8/8 WAS MY BIRTHDAY, & I REALIZED THAT IN 10 YEARS, & BEFORE I AM 50 YEARS OLD, ANY OF MY 3 KIDS COULD MAKE ME A GRANDMA! GOOD GRIEF! I SURE DON’T FEEL THAT OLD, BUT I GUESS A GRANDMA IN A WHEELCHAIR WOULDN’T BE SO ODD…BUT I SECRETLY HOPE I’LL CONTINUE PROGRESSING, SO IT MAY BE A LITTLE UNUSUAL IF I’M STARTING 2 WALK OR SOMETHING! LOL

IN NEWS: ON MY B-DAY (A GIFT?), ZACH GOT HIS DRIVING PERMIT ON MY BIRTHDAY. I ADDED ANOTHER BLESSING 2 MY LIST OF BLESSINGS SINCE MY STROKE…I’LL LET U FIGURE OUT THE BLESSING!

ALSO, I CAME HOME FROM OUR THIRD TRIP AT THE START OF THE MONTH. WE DROVE YET AGAIN…MK HAS EARNED HIS “TRUCKER WINGS!” I AM SO IMPRESSED THAT HE COULD DO IT, & I FEEL SO LOVED, BECUZ I KNOW HE WOULD’VE PREFERRED 2 FLY, BUT DROVE 4 ME!

THIS TRIP WAS DIFFERENT. IT HAD SEVERAL THINGS THROWN AT IT, TRYING 2 “MUCK IT UP,” BUT MY MENTAL ATTITUDE WAS DIFFERENT, & I ENJOYED THE TRIP. THAT’S A BIG DEAL 4 ME.

I THINK THIS WAS HELPFUL IN CHANGING MY MENTAL ATTITUDE:

IN JUNE, I POSTED ABOUT HOW I FELL OUT OF MY WHEELCHAIR, BUT A TRAGEDY BECAME A BLESSING, BECAUSE I FOUND A NEUROLOGIST! AT THE TIME, I WAS UNAWARE OF HOW HUGE OF A BLESSING THIS WAS! NOW, I’M TEMPTED 2 SAY IT WAS WORTH IT!

1 MONTH AGO, JUST B4 THE CRUISE, THE NEUROLOGIST STARTED ME TAKE NEUDEXTA, THE NEW DRUG FOR PBA (PSEUDOBULBAR AFFECT/EMOTIONAL LABILITY/EMOTIONAL INCONTINENCE), I HAVE FORTUNATELY HAD NO SIDE EFFECTS.
& THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN LIFE-CHANGING, & HAVE SEEMED 2 ALLOW ME 2 PUT INTO PRACTICE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED FROM MK &/OR THE HOLY GHOST:

• I HAVE A MORE CAREFREE, RELAXED MOOD
• I AM MORE POSITIVE, LESS DEPRESSED, & LESS ANXIOUS
• MY BRAIN SEEMS “UNSCRAMBLED,” & LESS “CLOUDY”
• I STILL HAVE LAUGHING & CRYING EPISODES, BUT THEY ARE SHORTER & MUCH LESS FREQUENT!
• I HAVE ACTUALLY CONTROLLED A FEW EPISODES, & FELT THEM STARTING, BUT WAS ABLE TO STOP THEM!
• I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO FEEL THE SPIRIT MORE.
• I HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN MY SPEECH ABILITIES
• I CAN MOVE QUICKER & SEEM STRONGER

INTERESTINGLY, PBA TENDS 2 HAVE A “CYCLE,” SO THE MEDS SEEM TO HAVE A “CYCLE” AS WELL. (SO, 4 EX., I WAS SPEAKING AMAZINGLY WELL—FULL CONVERSATIONS, EVEN–ON OUR LAST VACATION, WHICH WAS AT THE END OF THE MONTH. I BELIEVE THERE ARE A LOT MORE REASONS FOR THIS, BUT AT THE START OF THE MONTH, TRY AS I MAY, I COULD HARDLY SPEAK A WORD! AS THE MONTH HAS PROGRESSED, I HAVE SPOKE BETTER FOR 15 MIN. HERE & THERE, & BY NEXT WEEK, I HOPE I AM SPEAKING ALMOST AS WELL AS LAST MONTH!)

ON THE RIGHT, UNDER “SPECIAL,” “I” WILL BE POSTING AN ARTICLE ON PBA THAT I’VE BEEN WRITING FOR YEARS (IF I EMAILED ABOUT PBA 2 SOME1, I COPIED IT & PUT IT THERE. MY OLD CAREGIVER CATEGORIZED IT, & I KEPT ADDING. THEN I CHANGED THE WORDS, SO IT MADE SENSE, & DID SOME MINOR EDITING…) . IT’S NOT PERFECT, NEEDS MORE EDITING, & I REPEAT A LOT, BUT IT’D TAKE ME EVEN LONGER 2 DO THAT, & I JUST WANTED 2 GET IT OUT THERE! (IT HAS BEEN LIKE 5 YEARS IN THE MAKING! LOL)

A PERSONAL NOTE: PBA IS AS MUCH A STRUGGLE 4 MY FAMILY & HUSBAND! I WANT 2 PUBLICALLY THANK THEM FOR DEALING WITH THIS! THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER, BUT I TRULY FEEL THAT THIS MEDICATION IS A BLESSING FROM GOD, FOR ALL WE HAVE ENDURED!