Restructuring and rebuilding.....

...required some thought.

Vulnerable and frightened, everything crashing around me, I didn't know where to start except to forgive myself and move forward.

Brutally reminded of epilepsy, as much a part of me as my skin, my hair, or any other part of me, 

it was time to re-evaluate and rebuild.

Lost hours at work because of it,

a commitment to myself broken, 

uncontrolled epilepsy had affected employment, 

threatened my independence.

I was fifteen hundred miles from home!

Seizures have always left me emotionally vulnerable. 

Self pity rolled over and through me, 

    threatening to drown my adventure before it had barely begun. 

Stubbornly, I gathered my wits ~ what was left of them ~ 

    slowly, 

    awkwardly rebuilt my shelter.

Desperately missing my sons and my friends, I was incredibly tempted to turn tail and run back home. Choosing instead, rather blindly, to step forward into this new life, repairing the damage was my goal.

New friends cared about me. 

Career goals moved forward.

Work with amazing colleagues, many still fast friends til today, continued. 

Education expanded with a University Minor in my chosen field of nursing. 

Volunteer work with a community program working with horses and children rounded out my life.

A new doctor showed me new ~ and some old ~ methods of epilepsy care. His encouragement was

    a good diet, 

    regular exercise,

    massage 

    necessary medication ~ taken regularly,

to this day his direction continues unchallenged.

And to this day....

    Regular medication, sleep and calmness are practiced as automatically as getting dressed in the morning.

The shelter was almost complete but more was to come......

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; 

that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them"

 ~ Henry David Thoreau

Author's note: Edited January 28, 2024