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Oh wow, it's been a while
Hi, y'all. Sorry for the long silence. Life has been crazy this year. One of my heart-sisters had a heart attack in August and a second one a few weeks later. She is thankfully fine and recovering well, but it was terrifying for everyone. Job hunting was exhausting and demoralizing, but ultimately I decided to go freelance and focus more on part-time work for now so I could also work on fixing some of the health issues I was having. This gave me time to devote to therapy, both physical and mental, which has been very needed. I'm thankful that I could move back in with chosen family and also thankful for the available government aid (it isn't much, but every little bit helps--particularly having insurance through Medicaid). Part of me feels guilty for even applying for those benefits because there are days I don't feel particularly disabled. But then I realize that disability is disability. Even though I wouldn't qualify for social security disability because I can still work, just not 40 hours a week, doesn't mean I'm not disabled at all.
Apparently, I have developed full-blown osteoarthritis in both knees, so that's been fun. It was only discovered because I fell in August while carrying a box down the stairs. Thankfully, I was towards the bottom of the stairs, so I wasn't badly injured. I bruised my knees, scraped my shin and one ankle, and twisted the same ankle weirdly (but managed not to sprain it). The x-rays taken post-fall showed the arthritis. So that sucks, but after talking with my PCP I agreed to try physical therapy and I've been amazed at how helpful that has been. It's helped relieve the pain a lot and has built up my endurance a bit.
I can now walk a mile without thinking I'm going to die or needing to sit down partway through. I can stand comfortably for longer periods of time and my balance is improving so I'm less terrified while on stairs. It's been a mix of aquatic and land-based PT too, which has been nice. I need to look into the discount memberships for the local community gym that the aqua PT is held at as it would be nice to do that on my own time as well as during official PT.
I also started a new therapy program over the summer, one using a newer neuropsychology modality called accelerated resolution therapy. I have a post I put up on Tumblr about it that I'll copy/paste here after I get this post up. It was odd but incredibly helpful. I was honestly surprised how how effective it was. We completed the sessions just after Thanksgiving and I'm still doing well. I'm to call if things come up or get worse again, but, otherwise, I just get to keep going on with these new tools in my arsenal.
Let's see, what else to update....in September I landed a regular contract position as a paralegal for 20 hours a week, and I've been doing a lot of small projects here and there. Consulting, research, and graphic design work for one of my law school friends, and developmental editing and beta reading for some of my writer friends. I've even been able to get some writing done and have a new fic that will be going up on Tuesday (it's for a Secret Santa exchange, so I can't post it til then).
Now if I can just kick this absolutely wicked strain of strep, I'll be very good. Prior to this, I didn't even know strep could cause ear aches, but, wow, can it cause ear aches. I'm on the second round of antibiotics for it cause the symptoms came back the day after I finished the first round. Good times. But even with this nonsense, I'm doing better than I have in a long time. I feel a lot more grounded than I'd been feeling, which is really nice.
So that's the state of me. I hope y'all are all doing well and that your holiday season is as low-stress and happy-making as possible.
Apparently, I have developed full-blown osteoarthritis in both knees, so that's been fun. It was only discovered because I fell in August while carrying a box down the stairs. Thankfully, I was towards the bottom of the stairs, so I wasn't badly injured. I bruised my knees, scraped my shin and one ankle, and twisted the same ankle weirdly (but managed not to sprain it). The x-rays taken post-fall showed the arthritis. So that sucks, but after talking with my PCP I agreed to try physical therapy and I've been amazed at how helpful that has been. It's helped relieve the pain a lot and has built up my endurance a bit.
I can now walk a mile without thinking I'm going to die or needing to sit down partway through. I can stand comfortably for longer periods of time and my balance is improving so I'm less terrified while on stairs. It's been a mix of aquatic and land-based PT too, which has been nice. I need to look into the discount memberships for the local community gym that the aqua PT is held at as it would be nice to do that on my own time as well as during official PT.
I also started a new therapy program over the summer, one using a newer neuropsychology modality called accelerated resolution therapy. I have a post I put up on Tumblr about it that I'll copy/paste here after I get this post up. It was odd but incredibly helpful. I was honestly surprised how how effective it was. We completed the sessions just after Thanksgiving and I'm still doing well. I'm to call if things come up or get worse again, but, otherwise, I just get to keep going on with these new tools in my arsenal.
Let's see, what else to update....in September I landed a regular contract position as a paralegal for 20 hours a week, and I've been doing a lot of small projects here and there. Consulting, research, and graphic design work for one of my law school friends, and developmental editing and beta reading for some of my writer friends. I've even been able to get some writing done and have a new fic that will be going up on Tuesday (it's for a Secret Santa exchange, so I can't post it til then).
Now if I can just kick this absolutely wicked strain of strep, I'll be very good. Prior to this, I didn't even know strep could cause ear aches, but, wow, can it cause ear aches. I'm on the second round of antibiotics for it cause the symptoms came back the day after I finished the first round. Good times. But even with this nonsense, I'm doing better than I have in a long time. I feel a lot more grounded than I'd been feeling, which is really nice.
So that's the state of me. I hope y'all are all doing well and that your holiday season is as low-stress and happy-making as possible.
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Best wishes to you and your chosen family! I hope your holiday celebrations are happy and fun and that you all have a wonderful New Year.
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