Living with TN is hoping that an increase in pain is a temporary blip – a change in weather, a medication adjustment, a prolonged source of stress – and not the predictable outcome of progression that my body seems to favour. The logical side of my brain considers all of these possibilities. I know that […]
Category: Neurosurgery
8 Years With Trigeminal Neuralgia
Anniversaries can fucking suck. I know that’s a bit of a harsh opening, but it’s true. July 13th, 2021 marked 8 years of living with Trigeminal Neuralgia. 8 years – 96 months – 2920 days – 70,080 hours of living with this monster. No matter the measurement of time I choose, there’s this weird phenomenon […]
The Rollercoaster Of Recovery
Well, it’s been one year since I had the surgery that drastically changed my life. Recovery has been an absolute roller coaster to say the least; every up has had a down, every twist has had a turn, and every bit of “full-speed” progress has required a brake. There have been times where I felt […]
Finding Stability
Exactly one year ago, I was in the hospital sicker then I’d ever been. After being diagnosed with Serotonin Syndrome, the decision was made to cold turkey me off of over 50% of my medications. I spent 8 days in hospital going through such intense withdrawals that I thought I was going to die. That […]
Fighting For 22
When I was 10, I would try to imagine what my life would look like as an adult. It excited me to think about all the opportunities and responsibilities I would soon get to experience. Growing up couldn’t come soon enough. When I was 13, I thought I was invincible. I thought that through […]
Defining Yourself With A Chronic Illness
There’s a phrase that’s tossed around the chronic illness community and it’s something I think about a lot. “Don’t let your illness define you.” Perhaps because I share my story quite often and quite graphically, I’ve had many people tell me that I’m obsessed with my illness. While I don’t think obsessed is the right […]
3 Month Post-Op Update
I’ve got to say, it definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been 3 months since the “Great Head Snip of 2019”. On one hand, it feels like it’s been much longer; I often reflect on how much I’ve accomplished since surgery and it generates this allusion that the surgery happened many months ago. On the other […]
Neuro/2 Month Post-Op Update
Hi Everyone! I wanted to do an update, as I was just at the neurologist yesterday AND because we are nearing the 2 month post-op milestone. I thought about waiting until Monday (the actual 2 month mark), but we are moving out on Sunday and I didn’t think I would have much time then. So […]
One Month Surgery Update
Well, it’s been exactly one month since brain surgery! I’ve been getting lots of questions and requests to do an update and I think that this is an appropriate day to do one. To get right to it, things have been up and down. I definitely didn’t expect my healing to be linear, but I […]
The Great Head Snip of 2019
On July 13th, I will have been living with Trigeminal Neuralgia for 6 years. For some reason, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. You see, when you live with a chronic illness, it’s vital that you take things day by day… and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing; fighting against my own body every […]