Again, my apologies for the radio silence…social media was never my strong suit. Thank you all for your continued support: Pouring all our energy into therapy and doctors visits for the past three years has been unsustainable, so theres been a great need to find a balance between continuing on with therapy/rehabilitation and getting back to simply enjoying life. For the sake of my mental health and my relationship with my amazing wife, we desperately needed to unplug and get into nature. Camping and hiking were a big part of our lives before the stroke. We took a chance to see how I would fare at a campsite, and took a quick trip to Zion National Park. A place I visited as a child and had wanted to show Stephanie for some time. I had some fears about anxiety/panic attacks, sleeping on the ground and dealing with roughing it in general, and of course, not being too much of a drag for the group. I didnt want to hold anyone back from having fun, and disability and all the physical aspects of camping did not mix in my mind. But I have to say that camping was a success! No internet, surrounded by pristine nature, sleeping in a tent to the sound of the river, wind and the symphony of night insects is amazingly rejuvenating. It truly helps the soul. Of course, I wasnt able to go on all the strenuous hikes that I would have previously gone on, but I was content with the sightseeing from the car, being at the campsite and hearing the campfire stories recounting the sights and sounds of the hike from Stephanie, my brother, and his girlfriend. Well, to be honest, it is bittersweet to not yet go on hiking adventures, but I feel I will again. Patience is my lesson for now. I did have my little dog, Tigre, as my constant companion, and he helped my anxiety while the rest of the group was off hiking. Dogs are the best. One of the most amazing things that came out of the short trip is that again Ive been bit once again by the camping bug. It has awakening a kind of vitality and an excitement for anticipating another day, Something that has been slowly sucked out of me since the stroke. What with the everyday monotonous, mundane aspects of the snails pace of neuro-rehabilitation and the inability to do the fun things I used to do. In other words, Ive been dealing with depression - a lack of vitality and excitement for life. Not wanting to wake up, staying in bed because the days can be so damn boring or dealing with crippling anxiety every morning. Three years of not being able to play basketball, do yoga, surf, run, photograph weddings, work with Stephanie - all the things that had defined who I was - that has been the biggest challenge. If you lose your identity - who are you? Camping was another step to getting back to who I was. Again, I want to thank everyone for their support. My amazing Aunt and Uncle have helped raise money for continued therapy, and all the people who have donated to the Give forward page - I really am constantly blown away. I cant thank everyone enough. Im in the process of getting another 2 weeks scheduled at the neuro ifrah clinic, and I feel things are definitely looking brighter.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 00:44:10 +0000
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