I am finally back in control

Today, I reached 50362/100000 points that I need to earn my t-shirt from my DDP Yoga exercise program. So much of these health issues have not been my fault. It has been out of my control. I have no guarantee that I will ever fully recover. However, staying healthy and trying my best to recover is something that I can control.

Now that I am adding resistance bands and push-ups training on Fridays, that will bring me to 13 hours weekly of physical activity. My goal is eventually to be able to do 100 push-ups without stopping. I have handles/grips to take the pressure off of my wrists. 

I am in control of how long my recovery takes. I am trying to speed it up for Jenny and Eliana. I am also changing the order in which I eat my food and trying to avoid super processed foods. Nothing extreme, I am not trying to live forever. Just to generally be healthier. This will be a great benefit to my general health and life span, but I am doing it more for them than I am for myself. 

Thank you for your support and always keeping me accountable. I started this exercise journey in September. I think that I have been 95% consistent. It helps me that going to neurobidea, I am forced to exercise whether I want to or not.

I continue to feel that the decision not to enroll me in the adult healthcare facility /daycare was the correct one. I would have completely stagnated there.

Til next time, Tyler 

A look back on my life

I was just thinking today about the fact that I started this blog sixteen years ago. I started writing it when I first moved to Sydney, Australia.

I was only 24 years old. So much has happened to me (both good and bad) in the past sixteen years. However, I am so thankful that I have taken the time and effort to do this. 

I really enjoy writing about my life, especially since I struggle with speaking now due to my facial paralysis. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my life and my ups and downs, as much as I have enjoyed living it. 

Selfishly, I am continuing to blog more for my own memories than for you my dear readers. I wouldn't change anything that has happened to me, even if I could. Everything that has has happened to me, has happened for a reason. I am a lucky guy. I am also grateful for the time that I am given on this earth despite my challenges. 

Thank you to all of you. Family, friends and anyone else who reads this. Here is to the next sixteen years and hopefully many more happy years to come. Hopefully, I will continue to improve health wise and have no further health issues. However, even if I make no further improvements to my health, I will be happy with my life.

Til next time, Tyler 

An experiment with artificial intelligence

I was just thinking today about how far. I decided to do an experiment and ask it to write me a blog post.

Here is what it came up with. I didn't modify anything. This is not exactly what I would have written but it did a pretty good job based on the prompt I provided. 

Here is the prompt that I wrote: Write me a travel blog entry about a 40 year old man named Tyler who enjoys traveling with his dual citizen wife Jenny who is a dual citizen of Colombia and Spain. in addition, he enjoys traveling with his 4 year old daughter Eliana Valentina.

Lost in Translation (and Loving It): Family Travel, Colombian-Spanish Style

Okay, fellow wanderlusters, let's talk family travel.  Forget the perfectly curated Instagram feeds and the idyllic, tantrum-free vacations.  I'm Tyler, a (slightly) seasoned traveler at 40, and my reality involves a whirlwind of languages, questionable food choices, and the occasional epic meltdown (usually mine, if I'm being honest).  But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

My secret weapon? My amazing wife, Jenny.  She's a dual citizen of Colombia and Spain, which means our family adventures are a vibrant mix of cultures, languages, and seriously delicious food.  And then there's our four-year-old dynamo, Eliana Valentina.  She's the real boss, dictating our itinerary with the iron fist of a tiny human who knows exactly what she wants (usually ice cream).

Our latest escapade took us to… well, I'm not going to tell you exactly where.  Part of the fun of family travel is discovering hidden gems, right?  But I will tell you it involved cobblestone streets, the aroma of freshly baked bread that could make a grown man weep, and a surprisingly impressive playground that kept Eliana entertained for a solid two hours (a parental travel miracle).

Traveling with a four-year-old is an exercise in patience.  Forget meticulously planned itineraries.  Flexibility is your new best friend.  We learned this the hard way on day one when Eliana decided she was only interested in feeding pigeons in the plaza.  So, we fed pigeons.  For an hour.  It wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, but Jenny reminded me (in both Spanish and Colombian-accented English, because why not?) that these moments, the unplanned detours, are often the most memorable.

Jenny's dual citizenship is a game-changer.  She navigates the language barriers effortlessly, haggles like a pro in the local markets, and introduces us to the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve food so authentic, my taste buds do a little salsa dance.  I'm slowly learning Spanish, but let's just say my conjugation skills are still a work in progress.  Eliana, on the other hand, is a linguistic sponge.  She picks up phrases in both Spanish and whatever adorable toddler gibberish she's currently inventing, creating a hilarious and often confusing family dialogue.

One of the highlights of this trip was definitely the food.  Jenny took us to a local market bursting with colors and smells I'd never experienced before.  We sampled arepas, empanadas, and some kind of magical fruit I can't even pronounce, but tasted like sunshine and happiness.  Eliana, of course, stuck to her trusty nuggets and fries (sigh), but even she had to admit the churros were pretty amazing.

Traveling with family isn't always easy.  There are tantrums (mostly Eliana's, occasionally mine), missed flights, and the constant struggle to pack light (a battle I'm destined to lose).  But it's in these chaotic, messy moments that the magic happens.  It's watching Eliana's eyes light up when she sees a street performer, it's sharing a laugh with Jenny over a language mishap, it's the feeling of connection that comes from exploring a new place together.

