Stories Told. Lives Changed.
On June 2nd I marked September 23rd on my calendar. On September 23rd I planned to run my first 5k. An act of defiance of sorts. Defying both body and brain. Proving that I could physically and mentally triumph over 5 years of living with cerebellar ataxia, sarcoidosis, nystagmas, enlarged lymph nodes, vertigo, muscle spasms, […]
On Monday a neurologist diagnosed me with a lingering migraine. Dizziness, nausea, stabbing headaches, sensitivity to light are symptoms aligned with a migraine. This is the first time I have been diagnosed with a migraine. The neurologist ordered some blood work and issued prescriptions for a brain MRI to see if the cerebellum has further […]
I’m lying on my back on the floor, staring at the ceiling, and I’m afraid to move. The vertigo has been in my brain for 5 weeks. And though symptoms have subsided enough for me to function, I still feel like I’m falling off a cliff every time I sit up or roll to my […]
On August 9th the living room would not stop spinning. Lying down, sitting or standing it doesn’t matter. It was as if I’m strapped in a Tilt-a-Whirl. Closing my eyes helps a little. The spinning gets to my stomach but I’m hungry but I don’t want to eat. I feel like throwing up. I double […]
For the second year in a row I’m celebrating my worst day– September 4, 2013 with a homemade chocolate cake topped with vanilla icing and one of Springsteen’s most badass lines “Ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” In fact, I made the same cake last year however, I’d like to believe this year’s […]
So my plan of running in a 5k in September has pulled a hamstring. I’m not feeling 90% (because I’ll never feel 100%) but at 90% I feel well enough to train. Currently, I’m feeling 75%. This week I saw a new primary doctor. After compressing five years of medical events into five minutes, I […]
My 10 year old daughter, Haley, looks up from her iPad, sighs, and asks, “Dad, why does summer go so fast?” I laugh and say, ” Sweetie, I’ve been try to figure that out my whole life.” Maybe I’m getting older, but summer seems to pass quicker each year. If you’re like me, you started […]
Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. But when my wife was talking to a friend about my recent health troubles she explained that “we” had a flare up. The “we” was me. And it occurred to me that my wife was dealing with my troubles as much as I was. When we’re sick […]
Right now I need time to heal. The last three days I have been sick–suffering from dizziness, nausea, and fatigue. I tell you this because I’m 52 training sessions into my quest to get physically fit and I’m frustrated. I want to train but, I know, right now rest trumps activity. But such is life, […]
Society has conditioned men to dismiss any and all vulnerabilities. Since men identify vulnerability as a weakness, they often don’t possess the emotional strength to talk about their weaknesses. Male behavior that follows this script appeases societal expectations but how does this silence affect the individual male? The male who returns home from war. The […]