Tune-In-Tuesday: April 6, 2021

 It's April! How did that happen so fast (and yet at times seem so slow)?!! I hope all of you had a blessed Easter weekend - I know I did! Easter is my favorite holiday. We celebrated Maundy Thursday. Then came Good Friday (where my dad resorted to old school methods when it came to the "loud noise" we hear representing the closing of the tomb. Unfortunately, technology has not been our friend when it comes to creating this in the past few years. I won't reveal how he created it "old school" but I have heard that those watching online could see, so some may know. But for those that don't know, you have to keep some secrets - haha!!).  On Saturday we had our Easter Fest at church. It was a little different this year due to COVID, but it was still wonderful. Everything was done outside. I had the pleasure of driving the lawnmower train and I had a blast. It's the perfect job for me because I sit the whole time - ha! I mean, of course I can walk and do other jobs, but this one just suites me the best. I drove it for three hours and by the time I got off, it was a little hard to walk, but so worth it!! 

Easter Sunday was magnificent. In my opinion, it's the best day of the year. Jesus rose from the dead! He won!! Easter service at my church was wonderful. Last Easter, we had to watch from home, but this Easter, we were live in-person (and also online for those who still needed to stay home)! It made my heart so happy to be in church celebrating Jesus. After church, my family gathered at my parent's house to eat and celebrate. We also celebrated (early) my niece, Hope's birthday. It was so much fun. My youngest brother and his soon-to-be-wife came in from out of state to celebrate too. The weather turned out to be perfect (in the mid 70's) and the day was lovely. However, I did fall. I wasn't even walking! It takes real talent to do that - ha! I really don't even know what happened, but my guess is that I was turning around and just lost my balance and fell. We were all outside, having just taken pictures and we were all on my parent's drive-way. My brothers tried to catch me, but were too late. I even reached out to my Mom (who was standing beside me), but she was walking away from me when it happened. Of course, I injured myself - haha. It wasn't bad, but I always fall on the same spot (my left knee) and because of that, the skin there is really thin and always ends up bleeding. I also got some road-rash. But, other then that (and my embarrassment!), I'm perfectly fine. It's just life. I fall, I get back up. That's what you do. I might have cried a little too - not because it hurt, but because I get frustrated. Ahh, life!! Anyway, Satan may have wanted to steal my joy and he may have for a minute, but only for a minute. I got back up, cleaned the blood off and carried on.

I've been doing a lot of travelling starting at the end of March and continuing through April to get ready for my brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law's wedding. I've had so much fun. First it was the bachelorette party. The next weekend it was a bridal tea. Then they came for Easter and this coming weekend, Mom and I head back to Alabama for another bridal shower. Their wedding is fast approaching! I'm going to go through withdrawals when I don't get to see them every weekend! 

I have great days when walking is no problem and then I have days where walking is a bit more difficult, but I thank God that my walking is nowhere near as bad as it was before I got the battery switched out. As I said in my last post, I'm giving myself grace and allowing myself to use a cane when need be without shame or embarrassment. I even had a dream last night about a girl (who wasn't me and no one I know in real life) and she was walking around town (OK, in my dream she was walking into a bar - don't judge! I don't know where that came from as I myself never go to bars!) and she was using a cane. Where this dream came from I have no idea, but I distinctly remember her walking into this bar with her date and she was using a cane and it wasn't any big deal. She used it as an accessory. 

This past week has been great (minus the one fall) and I'm so very blessed to be surrounded by family and friends whom I love and who love me. I hope you can say the same. We're all in this life together, so be kind. I'm speaking to myself when I say that too. My problems are a drop in the bucket compared to others' problems. Everyone is dealing with something. I hope all of you have a wonderful week and always remember...God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: March 30, 2021

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday. My apologies for not updating last week. There really wasn't anything to update you on, so I thought I'd give myself a break from writing and give you a break from reading! This past week has been great and there really isn't anything to update you on from it either, but I decided to blog anyway.

On St. Patrick's Day, I got my first COVID-19 shot. I'm very thankful for that. I had to do some investigating first though. Wal-Mart turned out to be the winner for me (in being able to get an appointment and get the vaccine). The wording surrounding the qualifications at places such as Walgreens, Kroger and walk-in clinics did not include anyone with neurological diseases. Wal-Mart's wording did include those with neurological and/or neuromuscular diseases. I still had to drive about 30 miles from where I live to get the vaccine as the Wal-Mart(s) in my town were out of the vaccine, but 30 miles is nothing! My second dose is scheduled for April 14.