So, if you're thinking about taking the plunge and traveling with your family, just do it.  Embrace the chaos, learn a few phrases in the local language, and remember to pack plenty of snacks.  It might not be perfect, but it will be an adventure you'll cherish forever.  And who knows, you might even discover a hidden gem or two along the way.  Just don't tell everyone about it… some secrets are worth keeping.

Til next time, Tyler 

My Motivation

A common question that I receive from people is how do I stay positive and motivated?

Well, I will give you my answer. I stay positive and motivated because I have no choice. The only other option is to give up and not leave the bed. 

There are plenty of days where I don't want to get out of bed. However, I force myself to do it because Jenny and Eliana depend on me to do it. 

I want to give them both a chance at having a normal life. I can't do that while I have limited mobility and speech issues. The experts say that you need 2.5 hours of physical activity a week. Currently, between all of my various exercises, I am getting 12 hours a week of exercise. I have made it my job to try and get back to normal life. Exercise is one way of doing that.

Additionally, I have started teaching conversational English classes again online. It is hard for me, having speech issues but it is good for my practice. I am not charging much, only 2€ for 25 minutes of conversation.

I have my challenges both with my speech and mobility. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. However, I still have (I hope) a lot of life left and it is worth living. I wouldn't change a thing. This experience has taught me to be grateful for the little things in life. I try to enjoy each day that I am given. 

The most frustrating thing about having my condition is that I can no longer do simple daily stuff that a child could do, easily and automatically. Everything takes effort now. 

I am a relatively young man who is trapped in an old man's body. My body doesn't always obey my brain. My brain is healing faster than my body is. 

However, having this condition has forced me to not to take anything for granted. I am truly thankful for the quality of my life. I can't do everything that I once could. However, I can still do a lot of things (more than some other people). Life is still worth living. 

I didn't want to do it at first. However, Jenny didn't give me a choice. I will only get better through practice though. I still have all of my teaching skills, knowledge and experience. I know that one day sooner or later, I will thank Jenny for not giving up on me and not letting me give up on myself. 

My parents, Grandmother, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, All of my extended family and friends have all also been amazing throughout all of this. I can't forget about all of Jenny's family either. They have been great. I appreciate all of them also. 

Til next time, Tyler 

My Health Anniversary

Today is February 1st, 2025. I got released from my hospital stay in Barcelona sometime in August 2022. I still have a long way to go to get back to normal life. However, I have made huge progress in the last 30 months.

I am nowhere near where I want to be but my day to day isn't bad. Things could be much worse. I hope to stay out of the hospital for good. No one knows how long that I will be problem free. However, instead of worrying about what I can't change, I will work on changing what I can.

I am blessed beyond measure. I am forever grateful for my family, friends and everyone who has supported me. I love you all and thank you for everything.

Til next time, Tyler 

Health and Fitness

I have never been a self starter who is motivated to exercise. In fact, if I am being honest with you, my default state is laziness and I don't like to exercise.

However, since I have been sick, I have made it my job. The experts say that the average person needs 2.5, hours of physical activity weekly. It can be anything you want as long as you get your heart rate up.

Physical exercise has been proven to help with depression and anxiety issues. Along with helping to slow down mental diseases and things like heart disease and diabetes. 2.5 hours a week really isn't that much.

Since I have made exercise my job and recovering from this traumatic brain injury is my goal, I exercise 12 hours weekly. However, my case is not normal and I don't expect everyone to be able to do that. Even when I finally fully recover, I am going to continue with my DDP Yoga program. 

It is low intensity and impact. It helps me to get my heart rate up. It is something which I can easily continue to do well into my 70s and beyond.

Even if I stop all of my other exercises, just doing the DDP Yoga Monday to Friday for an hour a day will be five hours a week. That is double the recommendations for physical activity. 

I am not doing this because I want to live forever. I am doing this because I want to get better for my family. I want to return to being a normal father and husband. I don't want to be dependent on Jenny or Eliana. 

Additionally, I have started reading an excellent book given to me by my Uncle Richard (mom's younger brother). The book is titled The Glucose Revolution. It is all about lowering and stabilizing your blood glucose levels in order to improve your overall health. 

In the book, she (the author) does not give you a super restrictive diet or ask you to count calories or do anything crazy. I am not finished with the book yet, but so far she is only asking me to make small changes to my diet to control the amount of artificial and natural sugars that I ingest. 

Many people assume that if a food is fat free then it must be healthy. However, from reading the book, I have learned that many fat free foods are filled with artificial sugar. So, you are trading one problem for another. 

I have experimented with taking a photo of the nutritional information label on my food and then uploading that photo to Google Gemini, the AI intelligence from Google. I then ask it to tell me in plain English, what is in my chosen food and whether it is healthy or not. 

I am not counting calories or doing anything crazy restrictive. However, using this method, I am able to make more informed choices about what I put into my body. 

None of this has been easy. However, I want to stick around with Jenny and Eliana for as long as I can. Now that I have turned 40, my waistline has been expanding. I need to work hard to take better care of myself. I have the exercise part done. I have finally found my motivation to keep moving forward. Now I just need to work on improving my diet. 

Til next time, Tyler