Eliana Valentina

I know that I have mentioned my daughter Eliana Valentina before but I wanted to give her a special blog post dedicated just to her.

Jenny calls her Valentina and I call her Eliana. However, she answers to both names. Jenny and I couldn't agree on her name, so we decided to combine both names so we would both be happy. 

Generally speaking, everyone who speaks Spanish as their native language calls her Valentina and everyone who speaks English as their native language calls her Eliana.

She is kind, caring, loving, intelligent, funny, sweet, empathetic, loyal, helpful, determined, friendly, patient for the most part. Of course because she takes after me she is also stubborn. 

In many ways she is a typical toddler. She cries and fights with us and makes us crazy. However, her good qualities vastly outweigh the bad.

As I have previously mentioned, I waited a long time to have a child and now I regret that I didn't do it sooner when I was younger and healthier. I waited so long because I was scared of the big responsibility of parenthood. 

That being said, I love my daughter more than anything and I am so lucky to be her dad. I was worried that she would treat me differently due to my speech issues and my limited mobility. However, she has always treated me the same as any able bodied person.

When Jenny was pregnant, I was terrified that Eliana would be born with my medical problems. Luckily, nothing I have is genetic and she was born perfectly healthy. 

The worst thing she has had thus far, other than your typical flu and cold is hand, foot and mouth disease. Luckily, we were able to clear that up quickly with some cream. 

She has dealt with a lot in her short life, mostly due to me being sick in one form or another for the entirety of her life. I hope to give her and Jenny a chance at a normal life. They are my motivation to keep going. 

Eliana has been blessed with amazing grandparents (Jenny's parents) and my parents have been great. Even though they are far away and don't get to see her in person as much as they would like. 

My parents have given me an excellent example of how to have a good marriage and be a good father. 

She is looking forward to our visit home this summer. She will get to meet my last remaining grandma (her great grandma) and all of my extended family plus spending time with my parents. 

I like to joke that she is 3 going on 30. Sometimes, her maturity level shocks me. She is ready to be an adult. 

She is also completely bilingual in both English and Spanish. Even though she always responds in Spanish, I speak to her exclusively in English and she understands me completely. 

I am looking forward to watching her grow up and I hope to have many more years with her and Jenny. 

I wanted to quickly mention that I had a friend who sadly died in a car crash on Thanksgiving weekend 2010. She was in a car that was hit by a drunk driver who was also texting. He had a good lawyer though so he only got his drivers license suspended for a year plus six months of community service. 

Her mom sadly has never really gotten over her death (she was only 27)and I couldn't understand it really until Eliana was born. After holding her for the first time, I could finally understand the depth of the love she still has for her only child. I got a glimpse of her pain and I pray that it is something that I never have to experience. I could also understand the love that my parents have for me. 

Eliana is my legacy and hopefully she will live on long after I am gone. 

Eliana I love you to the moon and back and you are the best decision I ever made. 

Love, Dad

Summer Fun

I am very excited to announce that my mom will be coming to Spain to visit us from July 30th until August 28th and then Jenny, Eliana and I will be going with her for Eliana's first time visiting Texas.

We will stay in Texas until September 13th. Hopefully the flights will go smoothly for everyone. We will be flying from Pamplona to Madrid and then onto Dallas. It will be Eliana's second ever flight. She did well with her first time though. The flight from Madrid to Dallas is 10 hours though so it is not short. 

We are very excited to see everyone, friends and family. We have lots of fun stuff planned to see and do with Eliana.

I am sure that my dad will be happy to see his granddaughter again and my grandmother will be happy to meet her great grand daughter for the first time. My brother's will also be excited to see their niece. 

We are at the start of a big festival here in Pamplona called San Fermines. Everyone takes this opportunity to have a holiday and millions of people from around the world come to Pamplona. Everyone traditionally wears all white clothes and a red bandanna. 

We are excited for the future. Til next time, Tyler 

A more detailed look at my progress

So I recently had an evaluation of my progress at the place that I go to for my physical therapy. In a nutshell, I am making progress slowly but surely.

A more detailed explanation is that I am walking (still assisted by a walker) slower than a year ago when they tested my walking pace for a continuous six minutes. 

However, I am walking with more precision and control than a year ago. So the speed doesn't matter to me, I am not looking to win any races. So I'll take that progress. 

Secondly, I had to do a test where I had to move blocks from left to right (then right to left) across my body as fast as I could. I completed this test actually slower than a year ago but this time I had no back support. 

So I had to support my entire upper body. A year ago I did it faster, but they gave me a chair with a back on it. So again, that is progress that I will take.

Next, they made me push circular buttons which lit up with a specific color in a specific order and I had to tap the correct lit button as fast as I could. 

