An accounting. . .

I thought I would give a run down on the challenges I've had and how they are going.
1. The headache is staying fairly steady with ups and downs which are definitely impacted by weather.
2. Eating has improved quite a bit since leaving the hospital. I am still challenged by beef but am able to eat a little here and there. I need to experiment a little more with the organic beef since the one time I had it I didn't seem to have the side effects. Typically I will have pain under my lower right rib and occasionally I will become nauseated if I eat the wrong things.
3. Balance has improved, although still not normal. I take extra caution going down stairs always holding a railing and am very cautious on snow and ice.
4. The rash has been interesting. Someday I probably should have it checked out by a dermatologist but I don't have the desire at this point. My back is the worst and it is becoming more itchy. I have some spots all over and now a few on my face. My neck becomes really rashy on occasion, but often lasts a few hours then seems to subside. Weird.
5. My weight is nearly normal. I am about back to my "normal" weight prior to the weight gain I experienced while on a huge amounts of drugs through the Chicago headache clinic. Perhaps it was a good thing that I had that weight gain since I had a significant weight loss this last year from repeated surgeries.
6. The incisions have healed nicely, although the 12" scar on my stomach is still dark red. My stomach feels much better although it is still fairly sensitive if my daughter hugs me a little hard. The incision under my left arm where the chest tube went in is a little bothersome. It is sensitive to clothing, etc.
7. Finally, my strength doesn't seem to be gaining all that much. I am able to work in the office until about 1:30 most days but then need to rest for a couple hours. After that I am up and down but become quite exhausted very easily. I called the neurosurgeon in SF to see what he thought and he said that it could take a couple of years to really regain my strength. Since I can't exercise to the point of "pushing it" without getting a headache, it seems very difficult to make gains in this area. I also become mentally exhausted and overwhelmed fairly easy. I just can't seem to deal with things and handle things like I used to. Hopefully that will continue to improve.

So that is a run down of where I am at. Today church was more challenging. I ended up having to walk out this morning because the volume of the sound system was turned up just a little too much for me to deal with. Tonight was a little better but I still needed earplugs for the first time in a while. That was discouraging. However, the weather is once again unsettled so perhaps my head is more bothered because of that and the sound just made it a little worse. Who knows?