neurorehabilitationFromTheTrenches

Hello again. I'm back for one main reason; to remind you to not forget my Syllytrain competition from last week . Since I'm here I'll go on a bit about something to certify this as a legitimate blog post and thus extend to 3, the number of blog posts in December. That reminds me, I'm still/always on the lookout for blog articles so if you feel like plugging anything, this is a good place to publish propaganda, since this blog recently received its 20,000th visitor. I'll leave it there, but I will be in Ireland next week, so expect a full account. My Tree

It will soon be Veganuary. I struggle with this whole vegan thing. I, for example, miss cheese, Gorgonzola in particular, and ice-cream. So much so that I must admit that I'm sometimes relieved when there is no vegan option for dessert. I am a sunshine vegan; if there is a hint of rain, I am simply a vegetarian. I blame the thousands of years, in which humans concentrated their culinary efforts on animal based fuel. Look where this has gotten us. Well I'm enjoying watching the rise in popularity of veganism and thus the availability of vegan sources of sustenance. Companies such as Beyond Meat are ensuring that future generations will not require the exploitation of other animals and the environment, for survival. This has been my favourite "treat" for the last while. When I indulge in one of these, or a few Oreos , also vegan, I think to myself "what on earth is the point" of our continued insistence on animal based sources of fuel. Surely it would

Christ on a bike! Where does the time go? It's that time of year again. Instead of the normal Friday physio session, I made it, on foot, with cane, and the trike as backup, to the Bergedorfer Weihnachtsmarkt. I had Claire and Anna, my physio, for support, but, technically at least, I followed through on my earlier intention, to cane-walk to the Weihnachtsmarkt in 2019. We enjoyed a few Gluhwein, before Claire and I made our way home. I feel that I won't enjoy the return of single vision, in time for Xmas day, so I'll push my estimate for the resolution to my birthday. So, April 25th is my new estimated target for the return of my single vision. It has seen some great improvements recently. The problem is that like everyone else, the merging of the left eye picture with right eye picture is not yet instant. My merge job is slow enough to notice, whereas your's appears instant. When I look at something 20 meters away, it might as well be instant,

I became disturbed last week when I read this . I thought to myself, what is the point of doing all of this training when neurons have probably already stopped growing in my body? I could just, I thought, relax and try to enjoy this time from a seated,  stressless position. My mood stayed darkened until Claire reminded me of the progress that I've already made with these before and after videos. Number 1, from a year ago, give or take, shows a very careful Declan trying with all his might, to walk a few meters with his cane. In video number 2, we find our hero much more confident in his approach. So, what I take from this demo, is that training works. So, I'll keep it up. I would ask you all to please, if you see me in a wheelchair, ask me "shouldn't you be trying to walk?" The answer should be, most of the time, "yes, you're right" My Tree

It's been a while; so much for breaking my monthly article record in October, there's always next month. So I would ask that you do some soul searching, to see if you can come up with a publishable (basically anything) guest article. Some ideas are; a book review; a recipe. Since I'm back at work, it will get increasingly difficult to produce an article every week so I will get evermore reliant on guest articles. There has been something of a breakthrough in my training. I won't bore you with the details but the result is that I have committed to the following. It will soon be time for the Weihnachtsmarkt here, in Bergedorf. I can remember last year during the xmas markets, naively suggesting that I would be walking at the markets "next year" (this year). Well, that's not likely and, frankly, impossible unless I increase my intensity between now and then. So, I've decided to do just that. This will entail walking, outside if possible, every day. Th

The main aim of this article should have been to push toward a record eighth article in a single month. Of course, that was dependent on one of you submitting a guest article. Claire's mother, Dervilla, did submit an article for publication, unfortunately that was past my bedtime of 22:00. I will simply start afresh in October, gunning for this allusive record. The aim now, instead, is to bring you through a typical day for me, including all my daily training. I finally started my internship, with EON , today, so all this will change. The alarm typically wakes us at 6am. Then we get showered and have some breakfast. I use a shower chair that was given to us by Niall & Pia. After breakfast, Claire makes sure that I have everything I need, including a fully charged phone, before she makes her way to work. I then get down to business. Firstly, I create my Wunderlist for the day, which today looks like this: The Gehbarren was up first, so I put youtube on to accompany

I'd like to thank Dervilla Fastner, Claire's mum, for sending me the first of what I feel will be a record breaking October. So, without further ado... I have decided to write a short overview about my experience of hiring a city bike during my recent weekend stay in Hamburg. As the weather forecast for the weekend was really good, we decided to go cycling together on the Saturday. Cycling is probably one of the best ways to explore a city, and besides that, it’s fun, healthy and environmentally friendly. Renting a City Bike in Hamburg How it Works:   It’s all fairly straightforward. Firstly, you need to download the Hamburg city bike app, STADTRad Hamburg , onto your smartphone. Then, sign-on entering a few personal and payment details. After a few clicks you are ready to pick up a bike. On the map, which is visible on your app, you will see all the pick-up and return points in and around Hamburg. There are 220 stations in total.  Once you have found a bike at

