We are well into the first month of the New Year! Wow how time flies! The past two years have been a blur for my family and me. Today marks the second anniversary of my brain-stem stroke. A “stroke-a-versary” if you will. My life and perspective have not been the same since. Today, I will give a brief update of my health, how the stroke has impacted my priorities, and what it means for blogging this year.
HEALTH:
Considering where I was two years ago today, I’m in a much better place. First, I’m not dead! My family and a few friends seem grateful at least. I have shown great improvement in many areas but a few challenges still remain. The two most prominent are vision and energy. I continue to work with a Neuro-Optometrist for vision recovery. The effects are related to balance and motion. Think seasick or carsick sensation. Regarding energy, the doctors said it would be the last thing to return. My energy doesn’t taper off. It just ends. That means more naps. In addition to these two challenges is one annoyance. The left side of my face and the right side of my body are still numb. As for the face, think of the sensation of Novocain wearing off. As for the body, I cannot tell the difference between “dulls” or “sharps,” a “dull” being the eraser end of a pencil. A “sharp” being the writing end of a pencil. On the bright side, giving blood or taking a shot on that side doesn’t hurt at all! Overall, I am in good health and continue to improve. Though I cannot yet do all the things I once did (basketball, swimming), I’m told improvement can continue up to three years following an “event.”
PRIORITIES:
One’s health certainly affects their quality of life and causes them to evaluate what matters most. This has been true for me. Becoming limited physically caused me to cut a lot of things I use to do and even prioritize the things that I still wanted to do. At the end of the day, we can’t do it all. What will we choose to do each day? What matters most? In 2013, the one thing that I focused on was personal health. I even had a verse to go with it to remind me to stay focused. Here’s the verse:
Nehemiah 6:3 (ESV)
And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
It is from the story of the great wall builder, Nehemiah. When other opportunities came, he simply said, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” He was focused on his one thing, his mission, rebuilding the wall. He would not be distracted. Daily we are faced with many great opportunities. The question is not what can I do, but what one thing must I do?
With that in my mind, I focused on exercise and diet. Basically, stroke recovery. I changed my diet and exercise routine. The results were satisfying. I lost twenty pounds and increased my strength by 60%. Not too bad. So, another result of the stroke, focused priorities. I hope that you can narrow the focus of your priorities without a health scare though!
BLOGGING:
The number of times that I have blogged has steadily decreased since I opened the blog in 2009. The last two years have been very sparse regarding posts. Health issues and prioritization were the reasons. Looking to the New Year, my intention is to blog again faithfully.
Thank you for your patience the last two years. I hope you find the forthcoming posts helpful and encouraging.
Blessings