Then, they made me act like I was going to pick something up off the floor, but I was holding a metal bar that weighed sixteen pounds. It tried to pull me forward and I had to use my strength to fight against it. 

Lastly, I had to stand up (without moving) unsupported for fifteen seconds. Then, I had to raise up first my right foot then my left foot onto a stepper then back down again. I passed this test as well. 

I asked my therapists to rate my progress on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being no progress, and 10 being totally normal. However, they told me that it was too complicated to rate myself like that because there are too many different individual factors to take into account.

If I was forced to rate my progress from 1 to 10, I would rate myself between 4-6. I feel like anything less than 4 is unfair to myself and anything more than 6 is being too generous.

I understand that this is a marathon and not a sprint. However, I am a lucky guy who has a very supportive family and friends. Even if it takes me 5 more years to get back to normal, I am lucky that my condition is not degenerative and will not get progressively worse, only better with time and effort.

I go to physical therapy 4 days a week to work on my balance and walking. I also have speech therapy once a week to try and regain my ability to speak normally and get off the thickener that I have to add to my liquids. 

I have great therapists in both speech and physical therapy. I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to take advantage of the services that they offer.

I am blessed and lucky to be alive and functioning for the most part. I look forward to the day that I can walk again unassisted and speak normally again and drink liquids with no more thickener. 

My hands still shake when I get overly tired and my fine motor skills are still lacking but the swaying feeling that I had (like I was constantly on a cruise ship) is gone. I am still relatively young mentally, but I am trapped in a body which sometimes doesn't listen to my brain. 

That is the most frustrating thing. To have my brain healing faster than my body. I am trapped in an old man's body. 

All of these things may seem simple to people who are without medical conditions but I assure you, they are not easy for me. However, it is good for my practice and my excellent therapists always have new and unique challenges for me. 

Overall though, things could be much worse. As long as I don't need anymore brain surgeries or to go back to the hospital I will consider myself fortunate.

Til next time, Tyler 

The Supreme Court Decision

I was reading the news on July 4th and I found out about the most recent Supreme Court decision. It is ironic on a day meant to celebrate our freedom, liberty and democracy that decision came down which will affect all of it.

I won't say that I was surprised by the decision but I was disappointed. Someone who is not disappointed is Donald Trump. Now the chances that he will be criminally charged with anything are slim to none. 

I am bothered by the fact that if Trump is reelected, he can now do whatever he wants without fear of punishment of any kind. 

Of course there are rules that say that a President may be prosecuted but they are so broad and badly defined, they might as well be non existent. 

What worries me even more than Trump doing something bad (which I expect) but that a future President will do something horrible without the fear that he/she will be punished. 

All the conservative judges voted for the new law and all the liberal judges voted against it but unfortunately they were out numbered. 

This decision is especially bad because it was decided by the Supreme Court. There is no one to appeal to. Now, we just have to hope that a person acting in bad faith doesn't take advantage of this giant loophole. 

Because now the President can literally kill someone in public and not be charged with anything only because he/she is the President. Scary. I am not happy with the new direction the USA is headed in. I am thankful to be living in Spain. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Common Knowledge

I assumed for many years that there were common facts or knowledge that humanity agreed upon around the world regardless of the culture, country or language.

However, that assumption was wrong. One day Jenny and I were talking, I don't remember how, but we stumbled upon the subject of how many continents there are in the world. 

Being American, of course I said that there are seven. She quickly disagreed with me. I remember laughing and calling her crazy. 

Then I asked her to list all of the continents in the world. She then said America was one continent. In Colombia and Spain they don't split North America and South America. 

In Colombia they also don't consider Antarctica a continent because only scientists are there for research purposes. In Spain, they don't split North America and South America but they do consider Antarctica a continent. 

For those of you keeping track at home, that is five total continents for Colombia and six for Spain.

Jenny and I laugh about it now but it was crazy to me at first. I will be very interested to see what they will teach Eliana in school. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Unavoidable Things

In English, we have a famous saying. It goes like this "There are only two unavoidable things in life, death and taxes."

We all have to die one day. None of us know how exactly we will die or when. My eventual death (hopefully a long way off) doesn't bother me. 

As I have previously mentioned, I am looking forward to my next adventure. What bothers me, is thinking about the eventual death of my friends and family. 

I don't want to live without any of them but I know sooner or later I will have to. 

That is the reason why I am such a big believer in living life to the fullest every day that we are given. Because none of us know how long we have left. Remember, you can't take your money with you when you die and dead people can't talk. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Travel Mishaps

I have had too many minor travel mishaps over the years to mention all of them. Luckily, they have never been trip ending or life disrupting. I have learned something from each one. I figured I would share the top ones that come to mind with you.

One time, in Thailand I booked a trip to a local island for a week. I was traveling alone at the time. I enjoyed my week there without any problems.

