Public Outings, Progess Updates & No Regrets

As promised, I am posting a few pics of Tolan and his recovery process. We are all grateful that his recovery is going so well. This afternoon he came back home and will finish out his recovery here. He is still iced and elevated and has much more movement in his knee today. Good sign! He is getting tired of laying around, but sure did enjoy the quiet time at his parent's house! That is all gone now that he is home!





My mom leaves in just a few days, so we are trying to make the most of these last days, while not overdoing it and wearing me out. Today we were very brave and had a big "public outing". We went to the Ogden Farmers Market. Personally, I love these types of events, where the community comes together and it feels like the whole town is there and interacting with each other. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with some very dear friends, Amy Wicks and Craig Bielik, while we were there. These "reunions" are so good for me. I can't express how much more my relationships mean to me now. My good friend Jodi Carlson told me months ago that this experience would change every relationship I have and she was right. How can I not love you all more, now that you have prayed for me, helped my family and kept us going? You are all cherished and loved more than ever before!

I continue to make progress each day. My eye is still having issues, I have good days and bad. I still wake up with it sealed shut every morning and the implant has not yet dropped into place. The wind is especially bad for my eye, and I have to "take cover" quickly if the weather turns on me, but it is getting slowly better. My facial paralysis is improving, I am regaining some tone in my face, which is a good sign! My hearing is also a little better. I can hear some noises out of my right ear, only about 15% of what I hear out of my left, but still, it is something! My skin is still "struggling" without the proper signals to regulate oil production, but it's really not too bad overall. My biggest challenge is that I am starting to feel more normal, so I tend to do more than I should because I think I feel OK. This is honestly a real struggle for me. And, when I do too much, I end up worse, with lots of pressure in my head, headaches and I am forced to stop. It turns out that movies aren't good either. I've tried twice now, and both times came out far worse than when I entered. Someday I will figure out a good balance.

I am being weaned off my last medication from my hospital stay. I am on Keppra, an anti-seizure medication that is mandatory after brain surgery, because the body can be very susceptible to seizures after they open up your head and play around inside. :) The medication has many side effects, so I am anxious to get off (I will slowly decrease the meds until I am completely off in about another month). My side effects have mainly been the coordination of my hands. I can hardly write (typing is much easier) because I cannot form the letters when I write. I also found out that I can't apply nail polish either, apparently that takes more coordination than I thought. So, I will be glad to get this functioning back again. :)

Yesterday my neighbor Kim and I were talking and she brought up something that I have thought about a lot recently. She has been out of town for a while and felt badly that they haven't been around to help me. But, I have realized that life is too short and precious to spend time feeling guilty about such things. We all do the best we can do, we have good intentions, yet we all still fall short. And, that's OK! In fact, it is part of God's plan, that's why we have a Savior! So, please do not feel guilty or waste time thinking about all you didn't get done today or any day. Instead, thank God each night for what you did accomplish, who you were able to touch and all the family and loved ones who surround you. Carpe Diem and No Regrets!