Strategies for Awareness ~ Epilepsy ~ Theme for March 2014

Well, it’s March again. Purple Day ~ or Epilepsy Awareness Day ~ is March 26 each year.

Low stress activity!

As some of you may know I’ve not been in the best of health these last couple of weeks. First it was a mild case of shingles, quickly replaced by a cold virus! While the minor symptoms of annoying coughing, sneezing and 'where's the kleenex!' have insisted on being at the forefront of my mind, there is always an additional concern. One that I’ve dealt with before and will likely deal with again ~ how do minor infections, colds and general ill health affect epilepsy?

In general there are two main things, outside of taking my medication regularly, to pay attention to:
~ Sleep quality and quantity
~ Stress minimization and management.

Any minor acute illnesses can affect both of these, so I need to upgrade the attention I pay to both these areas when in these times. I have mentioned in past posts what I have called my ‘jumps’.  I have since learned that they are called ‘drop seizures’ - and I did experience one of these a couple of days ago with no ill effects. 

Yes, I’ve been seizure free from grand mal seizures for over 14 years, but I am at greater risk for pesky ‘drop seizures’ in times of uncertain sleep, the added stress of just plain feeling cooped up in the house and wondering how long this nasty virus will last.

Strategies:
Take time off from work - I am fortunate that I am able to do this.
Sleep and nap more frequently.
Have very low stress activities (and plenty of YouTube) on hand.
Go outside for short walks, coffee with a friend (coffee very limited)
Eat regularly and drink lots of water (I’m good at the eating part, the drinking water part - not so much.) I do keep a lot of ready to eat foods in my fridge and cupboard that require little preparation. 
Go for short drives, only if necessary, later in the day when sure of being stable. 
And always remember: ‘This too shall pass!”

“Awareness requires living in the here and now, 

and not in the elsewhere, the past or the future.”

~ Eric Berne, Games People Play

The Value of Kindness

Kindness acts randomly

to wave, smile or ease a rocky road

Kindness gifts a welcome surprise.

“Kindness is the language which 

the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

~ Mark Twain

The Value of Vulnerability

Vulnerability ~ an awkward word.

Messy, disconnected and frightening

Grounded in fears and ‘not good enough’

Struggling to fit wherever and with whomever

Vulnerability flattens, solidifies and opens if I stand still slowly,

clean up the mess, (and there is a mess around me today),

reconnect with life and loves a tiny bit at a time, and that starts with me!

Examine the real risks not the risks that the fear gremlin whispers softly to me.

Embrace vulnerability to recognize it’s value ~

to create colour and comfort

to restore balance and stability

to recognize reality in sunshine and darkness

to make a beautiful world that is deserved and enough.

“Vulnerabiity is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding

the necessity of both; it’s engaging. It’s being all in.”

~ Brene Brown, 

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms 

the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead.

Link to Brene Brown on TED talks:  

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=brene%20brown%20the%20power%20of%20vulnerability&sm=1

Variable Importance of Napping

Napping is of great value these days.
Moving at a pace dictated by questionable energy,   
despite the gremlin of ‘should do’ muttering,
despite sunshine calling me outside to play.
A mere two hours wander just to get out ~
low energy flagged ever lower.
Eyes drooped, shoulders sagged.
Rocking chair mere steps away.
Napping ~ dozing in and out while radio played.
Crocheting, curled up like a kitty, lay on my lap.
China mug of tea growing cold.
Coughing silenced.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Energy restored to it’s previously molasses like speed.
When I was five, there was no value in napping!

“When the going gets tough, the tough take a nap.”

~ Tom Hodgkinson

Therapeutic Crochet

Hand towels
Crocheted prettily
Special buttons chosen for each one
Hung on the stove handle
Easy access for fingers damp from dishwater
A quick wipe before moving on to another kitchen fête accompli
“They” say that they are dirty and full of germs but, many made takes care of that issue!

When one is to ‘rest’ ~ ‘take it easy’
crocheting is an activity of great value!

“Crochet is an accessible art that 

comes with a license to be prolific.”

~ Francine Toukou

Time to Heal!

What was of value to me today?

My blankie! my computer!  

But what was it really?

Was there anything?

Food in the fridge ~ but there was no steak!  Oooooh too bad!!

Time stretched out in front of me.

Time, with no energy to fill it with busyness, conversation or even silliness.

Time ~ unscheduled time! ~ to rest, to heal.

Healing does take time ~ fortunately only a few days more are needed.

Inspiration seems to pale when energy of mind, body and spirit are low.

Colour and softness; tea and hot chocolate with marshmallows fills the gaps,

in this unscheduled ‘lay off’ dictated by an invisible and uninvited virus.

What else was of value to me?

My good fortune for 

warm home and food, friends and family,

general good heatlh, 

and for the time that is needed to be well....

“If you don’t take care of this the most magnificent machine

that you will ever be given....where are you going to live?’

~ Karen Calabrese

Grassroots and Hope

The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi have wrapped up and on March 7, 2014 the Paralympics will begin. I’ve not had much of an opinion about these two great events until this year. Have I been caught up in the glamour, promotion and excitement of it all? I’ll have to wait and see.

However, I did have some thoughts that have never occured to me before this past few days. I saw intense focus, incredible joy, overwhelming heartbreak, amazing teamwork, sportsmanship, cultural spectacles and patriotism from each country. This all on the world stage in Russia between countries competing for the same prizes ~ gold, silver or bronze amid speculation about all manner of intrigue, doping and behind the scenes deals between judges.

Was a phenomenal amount of money spent? Definitely. Was there unfairness, to say the least, to citizens and families? Apparently. Have either of these occurred in this or any other Olympic year? Yes. The controversies seem the same for each year, for each event.

What did I see that may be different, and I suspect, may have already been seen by others? What did I see that may have a value that far outweighs individual sports and the men and women that play them?  

Hope. Hope for today, tomorrow and the future. Hope amidst planning, politicing and playing. Our children, men and women are taught to focus, be joyful for themselves and others, share heartbreak and create well oiled teams as they learn about sportsmanship, fair play and pride in their own countries. These attributes translate themselves into the lives that our children will live as they grow and develop their own families and careers.

A bubble that may burst with the least little pressure? An answer to war and violence when it continues throughout the globe? Maybe on some grassroots level, on ski slopes or ice rinks. When the skates and skis, bobsleds and skateboards are put away what has been learned will be part of the fabric of lives to be lived.

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give

other people permission to do the same.”

~ Nelson Mandela

Spontaneous Conversation

Spontaneous conversation entertains random possibilities 

or none at all

a questionable value ~ jagged, smooth or as water off a duck’s back

dovetailed with immediacy, or disconnected and adrift

hand held coloured balloons bob and float down sidewalks

tied to sidewalk cafe’s coffee flavoured umbrellas

brilliant echoes in breezy sunshiney mornings

hushed and dampened in dewy fog dripping from awnings

warmed and puffed up, sitting at clustered tables 

out of brilliant sun or blustery winds.

“Conversation should touch everything, but 

should concentrate itself on nothing.”

~ Oscar Wilde