My walking has been getting better! I've also given myself permission to bring the cane with me when walking in parking lots or other wide open spaces. I don't have to use it, but it's there if I need it. This has been an internal growing process for me. I so don't want to have to use anything to walk but my own two feet, but sometimes I realize I do need help, so I'm growing up and allowing myself to be humble enough to use assistance when I need it. 

I think that's it for this week. See - not a lot to update on! I'm very thankful for the improvements I've made and that walking isn't such a struggle. I do know that from day to day my ability to walk correctly can change, but I'm thankful for the good days!

This week is my favorite week of the year - Holy Week. This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. This coming Thursday is Maundy Thursday where we celebrate Jesus' Last Supper. Friday is Good Friday where we commemorate Jesus' death, all leading up to the most glorious of days: Easter Sunday where Jesus rises  from the grave having defeated death, sin and the devil.

Thank you for reading this post and I hope all of you have a most blessed and glorious Holy Week. 

Always remember, God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: March 16, 2021

Today I keep thinking it's Wednesday - what is up with that? How has everyone done with the time change? I personally love Daylight Saving Time (and yes, there is actually no "s" on the end of "saving"). I love when it's still daylight at 9pm! I do know that a lot of people don't like it though. It didn't effect me at all on Sunday, but it must have had some effect on me on Monday because last night as I was getting ready for bed, I glanced at my pill organizer and saw this:

I guess I just wanted to skip over Monday?! Maybe that's why I keep thinking today is Wednesday?! Good thing I take the same medication every day! 

Guess what, guys?! I'm walking better!!! Hallelujah, praise Jesus!! I noticed it last night. I was walking around my house and it just struck me that I'm more balanced, my walking is smoother and I'm not constantly thinking about every step I take. So, I took a moment and thanked the Lord, from whom all blessings come. That's not to say I won't have problems tomorrow, but for the here and now walking is wonderful - yay! 

While walking has been getting better, I've been having headaches. I'm not sure if they are migraine headaches or not, but when I have them they are only on one side and the only thing that seems to help them is to lay on that side of my head (basically put pressure on that side). These headaches could be allergy related or induced by jaw-clenching which I've caught myself doing recently. It's always something, right?! 

I'm going to let you in on a little more of the "behind-the-scenes" of deep brain stimulation. I've debated about sharing this, but it is what it is. Sometimes I'm much slower (for my age) in coming up with the right word to say and/or the word for an object then I was before the surgery. Yes, everyone experiences this at some time and as we get older we struggle more with it, but for my age, I lag a little more than normal. Example: It took me awhile (and a Google search) to come up with the words "pill organizer" that I used above. I thought of the word "pill" right away, but couldn't come up with "organizer". I thought of the word "box" and while Google said that word was correct too, it didn't seem correct to me - ha! It wasn't the word I was looking for. Anyway, the good news is, I do eventually come up with the right word to use, but since DBS surgery it can be a little delayed. The doctors and surgeons know this about me. It's a known effect of the surgery. It can be frustrating at times, but again, it is what it is and I do eventually come up with the word. 

But, back to good news. I am just so thankful that walking is better. I hope it remains that way but also know that this is something that goes up and down (literally - ha!), so I will rejoice on the good days and remind myself on the bad days that "this too shall pass." It's been a pretty good week all-in-all and I am so very, very thankful!

Always remember, God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: March 9, 2021

Since last week, I've seen tiny, minuscule improvements in my walking. It may or may not look like that to others, but however tiny, they are there. So, I will celebrate the tiny, minuscule improvements like they were big, over-the-top improvements because improvement no matter how minuscule is still improvement - praise Jesus!

I used the walker to get into church last Wednesday night. I didn't want to have to "fight" to walk, so I took the easy way out and used it. Someone asked when I was going to get rid of having to use it. This person asked in the most kind, sincere way and I was NOT in the least bit offended or put off by it. They were generally curious about it. So, I used my dad as my excuse - ha!! My dad has told me in the past that he would feel so much better if I just used a cane or a walker in parking lots (specifically the church parking lot) when I didn't feel steady just so that I would not fall. He's told me, "You can just use it to get in and out. If you feel like you can walk in church without it just park the walker and you don't have to use it." So, I finally stopped being stubborn and took his advice. I can't really answer people with a definitive answer on when I won't use the walker or cane anymore. It's just wait and see with me. 

