Sproutling

We have had some beautiful weather this past week, though today it is cold and rainy (hooray for rainy, not snowy!). On Tuesday, I biked to work for the first time. It is just about exactly 4 miles each way, and it took me over forty-five minutes on the way there, and about thirty-five minutes on the way back. Part of the reason for the big difference in time between going to work and coming home was the wind– 25 mph winds with gusts around 35 mph mostly in my face on the way to work and at my back on the way home, but the warm wind felt lovely under the sunshine at 68°F.

Yesterday Jeff spent the day at a baby show – sort of a tradeshow where businesses and organizations have booths for things related to babies – in an attempt to recruit potential future subjects for his research. Unfortunately, this particular show was not super well organized and very poorly attended, so it was largely a waste of time. However, with Jeff out of the house I was free to spend the morning however I wanted, and decided to get started on some yard work in the backyard in preparation for spring planting. 

One thing I have noticed is that I am somewhat less likely to test certain limits when other people are around. Something seems challenging, someone else offers to do it, and I accept the help in an attempt to not completely wear myself out. When no one else is around but I still want something done, I am more likely to just do it myself and accept the potential consequences, such as extreme fatigue. When digging into the yard work yesterday, I knew it might mean I would spend the rest of the day and maybe the next day lying on the couch, but it just felt really good to be outside dealing with plants and dirt. I spent a total of about three hours doing hard work outdoors, including raking up some of the leaves and other organic debris that was left on the ground when the snow fell, putting away the winter tools like snow shovels and getting out the spring tools like garden shovels, cleaning up organic debris in some of the garden beds, and even taking down a section of chain-link fence that had long ago lost its purpose.

When Jeff came home from the baby show, he was completely exhausted having gotten up early to get there in time for setup before it opened. I on the other hand was physically a bit sore and tired, but also somewhat energized and definitely perkier than Jeff. This is an enormous shift from where I was at this time last year, and even last fall. I am physically capable of doing things I couldn't do before, and doing more wears me out less. I am excited about what this means for yard work and gardening this season.

Finally, one more exciting development, with a bit of a silly story: Last Sunday night for some reason Jeff said "try doing a jumping Jack!" I responded by saying I could not do a jumping Jack, but started trying out what jumping and hopping I could do, leading to a sort of hopping from one foot to the other. Jeff said "that's sort of like…" and then started laughing. He explained that he was trying to think of a word for what I was doing, and thought there was one, but the word that popped into his mind was "sproutling," and he admitted that that was not actually a word but something he had made up just then on the spot. He then took a short video:

At my physical therapy session on Thursday, I told my physical therapist Ruth the story, and she had me show her this "sproutling" in the parallel bars (where I would have something to grab onto if I started to tip over). Her take on it was that what I was doing didn't need some new name, because it was just jogging. Clunky and inelegant, but jogging nonetheless. Ruth and another physical therapist took me out into the hallway, had me put on a safety belt which they each held on to from one side, and told me to give it a try. I was able to go about 40 or 50 feet at a time, and although quite tiring, it seemed to get a bit better by the end. This is a breakthrough – if I can do clunky jogging for 50 feet, with practice I can do more and better. Being able to do it at all is a categorical shift, and a reason for a lot of excitement!

There have been a number of people who have said that most brain recovery happens in the first year, and after that things really slow down and changes tend to be minor. There are times when it really feels like I've hit a plateau, and I wonder if I'm at the end of my meaningful recovery. But then a change like this happens. Once again, evidence that no one can really predict how brain recovery will go, or how long it will take, and that hope and continued effort can lead to more than frustration and disappointment. So will I ever really jog again? The answer is I don't know, and no one can predict, but the answer is also "why not?" What is there, really, to stand in my way? If it is really a goal of mine, why can't I keep working at it, and keep getting closer to it? As long as I ask "why not" and no one gives me a particularly compelling answer, then my response will be continued hope and hard work.

Celebrating Spring

As erratic as the weather may be, there is no doubt that spring has arrived here. Classes are over, and end-of-year celebrations are beginning. Jeff had a lab party last Wednesday, and stopped by the dollar store on the way there to pick up various party paraphernalia. He ended up bringing some of it home.

Modeling some celebration-worthy headwear

Things are slowing way down at work. I actually managed to get a lot done last week, even though I was fairly inconsistent about physically being at work. Without so many demands on my time from teaching, student requests/emails/meetings, and other similar responsibilities, there is plenty of time to be productive at a much more leisurely pace.

Friday was a holiday here – we get Good Friday off, which gave us plenty of time to make homemade pierogies in preparation for Easter.

Looking suave in an apron

The dough

Pierogi construction

Although classes are over, there are still final papers and final exams, and Jeff spent much of the weekend grading. All of Friday evening, much of the day Saturday, and Saturday night, he was completely immersed in final papers for his infant development class. I on the other hand had no work to do this weekend, so while Jeff was grading I was relaxing and conspiring with the Easter Bunny.

This morning we had a delicious breakfast of French toast, then an Easter egg treasure hunt leading to baskets of goodies. We may be grown-ups, but we don't always have to act like it.

Then, Jeff had the great idea to shovel snow one last time – to break a path through the remainder of the snowbank so we would have access to a little footpath made of bricks in the grass that leads from the patio to the garage.

