4 weeks out of the hospital

Tomorrow marks four weeks since I got out of the hospital. I have made a lot of progress, but still have a long way to go to get back to normal. Since I last posted, Jeff and I have moved to Regina and started  our new jobs. The movers still have not brought our belongings, and we will not have our stuff until sometime after September 5. We expected things to arrive much sooner than that. So while things are a little unsettled in that respect, other things are starting to settle. I have been able to go into work for about half a day most days since about August 15. I am not teaching this semester, so so far when I have been doing at work, is mostly just getting settled. Jeff starts teaching on September 5, so he is frantically trying to prepare to teach a new course.so far everyone has been very helpful and supportive, and it seems like this department is a good fit for us.

We have also so far enjoyed the town of Regina. It is about the same size as Eugene, a little bit bigger, and feels more like a real city. The weather has been very nice, and we have visited several parks in town of which there are very many. We also went to local farmers market, which had a fairly good selection including pierogies which we brought home frozen. There is apparently a large Eastern European community here in Regina, including a Polish community which has been here for about 100 years. There are pierogies in all the grocery stores, much more so than what you can find in the Northwest. This makes me very happy.

Also the University has a very nice fitness center, and last week Jeff and I got our memberships there. I may not be able to walk on my own yet, but I can go to the gym and work out. I am able to ride a stationary bike, and there is an indoor track that is 200 m long which is a great place to practice walking with a walker. Since last week we have been to the gym every weekday. I think exercising every day will help me get stronger faster, and hopefully I will be walking on my own sooner rather than later. Last week I was able to walk all the way around the track, rest, and then all the way around again for a total of 400 m in one session. This is definitely a new record for walking with the walker.

I have also been able to become more independent over the past month. I am now able to transfer on my own from the wheelchair to the couch, chair, or bed, and just last week I have been able to get to the bathroom on my own. This greatly improves my quality of life, and frees Jeff up as well. Although I am still very disabled, and this is definitely the hardest thing I have ever gone through, I am starting to see that eventually my life might get back to something close to normal.

Right now my biggest limitations are my mobility difficulties, double vision, and inability to type or write very well. I am also still very fatigued, and sleep about 10 hours a night or so. I am not really able to do much with my job right now, and fortunately the department and all of the people that I work with have been very supportive of that. I am fortunate that they are taking a long view look at this situation, and do not view my current limitations as a permanent problem.

About a month ago, Jeff mentioned that I have been checking my e-mail regularly.This is true, I check my e-mail every day. However, because I still have a great deal of difficulty with typing, I have been very bad about replying to the many nice e-mails I have received. I appreciate all of your good wishes, and just know that I am reading those e-mails, and will eventually respond.

Bridget in Eugene

Hello everyone, Bridget here, writing a blog post from Eugene using voice recognition software called Dragon. Typing is still painfully slow, and the software isn't perfect but it helps. I left Seattle yesterday, and Jeff left this morning. Jeff is driving with the two kitties, and will arrive in Regina on the ninth. As of lunchtime today he says that the drive is going well, and the kitties are not having too hard a time with the drive. I'm glad to be out of the hospital, and at the same time it's hard adjusting to new places. The house here in Eugene is set up better for me than the house Seattle was. I can get around here without going up and down any stairs, and  the doorways are wide enough to get the wheelchair through. Today I have had fairly good energy and even went out shopping at Fred Meyer. A couple of weeks ago I would never have been able to do that. I've come a long way, and being out of the hospital also reminds me how long I have yet to come.

Our last few days in Seattle we had many visitors, and said goodbye to many people. It was a hectic few days after getting out of the hospital but it was good to see so many friends. Two days after getting out of the hospital I also had a brain scan, and follow-up appointment with neurosurgery. Everything looks as it should  on my brain scan, and they are happy that I'm continuing to make progress. They say I could continue recovering for up to two years. I have a long road ahead, but I'm glad to know that I will keep getting better and that there is a long window for me to recover functioning.

Jeff and I will continue to post occasionally on this blog with updates. Thanks to everyone for all the support you have been sending. I have greatly appreciated all the cards, candy, e-mails, and other things people have sent me. It has made my recovery much easier knowing that I am well supported.

HOME!

Discharge complete! Bridget and I left the hospital today at around 10:00. The drive was very smooth and did not increase Bridget's vertigo, which was another sign of her continued improvement.

Being home has been both wonderful and difficult. Bridget is very happy to be home, and to see her kitties, and to be out of the hospital. However, it is also really hard making that transition. Our house, and especially our bathroom, are not ideally designed for people with mobility issues, which makes trips to the bathroom pretty exhausting. In some ways coming home has made her her realize just how much has changed since this surgery, and how much farther she has to go, recovery-wise. So it's been a pretty emotional day, both in happy and sad ways.

But I know, and you all know, that she is going to get better and better and stronger and stronger every day.

You should all know that Bridget regularly checks her email these days as well. So please feel free to write and send her well wishes directly!

OK, time to go. But I'll leave you with a picture of Bridget with one of her two new therapists: