Discharged

At my Tuesday morning appointment, Steph asked how I was feeling and if I was dizzy. I told her I wasn't and that I felt fine. At that point, she said since my recovery from the relapse was so quick and so complete that she is confident that I can take myself the rest of the way back to 100% (I told her I was probably at 90% - 95% at the time.)

She wrote down a list of the eye execrises she wants me to keep doing and said that so long as I keep up with them and my normal exercise routine, I should be fine. Her words were something to the effect that she didn't feel like billing my insurance company for stuff she knows I can do (and have done) at home.

Physical therapists rock!

I have inched back into my normal exercise routine - even so far as to add back the pushups which started the whole "ping" incident. I'm not pushing myself at all (so to speak) - I started with 12 pushups and I'm adding one a day until it gets difficult. I was on 56 when the icepick went through my brain in August. I've been doing all the other exercises for a few weeks now after Steph gave me the go-ahead.

Things I need to remember - keep my head up and shoulders back. The reflexive reaction to a head-bonk is for the head to stay down and shoulders hunched forward in a protective mode... and since I've had eight of the damned things it's no wonder why I get around like a bummed-out Quasimodo. What I'm doing at the office is picking a spot down the hall ahead of me at eye level and locking in on it while I walk - the top of a picture frame, a coat hook, light fixture, what have you - just to keep my head up. The shoulders tend to fall in line when I keep my head at the right level, so that's a good thing.

I still have a touch of the the crowded-room concentration issue, but no more than I had before #8. I've resigned myself that I'm stuck with that. I still can't find words at times, but I don't get frustrated anymore... I guess I'm just used to it. I get tired a little easier than I did before #8, but not so bad that I can't work around it.

Of all things that helped my quick recovery after the holidays, I think the ridiculously heavy work schedule I have to maintain did me the most good. I have to do tons of detailed, concentration-heavy work (mostly for year-end local tax withholding reconciliations), and failure is not an option. My sense of responsibility kicked the lazies right out of my brain. It makes me a bit of a putz to deal with (sorry, Sally...), but once everything is filed I'll be all the better for it.