ksmith

I'm a fan of CBD . I use the vape pen but not on a regular basis. The thing that people don't like/understand CBD oil is you don't feel the euphoria you would normally expect to feel to know it is working, The thing about CBD , or at least mine, is it just happens. Most people complain that it doesn't work when it's just they don't realize it. Again, this maybe just my brand.

Yes congratulations for putting you pants on standing. That always seems to be a challenge for many, including me :)

Firstly, happy early birthday. I think the idea of a hug mat for anyone who is in need of a hug is a great idea. As I was reading on, our summer is just beginning but with life in my state are S-l-o-w-l-y returning to normal I can say I'm not ready to come out of my 'hole'. They , the powers that be, are opening things up but with tourism comes sick.. and in my little town , it has blossomed again. Yes, splitting families apart is a hard pill to swallow for sure but hopefully, you'll all be able to visit once again and have a mild winter.. I watch a safari live from Wild Earth from South Africa and they are bundled in their hats, mitts and heavy coats and that makes me think of you ,,,weather wise 🙂

You both can have your own journey, and no one is more attuned, he is your yin to your yang, The hardest things in life , for me to always remember , is to know we can't change what we have no control over. My mother is one who wants more in hopes she will be happy and my father is finds happiness in everything. You can't take it with you and , I feel, you miss out on life when you focus on getting things and not enjoying. Nothing is permanent 💓

you made me smile :)

I don't blog but as I sit here at 1:13a ( EST) my mind was thinking of how "easily" I was able to change my sleep pattern. I say easily with great skepticism. Why? Well I do have rough nights when I don't take my ADD medications.. ok so why can i do this? Coffee? Given. But I was always a night owl. Living on 2-3 hours of sleep ( mind you this was pre-stroke and pre ADD meds) and indulging a 'breakfast of champions" which consisted of a bag of Doritos and a can of Mt Dew. I later found out it was the Mt Dew that was keeping me in balance for an ADD/ADHD brain runs , let's say, with a low battery life. You need a good charge of electrical function to have a "normal" functioning brain and the caffeine was the substitute for new batteries. But , we all know that caffeine doesn't last long. So we drink more right? At that time I had a condition called SVT or , in the way I understood it, your heart has a flap, much like your throat for breathing and drinking water. When you drink, the flap closes so no fluid gets in. Well your heart has that so the electrical currents circulate all throughout your heart. Well my flap remained closed so the current would get stuck and cause my heart rate to jump from 88bpm to 250bpm when I exerted myself. So that wasn't pleasant so I didn't drink a lot of caffeine. It's fixed now but if I drink to much caffeine around the time I take my ADD meds, I go into a extra hyper mood. BAD. ((side note: when I was talking to a guy on the phone for the first time ( a while ago) I did just that and it wasn't good)) I typically get home around 8a ish, and i try to go straight to bed. Must shower and feed cats.. OK so now around 9a.. I fall into a deep sleep till about 1pm. Not nearly enough sleep. See before my stroke, staying up is a breeze.. But now, I must stick to my bedtime ritual of finally hitting the hay around 5-6a on my days off. So I work one overnight and one 3-11. So you say that's crazy to keep that time when you don't have to work. And to that I say ...you're right . But as with everything we must do after a stroke, we must practice for a while to get back into the swing of things.. Me it's conditioning my sleep schedule . Before working, I would spend weeks to months doing the same things to better relearn on simple task like walking . There was a thought to this but I've lost it.. so there is a sample of life in my brain. I circle then lose my point.. As I normally say.... There ya go.. you're welcome

I'm so glad you were there to send him off and with a grand tribute

It is scary because , as Asha said, we aren't in control. We are often out of self control when we get sick but this is another type of animal for we can't see it and sometimes it is ' flu like' and others it's knock out cold. We never thought that getting sick could be as dangerous, or at least I did. We can only take precautions and not become neurotic. I know I have reevaluated my daily practices but staying away from others is the best course of action. Until I have to go back to work, granted two days only, and be around people. 🙂

You picked the best songs for your feelings.. loved reading this

I understand Jay. I'm in self-quarantine for we, my mother and I , stayed at my sisters on my Florida trip and she called us on Thursday , when we were coming back early from the surge in Florida, to tell us she was in the hospital and had to be tested. IF that comes back positive, I was around my grandson, son and his fiance and family. UGH We still think it's allergies or a regular flu 🤞 It is wise to stay put.

that sounds so fun and also finding fellow Stroke Recovery members must have been an added bonus. Yes, doing things on your own is some thing that is perfectly fine for us to do but not doing that for sometime can make that feel foreign for sure. Listening to piano playing is one of my favorite things to do as well. I applaud you on your adventures!!!!!

what a lovely photo

The first part of your blog, i was nodding my head for I can understand that. Those garden beds are beautiful. My parents have similar style bedding. You are truly doing AMAZING .

