This Hat is a Helmet

(Want to hear this post instead?  Less screen time!!  For audio, click here ) There are a lot of things I’ve needed to give up or significantly limit while recovering from this concussion: movies, rock climbing, travelling, working, reading, going to concerts… Slowly I can start to reintroduce these things back into my life, though perhaps in a modified way and maybe the modifications will become a long term new normal.   For example, I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a movie theatre and I don’t see myself being able to go anytime soon.   I now watch movies only at home, sparingly, and I need to pause the movie multiple times to take breaks from the visual stimulation.   A two-hour long movie can take me three hours or longer to watch. But, if we’re going to look at this in a “glass half full” kind of way, than these modifications do in fact have their own silver lining.   It’s kind of nice breaking up movies into segments. ...

(Want to listen to this post instead??  This one is particularly embarrassing for me should you listen instead of read...so you should probably listen, lol.  For audio, click here ) I have a confession to make.   It’s a risky thing to share.   It may change your level of respect for me.   Ok…Here I go… I LOVE the High School Musical movie series!! If you’re not familiar with these films, let me take a moment to bring you into the world of peppy, fun for the whole family, coming-of-age movie song and dance… The first High School Musical came out as a made for TV movie.   It was the story of two teenagers who met on a cruise during Christmas vacation.   They were forced - nay, DESTINED - to sing a karaoke song together.   Hearing each other’s singing voices ignited a spark between them similar to the sparks of fireworks overhead the cruise ship bringing in a new year - nay, A NEW BEGINNING - of musical high school romance. ...

(Want to listen to this post instead?  Less screen time!  For audio, click here ) We all know that old saying?   “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!”   As if it were that simple.   As if lemonade were the answer to all of life’s problems… The image above is a painting I made almost exactly two years ago.   That June, I was one year post injury and things were looking promising!   I had just attended a cool improv workshop and had a lot of fun when I was invited to perform in a show with some out of town guests.   I was flying high and the summer was seeming bright.   I was making plans, thinking the worst was behind me.   And then… Then I made this painting and wrote this post on Facebook: June 19, 2016 Post Concussion Syndrome can be really hard sometimes. After the massive cognitive success and emotionally exciting high that was last week, this week I am reminded of the laws of gravity and entrop...

(Want to listen to this post instead?? Less screen time!!  For audio, click here ) I can point to you the spot where I’ve hit my head so many times…yep, that’s right, THE spot.   Four out of five potential concussions have been the result of me hitting my head in the exact same spot.   What are the odds? THE spot is on my left side, just adjacent to and overlapping my stylish side-part.   I think one of my hair stylists once told me they could tell there had been some trauma there, but otherwise there’s no visible identifying landmark.   My CT scan and MRIs both show nothing there either (“unremarkable” as the reports say). But for me, that spot can become an epicentre of pain and I have this sort of 6th sense that makes me anxiously protect the area when any elbow, open cupboard or apples on a tree are passing overhead… I have made the joke that since the injury happened on the left side of my head, that my left brain functions must be i...

(Want to listen to this post instead?  Less screen time!  For audio click here ) I was looking through my old journals.   I came across an entry I wrote in October 2015, about 4 1/2 months after my most recent concussion that I am still recovering from today. At that time, I was sliding fast (cue music, Red Hot Chili Peppers: Otherside ).   I was going through a horrible and prolonged setback when I wrote the entry and poem that I will share with you today.   In the last few days, I’ve been feeling a bit better and now have a more uplifting outlook than I did when I wrote the original “Setback” blog post .   I thought sharing the journal entry I found and my current outlook would make a nice “Setback Bonus” blog post! The journal entry and poem I'm sharing here is kinda sad (though, I think the poem is beautiful in it's misery, LOL).   It might also be less organized than my other writing (after all, my brain was pretty boggled at th...