Thursday, April 21, 2011

Just For Today

It is my intention to heal.

I will be grateful and not angry,
be honest and not worry,
be compassionate to myself and to others.

Put the power of the universe here,
put life here.

The mind is calm,
the emotions are at peace.
I am remembering who I am,
I am one with God.

No past, no present, no future,
The life in me connects with the life in you.



Bless this day with Divine wisdom, power and love.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

4/12 Update

I will resume a more frequent update schedule going forward as I settle into a routine back home.

I am feeling stronger, on Sunday my speech was the best it's been in weeks. But as I learned in China, recovery comes in waves; I'm lower energy and speaking slower today.

I had some encouraging news yesterday. In a test that segregates fat from muscle loss, I've lost 7 pounds in the last 4 months, but only 2 of that is muscle. This is a great improvement over the trajectory I had been on for the last year.

Another set of metrics from this test measure cell health and the same pattern is emerging there as well.

Getting into a schedule, enjoying the warmth and regeneration that comes with spring. Still not much time on the computer, but doing more cooking and starting to reconnect with friends.

We have started looking for our next home. We want to get something with everything on the first floor and easy garage access. We've thrown a wide net around Minneapolis, even considering a duplex where we live on the first floor. We started a treasure map of the house, Grace is very excited about a dinning room where we can throw dinner parties.

I have my first VA appointment tomorrow. A year ago I was denied access, but with the ALS diagnosis from Head of Neurology at the U of M, and the prep work done by Paralyzed Veterans of America I expect this visit to be quite different.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Home and Recovering

I've been back for just over two weeks. It has taken this long to reset my internal clock.

I'm finally sleeping through the night and starting to feel stronger. I've lost a decent bit of my ability to communicate easily. My speech has been very slurred and my voice weak. I've also had reduced function of my right hand and the left has started cramping.

I've been on a computer holiday and mostly resting -- giving my body time to recover. The last few days my speech is finally improving. Today, at my acupuncture appointment, as soon as the needles went in my speech got clearer. So it's just a matter of time and recovery.

Thank you for your correspondence, I receive so many blessings regularly. I wanted to share one I received today from a family we met last year on the playa:

***We send our utmost light and prayers to david on his healing journey...REGENERATION & SOFTENING are the keys to rebirthing those motor neurons....gentle nourishing is what the body/spirit needs...The journey may be hard at times but David will come out triumphant...he is a warrior of light!...all that is asked of him from his body is that he completely rebirths...i see this as a butterfly metaphor:

there once was a hungry caterpillar, and the caterpillar did nothing but think of it's survival...and survival was eating...and eating anything...maybe things that weren't healthy for it....and it's mind was focused on survival...

then the caterpillar felt an inner calling/instinct to create a hard shell around itself (the hardness can be compared to the sclerosis)..the cocoon is the healing journey (complete degeneration to regeneration)...inside this cocoon the caterpillar completely lost itself...it no longer was a caterpillar...it was yet to be re-created...

and from the cocoon slowly/frightenly emerges a butterfly...ready to fly off into the sky... sipping on nectars...the rawest and purest form of life....soar off butterfly!...spread your wings and fly!


Thank you Reba, Jorge, and Ama.