Well, This Getting Old

   Weeeellll, it goes this fine fashion for me, brain surgery wise. Twice now, I've lain around the hospital for a week, despite the countless weeks in the Neuro Unit where they won't let you have your  seizure medications, or a reduced portion of same.
   As many of you know, brain sugery is an option where no other exists. My first brain surgery was partially succesful. It seems It takes rehab, either in-house or out to combat the effects of that surgeries. This includes paralysis of half the body, or the surgery could be totally sucessfull.
   As for me I have to my credit: 5 brain surgeries, 5 rounds of re-hab, and a stroke over 24 years and 21,000 seizures. I had my last brain surgery four months ago.... It was conducted by Amerca's No 2 neurologisist, who pronounced me as 'an enigma, inside a box, stuffed inside a brain.,'  Nah, but he sure was thinking it as he opperated on me. And it was back to being ol' stubborn, ultra -funny German- Scotch/Irish that is "me."

I've Got A Ranch Named For Me!

Just found out that my surgery is tomorrow, but not the surgery ya'll.might think I'm getting. Alas, I'm going back into the EMU Third floor in the Jones Pavillion... Again. The only thing that is different is first off, there is a little surgery they're going to have to preform. And that involves flexineedles that tell more precisely the frontal lobe where my seizures are since they do not appear exclusively in left frontaf lobe alone. It will tell my surgeons where to cut.
It's me Zipperhead, just cut down the stiches.

WADA Test

I have finally, finally, just been through the WADA test, and I was conscious for all of it. I can't tell you how painful that was before a general anestedic was administered through one of my femoral veins. It was my job to remember what my neurologist (short time) had shown me. So before I left the room, he walked me through the test and he showed me a list of things, cleared them off, put them with others, and asked me which ones I had seen before.
   So I'm finally in surgery (and it isn't pretty in the surgery room, conscious) with a makeshift view screener and someone working on my groin with a razor since I'm part Bigfoot, and an Oriental Rug. Now imagine, if you will, a tube going right into your femoral artery (Ouch!!!) then proceeding up your artery (Grrrrr!!!) That's about when the pain killer kicks in for say-oh 30 seconds (Ahhh!!!) And then the neuro-doc steps in. 'Do you remember the objects that were presented in (your) room?' I nailed it!  Then it was over. The live procedure was over.
    You could not find a happier patient with seizures or w/o seizures than I. I was wheeled in my bed to my room in the EMU Rm 2. and promptly crashed

Three Weeks Later

    All of a sudden, three weeks have passed, here at MENTIS. I've seen people come, go, graduate, and meet their goals. We rise early, but dine early too. I must be the only patient that stays up late, either that, or a tad on the cool side; just something so that I can jolt the staff awake.

   Christmas lights have made their way to my room this week, and the whole place is decked out in red and green banners and other apparel. 

    I hosted dinner at my table: a doctor, and a 50-ish gentleman and their shadows (they were hardly!) The supposed "Shadows" talk themselves silly and behave like children. Sometimes, I wonder who's driving this bus? The inmates, or the real personnel. Or maybe I haven't grown a thicker skin to deflect the crud this nursing staff tries to pull on the patients sometimes.

    Yep, 8a-5p is a grueling schedule. I know some of you are laughing at me. Well, this is what I like to call a floating schedule here at MENTIS. You never know what class you'll have next, and sitting down is very frowned upon unless requested. There's a lot of physicality going on down here. And if you make it to five o' clock. You can either go to your room, or to the dining room and receive some much needed calories. You really go through them here. 

The MENTIS Circle

    I was released from TIRR central hospital, bound for the MENTIS clinic directly behind NRG Stadium a.k.a home to the Houston Texans. If these people hold something close to their hearts, it's their Texans.

    It's not very different around here, living in the clinic. They raise you before dawn, so they can start you on a full day's journey fully packed with a lot of exercises, mental workout, and yes, complete exhaustion. The inhabitants say a circle exists, and I found it, it's that I walk so fast that my 1:1 can't keep up. Yeah, you get quite the shadow around here. Walking like I've been taught? Check. 2. Feet over the red line (Helps me know where to step?) Check. Going at my own pace 3.2 mph? Not a chance.