The rest of the week, I practiced walking. Practiced walking. Who would have ever thought that at my age I would have to practice how to walk?! I (think I) know why God allows us to learn how to walk when we are just toddlers. For one, we're closer to the floor (therefore not having a long way to fall) and padded in diapers so when we fall we don't hurt ourselves as much. We also don't remember how it hurts to fall. And, we can crawl and it's an acceptable form of transportation. I mean I guess we could still crawl now but well, you know, most people don't!

Anyway, back to last week. I practiced walking. Some days I was steady, other days, not so much, but I didn't fall. (Just FYI, I don't use the walker or cane when I am at home. I am able to walk without them, it's just that I lose confidence sometimes when I'm out in the world.) On Sunday, I stopped by Walgreens on my way to church to pick up some pictures. I wasn't very steady and I wasn't feeling confident. I was definitely feeling like I was going to have to use the walker to get around. But then I got out of the car and walked in without a walker, without a cane. Wait - what just happened?!!!! I literally went from one second thinking, "I'm going to have to use the walker" (not even just the cane, but the walker!) to the very next second walking with my own two feet. How?! It was all God. By the time I got to church, I again was not sure what I would use (if anything) to get around. I got cold feet and ended up using the cane. But I used the cane and not the walker - progress! I didn't fall!! Today, as I was on Facebook, I saw a memory of what I posted 7 years ago: "Sometimes all that's needed is 2 seconds of bravery." That, my friends, is my life.

As I was beginning to put this blog post together yesterday, I got a phone call. I didn't recognize the number and was sure it was a robocall for the extended warranty on my car (those things are no joke! I get them every single day). But it was a local number, so I picked it up. I am so glad I did! It was my neurologist's nurse. At first I was thinking, "Did I forget to pay my bill? Did I miss an appointment?" But it was none of that. She was calling to tell me that Dr. T. got my thank you letter. He wanted her to call me to tell me thank you for it and that he really appreciated it. He also wanted her to tell me that he is a bit older than me - ha! If you've been reading my blog for awhile, I think I've written before that I think Dr. T. is my age. I actually put that in the letter - ha! So that mystery is solved. Although now I really want to know how old he actually is. :) Anyway, how sweet was that? I got a call just to inform me that my neurologist got my letter and he really appreciated it. I'm including this in the blog 1) so that I'll remember that I received a thank you call and 2) to encourage you to write a thank you card to someone you don't normally write thank you cards to but that really deserves your thanks. I will admit, after writing the letter I didn't put it in the mailbox until the next day. I grappled with it. I was kind of embarrassed to send it actually. I mean, who writes a thank you card to their doctor?! But then again, maybe people do and I'm behind the times?! What got me to actually put it in the mailbox was a comment on my blog post from my godmother who said that she thought it was great that I wrote him a thank you card. And even then, I put it in the mailbox, but the mail had already come that day, so I debated for another 24 hours on whether I should just take it out of the mailbox. But I didn't. And when I saw that the mail was picked up, I panicked a little. There was nothing I could do then. Unless it got lost in the mail, he would get it. Then I got SUPER self-conscious about it. It was definitely outside of my comfort zone. But in the end it turned out great and now he knows he's appreciated and I know he's older than me. :)

I was reading something about the actress Selma Blair. She has MS. As I was reading this article, I was pleasantly surprised to see she mentioned dystonia! Dystonia can be its own condition/disease, but it can also be a symptom of other diseases like MS. She also mentioned one of my favorite words: proprioception. I just feel smarter when I say that word! It means where your arms and legs are in regard to time and space. Anyway, here's the snippet where she mentioned it: 

OK, I think that's it for this week's blog. I know I've written another novel here and if you've made it this far, thank you for reading! 

Always remember, God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: March 2, 2021

Ugh. How's that for a start to a blog entry? This past week has been rough. Grant it, I have not fallen - so I'll take that as a win, but walking has not been fun, easy or effortless. I'm a perfectionist and I see things in black and white. Dystonia is not black and white. My walking is not black and white. It drives me nuts sometimes. I don't like having a condition that can't be cured with a drug or a surgery or a therapy. OK, my venting is over with - haha. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I saw my neurologist on February 22. During that appointment, he showed me how to turn my device completely off and back on again. My device was off for less than a minute, but needless to say I am convinced that that is what has caused my "horrible" walking this past week. How's that for armchair doctoring?!! You see, I want to blame something, anything on why I can't walk like I want to, when in reality there is nothing and no one to blame; it just is. So, with my non-existent medical degree, I'm "starting over" my two weeks until the electricity reaches my leg/foot/toes. Today marks one week. 

