…especially when the laxative doesn’t seem to do much. In Part 1 of “Thru the alphabet…” I promised that bowel challenges would get their own blog piece given that “dysfunctional anal sphincter activities” are characteristic of Transverse Myelitis. {Warning: there is a long list of synonyms for bowel movements. This piece will include many of…
On Sept 18, 2023 I woke up in the Critical Decision Unit at Cox South hospital and was paralyzed from the shoulders down. I couldn’t move a finger. My diagnosis is Idiopathic Acute Transverse Myelitis. (John Hopkins says there are 1,400 cases of TM annually in the US.) See Part 1 (A thru L) here…
A = Ambushed On 9/17/23 I woke up at home after an evening of live music from 6 bands and late night pancakes smothered in strawberries and whipped cream at IHOP. (one of the scarce 24 hour places in a post-covid world) The next morning I woke up in the Critical Decision Unit at Cox…
“Sit to Stand” It sounds so simple. So very, very simple. And then you get old. Or get diagnosed with idiopathic acute Transverse Myelitis. Or both. I was diagnosed with TM about a week after I woke up paralyzed from the shoulders down. It took me about that long to remember those 2 words. And…
At the end of 2023 I wrote on Caring Bridge: “I may post again when there is a major milestone, e.g. walking unaided…But that might be posted to my blog instead…” (unless I have a relapse, the Caring Bridge site will sit as is..so Blog it is) I began walking short distances unaided a couple…
Tempus fugit…or some such shit… When I last posted (on 11/24/23) I expected to post a week or so later about my second week in the hospital with lots of goodies from “my gizmo” (the dictaphone that I wrote about in that post). November 24 was almost 90 days ago?!?! WTAF have I been doing…
It;s a JibJab, a Christmas letter from a very different year, and a couple of songs that I love. Many of you already know why this was a very “different†year. Either way…Read On. First things first (the JibJab): https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/let-it-snow-bing-crosby-starring-you-vertical/7ef68a0f-0e36-41a0-80ae-40875b993fd3 Not all that much live music in 2023 compared to previous years, but I did…
“It still doesn’t seem Real” ends with me being paralyzed. This piece, and any that follow, will be getting help with excerpts from “my gizmo.” The “gizmo” is a Sony Dictaphone. {I bought one for my Dad several years ago in the hopes that he would tell lots of his stories into it, so that…
Eight weeks ago, on September 18, I woke up in the Critical Decision Unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, MO. Five days earlier I had my 75th birthday. I was paralyzed from the shoulders down. I could move NOTHING. As I tell the story, as I see my body that morning in my mind’s…
It’s a JibJab, a short Christmas letter, and a couple of songs that I love. First things first: https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/ugly-sweater-song-sye/53ba0beb-e739-4108-b822-f4f2b98647ba It’s an interesting phenomenon: the older I get, the shorter the letter. There was quite a bit of live music in ‘22…but not as much as I would’ve liked. Saw some of my favorite artists multiple times….