Obviously not that cold – Jeff was comfortable walking outside in a T-shirt and his Ghostbusters pajamas

We spent the rest of the morning finishing a puzzle we had been working on, and in the afternoon we went out on a bike ride. The paths are now completely clear of snow, and although I did wear a jacket and gloves, being outside on a bike is now quite comfortable. This is actually my second time riding a bike this season. The first was a very short ride on my upright bike (with the big training wheels/stability wheels), which I found to be still quite challenging, more like therapy than leisure. Today when we went out I took my recumbent bike, and found that it is even easier to ride than it was last summer. We went out for a longer ride than I would typically do last year, and I came home less tired. So both bikes still have their value, and I hope that I will be able to use the upright bike more easily soon, because it can go faster more easily. But since it challenges my balance so much, for now the recumbent is my pleasure bike.

After the bike ride we came home and made our traditional Easter dinner, which we thoroughly enjoyed and will fortunately get to enjoy for another day or two as leftovers.

Pierogies, sweet and sour red cabbage, baby red potatoes, and asparagus

Jeff has taken to randomly doing push-ups when the mood strikes him. So after dinner (after we had had time to sit for a little while) he did twenty-five push-ups. For some reason I decided today that I would try to do some push-ups too. Last time I tried to do any push-ups was two or three months ago, and I could only do the modified kind where you have your knees on the ground. Today I was able to do ten regular push-ups and Jeff says that I kept good form. I don't think my arms have gotten any stronger, but my balance and coordination must be just slightly better, allowing me to not only keep a push-up position but also have the kind of control that is required for the slow graded movement of actually doing a push-up. As always, it is nice to see measurable change :-)

Springtime: melting, girl guide walk/run, accessorizing, new snow, record cold

I can't remember whether I mentioned this on a previous blog post, but for Christmas we decorated the trees in our front yard with ball ornaments. Before we could take them down, a windstorm blew them all off of the trees, and then a snowstorm covered them up. So, last week as the snow started to melt in earnest, little treasures started to emerge:

We came home Tuesday after work to a front lawn littered with Christmas balls

All week the snow melted. By Friday, snow only remained in completely shaded areas and spots where snow had been shoveled into big piles related to clearing paths and sidewalks. 

Maddy soaking up the sun

But then on Friday it got cold, and stayed cold on Saturday, and snow started to fall and accumulate while we were eating dinner tonight. Jeff checked the weather and it is supposed to be record-breaking cold tonight. Spring in Saskatchewan.

On Saturday morning the temperature was hovering around freezing, and it was lightly raining. Despite the miserable weather, we got up early and headed out to a run/walk benefiting Girl Guides (the Canadian version of Girl Scouts) in Saskatchewan. With frozen fingers inside gloves and even more frozen faces as we walked head on into wind gusting at 40 km/h, we bravely weathered the 3 km journey. I walked with my new walker, and in the last 500 m I did two short bursts of jogging, the last one across the finish line. I think that in the future, in nicer weather, I will be able to do slightly longer distances, perhaps slightly faster, with more bursts of jogging.

This afternoon I participated in an "accessories exchange" with the newcomers club. I brought a couple of pairs of earrings that I've had for a long time but have never worn, and a purse that I never use, and everyone else also brought various accessories: scarves, jewelry, hats, and other miscellany. All the goods were laid out on tables, and we took turns "shopping" for one item at a time. There was not much there that was really my style. Lots of people brought what seemed to me like enormous earrings and necklaces, and very flashy scarves. So one of the items I ended up going home with was this hat:

It is made of hemp and recycled plastic, and although it is not the most fashionable hat in the world, it spoke to me somehow. Also, it is relatively warm, and given the current weather might be an appropriate new spring hat :-)

Homestretch

We are heading into the last week of classes for the semester, and if current weather forecasts are to be believed, perhaps the last week of winter snow on the ground. That doesn't necessarily mean the last snow, as it is more than possible for new snow to fall in April and May. But once the snow that has been on the ground all winter has melted, it is clear that any new snow won't last long. I have my fingers crossed that it does really get as warm as it is predicted to, because seeing bare ground would probably have a positive psychological impact on everyone around here. Yesterday it got up to 7°C/45°F, and people went outside in droves. There was a palpable spring fever, and I can only imagine how much excitement will be in the air when it finally does get to 15°C/60°F.

Other than the slight mania associated with improved weather, I have managed to remain illness-free. More than ever I am a true believer in handwashing and hand gel, and it is always nice to see (at the very least an illusion of) a link between behavior and outcomes. At times when it seems like so much is uncontrollable, these small victories are extra sweet :-)

Some work updates I'm not sure whether I have shared: I was able to successfully recruit a graduate student to come and work with me next year, and I will have two honors students working with me. When you add that to my current graduate student, current honors student (who has expressed interest in sticking around to do some volunteer work in the lab), and two dedicated volunteer research assistants, I expect to have a bustling and fully functional research group come fall. Is still feels a bit like playing house – like I can't possibly be actually in charge of all of this – but by all indications things seem to be going fairly well.

I am also continuing to do my best to integrate myself into the Regina community. I have been volunteering for a while now at an after-hours volunteer-run health clinic that provides services related to both medical needs and social determinants of health in a neighborhood that has a high degree of need for such services. It is nice to sometimes see a different side of the city, and to be around different people than I am around most of the time. I think it helps me to feel more connected, and to feel a greater sense of belonging. Getting established in a new place takes time, and although I don't quite feel like I have fully taken root here, I am working on it.

Related to that, I continue to do two or three activities a month with the Regina Newcomers Club. I wouldn't say that I have met my new best friend there yet, but it is getting me out and about to restaurants and coffee shops that I otherwise wouldn't explore. As my mobility improves, and as the ice in parking lots melts, I am more and more free to see what this town has to offer. And fortunately, I'm discovering that some of the things that I thought early on (no good restaurants, no coffee shops that feel like what I'm used to coffee shops feeling like) are not exactly true.

All in all things are going reasonably well, and I can only expect things to get better in the near future!