 However, when it was time to leave they messed up their head count and they forgot me on the island! Luckily, I had enough money to wait out an extra week for the next boat back to the mainland. I just considered it an extended vacation.

Next up is the story of how I met my good friend Simon from England. I was traveling alone again and I decided to take an overnight bus from Thailand to Laos as the two countries border each other. 

I paid for my ticket and the bus had little beds to sleep in overnight. They were not big and comfortable but they were good enough for the night. 

I climbed into my bed and proceeded to get settled in for the night. Suddenly, a stranger (at the time) came up to me and said that I was in his bed. 

I proceeded to tell him that I was sure that it was in fact my bed. We then checked our tickets, and the travel agency had given us both the same bed!

We ended up sleeping head to toe. We bonded and traveled together for three weeks. Fifteen years later, he is still a good friend of mine. Even though we joke that we slept together on the first date. 

Once, in Laos I paid 3 usd to ride in the back of a truck for eight hours. What I did not realize, was that I would be sharing the back of the truck with Old McDonald's Farm. I had to ride with pigs, chickens, goats, sheep and other farm animals. They climbed all over me. I was glad to get out of that truck!

Once in Colombia, before I was living there, I was just traveling. I failed to tell my bank that I would be in Colombia. So, thinking that I was a scammer, they blocked all of my credit /debit cards. 

At the time, I didn't speak any Spanish. But I managed to convey my problem to a nice local shop keeper. He let me use his phone for free. I called the only person who I knew at the time, my couch surfing host and he came and picked me up. 

Another time in Colombia, when I was living there but had recently moved there. My Spanish at the time was basic but passable. 

I got on the local bus intending to go to a local mall. The bus was on the opposite side of the road from the mall. I assumed that the driver would make a U Turn and pass by the mall. 

However, he did not. He kept going until I had no idea where I was. I didn't want to get off of the bus in a place that I was unfamiliar with. So, I stayed on the bus until I was the last passenger left. 

We were in the middle of nowhere, and the driver finally asked me what I was still doing on his bus. I managed to explain my predicament in broken Spanish. 

He was nice enough to buy me a coke and drive me all the way back to Bogotá proper. I just considered it a unique and cheap way to see places that I would have never seen. 

One time again in Colombia, I was alone again (notice a theme here) and I decided to visit a famous statue on top of a big hill in Bogotá. I took the bus to get there and got off the bus at the bottom of the hill. 

There was a large police station located at the bottom of the hill. A police officer ran out of the police station when I passed it and he told me in no uncertain terms, that if I visited the statue, there was a large probability that I would be killed, robbed or kidnapped. 

He then waited with me at the bus stop and sent me back to Bogotá proper. He possibly saved my life but I still have not seen that statue in person. 

I have been robbed more than once but luckily, never via violence just petty pickpocketing. One time I was out drinking with friends, not paying any attention to my things.

I had my 800 usd work laptop in my bag. Someone proceeded to steal my bag (I never saw them) and they replaced my black backpack with an empty black backpack. 

Another time in Colombia, someone spit on me. I thought it was gross but I didn't give it another thought. I did not realize until later, that when I moved my hands to wipe off the spit, they reached into my pocket and stole my wallet. 

It was after that I started to chain my wallet to my body. Another time, I dropped my phone in the bus in Colombia. I considered it lost. However, I decided to call it. 

A stranger answered, he told me that he would give me back my phone for a reward of 50 usd. That was more than my phone was worth at the time so I met him in a public place, gave him the equivalent of ten usd and got my phone back. 

I was bitten by a dog in Colombia. It broke the skin but luckily I didn't require a round of rabies shots. 

One time before my wedding in Colombia, I convinced my parents and my aunt and uncle to take a city bus instead of being stuck in traffic in a private taxi. 

Once we boarded the bus, it was jammed to the gills with people (as per usual in Bogotá) and my parents and aunt and uncle were horrified and vowed to never ride the bus again. 

Switching countries now, I was pick pocketed once in Argentina but I never saw them either.

To switch countries yet again, I once at dinner at a local no name restaurant in Bolivia and I was served undercooked beef and I got an intestinenal parasite. That was no fun at all. Luckily, I took some pills that killed it. 

Switching countries yet again, once in Surfers Paradise, Australia Ben and I had our rented camper van broken into. There were no cameras where we were parked but, the local police said based on finger prints, it was probably a child between 8-12 years old!

Ben had his laptop, passport and journal stolen. I however, was lucky to have all my valuables on my person. 

Another funny story from Australia, took place around 2008 or 2009. I booked a tour and I was traveling Australia alone. Our tour guide said that we would be passing by the American Embassy. I was the only American on the tour and at the time, I had never seen an American Embassy so I was excited. Then we passed McDonald's and everyone laughed at his joke. 

