Ya'll, I never know how to start these blog posts. Am I supposed to say "Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by and reading."? Or am I supposed to just dive right in to the update? Maybe someone who's a better blogger than me can fill me in. ;)
On Friday of this past week, I finally did it - I adjusted the electricity in my deep brain stimulation system. I went from 3.60 volts on Frequency A to 3.70 volts on Frequency A. And now, I wait. God's still teaching me how to be patient because I'm a slow learner. ;)
On Friday afternoon, my sinuses started to hurt. I immediately thought, "Is someone cutting the grass?" I thought it might be allergies. Then, the pressure moved from my sinuses to my head. My head was throbbing. A little while after that, I thought I had a fever. I broke out in a sweat, just laying on the couch. I got nauseous and really, really wanted to throw-up, but that didn't happen. My head hurt so bad (but just on the left side) that I had flashbacks to the night I spent in the hospital after my deep brain stimulation surgery. Thankfully, it wasn't quite as bad as that night was (if you want to know all about that night, you can read an old post of mine found here: It is Not Brain Surgery!: 2 Down, 1 To Go), but it was enough to send me to bed at 6:30pm. I couldn't do anything but bury my head in the pillows and try not to move or look at anything. Thankfully, I don't get headaches too often, but I have family members that get migraines every once in awhile, so I hope I'm not inheriting those! I am pretty sure this had less to do (actually nothing to do!) with my adjusting the electricity in my DBS system and more to do with clenching my jaw (which I noticed I had been doing and tried to stop!). When I woke up on Saturday, I immediately praised Jesus that I didn't die and then I praised Him that the headache was gone. I've been re-watching the TV show ER (for like the 2 millionth time!). I'll usually watch an episode or two before I go to bed. Well, I obviously didn't watch it the night I got the headache, however, I did watch it on Saturday night and had to laugh. You can't say God's not got a sense of humor and that He doesn't protect us from ourselves. The episode that I watched had a woman come in complaining of some ailment (Ha - I can't even remember what right now!). Later in the episode, after she's back from having a test, she starts complaining of a headache. When the nurse goes to check on her later in the episode, she finds her dead. She'd had a cerebral aneurism. Had I watched that episode the night before - when I had my major headache, I would have been convinced that I had the same thing. See, God was watching out for me!!
On Sunday, I was wary of walking into church. I had just adjusted the electricity and was scared I'd get "stuck" in the middle of the parking lot not being able to walk, so I used my walker. I might have had a bit of the "yips" so to speak. There was also another reason why I used it. I have this sore on the bottom of my left foot that is making it very uncomfortable to walk. It's very weird. It looks like there may be a sore (or maybe dried blood) under a callous. Is that even possible? I'll spare you a picture of it - although it really just looks like a callous, but boy does it hurt. It's the result of the way I walk (or have been walking recently). I hope that with the increase in electricity, I'll walk better and the sore will go away. Only time will tell. I hope I can make it the full 2 weeks on this new level of electricity, but if I have muscle spasms while walking (which hasn't happened yet), I may choose to lower it again. I have to find that "sweet spot" again - the one where I don't have too much or too little electricity. I noticed last night when laying in bed that my foot wasn't curling in, so that's a good sign. Again, only time will tell.
I had two friends that had brain surgery yesterday. TWO - and on the same day!! I'm happy to report that both of their surgeries went well.
My grandmother mentioned to me that someone asked her how I could exercise if I couldn't walk well. I'm not even sure how that topic came up, but I thought I'd answer that question here. :) First, I do exercise. Second, I use a stationary bike. It's perfect for me. I get a really good workout and I don't fall. I watch TV and listen to music at the same time (hey - whatever it takes!) while working out. I actually took this picture a few days ago because I thought the number was cool (I know, I'm weird!):
And with that, I'll close. Thank you so much for reading!
Always remember - God's Got This!
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