Category: The Third Year

• Updatiness!

  It’s been awhile. Again. So here’s an update! I’m no longer working toward completing degrees in linguistic cryptanalysis. I’ve turned my attention to neuroanatomical artistry, general watercolor, and enjoying having a reason to attend Grand rounds  at McGovern.  The Ataxia community has seen multiple deaths this year. Considering how rare Ataxia is, many of us…

  ellie

  September 22, 2017

  ataxia, Ramblings, Random Posts, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates

  ABI, Achilles International, Achilles International Houston, acquired ataxia, acquired brain injury, acquired cerebellar ataxia, anomia, aphasia, ataxia, brain injury, brain stem tremor, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, cardiomyopathy, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, disability, handicap, hemiparesis, Houston Chevron Marathon, Houston Medical Center, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Mischer Neuroscience Institute, neuropsychiatrist, neuropsychiatry, Recovery, seizure, seizures, social issue, stigma, stroke, stroke recovery, The Stroke Story, TIRR, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• A random little thing

  Okay, so, this was originally a comment response to a post on the Young Stroke Survivors Facebook group. But it turned into a really long comment so I decided to turn it into a blog post. Yay. °°° Note that there are many factors in play when it comes to physical and non-physical recovery, such…

  ellie

  September 18, 2017

  Ramblings, Random Posts, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates, Writing

  ABI, Achilles International, Achilles International Houston, acquired ataxia, acquired brain injury, acquired cerebellar ataxia, anomia, aphasia, ataxia, bradycardia, bradycardic, brain injury, brain stem tremor, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, depression, disability, handicap, hemiparesis, hemiplegia, Houston Chevron Marathon, Houston Medical Center, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, LGBTQ, Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Memorial Park, miscarriage, Mischer Neuroscience Institute, operation, pneumonia, Recovery, seizure, seizures, social issue, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, stigma, stroke, stroke recovery, TBI, The Stroke Story, TIRR, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, visual field cut, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• -364 days

  

  1 year ago – Monday, May 16 2016 I waited, excited and nervous. Tomorrow. A burr hole will expose the surface of my brain for the very first time… tomorrow. Less than 24 hours. I don’t remember what I did that morning, or the days leading up to it. I know that I watched videos…

  ellie

  May 16, 2017

  ataxia, Memories, Photos, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates, Videos

  ABI, acquired brain injury, ataxia, awake brain surgery, brain injury, brain stem tremor, brain surgery, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, brainstem tremor, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, DBS, deep brain stimulation, disability, Dr. Albert Fenoy, Dr. Mya Scheiss, FA, FARA, Friedreich’s Ataxia, handicap, hemiparesis, Houston Medical Center, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, Medtronic DBS, Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Mischer Neuroscience Institute, MRI, NAF, National Ataxia Foundation, operation, Recovery, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, stroke, stroke recovery, surgery, The Stroke Story, TIRR, Tremor, tremor disorder, Videos, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• The Quitter

  Just have one more try. It’s dead easy to die, It’s the living on that’s hard. “The Quitter” by Robert Williams Service

  ellie

  May 10, 2017

  Poetry, Random Posts, The Third Year

  ABI, acquired brain injury, anomia, aphasia, asphyxiation, ataxia, awake brain surgery, bradycardia, bradycardic, brain injury, brain stem tremor, brain surgery, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, brainstem tremor, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular event, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, cerebral palsy, DBS, deep brain stimulation, depression, disability, FA, FARA, Friedreich’s Ataxia, handicap, HandiQueers, hemiparesis, hemiplegia, Houston Chevron Marathon, Houston Medical Center, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, LGBTQ, Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Hospital, Mischer Neuroscience Institute, Mount Kilimanjaro, NAF, National Ataxia Foundation, operation, pneumonia, Recovery, seizure, seizures, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, stroke, stroke recovery, surgery, TBI, The Stroke Story, TIRR, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Wheels