One story that comes to mind from New Zealand was the time my terrible couch surfing host (he was the only bad couch surfing host that I ever had in 90+ times Couch Surfing) left me at a party where I knew no one. 

However, I met my now good friend Natasha and she let me stay at her apartment even though we had just met. I ended up sub letting her apartment, and it turned into mine. There are still good people in this world. 

These are all of the stories that come to mind for now. I hope you have enjoyed reading them. I have been very lucky that all of these have been minor. I have been to 44 countries and lived in 7 of them. Overall, I have been extremely fortunate.

Til next time, Tyler 

Thanks Again

I know that I have already thanked everyone but I wanted to do it again to be sure everyone knows how grateful I am.

To all my family and friends, both distant and close, to those who gave financially, or in physical support, or even to those who gave me moral support, I will be forever grateful and I will owe you a debt that I can't repay. 

My dad has fraternity brothers from college that he has known for 50 years. I know some of them but not all of them. I am certainly not close to any of them. 

However, many of them donated to me without a second thought. One of my dad's friends in particular, is an insurance salesman. He received his monthly commission check and I am sure that he could have put that money to good use but he donated the money to me. 

I was very impressed and thankful for his kind and selfless gesture. 

No matter how small your gesture, I am thankful for it. I am lucky to have Jenny and Eliana by my side and to have an amazing family (both close and extended). I also have amazingly supportive friends. 

I am also thankful to all the doctors and nurses that have cared for me throughout this long journey. 

Thanks again. This has been and continues to be a long journey back to normal life but I will get there sooner or later. 

Til next time, Tyler 

The Memory Palace

Years ago, I was teaching an English class about memory. I shared with them a technique for remembering a list of items when you are unable to write down your list. 

My short term memory has been affected by all of the anesthesia from my various brain surgeries so I use this technique quite a lot. Luckily my long term memories and language abilities have not been affected, even if my speech has. Now I will share the technique with you. I hope that it is helpful to someone.

Firstly, you need to think of a place that you are very familiar with. I find it helpful to think about my house. However, if you want to choose another place, feel free to do so. 

So, imagine your house. Each individual room in your house. You need to place each item on the list of things that you want to remember, somewhere in your house.

It is important to make sure that it is unusual because then it will be easier to remember. 

For example, imagine that you want to remember your grocery list but you have nothing to write on. You need to remember to buy bread, milk and eggs for example. 

So, you place your bread on your couch in your living room. That is easy to remember because it is not the normal place where your bread goes. 

Next, you place your milk on the roof of your house. Again, that is not the normal spot. 

Finally, you place your eggs on top of your bed. Now all you have to do is to think of each location that you chose, and the item that you put there. Now you just remembered bread, milk and eggs all without writing anything down. 

One other tip, unless your memory is excellent, I would not suggest that you try to remember a list of things that is longer than rooms in your house. For example, if you can only think of ten locations in your house then limit the list of things that you want to remember to ten. 

Til next time, Tyler 

The Magic of the Human Body

I was just thinking today it really is a miracle, the human body. Whether it be from God, evolution or a combination of both, I have no idea but we really are an amazing species.

I am willing to bet that most of you, if not all of you reading this can walk and talk normally. You probably take those basic, simple things for granted. I know that I used to. 

Just the simple act of breathing is done automatically without any effort from you. Same deal for your beating heart. 

Our bodies are amazing machines. Just the simple act of standing up and walking requires input from your brain and a ton of different muscle groups are needed plus balance and equilibrium. However, I am willing to bet you do it without giving it a second thought.

Our brains are also amazing organs. They contain billions of neurons and allow us to talk, walk be creative and they control everything that we do. If you remove your brain, are you still you? If you switch bodies with someone else but you kept your own brain, are you still you?

Our brains are something like 10% of our body weight but they consume something like 80% of our nutrients. Don't even get me started on languages. Knowing one is amazing in its own right. I am lucky enough to know two. 

I don't know the answer to those questions. However, I marvel at how wonderful our bodies are and I am thankful to be alive and have a (mostly) functioning body and a healthy mind.

Just think, we all start out as a ball of cells. Just a mix of our parents DNA. However, if everything goes well, nine months later you get a fully formed human with their own personality. 

If everything continues to go well, that baby will eventually become an adult and the cycle of life will start all over again. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Average Life Expectancy

Today I was just thinking about the average life expectancy of humans in general. Obviously as technology and health care have improved, average life expectancy has been increased.

Here in Spain it is 84 years old and back home in the US it is 79 years old. Less than Spain but still pretty good.

For most of human history, the average life span was just 30 or 40 years. That would mean statistically I would die next year and my parents would have died 29 years ago.