Last Wednesday night, I used my cane to get into church, but halfway between my car and the church door, I got "stuck". I'm going to try and explain this the best way I know how, but we'll see if it makes sense. I use the word "stuck" because that is how it feels. It feels like if I make one more move, I will fall, no matter what move that is. So, I almost freeze in place. I feel as if I bend my knee, lift my foot, even position the cane differently, I will fall. In these cases, I almost want to fall, because I feel like if I fall it'll loosen me up. Weird, right?! Anyway, I got stuck and literally felt like I couldn't take another step. Thankfully, my associate pastor saw me from inside and (pausing the class he was teaching) came to my rescue by lending an arm to me. The "funny" thing about this whole experience is that earlier in the day I watched the "Wednesday Wanderings" video he and my dad had done. They spoke about Peter walking on water. I don't know if I've mentioned on this blog before or not, but I most identify with Peter in the Bible. He's gung-ho and yet is a complete mess at the same time. He's always getting himself into trouble somehow or another and sticking his foot in his mouth. That is me to a "T". Anyway, as long as Peter had his eyes on Jesus, he was able to literally walk on water. Once he took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the waves, he started to sink and yelled out to Jesus to save him. That was me on Wednesday night. I was fine as long as I kept my mind on Jesus, but once I started looking around and took my mind off of Jesus, I got stuck. My "crying out" to Jesus was done internally. He didn't let me fall and used my associate pastor as his arms that night. I still had issues walking while inside of church, but I made it without falling. After church, my mom helped me out to the car and then I was done for the night. I went home and laid on the couch. :) 

I had my one month post-op appointment on February 25 with my neurosurgeon (rather, his PA). I was determined to walk in without a walker or cane. I did it, however precariously. I don't know if it's my stubbornness, foolishness, tenacity or what, but I have this burning in my soul to prove to people I can walk without a cane or walker. I'm pretty sure I cause myself more stress and worry than I need to by always trying to prove something. Anyway, my appointment went well. I think it took me longer to find a parking spot in the parking garage then it did the actual appointment. The PA cleared me to start working out again and doing yoga. Working out may have been the first thing I did after getting home from the appointment. It wasn't that long ago that I loathed working out. I hated even the thought of doing it. Now, it's something I love. It's a stress reliever. Even when walking is a struggle, I can still exercise. I use a stationary bike, so I can't fall. When I feel like I have no control over how I walk, I feel powerful when I exercise.

When I went out of the house this past week I used either my cane or the walker. At grocery stores, I used carts. There were times that I practiced walking without anything but my own two feet. Those practice sessions went well. It's so weird. I really never know what I'm going to do until I do it. Meaning, whenever I get somewhere and get out of the car, that's when I decide what I'll use (or not use).

Sunday, I used the cane to get in, around and out of church, but when I went to my parent's house after church, I used nothing. I'm convinced that I was only able to make it in to church because once again, my Sunday School teacher was walking in the same time I was and helped me (we seem to be arriving at church at the same time as this happened last week too). Walking out of church, I was doing OK, until the wind picked up and I lost my confidence. Thankfully a friend came right up beside me and helped me. I should have used the walker. Hindsight's always 20/20.

Yesterday (well, actually February 29, but since this isn't a leap year we'll go with March 1) was the 5 year anniversary of having the battery initially implanted which means that that was the last of the DBS surgeries (3 of 3). It wouldn't be for another month (on March 29) that I would have the device turned on, but it was the last of the surgeries.

There have definitely been times and days this week where I didn't have to use a cane or a walker at all. I am extremely grateful for them. I just want them to last longer!! (Have I mentioned before that I'm very impatient?!)

While this past week hasn't been the absolute best, it by no means has been the absolute worst, so I'm praising Jesus for that! It's one day at a time, one step at a time.

Thank you all for reading (I know I tend to write novels here in this space) and for continuing to follow along.

Always remember: God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: February 23, 2021 FIVE YEARS!!!!!!!!!!

In my last entry, I thought maybe I was through using my walker and then the next day came and I lost my nerve and used the walker again. I was frustrated at myself, but I didn't want to fall, so I used it. This is not just a one-way journey. It has lots of backslides, but I'm growing through it all, so that's the positive. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday - every day, I used the walker, but then Sunday came. I had the walker and my cane in the back seat of my car as I drove into the parking lot at church. I'm notorious for losing my nerve walking in the church parking lot (even though I park in the closest handicap parking space available!). I didn't know what I would do. Would I push through my fear or would I wait another day to do that? Well, I pushed through my fear. I did use my cane, but I did NOT use my walker. My Sunday school teacher came up beside me and asked if I needed help. I just asked that he walk beside me, you know, just in case! And he did. And I walked in without having to grab ahold of him - yay!! I walked out of church later without fear! Yesterday (Monday), I walked completely walker AND cane free - PRAISE JESUS!!!!!!!!!