  I wake sometime between 5 and 6, as usual. Get up, tell Alexa to turn on the bedroom lights. Pad into the washroom. I’m extra wobbly in the morning so I have Alexa turn on the kitchen lights while I grasp the counter and carefully step my way to the corner where my morning dose of Sertraline (the generic of Zoloft, for…

  ellie

  April 20, 2017

  ataxia, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates

  ABI, ACA, Achilles International, Achilles International Houston, acquired ataxia, acquired brain injury, acquired cerebellar ataxia, AFO, ankle foot orthosis, ataxia, brain injury, brain stem tremor, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, brainstem tremor, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar ataxia brain stem, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, depression, disability, FARA, handicap, hemiparesis, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, Memorial Park, National Ataxia Foundation, Recovery, seizure, seizures, stroke, stroke recovery, Tremor, tremor disorder, Videos, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Better Than New 

  After my last post, my friend, Elizabeth, wrote this to me: ‘Ellie if you are feeling broken, please remember the Japanese process of Kintsugi. Pottery that is broken is repaired with gold. It highlights that the mended repair is beautiful. It emphasizes  beauty in the imperfect. Perfection  is overrated. Your brain is wonderful just the…

  ellie

  March 31, 2017

  The Third Year, Tips

  ABI, acquired brain injury, anomia, aphasia, ataxia, awake brain surgery, bradycardia, bradycardic, brain injury, brain stem tremor, brain surgery, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, brainstem tremor, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular event, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar ataxia brain stem, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, cerebral palsy, DBS, deep brain stimulation, depression, disability, FA, Friedreich’s Ataxia, handicap, hemiparesis, hemiplegia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, LGBTQ, miscarriage, MRI, operation, pneumonia, pregnancy, rape, Recovery, seizure, seizures, sexual abuse, Spinocerebellar Ataxia, stroke, stroke recovery, surgery, TBI, The Stroke Story, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, visual field cut, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Quiet

  I have come to find that one of the biggest feelings you can feel is that of a hollow, empty, reckless emotion that evades any possible reason or cause. It whips you around at times, completely unexpectedly, striking you from the edges like a car nicking your side and sending you reeling into some utter…

  ellie

  March 27, 2017

  Ramblings, Random Posts, The Third Year

  ABI, acquired brain injury, brain injury, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, depression, disability, handicap, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, left hemisphere ischemia, Recovery, stroke, stroke recovery, The Stroke Story, trauma, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Milestone 

  Today I brushed my teeth with my stroke-affected, hemiparetic hand.  3 years later and it’s still the little things that make me happy. 

  ellie

  March 4, 2017

  Random Posts, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates

  ataxia, brain injury, brain stem tremor, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, cardiovascular event, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, DBS, deep brain stimulation, disability, handicap, hemiparesis, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, Mischer Neuroscience Institute, stroke, stroke recovery, The Stroke Story, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Remembering Grace, again 

  8 years, 1 day, 8 hours ago (February 13, 2009, 01:something AM) I’m days from my 20th birthday and I have something that needs to be said before I lose the nerve to say it again. The way he forced me, then acted like he gave a damn when he found out about my baby…

  ellie

  February 15, 2017

  Memories, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates

  ABI, acquired brain injury, aphasia, ataxia, brain injury, Brainstem, brainstem stroke, brainstem tremor, cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar ataxia brain stem, cerebellar stroke, Cerebellum, D&C, depression, disability, hemiparesis, Intention tremor, ischaemic stroke, ischemic stroke, kinetic tremor, left hemisphere ischemia, miscarriage, operation, pregnancy, rape, Recovery, sexual abuse, stroke, stroke recovery, The Stroke Story, trauma, Tremor, tremor disorder, young adult stroke, Young stroke, young stroke survivor, YSS

• Brad

  

  Brad Blaes  5/14/1987 – 2/7/2017 Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3

  ellie

  February 5, 2017

  ataxia, Photos, The Stroke Story, The Third Year, Updates

  asphyxiation, ataxia, NAF, National Ataxia Foundation, pneumonia, Spinocerebellar Ataxia