I was block for a long time on this post and I finally figured out why. Forgive me. Sometimes I am a little slow. The he problem is that, as my favorite band Dawes (they are on tour – Rachel, Spencer and I are attending the Decenber 15 show hhere in Austin – schedule) says, Stories Don’t End. They continue, but at some point we have to end the tale. This story really has no end. I’ll be facing different Groundhog Days for the rest of my life. My wife, sons, friends, therapists, caregivers and medical team will carry it on, more quietly, after that. Anyway, realizing that made this writable.

Life seems this year to mimic the movie Groundhog Day. Each day is a repeat with variations of the same activities: ED (education), CR (cognitive, speech and swallow rehab), OT (occupational therapy), PT (physical therapy), CO (counseling), shopping (every Saturday at the residence, whenever at home), and outings (dinners out with my housemates, nights out with whoever is available out of Rachel, Spencer and Jacob, group outings for clinic). I hope that, like Bill Murray’s chacter Phil, I am growing from my experiences.

Many things have been changing against that repetitive pattern.

ED has returned to my rotation, but mostly in a new guise. I first drafted this post on paper in ED and am part of a weekly creative writing group. I also took money management, while I was inpatient,bwhich allowed me to self-manage my grocery ($90 a week) and outing ($32 a week) allowances. Neither amount is really enough so I wound up with two grocery bills, one for just under $90 cash and a second charging the rest, and paid for some of my own outing expenses. I also take typing class which is helping me here and preparing me to go back to work. I also get to do “the box” which involves sorting a pile of items into one pile for each of twelve items. I hate the box. My latest sort included:

• Long nails with a head
• Somewhat long nails with a head
• medium length nails with no head
• medium length nails with a head
• short nails with a head
• brass tacks
• medium thick metal screws
• medium thinner metal screws
• small metal screws
• long wood screws
• medium wood screws
• short wood screws

Of course to sort them, I have to pick them up. One hand is out of commission. The other has mild neuropathy. Oh yeah, my therapist also plays musics, talks to me, or sings as a distraction. I hate the box. Other times in CR I will solve puzzles (LinkedIn’s Queens, Wordle, sudoku) while hearing three narratives spaced in time with intermixed delayed questions about the stories. I’ve also started doing CodeWars katas. It’s all a good challenge and is improving my cognitive endurance and divided attention so it is great preparation for going back to work.

OT has a mix of things including hand/eye coordination, attention, E-stim (electrical stinulation of the muscles), mobility (the left arm needs a lot of work), activities for daily living (so I can dress and feed myself). I particularly enjoy the left arm work since it gives me hope I might regain use of that arm and hand.

PT is simple, but hard. I do mat work, squats, standing, stretching, NuStep recumbent walker, walking (with ZeroG, Eva walker, or hemi-walker), and play stationary volleyball (with a big soft ball, lots of stretching and core). I love these all. They tire me out, make me sore , and sometimes make me vomit. It is all for a good cause.

CO is kick. It’s fun because I feel good. I have been ridiculously happy about all of this, especially coming home to Rachel. I have one job: focus on therapy. She does almost all of the rest. I don’t know where I would be without her.