I am very lucky that they are still alive (as is my grandmother who is 88!). I have no idea how long any of us will live but, I am thankful for each and every day that I am given.

If I could go back in time and visit the past I would do it. However, I would not want to live permanently without the comforts of modern life and modern medicine. 

That is all for now, Tyler 

The upsides and downsides of living in Spain

I wanted to give you my dear readers, a little insight into the life here in Spain.

Really I can't complain too much about the life here. Spain has good security, infrastructure, health care and education. 

The government helps those in need. While we do pay more in taxes, we receive more benefits. The health care and education are paid for by the government. Those are your two biggest expenses as a normal person so I consider us lucky, especially given my health situation. 

It is hard to be far away from my family and friends and if you don't speak Spanish, you will struggle here. But overall, the pace of life is slower here and people take the time to get out and socialize with each other. I like the fact that everyone is not so focused on working just to pay off credit card debt. 

Because when you die, it won't matter how much money you had, but it will matter how you chose to spend your time. Spend your time wisely with your loved ones. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Thinking about my life

I was just thinking about my life today and despite my health issues I am very lucky. I might have limited mobility and speech issuess but I am still relatively young and fairly independent.

I have a loving family and friends and I have been lucky enough to visit 44 different countries (and hopefully more!) and to have lived in 7 different countries.

I have had the luxury of making mist and learning from them, while also making some good decisions. I will take the good with the bad. Overall, I am thankful to still be vertical and breathing. I will try to take advantage of every day that I am given. 

Til next time, Tyler 

My childhood dream job

As a kid, I was obsessed with the military. I had a dream of serving my country and getting a paycheck for life after 25 years of service. As I grew older this dream didn't fade.

When I turned 18, I went to my local army recruitment office but I was denied entry into the army due to my preexisting health issues and my 

Zneed for daily prescription medication.

I then tried the airforce, navy, marines and even the coast guard. I was given the same denial for the same reasons as the Army. 

I was very sad and frustrated. I did not have a plan B because I didn't even consider another career choice.

However, I have managed to scrap together a decent life for myself and have avoided going to war. I have traveled the world without being in the military. So I would say that I have made the best of a bad situation. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Father's Day in the US

Today is Father's Day back home in the US. While it is not Father's Day here in Spain, I wanted to make a special post about my dad.

Mark Horton is quite possibly the world's best dad and I hope to be half the father to Eliana that he has been to me. 

I gave my dad hell as an unruly teenager, however he was always kind, patient and loving to me. He only spanked me when I deserved it. He was fair and he put up with a lot having three wild boys. 

I managed to survive all of his operations, like his home made failed tooth extraction, where he tied a string to my tooth and then the door. He has been a great dad and I hope to have many more happy years with him.

I am quite sure that I have tested his patience more than once. However, he always supported me in whatever I choose to do. Even when my life choices took me far away from him physically, he has always remained close to my heart. 

He has accepted Jenny as his own and he loves his grand daughter Eliana to pieces. I couldn't ask for a better example to look up to. 

I love you dad, Tyler 

My thoughts on marriage

I wanted to share my thoughts on marriage with you. Marriage is hard work. Anyone who says otherwise, has never been married. Putting two different people together 24/7 and forcing them to make a life together isn't easy.

Jenny and I didn't officially live together before we got married because she was against the idea. However, I believe that it would have made the transition of bringing our lives together easier. 

Jenny and I are very similar in many ways, and very different in others. She is very clean and organized and I am not. However, I realized very early on in our marriage, that it was easier for me to get cleaner and more organized than it was to make her like me. Her way takes more effort and time inincially but it pays off in the long run.

Jenny and I didn't fall in love instantly. In fact, we had a terrible first date. 

Everyone in Colombia always arrives late. Rather than arrive on time, and have to wait for her, I decided to arrive thirty minutes late to our first date, assuming that she would also be late (so then technically I would be on time) 

What I didn't know at the time, was that she is always on time everywhere. So, she called me to ask where I was and I was on the bus 20 minutes away. However, like any good Colombian, I lied and said that I was five minutes away. I ended up arriving 30 minutes late to our first date. 

Then, I drug her all over Bogotá, with her walking in high heels and it was freezing cold. Only to find out that the bar I wanted to take her to was closed.

I had no backup plan. So I took her to the first place that I saw. It was a terrible, run down dive bar full of music so loud that you couldn't talk without screaming at each other. 

I was convinced that she would never see me again after our terrible first date. Yet, somehow amazingly, I convinced her for a second date and I planned much better.

Then we just kept on seeing each other and before I knew it, I realized that I could not live without her. However, it was a gradual process. It was not love at first sight. 

Jenny and I are two very different people, we have our problems like any couple. I am by no means perfect. I try though. 

