Although life continues to return to something at least outwardly resembling normality, it continues to retain aspects of strokiness.  Tonight, I’m going to a presentation giving an “overview of the latest interventions and approaches in stroke rehabilitation, like e-stimulation [and] other robotic devices for arms and legs, etc.” [thanks, Avi], and a number of you will probably know how excited I get about e-stim.  Hopefully, blog fodder will be forthcoming.

Today, I went for a renal ultrasound at Methodist Hospital, to see if there is an explanation for why I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at such an early age.  It’s interesting that a doctor is finally interested in potentially treating the cause, rather than the symptoms, of my hypertension.  I guess in ’80s Scotland, they just treated battered sausage and chips as part of a healthy breakfast and part of life, so there was no point in looking too closely at the causes of hypertension.  Anyway, long story short, my kidneys aren’t even pregnant in the first place.  And on Wednesday, I had one of my regularly scheduled physical therapy sessions.  There, I rode a stationary hand bike for the first time, which felt like a decent arm work-out, did some balance work, hit the treadmill, and went up and down a couple of flights of stairs without holding the banister.

The last of these was particularly interesting to me, since I recently noticed my ability to negotiate stairs is much improved, as part of my attempt to note and appreciate amelioration in the condition of my condition.  Beth also noted, as we headed off to the ultrasound, that, two months ago, we budgeted an hour to get to my first Aneurysm Awareness meeting, whereas today, half an hour was more than enough time to walk to Methodist.  So, in the tradition of the lazy, list-based blog entry, here’s a list of

30 Things That I Can Do Today That I Couldn’t Do
Until Relatively Recently

1. Walk down stairs without hanging on to the banister for dear life.
2. Ride a stationary hand bike.
3. Have the foggiest idea what a stationary hand bike is.

   

4. Walk to Methodist Hospital in less than an hour.  [Get on with it.  Ed.]
5. Kneel down.
6. Get cereal off the top of the kitchen cabinets.
7. Knock up a delicious dinner for two without swearing one fuck of a lot.
8. A comedic soft shoe shuffle (with the emphasis on comedy).
9. Arm curl a canister of flour.
10. Towel myself down with some degree of vigor.
11. Brush my teeth by moving my left hand, not my head.
12. Get up in the morning.
13. Sign my signature without discomfort (just as illegibly as before The Event).
14. Turn my hand palm up.
15. Go a couple of hours without bursting into tears.
16. Throw in a soccer ball (that hurts).
17. Reset the water heater in less than half-an-hour.
18. Take my blood pressure without feeling depressed.
19. Take 2x Labetalol without a fainting fit.
20. Spontaneously [think about] breaking into a jog.
21. Stay up late.
22. Walk without hypetextending my knee.
23. Use a hospital restroom without getting nostalgic for the “Pull for help” cord.
24. Not perseverate.
25. Not perseverate.
26. Not perseverate.
27. Not perseverate.
28. Not perseverate.
29. Not perseverate.
30. Not perseverate.

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