When A Migraine Is Good News!

I feel as though I was given my life back. Last week after another in a bazillion episodes of TIA symptoms Ron put his foot down and took me to the emergency room at University Hospital. They kept me over night for observation and tests, and determined that I was having an aberrant form of silent migraine (without the pain) which totally mimics stroke symptoms. They have put me on an anti-seizure medication which should stop the cycle.

I've been on the medication about a week and I have to say that I feel good! My mind is so clear, almost like someone who gets glasses for the first time and realizes that a leaf on a tree has veins in it. My biggest problem right now is deciding what to do with the rest of my life! I know I've spent the last decade (literally) waiting for a big stroke to kill me. When the symptoms happened they were really frightening!

Migraines sound so manageable compared to a stroke. I'm realizing (though no one can be certain when their time on earth is up) that I can probably see my grandchildren grow, go on a mission with my husband, and though I'd never want to be a burden, I may even be a really old lady for my kids to take care of!

At Least I Can Walk

My friend and neighbor Kathy Samsel, has had a herniated disk for eight years now. She is still so limited, she can never shingle a roof, but she can now pick up grandchildren, which she says is all she really wants to do anyway. And, she can now sit without pain.

This was my reply to her email: Thank you Kathy. I think my asperations are similar to yours. Well, I still have the desire to build my own house, but I think not in this lifetime, though I would like to repaint my little front room. Can you do that?

Yet, I cannot believe how grateful I am for the ability to walk. I may not gain back the nerve damage in my calf, but I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes today! And, I feel fine!!! If I can walk without a limp I will truly feel blessed. We take our bodies for granted so much don't we? Can you clean your house? Don Hansen still just shakes his head no, when I ask if I can vacuum or mop yet. Ron's idea of a clean floor is not mine. Frustrating. I had planned on cleaning out closets and doing some deep cleaning (like the carpets) and reorganizing my storage room this fall, but . . . oh patience. Can you do any of those things? And, why do I get so tired? Has anyone explained that to you?

Kathy, when we have our new resurrected bodies, would you like to run and romp in a beautiful field of lillies, after we swing on a very large rope and drop into a deep blue pool at the foot of a gorgeous waterfall where we will have a lovely swim, before we picnic on food that is out of this world? (Which of course will never make us fat, but give us amazing, unbounded energy) Is it a date?

Love, Bonnie