Quick overview of what’s been happening since I
last wrote.
** I
got my driver’s license in August and a car (thanks to my mom and brother). It has taken a lot of time to be comfortable
driving. I still don’t venture out of
town too often…
**
Abi started Medical School in September. She
lives in Athens during the week, and I care for our kids.
** I
continue to heal. I did 4 more months of rehab at GMH and got much more range of motion
and stability.
** I
spend many hours a day at the computer and 2-hand type (like now) – slowly.
** I
am doing “eye therapy” to help with my balance- and whole body integration.
**I
am still working on going back to work starting next year – trying to figure out how
to get my doctor to access my stamina (hopefully GMH can help).
** My
1-year MRI looked good, but Dr. Black did not like the quality of the images, so I had to
redo it last Monday.
So,
you get the sense that I’ve been busy. I’ve also been teaching a 1-hour class
twice a week on the Internet to Zachary’s class.
I am helping a friend install a network in his home and connection that to an ISDN
line. One of my favorite activities has
become searching for things (and buying) on the Internet.
And,
while all of this is fun, it feels like passing time…waiting. Some waiting is needed while I heal.
But I
hunger for excitement, for close friends, for a life that is not just going through the
motions.
It is
hard to achieve this with the drugs I still take. They’re
all about dulling the senses so I don’t have a seizure. So the next question is when can I start reducing
them… I will talk to Dr. Moore next week.
And
is it all the drugs? No, but they do make it
more difficult for me to see outside my box.
On a
different tone, I am very thankful to be where I am now compared to last year – both
physically and spiritually. As my birthday passed just before Halloween, Abi and reflected
on last year… when I was in a hospital bed, unable to move my left side and just
about to find out I had a brain cyst.
What
a difference one year makes.
With
love and appreciation,
Dan Katz-Stein http://www.umsl.edu/~vally/dan http://www.umsl.edu/~vally/family/