I have been referred to the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) appointment today. I have had some problems lately with "jumpiness" in my left eye and have had balance issues (more than usual) lately. Last week (either Tuesday or Wednesday) I stood up and then fell back into my chair. This is not the first time it has happened, but I have just learned how to deal with it. Also, last weekend (October 2) I lost my balance carrying groceries in from the truck. I wound up on the ground for a second. I did not hurt myself at all, but I did lose my balance. I do not have balance problems on a regular basis, but it is foolishness on my part to believe that the balance issues do not exist. The other day, perhaps 3 months ago, I lost my balance in church while I was preaching and had to steady myself on one of the edges of the staircase. Apparently I did a good job of disguising it, because no one seemed to notice; but that does happen from time to time. Again, these are just things that I deal with and most people do not seem to notice.
On December 8, 2008, my life changed forever. I had a double sided cerebellar stroke with 2 brain stem compressions. It was not until December 10, 40 hours after my stroke, that surgery was finally done to relieve the pressure. Dr. Piper, the neuro-surgeon from Iowa Methodist hospital in Des Moines, told my wife that surgery was nothing more than an attempt to save my life, but that it would not erase the deficiencies as a result of the stroke. Although she admits that she did not really understand what Dr. Piper had just said, my wife, Laura, agreed to the surgery and the care team performed a decrompessive craniotomy, to hopefully relieve the pressure and allow my brain to function somewhat normally. For those who have followed my blog for the last 14+ years, the surgery was successful, I returned to the church and I now live a relatively normal life, although I do have some pretty severe, though not always visible, defieciencies. I really thought that life could not get any worse th
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