Climbing Out Of the Pit

My daughter just spent almost a week up here in Santa Barbara while Debbie was away at a retreat. I had a procedure that upgraded my DBS stimulators, which, after a decade of use, were down to the dregs. Mallory came up to work on a project with me and to simply be here if needed.

I am profoundly grateful to her -- she's everything a parent could want in a child; hard- working, good at her craft, and non-judgmental.

I'm much more gradually shedding the effects of the anesthesia this time; it has really slammed me. The stim units are on, but they still need to be fine-tuned. It's very hard to work, both because I'm so slow and limited in movement, and because it's hard to think.

I am getting better ... But slowly. Oh so slowly ...

I Have A Good Reason

Sorry for being off-blog for so long: I was sick. (Word of advice: if you have Parkinson's, try not to get Herpes Zoster--AKA shingles--on top of it; not that it'll do much good if you've had chicken pox as a child). The two can potentiate and intensify each other's symptoms; the upshot being that I was pretty much useless for over a month, what with the being almost paralyzed and the treatments (The worst being a "5-4-3-2-1" steroid run that leaves you as wrung-out as a washcloth.)

I'm pretty much recovered by now, save for what seems to be permanent nerve damage in my upper back. Of course, I'm also severely behind in my work. Oy.