I want to be the best husband and father that I can be. We have had a lot of ups and downs but there is no one else that I would rather be with. I love Jenny despite her flaws and luckily she loves me back 

Now eight years later, we are living in Pamplona Spain with a wild 3 year old daughter whom we love more than anything. I hope the three of us get many more happy years together. 

Til next time, Tyler 

My Health - Looking into the future

I wanted to give you a more detailed health outlook for the future. My progress has been small but it is slow and steady. I know that this is a marathon not a sprint. However, even if I am like this for five years total, in my entire lifespan, five years is just the blink of an eye.

I hope that I will have many more years happy years left with my family and friends. Everyone has been so supportive and helpful to me. I am truly a lucky guy. 

The most frustrating thing about living with my condition is losing my independence and the ability to walk and talk correctly. I used to take those things for granted. However, I do not anymore! Walking and talking are a miracle. Most people are lucky to do it without thinking about it.

My brain is healing faster than my body is. So sometimes my brain will send a command to my body, like move your left leg. Then my body will just ignore it and not respond. It is very frustrating. I am relatively young still, mentally but physically, I am trapped in an old man's body. 

Having to use thickener with my liquids is annoying but not the end of the world. Luckily, I can eat any solid food that I want. After being on a liquid diet when I was in the hospital, was terrible and I lost a lot of weight. So I consider myself lucky now. 

My short term memory has been affected by all of the anesthesia that I had. So now I write down everything in my phone so I don't forget. But again, this is more annoying than the end of the world. 

I always used to have bad handwriting but it was legible. Now after all of this, my handwriting is not legible. So I prefer to use the computer or my phone so you can read it. 

I used to have shakes and tremors a lot due to my weak muscle tone and my head and neck swayed like I was on a cruise ship constantly. However, since I have been going to physical therapy four times a week, all of that has mostly disappeared. 

My left eye went crooked due to the increased brain pressure and my vision deteriorated but I have worn glasses since I was 12. I can no longer wear contacts but I don't mind really. At least I am not blind or paralyzed, even if I do have bad balance and rely on a wheelchair or walker to get around. 

The only operation that I have left to go through is one to straighten my crooked left eye. It will only fix it cosmetically, it won't improve my vision but at least it will look normal again. 

I am lucky to know that I will only continue to improve my life slowly but surely and eventually I will get back to normal life again. I am a lucky guy and I am lucky to know that my condition will only continue to improve with time and effort and not get progressively worse. 

My situation sounds terrible but, Jenny and Eliana have both been extremely helpful and supportive even though they never asked for this situation. 

Jenny 's family has also been amazing as have my friends and family. I am a lucky man and blessed to be alive and relatively normal despite my health issues.

The last thing that I want to mention is my current work situation. Obviously, I can no longer teach English due to my limited mobility and speech issues. Unfortunately, I didn't work enough years back home to qualify for social security and I would have to work 20 more years here in Spain to qualify for a pension. So I am between a rock and a hard place.

I am now looking for a job that I can do from home that doesn't require me to talk on the phone. It has not been easy to find something so far but I won't give up. I would be willing to get a job outside of the house if it is a good fit. However, working from home would be more isolating, but easier for me. 

I feel bad for Jenny because right now she is the only one who is working and I want to take some stress off her shoulders and contribute financially again. 

That is all in a nutshell, Tyler 

Some more thoughts on the eventual end of my life

Maybe I spend too much time thinking about the eventual end of my life but I think that it is better to be prepared than the opposite.

Many people do not like thinking about their own death because it scares them. However, I am not scared of my death. Of course, being sane, I hope my death is relatively painless and far off, but I am prepared for it. 

I hope to have many more happy years with Jenny and Eliana and my family and friends. However, just like everyone else, I do not know how long I have with any confidence. That means despite my health issues I must be grateful for everything and every day that I am given.

I have good days and bad days like everyone. However, I am thankful for every day that I am still vertical. Even on the bad or boring days I try to remember that I should be appreciative of every day that I am given. 

The reason why I have prepared so throughly for my eventual death is that I have had a lot of time to think about my death (and I have been close to it a few times) while I hope it is a long time from now, I am prepared for it to be tomorrow because I consider my death only the beginning of my next adventure. 

Til next time, Tyler 

Jenny and Eliana

Edit: I accidentally posted this twice, each post being slightly different. So I decided to combine them into one.

I wanted to give a special shout out specifically to Jenny and Eliana. I couldn't do this without either of them. Firstly, my wife Jenny is a saint.

She is kind, loving and supportive. She is my rock and one of the main reasons I keep going every day. She is the strongest person I have ever known. 