I am so amazed how creativity tend to help us when we get knocked down. They look like Hallmark brand. ACE!!!

I had to look at that twice and had a good laugh. 😁 Witty

your description brought your garden to life. It made me remember my favorite childhood book "The Secret Garden". I can see why you enjoy going to your secret place for it sounds lovely. I think that your service on Sunday should be about your garden. A reminder of a place, wherever it may be, to go when things are tough to be reminded that you are loved for you were given the garden in your thoughts. I'm glad that your daughter and family are coming for a stay and give Craig an 'atta-boy' for giving a grand speech.

that is a marvelous idea!!!

Sarah, I'm so sorry. As Sue said, you are a champion . Much love

Thank you very much. I seem to be doing very well. I learned I have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks and I forgot about it. Knock on wood that should last me for a while. Apparently these come normally with everybody especially in women with childbirth. And they can build over time. Everybody is meant to have some of mine just wanted to say hello to the world before anybody else ha

No they didn't , with my jaw.. I must seek out my own doctor. And my boyfriend was very happy to see me. He meowed like he was so happy and was attached to my side all night and slept on my pillow, above my head, and rested his head on my face... AWWWWWWW I was loved!!!!

I am... except my jaw... hahaha. But even thought I was certain I was alright, I'm glad the ED staff did what they should

