An Electrifying Tuesday

Tuesdays have been a favorite of mine ever since "House M.D." starting airing on them. Now I watch "Chicago Med" and "Chicago Fire" on Tuesday nights. Tuesdays are also good days because they're not Mondays. :) I exercise on Tuesdays (and yes, I like to!). Now, I'm adding another reason why I like Tuesdays: It'll be the day of the week that I turn up my DBS (deep brain stimulation) system. I initially had it turned on and programmed on a Tuesday which is why that day of the week was picked. :) Today, I upped the voltage in my device from 2.10 to 2.20.

I'll admit that I had to read the manual to remember how to do it, but I did it correctly! (I kind of think I'm going to electrocute myself or something. It's a little nerve wracking!)

Since this was the first time I got to turn up the DBS system on my own (I did it once in the neurologist's office), I thought I might forget to do it. So I wrote this note to myself last night and placed it on my nightstand.

I know most people have a wig and notes on their nightstand too, right?!

Just like when it was activated the first time, this morning I didn’t feel any different than I did before. In fact, even before I upped the system, my left arm and hand were feeling weak again. I so wish the healing of them were on a strict only-upwards path, but as Dr. I. told me, there can be little backslides in the healing process. Yet again, I’m being taught patience (although somewhat begrudgingly!).

I can’t even say with certainty whether or not I experienced any changes last week. I am hyper-aware and hyper-sensitive to anything going on in my body right now so there were two things that I did notice. Whether or not they are related to the DBS system is yet to be determined, but I’m writing them down so that the doctors can make that decision. :)

The first of these changes (as mentioned in my last post) is that I felt “electricity” in my left thumb. It feels like pins and needles, but not constantly. This is probably nothing, but may be something, so it's being documented!

The second of these changes is that on Saturday night, my left foot started hurting while walking. I looked and I have a callous on it right below my pinkie toe. OK, so again, this is probably nothing, but (in my wild imagination) maybe I’m beginning to use different parts of my feet to walk without even knowing I’m doing it?! Maybe?! I might be stretching too far here, but you never know! If that is the case, I think it’s totally awesome! If, not, then I’ll keep looking for other changes.

(Warning: for those that don't like feet or to look at feet, I have posted two pictures. So, just skip over them and please forgive me!)

I know this is disgusting, but it's real life. :)

I know this is disgusting, but it's real life. :)

A funny thing happened on Saturday. I blew a fuse in the house trying to change a light bulb. That wasn’t the funny part. The funny part was that I got it in my head that somehow I messed my DBS system up by holding the light bulb when the fuse made a popping sound and blew. I had to check my DBS system (for no other reason then my own sanity!), so I turned the remote on and to my relief it showed that my system was still on and OK. :) This is when I kind of started feeling bionic. When you have to check to see if you’re still “on”, that counts as being bionic. ;)

My friend, Kristen has kept me laughing constantly. We were talking on Facebook the other day and, well, here's the conversation.

My dad writes “Notes from the Pastor” which is given out as an insert to the bulletin we get on Sundays. He announces accolades that people in our church have achieved and calls out important announcements or events. In this week’s edition, I was mentioned. Thank you, Dad for concisely describing my situation.

As for my hair, it’s filling in! I can actually grab it and pull it now. I’m not quite brave enough to go out in public without my wig, but I'll go public here on the blog. :)

There have been comparisons flying around between my family members. They say I look like that toy magnetic guy whose hair stands straight up, Demi Moore, Anne Hathaway, a Chia pet and the list goes on. I DON'T like it this short. Some people could pull it off, but not me!

My hope is that by summer my real hair is long enough to where I don't feel embarrassed to go out without a wig. But for now, I love the wig.

It struck me today, that God is giving me a gift. To be honest, He's always giving me gifts, but the gift He's giving me right now is the gift of something to look forward to each week. He knows I'm impatient, but He's met me in the middle in this situation. He's given me the gift of Tuesdays. He's given me the hope that something electrifying (get it?! haha) will happen because of this surgery. My hope is that Tuesdays will be electrifying as I pray every day will be. I'm blessed beyond measure to have hope, to have faith and to have the promise that in His time everything will come to be just as He says it will be.