Today's a big day because it's been 5 YEARS since my deep brain stimulation surgery. It was February 23, 2016 when that surgery occurred. FIVE YEARS AGO!!!!  Some days that feels like just yesterday and other days it feels longer then that - ha! If you'd like to read what I wrote about the DBS surgery, you can do that here: It is Not Brain Surgery!: 2 Down, 1 To Go

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I slept in today and then explored some of the Foothills Parkway in the Smoky Mountains. It was good to just get away from the day-to-day. The weather was perfect - in the 60's and the views reminded me once again of how awesome God is. 

How it was going 5 years ago on the left to how it's going today on the right

Feeling wonderfully blessed

After my drive on the Foothills Parkway, I came home and wrote a thank you letter. Yes, a thank you letter - not a note. A note is something you write a few sentences in, this was a letter. I wrote it to my neurologist, Dr. T. I should have written it five years ago, but better late than never! Since it's the 5 year anniversary of the surgery, I was reminiscing and re-reading through my blog posts and it occurred to me that I never put down in words what exactly Dr. T. meant/means to me. He's not the neurosurgeon, so he didn't do the surgery, but he was with me before, during and after the surgery. Yes, of course he's my doctor and it's his job, but over the course of the past 5 years, he's done so much (and continues to do so much) that I thought it was time to send him a thank you letter. He's informed me, he's advocated for me, he's cheered me on, he's been frustrated with and for me - he deserves a letter! Three pages later, I finished the letter. What's that about me writing a book again? I most certainly have the words for it! I also need to write my mom a thank you letter. Again, after re-reading through my blog posts, she's my hero. I mean she's the one that took me to doctor after doctor (if they were out of state). She's been with me through all the surgeries, all the pain, everything. Dad held down the fort at home and he's seen me through everything too, but Mom was the one sleeping on chairs in hospital rooms, holding my hand through the worst night of my life when I wanted to die (because the pain was so bad). I owe her a hand-written 3 page thank you letter too, but it will have to be another day because I have writer's cramp now (fun fact: that's a form of dystonia too!). I should write Dad a thank you letter too because he's cleaned up more of my puke then anyone else, I think - including the infamous Christmas Eve when I puked all over his and Mom's driveway. He was too tired to clean it up that night (after preaching at three services), so he decided to leave it until the next day. But in the morning, he found it had frozen. There's nothing worse then cleaning up someone else's puke - so thank you, Dad!

I had a check-up with my neurologist, Dr. T. yesterday. And since it's been 5 years and I'm on my third battery,  he said that the next time I have to have the battery replaced we should highly consider doing a rechargeable battery. I told him I didn't think I could have a rechargeable battery since I've gone with the non-rechargeable one since the very beginning. He debunked that theory! He said I was too young to be having surgery every two and a half years. I completely, whole-heartily agree! He is at a loss though on why my batteries only seem to last two and half years. I'm not on the highest setting. I'm not doing anything "wrong" - they just seem to deplete faster in me. He said that the rechargeable batteries last 15-20 years. The downside is that I have to recharge it. I asked how often that would need to be done. He said it depended on how much "juice" was being used but some patients have to recharge it every couple of days and others can wait a week or so. I'm not completely sold on the idea of having to recharge it that often, but I have time and I'll do research on it. Who knows, maybe two and half years from now the recharge rate will increase or there will be other options. He also asked about my shoulder pain. I told him it's still there, although since I haven't been able to work-out since my surgery it's barely bothered me. He asked that I get my primary care physician to look at it. Once I told him, I'd already talked to my PC about it and he thought it was muscular, he made me promise to ask for an X-ray, just to be 100% sure everything is OK. He said he could do an X-ray, but he'd still have to send me to someone else if the X-ray showed anything, so I promised, I would have my PC get an X-ray of it.

Dr. T. also showed me how to turn my DBS device off. I'm ashamed to say, I didn't know how to do that. It turns out to be super easy to do. He just reminded me that if I ever do turn it off, to remember to turn it back on! Now I can have EKG's (one thing needed and/or requested before surgeries) and my system won't mess them up anymore. 