My last article and included survey was pulled because 1/17 viewers actually took part. As such I decided that there was no way I could have received an adequate sample size to reveal anything insightful about Type A or Type B personalities; so, I pulled it, but thanks to all who took the survey I hope you will keep your score from the personality test safe, because there may be another similar survey on here in the future if my readership quadruples. Today I'll address yet another milestone I reached on this long road to recovery. I'll be starting an internship in the coming weeks, with Eon, with a view to regaining some level of employment. But that milestone is not yet reached. Instead I received this office chair , which will help me to work from home as though I was in the office. The milestone was the self assembly of the chair. I'd like to see him try to make it look that easy with one arm, and without walking ability. But I did it! Who's counting? But it too

Lynard Skynard. It's difficult to say that without thinking of Sweet Home Alabama , the great song that starred in The Forrest Gump soundtrack. It was disturbing, then, for me, to hear another of "their" songs come on in my daily youtube loop, if not entirely surprising. Simple Man is offensive in its blatant encouragement of ignorance. Now, Lynard Skynard know their audience and they can play to them in whatever way they like, but I have a problem with them using the reputation that was, in part,  built up by past members  to propagandise for anti-intellectualism. Mama told me when I was young "Come sit beside me, my only son And listen closely to what I say And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day" "Oh, take your time, don't live too fast Troubles will come and they will pass You'll find a woman and you'll find love And don't forget, son, there is someone up above" "And be a simple kind of man Oh, b

We arrived in Bad Segeberg at noon on Saturday. We had 3 hours to wait before we could check in to our hotel. So we went re exploring the Fußgängerzone and we stopped for lunch --it was really brunch, since we had skipped breakfast, so I could make a pig of myself, guilt-free. Ludwigs didn't make it on to our previous list but only just missed out. The plan of attack was a main course, followed by a dessert for myself. Both of which I enjoyed tremendously, sitting outside on a fairly summery autumnal day. We spent the night in the Vitalia beside the big Segeberg lake ---as opposed to the smaller Segeberg lake. We were sent out to a separate part of the hotel, which was a mild inconvenience for me but a chance to build on my weekend's mileage with the cane. Fortunately, we got a room high up, on the ninth floor, overlooking the large Segeberg lake, with a balcony. We had reserved a table from 7pm in Mones so, after checking in, we had some time, before our showers, to enjoy

I'm back. This should be a record breaking month in more ways than one. I'd like to talk about the issue of free will as it relates to my rehabilitation. My position is simple enough, but I'll outline it fully, so you'll know exactly where I stand. Basically, similar to all free will deniers, I don't believe that free will exists. By that I mean, we are the sum of our physical parts. My position is that we are similarly limited of mind (we, most of us, could never match the brilliance of Einstein), as we are athletically (likewise, few of us could do, with a football, what Lionel Messi does every week). For me, there is no wiggle room from that point of view. It's all physical. What I would concede is that, for most of us, the brain can be trained; but even that requires will, so childhood is the last chance to really shape your future in what we would consider a useful way. Furthermore, I equate free will non-denial with religiosity. The very idea of self

This weekend we are going to celebrate my acciversary in style. Not with a trip to Malta, we'll save that for next year, but with a night in Bad Segeberg. It will be a chance to spin around my old wheeling ground on my Dreirad. Sadly I won't get the opportunity to visit my old therapists or doctors, as it's the weekend, but I've always had a soft spot for the place, with its scenic lakes and damned decent eateries. We might move there one day. But Mones will be the highlight of our weekend. I'm looking forward very much to choosing from that fantastic menu. In other news we received a visit last weekend from Enda McKenna, who bussed it from Bremen. We met him in the city center, where we watched the rugby --- very uncharacteristically for Claire and myself --- in Paddys Irish bar . The biggest news in all this was that we made it all the way to town and back out to Bergedorf without the Rollstuhl or Dreirad. There were a few hairy moments with the cane, but that

Where does the time go? It's incredible to me that acciversary number 2 is almost upon us. Two years used to be thought of as the time, after which any Neurorehabilitation that was going to happen, will have already taken place, thankfully that idea has long since been debunked. So I'll provide an update on the three main parts of my rehabilitation. I know I said I would get one last article in, in August, but August's loss is September's gain. So, hopefully we'll get a couple of guest articles in and push for seven in September. Double Vision I have previously guesstimated that I'd have gotten rid of the eye-patch by August. That was very optimistic, so I'll pick a new D-Day for my single vision. I feel that Christmas day is as good a day as any to choose as an arbitrary date in the future. Signs are good as I have made the following, recent strides. I have added that wall mounted picture to my rotation. I'm at a point by now that double vision

