Things are Looking Up

Recovery has been a long and (very) difficult road for us. If there was a roadblock to encounter, I found it. But it looks as though (fingers crossed) things are finally on the upswing. After that last coiling procedure, I have had less pain, I had a successful neurologist appointment last month and I am enrolled in college again to complete my bachelor's degree.

I had a coiling procedure in my heart last September to block the flow of blood to some extra veins in my heart. I do feel a lot better most of the time. I have only needed my nitroglycerin pills twice since then and both times were when I just wore myself out; which isn't hard to do. I definitely have less chest pain but I still get short of breath and tire easily. I have hope, however, that I can continue to build my endurance by simply continuing with my exercise routine and building upon that. I started gardening, which is a whole other story in itself, so that helps keep me active. As if the kids, the dog and the normal foundation of my life weren't enough.

Last month I had a six-month follow up with my neurologist. We made some changes to my medications. We decided to increase my Lyrica and get rid of the Neurontin. The insurance company, however, thought they were smarter than my wonderful doctor and took an extra month to approve the medication increase. So I spent a short while with no pain relieving medication at all while they farted around. But everything is fine now and I do feel slightly better. I have a hard time telling if the extra pain in my right arm and leg is due to my being more active lately (which I am doing on purpose - I am so sick of being static) or if it is genuinely increasing on its own or if I am only growing more tolerant of all the medications. The other plus has been a decrease in my migraines. I had one not too long ago, but it only lasted four days; so that wasn't too terrible. I think my diligence for to sticking to my migraine diet helped that.

Everything seemed to be going so well that my husband, Victor, and I sat down and mapped out a future plan that includes me going back to school to finally finish my Bachelor's Degree. Granted, it won't be in forensic science like I originally thought it would be, but I have to continue on the path that I have ended up on. I have been writing seriously for about 18 months now and it is time to get a formal education in English and Creative Writing. I have a few ideas of what I want to do with my degree when I am done and am very hopeful that I will continue to get better and be able to take advantage of the situation. And it has been so important to me to finally finish my degree.

You're looking at the newest Undergrad at University of Houston Victoria, majoring in Creative Writing. I hesitated to tell anyone because I was so upset when I had to quit school back in 2012 due my memory loss and then quit my job due to my seizures. But now seems that I have a good handle on things. The memory is still a problem, but it has gotten better and I haven't had a seizure in 11 months. 

Go me!