One thing Dr. T. commented on at my appointment was the fact that I could tell the deep brain stimulation works. How can I tell? Because of how I felt/walked before the battery being replaced via how I feel/walk now. It's like night and day I tell you! He said that he's still frustrated (me too, me too!) that he can't get my foot to relax anymore then it is, but is happy that I'm happy to know that the DBS does work for me. We (Dr. T. and I) are both HUGE perfectionists. And I emphasize the word huge. Yes, we both want more. I am nowhere near "perfectly" walking and I want that. He wants that for me. BUT - at the same time, gosh am I blessed mightily to be the way I am today. Five years ago I was using a walker everywhere I went. I fell all the time. I was miserable. Yesterday, I walked into the neurologist's office (however precarious it was - it was pouring down rain and the wind was gusting) on my own two feet without a walker or a cane. I didn't fall. So, while I want "perfect" walking (and I'll still strive for that), I am blessed beyond measure by deep brain stimulation. Until my dying breath, I will advocate for it.

I have my one month post-op appointment with the neurosurgeon (well, rather his PA) on Thursday (Feb 25). Hopefully after that appointment I can get the all clear to start working out again. I've got my brother's wedding to get in shape for and since I'm the OLDEST in the wedding party (this is what happens when there are 11 years (and two other brothers) that separate us) - and, well, I just want to look and feel and walk my best. :)

Five years has flown by and at the same time dragged on! Here's to the next five years and the five years after that and well, here's to LIFE. It's not easy, but boy is it worth it. Thanks for continuing on this journey with me! God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: February 16, 2021

It's been 3 weeks (and a day) since my (latest) battery replacement surgery for my deep brain stimulation device and I'm feeling pretty good! The last three (out of seven) steri-strips came off my surgical scar this morning and the scar looks pretty great, if I do say so myself. In fact, I was just telling someone before the surgery that my scar had just about faded (from battery replacement surgery 2 and 1/2 years ago) and then I have to get a new one. But this one is pretty good right off the bat. I guess those internal stitches really, really work - yay!!!

I can also really feel the electricity working. I was getting a little discouraged that I was still using the walker after two weeks, but just yesterday and continuing today I'm feeling more confident in walking. It remains to be seen if the walker is a complete memory of the past, but things are looking up! One of my worries is being fearful of walking without the walker - of being dependent on the walker. This was one of my greatest fears 5 years ago after the DBS surgery and it's once again a fear. But, I've done it before (pushed past my fear and walked without the walker), so with God's help, I know I can do it again. God's got this after all, right!? Yes, yes He does! 

Mom and I went shoe shopping the other day for my brother's wedding in April. For just the little while we were there, I ended up getting a blister on my foot. I mean, who does that?! Obviously, me! I blame myself too because they came from shoes I picked out - ha! Needless to say I did not get that pair of shoes.

With each new day, I get stronger. I can absolutely, 100% tell the battery is fully charged and my DBS system is working on all cylinders once again - halleluiah!  Sometimes things need to go bad for you to realize how good you've actually got it! Thank you for the reminder, God!

I see my neurologist next Monday (February 22) and the neurosurgeon on February 25. This was not on purpose. It's my 6 month routine check-up with my neurologist and my one month post surgery check-up with the neurosurgeon. :) 

Today, I'm also celebrating the 5 year anniversary of my first surgery for DBS back on February 16, 2016. That first surgery was to get the bone markers (better way of describing them then screws - which they actually were) placed to hold my head in place for the "big" surgery the following week. For those of you who may be new around here and want to read what I wrote about that day and that surgery, you can do so here: It is Not Brain Surgery!: 1 Down, 2 To Go

For me, it was fun to go back and re-read about that day. There are many things I remember and so many more things that I forgot about! Here's a photo from back then of the screws in my head. They did not remain there. They were removed after the big, awake surgery was done.

There were two in the front of my skull and two in the back.

Here's the custom 3-D designed "helmet" that those bone markers were attached to. I got to keep this as a souvenir, since it was designed specifically to fit my head. 

What should I do to celebrate today? I'm definitely NOT shaving my head. Maybe, I'll just enjoy having long hair again. I'll enjoy feeling (more) stable again. I'll praise Jesus that I'm five years out (from the initial DBS surgeries) and almost one month out (from the latest battery replacement surgery) and for all the sweet mercies He and He alone has provided. I'm feeling incredibly blessed and so very joyful.

Me, from two days ago on Valentine's Day 2021

 God's Got This - Yes, He does!