I already posted this entry so some of the information may be duplicated but some may be new.
I combined it all into one entry. My apologies for the confusion.
I took this from my Facebook page but I thought I would put it here for posterity.
I have said this before, but it bears repeating. I would not wish my medical conditions on my worst enemy. But as hard as things are sometimes, I truly am very lucky. I don't have a degenerative condition and if I continue to work hard it will only get better.
I need to get better not only for myself but for my wife and daughter. I am not a vegetable, I still have a lot of life ahead of me even if I can't do everything exactly as before.
I am grateful for every day that I am given and I am so thankful to my amazing family and friends. I will continue to work hard until I get back to normal.
Having both my speech and my mobility affected has not been easy. However, it could be worse and it has forced me not to take anything for granted.
My daily progress is slow and small but when I think about where I was two years ago, I have come a long way. The daily grind doesn't bother me because anything is better than being stuck in the hospital. Just being able to live life is a miracle.
This will be long but please bear with me. I have said this before, but I will say it again.
I have been through a lot during the past four years.
I have had 12 brain surgeries, bringing my total surgery count to 29.
I have been through pain that felt unbearable. I have been on a diet of totally pureed food.
I have spent over six cumulative months in the hospital and I have lost over 30 pounds of weight.
My left eye went crooked due to my increased brain pressure.
My depth perception got destroyed. However, my overall vision was not greatly affected.
I had constant vomiting and couldn't hold any food down. I also had a constant swaying feeling every time that I stood up.
I had severe neck pain where they implanted a shunt.
Luckily, now all those problems have gone away.
I wouldn't wish my balance or speech issues on my worst enemy.
However, as bad as things seem, I am very lucky to be alive and functioning for the most part.
I easily could have died multiple times but I did not.
I am not a vegetable and I hope to have many good years ahead of me.
I am confident that I will get back to normal life sooner or later as my condition is not degenerative and will only continue to improve with time and effort.
I have an amazing family and friends who have been incredibly supportive.
I have made a lot of progress, even if it has been slow and small. I can eat any solid food that I want and I use less thickener in my liquids.
My speech is generally understandable after you have spent some time with me.
I have not lost my ability to speak or understand Spanish.
My short term memory is now terrible. However, my core long term memories have been unaffected.
I had constant vomiting and I couldn't hold down any solid food. It was a major cause of my weight loss.
I also had a constant swaying feeling every time that I stood up.
Additionally, I had severe neck pain where they implanted a shunt.
Luckily, all of those problems are now gone.
I have to keep going not only for myself, but for Jenny and Eliana.
All things considered, I truly am one of the luckiest men alive. I wish this never happened to me but it did and I have to play the hand that I was dealt.
I had amazing doctors and nurses who gave me the best possible care with the information that they had.
When you have a surgery in the United States, they always make you count backwards from ten and you are asleep before you get to zero.
In Spain, they don't do a count down. Once, I was having an eye surgery and they were taking a long time to get everything ready. I angrily asked the nurse when we were going to start the surgery.
She proceeded to tell me that they had already finished everything! I immediately felt bad for losing my temper.
I am very lucky not to have to pay off medical debt for the rest of my life. I was also very lucky to leave the hospital without getting an infection or an addiction to pain medication.
I am grateful for every breath that I am given in this imperfect world of ours.
Til next time, Tyler