SOOO.. For someone who is one Plavix or another blood thinners you must stop for at least 5 days to 7 before and same afterwards. And , i found out later, is just the amount of time for clots to form that could cause for another or your first stroke. SO I had to stop 5 days before and 7 after. No problem for I've had to stop it before for a medical procedure. OK.. Before I proceed, I'll give some history. When I had my stroke, in 2009, I had to be intubated and I developed TMJ from them over extending my jaw. Due to the circumstances, I'm not complaining but it hurts periodically. In recent months, it has been hurting more frequently. **caught up** The end of January, I had a hemorrhoid removal surgery and normally you aren't intubated but because of the size of mine and time it would take, I was and again my jaw was adjusted. However, this time for a few days after, my jaw felt normal again. No pain.... UNTIL... Sunday I was chewing on a gummy fiber supplement and my jaw 'slipped' from where I thought it was fixed. The pain was horrible and for a time I could not close my jaw. I felt dizzy and vertigo ( bad to me for I have a baseline and this was beyond) I took some of my Ibuprofen and a warm compress and it seemed to be better. Monday and Tuesday I had small bouts of vertigo but only lasted for a few moments. Wednesday I spent mostly in bed for I was beginning to feel very nauseous and dizzy more often. Thursday late morning, I was out and out of no where, I was hit with one if not the worst vertigo attack that I've ever had. The world spun and when I was trying to walk straight I couldn't do it. Instead I veered to the right and I looked and felt like I was going to vomit. SO I sat down, where I was, and waited it off. Then after a time I walked to my car and sat in there and gathered myself again for a time. I finally felt normal and made it home for stroke chat. I was feeling woozy during chat and after, I went to lay down. On and off I felt dizzy. I was darn near 100% sure it was my jaw. SO to bed I go. Friday, I woke up and slowly got out of bed and barely was able to walk around my bed without failing on to my bed. So after I gathered myself, I went to the living room to call my doctor. I made an appointment but it wouldn't be until Tuesday. Well the feeling was something that I couldn't do all weekend plus work Monday night. So to be proactive, I went to my local hospital ED. ( 3 miles down road) I was feeling OK when I got there but I wanted an x-ray of my jaw. So when I walked in I said " I think I misaligned my jaw and I have had bouts of vertigo unlike how I have felt following my previous stroke" I had not sat down when a nurse called me into fast track in ED I had a team of nurses and Doctors around me assessing me. While that was happening one nurse said that they were all on high alert for a 30 yo was in last week with stroke. I then began to understand why they were hyper vigilant, even so I kept trying to explain I thought it was my jaw. On one hand I was glad to see them go into action and the other was just wishing they would look at my jaw. I was taking to CAT scan w/contrast. I'm allergic to it and they had to give me benadryl , in my IV so it IMMEDIATELY went into effect. SO not only were the ED concerned I was having a stroke, I was now slurring my words and fighting to stay alert. So I was in the ED for 7 hours, mostly waiting for the transfer to send me to the Stroke Hospital I went to 11 years ago. Last time I was medi-vac trauma. I was in ambulance for that was in another emergency. I had a paramedic riding with me. SO The ENTIRE TRANSPORT CREW were flipping attractive. I mean I was taken aback at first. The transport dispatch sent us to wrong building. We got out . It was cold and night. Walked into the building, went to the 8th floor and only to find out we were in the wrong building. We had to go 2 city blocks up so we had to go down again. Load up. and they were pissed because god forbid I was in an acute emergency, time is everything. So we finally get there and I was in another team in the NICU (Neuro intensive Care Unit) and I felt conflicted again for I wanted my jaw looked at but glad I was taken seriously with a stroke history. I was waiting for a nurse to come to I can get my phone to call my parents I made it but before that I hear over the loud speaker " Attention All Staff... Code Blue 8th floor ( my floor) room 808 ( I'm 810) so more staff then I've seen gather run past my door. Of course I'm feeling horrible to taking a bed from someone who could use it more. I hear the Dr's tell a person on phone they have been doing compressions for 30 mins and ordered blood. I then am reminded of how lucky we all are, no matter what stroke did to us, for we aren't guaranteed life. The bells stop , after a bit, as well as a code blue cancellation called so I guess it was good. ( fingers crossed) SO , I'm NPO (nothing by mouth) so no food for 14 hrs when I'm told I am going to get a MRI ( it's 1:30a). I get unhooked for all my machines and a nurse wheels me down. I speak to the tech and he thought I had a stent in my carotid artery. I told him no it was in my vertebral .I was told I can't do it for the MRI is a lot stronger and may try to pull my stent out, even after 11 years. So Back we go to wait . I can't complain for everyone on shift were amazing. They work 12 hr shifts so I had who I first saw until 7a and same for day. I had the same nurse Sat & Sun so I was happy. She was awesome!! So.. I was told the MRI was going to take some time for the machine broke and needed parts. This may puzzle some because if I were having a stroke but rest assure if it was critical, they would have sent me to the main hospital. Looking over the testing I had in my local ED and compared to my scans that I had after my stent looked the exact same. I had the same 2 out of 3 DR's on my team. Since I was being monitored and the doctor in charge of case is " The Big-Wig" Neurosurgeon of the hospital and in Philadelphia. ( the city I was in . Temple University, Uni of Penn hospital, CHOP ( children's hospital ) to name a few. I was in Jefferson Neuro)) So He and the other doctor who was a fellow and now a Resident were one half of my team. The Neurology Department made up the other half. So again, since I wasn't critical, I took a back seat and rightly so. I was on stand-by all of Saturday morning, my parents came up, thinking I was going to be released for I was on 24 observation only. Then in the late afternoon, I got the OK for the MRI. OK Brief note, I'm VERY claustrophobic. I forgot I had to wear the 'cage' for head. MAN.. my heartbeat and BP were clearly I was given earplugs, extra padding, around ears, and a lavender washcloth over my eyes and panic squeeze call bell. The tech reassured me I was only in a tiny amount, The touched my legs to show me. I sucked it up and was stiff as a board in nervous. (( For my follow-up in 3 weeks I was told take my Xanax)) It wasn't that loud for extra stuffings. When finished, I was given the ALL CLEAR to eat!!!! You would have thought I won the lottery., I had to wait for my floor Neuro to read the scans but there was an emergency so I probably be spending another night. Considering I was not critical, my stay was not a bad thing. So this morning, I got the OK from Neuro surgeon ( was fellow now resident) The test showed NO new stroke, which I already knew but relieved just the same, and was given the go home OK. I came home Sunday morning. BUT.... MY JAW STILL HURTS LOL Bottom line _ it made me happy to see F.A.S.T. in real time action . Not in a crisis. It makes me sad that some hospitals still aren't taking people at their word and running the pro active actions. I was talking to a nurse, in my local ED, about strokes from neck manipulation and she commented that it must not happen that often for 'we' never hear from it. I gladly shared my story as well as the Doctors in Jefferson Neuroscience Hospital shared how many they see. Granted, it can't always be traced to the chiropractor due to signing of waivers , luckily, I didn't and it happened immediately. There was another nurse there that concurred what I was saying. But short of the longer, I'm healthy.