On...

Yesterday I had my CT Scan and five year check-up with my neurointerventional radiologist. Good news - all is completely stable and exactly the same as it was two years ago at my previous check-up. Next appointment in another two years. As I was riding to the appointment yesterday (my mom drove in this yucky weather), I was thinking about my guardian angels. Let me back up, I think I've mentioned this before in a previous blog, but when I was in Shock Trauma, the soon-to-be-MIL of the woman in the room next to mine, came in to see me one day. She gave me a guardian angel coin. I keep that coin in my car (seems obvious). I bought more to - I like to give guardian angel coins to the people who have been a guardian angel to me, or that may need a guardian angel. It's just a little symbol that says how much I appreciate them for their kindness, or that I'm here if they need me; sometimes both. So, back to yesterday - I'm thinking about my guardian angels and how fortu...

My daughter recently bought a wheelchair for her American Girl dolls. As soon as we got home, she ran upstairs and immediately started playing with it. About 30 minutes later, she called me up to her room to see what she'd been doing. Alli was so excited - not just because she wrapped the doll's leg with a "cast," but because she also put her doll into a Hobble Jog shirt that she took off her Hobble Jog Bear. She said "look Mommy, my doll is going to have to Hobble Jog for a bit until she gets back on her feet. It's going to take a lot of work, but she's going to be fine." The  Hobble Jog Foundation  is close to my heart. I am a member of the board and both of my kids have met Susan Hahn, the founder - each spending time listening to her talk about what it means. It gave me such a sense of pride seeing the connection that Alli made between her doll, struggling, and Hobble Jog. The Hobble Jog Foundation supports teens and young adults recoveri...

It's been five years. FIVE YEARS! Like with most anniversaries or birthdays, it feels both a lifetime ago and just yesterday. I was struggling a bit before I had my accident. My struggling was more emotional than physical during that time. I was navigating a separation and subsequent divorce, my kids getting used to living in two homes, not to mention the regular daily challenges of parenting and working full-time. Certainly, immediately after the accident and for quite a long time thereafter, I struggled. This time the struggle was physical and emotional. I still had all those other things on my plate, and I also had to fight for my life. And then, I had to recover from that fight. I had to learn how to navigate the new normal. Happily, normal is always changing, and for the most part, getting better. Here's what I've learned in the past five years that I think will help me continue to maneuver this bumpy road of life: To be grateful - For the big and small thin...

To say that my daughter is dramatic would be an understatement. She feels things in a big way, and expresses them that way too. While I truly believe expressing one's feelings is important and I appreciate that she feels things significantly, these same traits can be challenging for her mother (me). First of all, I feel things in a big way and I'm expressive with my feelings, also. This can mean a lot of drama in one house. Second, Alli's drama tends to be gloom and doom. She frequently says "this is the worst day ever," no matter how small or insignificant the challenge actually is in the grand scheme of things. To her, in the moment, it is very significant Perhaps I tended toward gloom and doom at her age. I don't really remember that I did, but maybe it's an age and experience thing. When Alli says "this is the worst day ever," I respond by saying "I hope this is your worst day ever. If it is, you are a very lucky girl." S...

I truly believe the old saying "it takes a village to raise a child," and so, I've always made sure to surround myself with a village. I cannot raise two healthy, strong, intelligent children without some help. Family, friends (the family I picked), teachers, mentors, doctors, therapists - all of them are a part of our village. And, I am grateful for each person's contribution to the well-being of my children. I did not, however, in the midst of our travels home from vacation, expect to add to the village - but I did. Travel is difficult for many people, but imagine if you will having sensory processing challenges, and think about the size, number of people, and just sheer volume of noise in an airport. It gives me a headache, and I don't have those challenges. Imagine hearing everything louder, seeing everything brighter, and not being able to tune out any of the fast-paced stimuli coming your way. Its exhausting to think about it. Does it make you want to ...