Spring has Sprung in Michigan

Back to beautiful Al Sabo Preserve once again. It is such a shame that I have to walk daily for physical therapy (grin). Getting stronger every day. I am slower now, but maybe I'll smell the roses now. . . instead of speeding past them.

Spring Break '09

That was a fast week. We are back in Michigan. We had a great time in Florida, although I certainly felt old with all the young people converging for Spring Break.

I struggle to describe my current status. I feel pretty good a lot of the time and am able to manage my headaches most of the time. I am no longer constantly feeling overwhelming pain, which now comes in spikes. The headaches are clearly still in control of my life. It is unpredictible when I will have a good day or a bad one. The daily drugs are not up to full strength for another month or two, but do seem to be minimizing the steady background pain. I am just trying to enjoy and appreciate life around the challenging times, and breath a lot and take extra drugs when they do come.

I've become fascinated with taking pictures of birds in flight. They frequently do not cooperate, even though Nancy and Steve can attest to that fact that I did ask the birds nicely. They fly the wrong way, they refuse to fly, or they fly too fast to snap the shot. Despite their lack of cooperation, here's one that turned out pretty good.

For some silly reason, Nancy convinced me to have my picture taken. She suggested that if we both held our smiles, nobody would know that my facial nerve hasn't healed yet. I hope it gives you a chuckle. We were laughing so hard it took several attempts. I think this week helped me learn to laugh at the challenges of the new me.

Very Uneven Ground

Well, this week finds me in Panama City Beach, Florida with my friend Nancy Piper and her family. They had room for a stowaway when they drove down, so I was in. I have been focusing on my vestibular rehabilitation while down here. That requires a lot of walking on the beach. Whenever I am done with a walk, I need to rest my vestibular system. I am doing that by resting by the pool in the sun (vitamin D infusion). I think it is working!