Everyone tells me how strong I am because this condition affects me physically and mentally. It is true that I have been through a lot but Jenny was 8 months pregnant with Eliana when I first got sick. Yet she came up to the hospital every day with a smile on her face.

She saw me at my worst but continued to stand by me. I am not perfect, and there were (and are) days that it is very frustrating to be around me. Yet she continues to love me through it all. 

She is also the most determined person that I know. When she wants something better, she will do anything to get it. 

I had no plans to ever get a masters degree in bilingual education but she convinced me to do it. It was not easy, but it allowed me to get a job at Los Andes University in Bogotá. Which I never could have dreamed would happen. It is the equivalent of working at Harvard University in the United States. 

I was not able to be present for Eliana's birth due to being sick but my mother in law was there for Jenny when I couldn't be. Jenny is very brave and a great mom to our daughter.

Jenny and I are very different in many ways, and we have our problems like any couple but, she has supported me through all of the trials and tribulations of life and there is no one who I would rather be with.

She is working hard to support our family while I can't. Even though I am currently looking for a home based job. I am forever grateful for her. 

She is not perfect but I never expected perfection. I love her despite her flaws. 

Now onto Eliana. She is the greatest joy of my life and the best thing I have ever done. My only regret is that I waited so long to have a child because I was scared of the responsibility of fatherhood. 

Eliana is kind, loving attentive and so very smart. I see her growing like a weed and learning new things every day. She has her moments like any typical 3 year old but overall we won the lottery with her. I love her to the moon and back. 

She treats me the same as any able bodied father and my limited mobility doesn't seem to bother her. I am very thankful for that. She also has a great sense of humor. She is stubborn as a mule sometimes but she gets that from me! Because Jenny is a lot of things but stubborn is not one of them. 

When I was 3 years old, I tried playing with my grandparents TV. It had big tactile buttons you could push. My parents constantly told me that I couldn't touch the TV. 

My parents entered the room hearing my screams of delight. I was with my grandfather (the father of my mother) and he let me push all the TV buttons that I wanted.

He went on to say, if he lived to be 100 years old he would never forget my screams of delight. I feel exactly the same way when I hear my daughter laughing.

Well that is all I wanted to say, Tyler 

 I know I have said this before, but I am extremely grateful, thankful and lucky to have Jenny and Eliana in my life. I am very fortunate to have them both. I would not be able to do this without their love, help and support.

In no particular order, Jenny is kind, hard working, loyal, loving, driven, selfless, a good friend, wife and mother to our daughter. I am a lucky guy to have found her (and convince her to marry me!)

Jenny is also the strongest person that I know. Everyone always tells me how strong I am, because this condition affects me more visably yet I continue to stay positive. It is true that it is not easy being me. 

However, Jenny was eight months pregnant when I was at my sickest. Yet she came up to the hospital every day to visit me. Not to mention, that I was unable to be present for Eliana 's birth due to being sick but Jenny took my mother in law along instead. After 24 hours in labor they finally decided to do a C-section and luckily Eliana was born healthy 

My life and recovery have not been easy, but you couldn't pay me to trade places with Jenny. I am very lucky to have her.

Eliana is growing like a weed. She is kind, loving, smart, selfless, empathetic, a good friend and an excellent nurse. All at 3 years old. I have put her through a lot unintentionally, with all of my health issues but she has been amazing.

My favorite part of the day is when she gets home from school and gives me a big hug and tells me all about her day. Even though I have limited mobility, she doesn't treat me any different than anyone else. 

If I am honest, I delayed having a child until I was almost 36 because I was afraid of the responsibility of being a father. My dad is such a good dad I was worried I would be bad at it.

After much convincing, Jenny persuaded me to become a father. I was reluctant at first, but the first time I held Eliana in my arms, I cried like a baby and I knew instantly that I would love her always and forever with all of my heart. 

At first, I was very worried that Eliana would be born with my medical conditions. However, we were very lucky and nothing I have is genetic. She was born perfectly healthy, and other than the occasional fever or flu she has been perfectly healthy. 

She makes me crazy sometimes, but we won the baby lottery. She was a good baby, she is a good toddler, and before I can blink my eyes, she will be a teenager then an adult. 

My only regret is that I didn't have a child when I was younger and healthier. My parents were 30 when they had me. I always thought 30 was so old to have kids but I was almost 36 when Eliana was born!

Every parent passes down parts of their personality, the good and the bad, to their children whether they intend to or not. I can admit that I am stubborn as a mule. Whenever I don't want to do something, I don't do it and there is no way anyone can convince me to change my mind. 

This can be both good or bad depending on the situation. I didn't raise Eliana to be as stubborn as me, yet it happened anyway. There is no convincing her to do something that she doesn't want to do. It can be frustrating sometimes. 

Jenny is many things, both good and bad. However, stubborn she is not. So Eliana got this one directly from me. 

