 and the rest of the afternoon. So, today I experimented and did nothing this morning. Literally nothing. I have felt much better this afternoon and just took a shower. I guess I might be overdoing it. I didn’t think so, but perhaps my head is telling me otherwise. Some days it’s an all-day headache that even the Vicadin won’t touch. I’ve been given permission from the Dr. to take Sudafed when I feel it’s a sinus issue, so that’s good.

I go for my follow-up MRI on Tuesday down in Scarborough (south of Portland), but do not get the results until my visit with Dr. Kwan the following Tuesday. A nurse is coming in twice a week and the occupational therapist is in one day a week to work with me. They’re both really nice.

I’m trying to bend down a bit more each day and continue walking in the house. I can’t move quickly as that throws my
balance off and bending completely over is a no-no just yet. I’m feeling a bit more stable when walking and standing, so I think the cane might be history soon. It’s more of a safety thing right now. If I SHOULD get dizzy, or I walk outside to get the mail on an uneven surface, I’d rather have it there, than not. I haven’t attempted the stairs yet. Laundry is piling up, so I fear I’ll need to soon but I won’t be able to lift the wet clothing.

I am sleeping very well though. I’ve never been much of a napper, so just laying down in the middle of the day isn’t
easy for me. Once I do, I always fall asleep, but it’s making myself do it that’s difficult.

Yesterday I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher (sitting on a chair) as well as sorted out and threw out magazines  and catalogs (threw them all on the floor and sat down) that
have accumulated throughout the house since I left on Oct. 5th. It took a lot out of me and I paid for it later in the day. Poor Dave came home to grumpy, whiny Heidi. She’s just so unattractive. I should have stopped after the dishwasher and called that my therapy for the day. But I felt good, so I pushed it. Bad Heidi, bad. I just fear I’ll become a couch potato, so I feel I HAVE to do something, but I can’t push it. A little at a time still. I just have to remind myself I’m recovering from brain surgery!