Happy Father's Day :)

This Father's Day, Maren gave Jeff a dental exam:

We have had a very busy week, with many appointments and lots of stuff that has not felt particularly interesting or fun. On Friday Jeff was commenting that he felt like we hardly saw each other all week. So this weekend we focused on spending lots of family time together. Yesterday we took a scooter ride/bike ride to a local ice cream shop. We have not gone out for ice cream since Maren was born (except when we were in Oregon, and had extra hands), and since she has started eating and become very grabby I was thinking it would not be possible for a while. However, we realized that we could get just a plain cone (no ice cream) for her, which would keep her busy. We tried it and it was a great success – she enjoyed the cone greatly.

June 13 was the four year anniversary of my surgery. It has been interesting to reflect a bit on it with a few years of distance. I have not made any significant gains in physical abilities for the last couple of years, but I have definitely seen functional improvements related to adapting better to my limitations. The trip out for ice cream was a way to mark the anniversary in a positive way – whereas in the past I might have taken a walk to go out for ice cream, now I ride my scooter. I can wear Maren in the carrier, and she has a great time.

I was reminded recently that not everyone who reads this blog knows everything about what has happened in the past four years. So here is the short story: I had something called a cavernous malformation in my brainstem, in the left pons region. It was first discovered in 2010, and in 2012 after leaking blood into my brainstem twice,  it was recommended that I have it removed surgically. Going into the surgery I basically had no deficits, but coming out I had extreme deficits. I have worked hard at my rehabilitation, but I am still left with a number of disabilities. The basic rundown is that I have global problems with coordination, which affect my ability to do things like type, speak quickly, and do just about all types of fine motor and gross motor tasks. I also have problems with balance, and these two things in combination make it very difficult for me to walk long distances, and make it impossible for me to do things like go up and down stairs without support. I used to run long distances, and now I really can't run at all (except for awkwardly, with great effort, for a few meters). The entire right side of my body has sensory impairment, meaning that I cannot feel most types of sensation on that side, I have hearing impairment in my right ear, and I have chronic pain throughout the entire right side of my body.

Despite all of this, there are many good things that have happened in the past four years. I have learned, and continue to learn, ways to adapt to these disabilities. The strength of my relationship with Jeff has proven to be immense, as he has had to assist me in so many ways, and continues to take care of most of the things that keep our household functioning. And we have had Maren, which has been the most amazing and wonderful thing to happen in my life so far.

Today we went out for lunch to celebrate Father's Day, but there is no celebration, and no gift, that could adequately thank Jeff for being the wonderful husband and father that he is.