I have a long, slow road to recovery but I know that I will get there sooner or later. I hope that I will get many more happy years with Jenny and Eliana. 

That is all I wanted to get off my chest, Tyler 

Who I am thankful for

This will be a long one so strap in tight. I wanted to write this to thank everyone for their support and help both financially and otherwise.

Firstly, I want to thank my wife Jenny and daughter Eliana. They did not ask to be put into this situation, but they have both handled it with low, kindness, patience and stability. 

I have been sick and with limited mobility for the entirity of Eliana 's short life. At first, I was worried that she would treat me differently. However, she doesn't notice the walker or wheelchair and she treats me the same as anybody else. 

My daughter Eliana is kind, caring, empathetic and always willing to help me with anything that I need. She is also an excellent nurse. She has had to deal with a lot during her short life but I love her to the moon and back and I am a lucky to have her. I hope to give her and Jenny a normal quality of life one day soon.  They deserve nothing less. 

I am sure it was quite scary for Jenny being eight months pregnant when I was at my sickest. Yet, she came up to the hospital every day without fail and was there every time I woke up after 12 brain surgeries.

She is the strongest person that I have ever known and I couldn't do this without her. 

I know that she is under a lot of stress due to her currently being the only bread winner since I am not currently working. It has been hard on her since I lost my independence and have limited mobility. However, I am extremely happy, lucky and thankful to have her by my side.

Next, I want to thank my family. They have all been amazing. My mom came to Spain when I was at my sickest point and she stayed with me every day for six weeks when I was in the hospital in Barcelona.

She slept in an uncomfortable hospital chair and was there every time I opened my eyes. She forced me to eat when all I could have was nasty pureed gruel. 

She saw me at a low point in my recovery yet she stuck by me. I am forever grateful for her unconditional love and support. I am a lucky guy. It must have been a scary experience for her but she faced it with strength and courage. 

I can't forget about my dad. Last year, I spent six months at home in Texas while I was recovering. My dad went to the gym six days a week with me and got m personal trainer. 

I ended up in the best shape of my life. He forced me to work out even when I didn't want to and he worked out right along side me. He also took me swimming daily (until I fell and broke my hand). 

He helped me shower and go to the bathroom when I was unable do it myself. He did it all without complaining. I am sure he was scared seeing me sick and sometimes I hated him for pushing me so hard. However, it was for my own good. I will be forever grateful for his unconditional love and support.

I also need to thank my brothers. Jason and Lucas have been a great help throughout all of this. Always willing to help in any way that they can. I love them both and I am lucky to have them in my life. Jason's wife Lou has also been very kind to me. 

Next, I need to thank my in laws. They have been amazingly supportive during this time and help us out a ton with Eliana. Getting free childcare is not a luxury that everybody has so we are very blessed. 

My father in law has been with me to every one of my hundreds of different medical appointments and he treats me like I am his own son.

My mother in law has been amazing too. Always willing to help me or Eliana anytime that we need it and she drops everything else without complaining. 

 My in laws had no experience with hydrocephalus or any medical condition prior to this but they have been amazing and I am thankful. 

My brother in law and his wife and Jenny 'a younger sister have also been great. My sister in law Rebecca (Daniel' s wife) stayed with me all day in the hospital after one of my failed operations to correct my lazy left eye.

Ana, Jenny 's younger sister has also been a great help. Always willing to help me out any time I need it. I am very thankful for her too.

 I want to thank all of my various doctors and nurses. This has been a long, hard road to recovery but I will get there. They probably could have fixed me faster back home, but I have gotten good care here and they have tried their best.

I want to single out my primary doctor Juan José. Here in Pamplona, you are required to go to the doctor closest to your neighborhood. However, my doctor is located in my in laws neighborhood. We started going there when we lived with them temporarily.

However, he is such a good, kind, caring and trustworthy doctor that we decided not to switch doctors when we moved. Making the drive to see him is worth it. 

I also want to thank my neurosurgeon here. She has been great and really tried everything she knew to get me back to normal life. I am very grateful to her. 

I also need to thank Dr. Poca from Barcelona. She removed all my previous shunt stuff and gave me two new ones that have a special technology that allows them to sync together and not fight against each other.

I need to mention all of my friends and everyone who donated to my GoFundMe. Since I am not working, there selfless financial giving has helped us out a ton. Everyone who follows my English language learning channel Djath English or this blog or my new podcast Talking to Tyler deserves a special shout out.

I am also thankful for Jenny 's boss Martin. I have never met him as he lives in Germany but I always asks how I am doing and he gives Jenny paid time off any time that she needs to help me. He seems like a really nice guy. 

Thank you again to everyone. I love you all and I hope I didn't miss anyone. Til next time, Tyler