Celebrations, Squash, and Setbacks

It’s been a minute since a life and health update, here we go…
 
For some people, their seizure activity is connected to their menstrual cycle, and I appear to be one of them. This is because estrogen tends to make a seizure-friendly environment, while progesterone doesn’t. I don’t understand the biochemical reasons behind this, but in June I started taking progesterone.
 
It’s been interesting. Overall, I believe it is helping because I do seem to have fewer FAS (focal aware seizures). At the same time, it’s a hormone. There’s an adjustment.
 
Benefits I’ve experienced include being able to run more often and needing fewer naps. The downside is that the one or two times seizure activity made an appearance, it hit harder. More on that later.
 
Beginning in August, I agreed to teach Arts & Crafts one afternoon a week at the school I subbed at last year, Legacy Academy. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve always been crafty and included many arty aspects in the science projects I did with my kids back in StL. It would be fair to say that I am a natural embodiment of STEAM. It feels like both an intuitive step and a little WTF? We will soon be starting a lot of handy crafts that involve knot tying, using repurposed T-shirts as the string.

​I still sub there as well, and, somehow, became a track coach, too. This throws me more than the art. Even though I’ve run quite a bit, I’ve never been coached, or even run with other people. There are the 12 years of swimming, of course, and I can cross apply concepts, but with my unique situation, I feel somewhat out of my element. There’s a Fun-Run/5K on November 1st we’re getting ready for, and I do have something of a game plan with the other person helping me. At the same time, I look forward to reflecting on its completion.

via GIPHY

On a completely different note, over the summer, I grew the most successful batch of butternut squash I’ve yet accomplished. One big factor was lucking out with the weather. It wasn’t insanely hot and dry. Another was learning that winter squash does well on a trellis. I learned this a little late, and I already had some lengthy vines. Still, my brother helped me build a teepee-like frame out of fallen branches I could lift the vine onto. The frame proved too short, so I added some PVC pipe, additional sticks, and a hula hoop. It became quite the sculpture and was well-received by the neighborhood mockingbirds and cardinals.
 
Meanwhile, I’m regularly smashing squash bugs and removing egg-laden leaves, and the vines are producing squash. I lost count, but it was definitely more than 15 large ones. I gave many away, others were damaged, but one looked rather nice. On something of an impulse back in June or July, while it was still growing, I announced I was going to enter it in the County Fair.
 
On September 14, along with some of my mom’s fabulous peppers and green beans, the cardigan I made her, and a wooden lamp I made a while back, I did.
 
I don’t have words to describe how surprised I am that my squash won Best in Show of all the adult entries in the craft & produce part of the Fair. Seriously. It took me two or three days to understand that I’d won the Biggest Prize!! It’s so weird!!! And exciting!!
 
The weirdest part is that there were changes in the way the Fair was run this year, and a lot of confusion and controversy between the adult clubs that used to help out in the past but were shut out this year. I don’t understand all that, but what I do know is that no one associated with the fair has reached out to me in any way, shape, or form. In past years, all Best in Show winners for their categories would get their picture in the paper. None of that this year. Now, I’m good. I posted on SM and got my flowers from the people who matter. My questions are really more about how this is crappy PR for the Fair at large. Do better, folks!

​September was a really good month in many ways, much of it I can attribute to feeling better. I also got to see an old friend for a few hours, and my group won trivia one night. However, as the title foreshadowed, it did end with a setback. 

The friend I saw for a few hours (with his friend waving in the background!)

​On the last day of the month, I went to Legacy to cover the 1st track practice. Normally, my colleague is responsible for Tuesdays, but we’d already had delays, and we needed to get started. The practice went well. I ran with them, wanting to demo the pace. I felt a little weird after, but nothing concerning. I often feel weird after working out.
 
I got back to where I was dogsitting, and was cooking dinner, and felt the familiar feelings of a seizure starting. Here, my memory becomes all a jumble. I sat on the floor and worried about turning off the stove because the burner control is in the back. I remember thinking about calling my brother and what message I would leave, and unlocking the front door. Evidently, I did, because he and my dad came, but I was sitting by the door to the garage. One of the dogs was licking my face. The other, a trained therapy dog, was sitting close. (Both are standard poodles, and the one licking me will eventually be a therapy dog, too.)

The poodle friend who was licking my face. His owner was excited to hear that for future therapy-training reasons.

​The next day, it occurred to me that September 30th is the anniversary of the day I got into the ticks. I also got a call needing to push back my neuro appointment for the 2nd time this fall. I hope she’s okay. My doctor is brilliant. And an immigrant. So is my Nurse Practitioner.
 
Anyway, since then, I’ve been off. Off-off. I think I’ve been having lots of FASs. No heavy machinery for me. If there have been extra typos and wording mistakes, that’s the reason. *sigh* At least it means I sleep well.