On July 18th, 2023, I finished 60 rigorous sessions of an experimental treatment for my remaining deficits after my stroke. The program consisted of two hours a day in an oxygen chamber, five times a week for 12 weeks. After the two hours in the chamber, I would have various appointments such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychologist and nutritionist, for 45 minutes each. If you've been following along in my journey, you know that I have had quite the trust issues when it comes to healthcare professionals within my stroke rehab journey. This time in treatment has really aided in healing that trauma and the scars left behind by the careless employees who harmed me in the beginning of my journey. The oxygen chambers in this treatment can seat up to 12 patients at a time, each there for various reasons. 100% oxygen is administered at 2 atmospheres in cycles of 20 minutes with 5 minute breaks in between. During those breaks the patients can socialize.
For the first half of treatment, I was the youngest and only woman. I brought the median age down to 64. For me that's not much of an issue because my parents are some of my best friends and my grandparents were my besties before they ditched me for the next world. With all that being said, it would have been nice to be around people closer to my age and with similar obstacles.
For the second half of treatments, two new friends came along, one of which was in my age bracket! Although our injuries are different, our obstacles are similar. It turns out that we were in the same hospitals, but at different times. He was able to deal with the torture of that place for a year, so he doesnt look like he’s a patient. When I heard that he lasted in that hellhole of a hospital for a year I got selfishly upset for myself; that the environment cultivated in that inpatient hospital affected me so negatively, I left (escaped) after 3 months. Had I stayed longer, maybe I wouldn't look like a full time patient either. For his benefits I'm happy. Also, had my path been different I wouldn't have met him, and I'm beyond so glad that I did.
While in treatment, I was on a keto diet; I genuinely don't know if my benefits from treatment came from the oxygen, the keto diet, or a combo of both. But the main things I feel treatment helped me with was endurance and stamina (both social and physical), my ability to concentrate and my mood and motivation improved significantly. Everyone wants to know “if it worked?!” And I have to say that although it wasn't what I had dreamed it would do, it most definitely gave me the strong foundation I need to get to where I want to be and plan to be.
If you’ve been around since the beginning of this project, you may have noticed my silence on the platform. I want to address this since I think it's important to remind people that breaks are okay and that growth is SO absolutely necessary in this life. While in treatment, I was pretty isolated from the world, I didn't have my car, all the fun places were thus inaccessible to me;I had more than enough time to sit and marinate in my thoughts. I called it my cocooning chapter. This led to extremely deep conversations with my best friends and family. I don't know who I am if I'm not of service to others. Even my degrees and career choices are in industries that are in service to others. So who am I aside from my titles, traumas, degrees and diagnoses?
So, I'm currently on a journey of insane growth and re-acquaintance with myself. It can be and is extremely exhausting; but it's also invigorating, exciting and energizing. I’m calling it my renaissance chapter. I can't wait to see who and where I'll be a year from today. I’ll update along the way when it feels important to the message of this project. In the meantime, I hope you, the reader, are well and growing too. Don’t forget, you can do hard and scary things. I promise 🙂
Fly my butterflies, fly!
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