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didja miss me?


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Thank God for bewbs.

Time for an update.
It's a long one, so sit back...

About 2 months ago I had a seizure out of the blue. I suffered a severe concussion, with a black eye and busted lip to boot, from when my face decided to fight my hardwood floor.

I was taken to the hospital and after 2 looong days in ER and 3 morphine drips (little of either I remember) I was finally given a room.

Here is a great shot of the shiner I got from smashing my face into the floor.
I'm not winking, this was just how swollen I was...

That's my buddy Scotty in the background, being awesome.

On day 3 I had another seizure. They did a series of tests, (CT/CAT scans, iodized ink injections, MRIs, ect, ect, ect) and found scar tissue on my right medesial front lobe, which both the neurologist I saw at the hospital and the neuro surgeon I got a second opinion from both said would be probable cause for the seizures.

On the right in the yellow circle (which is actually the left part of my brain) you can see a well defined fold in the tissue with clear black outlining.
On the left in the red circle you can see it is much less defined, with more white puffiness. This is the scar tissue, which the neurologists believe is from fever-induced seizures I had as an infant. With cases like these, the seizures generally start occurring in your 20s and without medication will continue, which classifies me as epileptic.

They put me on an anti-seizure medication called dilanten, and on the 4th day I had another seizure, which lasted 5 minutes.
Most seizures generally last 1.5-2 minutes, and anything past 5 runs risk of potential brain damage. Luckily this was my only sezure longer than 3 minutes.

After 3 days on Dilanten they discharged me from the hospital. I had another seizure the following 2 days, and on my third day out of hospital I had the most painful headache I've ever experienced, that felt like my brain was swelling into my skull, and a high fever that kept rising. My mom FINALLY dragged my ass off the couch when it got to 102 degrees to take me to the hospital, and I had another seizure literally in the doorway.

My mom called an ambulance and I was rushed to emerge. When I got there they did blood work and found that the amount of Dilanten in my body had built to toxic levels, and I had basically involunerily overdosed on the drug. I was told that regular theraputic levels of dilanten when treating seizures are between 30-40, and the dilanten in my body had built up to 176.

For the next 2 days I was closely monitored as I detoxed off the Dilanten and finally started to feel better.
I was given a room on the third day and started another sting of tests, with bloodwork every 4 hours to check my dilanten levels (my veins were so collapsed by the end of my stay, I was a giant bruise.)

Thennn... I woke up on my 4th day in hospital number 2 with a horrible, burning, itchy rash over my ENTIRE body, from my neck to the tops of my feet. I literally looked like I had red scales tattooed on my entire body. My face was red and swollen to double it's size and my tongue was heavy. I called the nurses and they got the doctor to see me immediately.

I was told this looked like a delayed further allergic reaction to the dilanten, which lays dorment in the body until a week or more after the first dosage. The most horrible part of this was that my symptoms looked a lot like I may have developed something called Steven Johnson's Syndrome, where basically your skin develops a rash that blisters like 3rd degree burns and comes off in sheets. This enevitably leads to infection, which spreads due to the volume of open wounds, and is very life-threatening.


With this they wanted to rule out the seizures and illness being infection-induced, so I was again given another onslaught of tests, including a spinal tap, or "lumbar puncture". (Honestly; no where near as scary as everyone makes it out to be; my tattoo there hurt infinately more than the tap, and it was over in a matter of minutes)

They put me on a super-heavy dose of steroids to combat the reaction, and the next morning the rash was significantly better.

Following night I had another seizure , and was put on a different, less invasive epilepsy medication the next day.

SO. After my rash went away, they ruled out life-threatening infection and I went 72 hours without a seizure I was finally released a second time from the hospital. (Which, by the way, did NOT have much in the ways of vegan options, FYI lol)

Since my final discharge I have had 2 small, what they call "breakthrough seizures" (seizuring while medicated), while I work with my neurologist to get my new medication at the levels I need. I lost partial sight in my left eye after the first seizure, but am happy to say after my last optomitrist appointment, I have fully regained.

Unfortunately when you have a seizure, or are diagnosed with epilepsy your lisence is suspended. In my province it is 6 months minumum, from your last seizure, so I have had my lisence suspended. Living downtown in a big city wouldn't make this such a huge deal, except that my career depended on me driving across Southern Ontario to run all my Jager events.
So with no lisence, and suddenly becoming an insurance risk I was let go from my job. My job that I fucking loved and was so happy to have. I had something that was fun and exciting and challenging and fufilling and I've lost it, along with a lot of my independance, not being able to drive. This was definitely the hardest pill to swallow.

As of right now, I am not sure what the future hold for me, but 2012 has GOT to be better.
I am currently looking for a roomate (as being unemployed and paying for a 2-bedroom downtown can only last so long before my savings runs out). I am not sure what I am able to do in the ways of jobs yet, as I am still adjusting to medications, going to numerous appointments and generally trying to get better, but I am looking into registering for unemployment insurance, until I catch my bearings.

It's been a tough year, but I'm still standing. I have high hopes for 2012, as I get healthier and I am so excited to become an auntie in March

Anywho, that was the last 2 months or so for me. I hope all of yours were a little better!

Happy new year everyone <3

love love love
nymph
xoxoxo

ps:
my 2012 "Get Better" wishlist