   My first weekend I took it easy and watched the Sooners steal the pistols from Pete and take the Big 12 Championship trophy.  

   This Saturday, I went home for first time in five weeks, and had Angel (My dog) all over me. We had Matt, my youngest brother drop by to see me and grab some Thanksgiving leftovers. 

   By then, it was time to leave and see "The Martian." It was a good movie, one I would like to view again.  

   I was loathe to leave my parents, but their was a curfew in effect. Besides, I could always go out on the 'morrow.

 

Nov 19th

    Oklahoma day. For those of you that live in Rio Linda, that's the pot-looking state on top of Texas. It's 108 yrs. old today. Why should I care? I would care because I was born there, and without me, you wouldn't have these, "fantastic," notes to nibble on!

   Okay, enough with the history lesson. Current Events started 10a and it was on our agenda to determine our favorite previously picked-out four You Tube videos. The first was about this homeless man and son handing out food to the homeless, the second, about high school kids starting a lunch pantry for those that couldn't afford lunch, I can't remember the third, and peace de la resistance: a dog that dominated a wedding video. Guess which one I voted for?

   By the time 11 a.m. rolled around we were dismissed. We were told before to cancel our lunches, but the official word on that is that the kitchen was having phone trouble the latter half of the week. So I got served my chicken tenders, salad, baked chips, diet root beer, and two cookies. Seeing as it was protein and I was in a hurry, I finished off the tenders, ignored the salad, moved the chip bag under the table, and gobbled (seasonably appropriate) down the cookies. That left me the diet root beer which I took down to the cafeteria to see the gang.

   There were us four in number and I believe three in charge over us.  We were going to the Houston aquarium. 

   When we got there, we were dazzled by all sorts of fish in the tanks and reptiles plus amphibians! I linked the red, and black poison dart frog. The main attraction were three Siberian tigers in the back. A male and female made their appearance. Brother and sister.

   We left the aquarium much like we did that early afternoon, except we didn't have eight school busses waiting for kids to board. On the way back, Lorna? The driver turned on the radio, "Sun, here it comes," as it was a classic oldie, but then, when we went back to country music, the disc jockey decided to play, "Big Black Horse and the Cherry Tree."  - I had seen Robin Williams in "Man of the Year." I sung all the way back.

   I had an easy day of it, of course, SP had to come to me, PT was all I had to worry about, but that was okay by me; I turned out bushed.

Nov 16th-18th

    I finally found an old acquaintance of mine: PT Christine C. It was little more than a glance, but due to her petite features, I knew her instantly. She tried to show me her card with her picture on it, but I waved it away. I wonder how she recognized me by  name?  She usually hung around the main gym, or so I thought. That made me feel like a dope, forgetting the hospital had a gym or two on every floor. She was in 3A or 3B while I was in 3C

   Enough of this crud. You wanna hear about the good stuff, not about Boy Wonder and the Mushy Side of Life. I'm not paid for that. 

   I can't even get off of the hospital floor no matter how..., hold that thought and think windows, and glass cutters! 

   This TIRR stuff is getting old pretty fast even conscious and the second time 'round. Although their method is sound, they sure have a reveille dedicated to couple of chickens. They squawk and hop about to raise the roof, or was this just in my dreams? Once I'm down (sleep-wise) the Onfi (med that helps me sleep and controls my seizures for me) it has some nasty side-effects, including the one that helps me sleep in, i.e: not good for 0800 wake-up call; not even the chickens. A rooster would be fine, thank-you.

  Hey, now; I'm finally in some groups. The R.E.A.C.H group and Currant Events,  not necessarily in that order. In the latter, the teacher picks out four or five events and asks us our opinions on them. In the former, we plan trips, times, places within a 10mi radius and on a Thursday, we implement our plan. I've done this before, and got egg in my face (that's pretty close to the truth.) Not so again, thanks much!

   Oh, today, the 18th, the OT split her time with me and Matt, the "Music Man." We worked on guitar technique, and mostly how to get my thumb out of the way on the chord hand or so I call it. I felt like a beginner next to him. 

   Ah, well, you can't have your cake and eat it too, I hear.

   Ben J