We should celebrate every year that we made it through and every year that we're happier and healthier. ― Ellen DeGeneres

     Today I was writing the date down and talking things out with my RNS group and I realized "OH MY GOD! It's been a year. A YEAR!" I have been a cyborg, officially been a cyborg, for a year. Happy Neuropace day to me!!! 

    What a crazy crazy year this has been. 

    Recap: I woke up in March 2020 in the hospital and it felt like I had awoken to an apocalypse... They kept me for 10 days and then after all of that, after the tests said I was a candidate for the RNS, I was ready to get this device, insurance and the hospital and I don't even know who- fought with my doctor because they weren't doing "elective" procedures due to COVID. I cried- a lot- when I heard that. But he fought hard and he won. And on August 11, 2020, I went in for the surgery that has been slowly changing the way my brain is behaving.  

    I am still having seizures. They are not as frequent, they are not as long, and they are not as noticeable. It's amazing how much this device has changed my life. I was able to go walk around DC and enjoy the monuments and the heat didn't cause me to have a seizure like it would have just last year. Hell, just walking around would have caused one last year. I am able to go DO things. 

    I can wear my reading glasses without the sensitive spots on my head hurting, the surgical spots have healed. I have hair- it's grown back and I feel like me again. It's so weird to realize that it's been a year. 

                                                            Before I went in:

When I came home: 

(Thank you for the shirt, Kirstie)

Now:

(See??? I have hair!!!)

 I can't wait to see how much my brain continues to improve. And I can't wait to get rid of one of/some of/all of my meds. We are slowly starting to see what is causing the seizures, the triggers are starting to reveal themselves and slowly we will be able to take care of those. It's been an interesting journey. And it's not even close to being over.