It has been relatively easy for me to get into a position to submit an article like this one. It has been made easy (or easier than it may otherwise have been, anyway). The main theme of this article will be that what is required in an extreme circumstance, such as this, is very unpleasant and the sooner you can come to terms with that, the sooner you can start sprinting toward independence. I recently got a new neurologist, here, in Bergedorf. My initial appointment was very helpful but also quite stressful, for me, not for Claire. Firstly, I should preface this with the fact that I am a type-B personality while Claire is definitely a type-A . I remember the neurologist uttering the words that must have been music to Claire’s ears while they left me feeling pretty nervous. “Your rehabilitation needs to be intense.... you will have to train for more than three hours daily for the next years and after maybe three years you will still have to put in a minimum of 1.5 hours ever

I won a competition recently on Neuroreha4you . The prize was this very impressive gadget. The Arys Me Tracker. I have been, over the last few months, concentrating most of my training on walking. That was a mistake that I hope to rectify with the help of ARYS Me . Having used it for a few days I can wholly recommend it for anyone who needs focused rehabilitation on their hand. I wear it on my left arm, like a fit-bit , but it can be worn equally on the right. It works, like so many things these days, with an App --- Apple or Android --- an Android app in my case, which keeps me motivated in several ways. Firstly, inactivity is met with a reminder in the shape of a vibrating alarm, which is annoying enough to snap me out of whatever distraction I have at the time, and begin to focus my efforts on my tree. What's this tree? I hear you ask. As you will see in the pictures, mine is barely what can be described as a shrub at the moment. Achieving certain tasks throughout t

I am going to share with you, an idea I have that may have the power to sustain the human race. We find ourselves approaching environmental disaster and we will have to act quickly to ensure some kind of existence for future generations. Funerals are no fun. Whatever your persuasion, I think we can all agree on that. My proposal is simple. One thing we will all end up doing is dying, so that will be your opportunity to contribute to the sustenance of human and other animal life on planet earth. What I propose is a bastardised  ponzi  scheme that works as follows. We each pay into a social structure, say €50/year, that will ultimately pay for your burial, including the planting of a tree, or carbon sponge, if you prefer, in your honour. There will of course be additional funds that can be used to address the social problems of the living. I brought this proposed solution to an academic who suggested that I post it and see if I can elicit some response, so I've done that. Furt

Here is a picture of my disability pass. I often imagine myself, fondly, wearing this around my neck, naively showing it to anyone official looking on public transport, possibly attempting to mortify Claire. But the stereotypical disabled person has changed for me. I don't attach any stigma to owning one of these, because this is my new normal. There are also some advantages of having one of these bad boys, financial and otherwise. Firstly, and mainly, I will no longer have  to pay for public transport (okay, €80 a year but that includes regional trains), this is owing to the inclusion of the letter 'G' with my Ausweis. This denotes that my specific disability has the effect of limiting my walking ('G'ehen) abilities. As well as that, I am entitled to some tax breaks, not much, but not to be sneezed at. Another benefit (until 2021, at least) is an extra week of holidays from work. As such, I would highly recommend anyone with a reasonable claim to having one

Well, before I begin auf Deutsch, some house keeping: I would like to implore anyone who is eligible, to please submit a guest article. I won't name and shame, but if you have ever been mentioned anywhere on this blog, I'm talking about you. Even if you have not, please feel free to submit a guest post. This blog, as you will see, has a fairly substantial footfall, so if you want to plug something, here's the place. This article, as well as contributing to my future fluency with the German language , is to celebrate the inevitable climb to the top spot of our audience stat. I'd like to thank Claire, who took time out of her busy schedule to correct this article, while leaving in a couple of mistakes to keep it believable. Ich glaube, es ist Zeit für meinen ersten deutschen Blogartikel. Dafür werde ich meine Geschichte so weit beschreiben. Wir hatten keinen Sommerurlaub in 2017. Deshalb entschieden wir im September nach Malta zu fliegen. Wir hatten eine tol

Here is my aforementioned interview, with Birgit. Apologies, to Birgit in particular, for my tardiness. Without further ado: Me: Hello Birgit Birgit: Hello Declan Me: Can you describe the events that led you to here? Birgit: Oh, at the moment? or the situation? Me: ..The situation Birgit:  I had a daughter in 2007, that's 11 years ago. She is the only child I have. Well, I started to get the symptoms of Parkinsons. Me: oh. Birgit: Yes, well, before, I had some symptoms but I never had any idea that I could have Parkinsons, because I'm too young. Me: Can you describe the symptoms? Birgit: Well, if I look back, 11 years. I couldn't sew or walk for a very long time; the muscles were tight. Also, I got grey hair. I didn't like the situation I was in, 11 years ago, before I was diagnosed. Then, in 2007 I was diagnosed with Parkinsons. Me: How old were you, in 2007, when you were told? Birgit: I was 33. It was the birthday of my sister so I know the date

The irony of me, of all people, writing this guide to walking is not lost on me. With that said, I want to share some wisdom I have picked up, when it comes to walking from A to B. I think the important thing to try to remember when it comes to walking is how complex it is. Even without the balance and coordination problems that I have, there's still the orchestra of muscles and brain to consider. Fortunately, for ableds , there is no need, beyond toddlerhood, to consider any of this; it just works. What I have learned of late, is that walking is little more than controlled falling. If I cast my memory back to my premorbid self, I took for granted that I was moving along mindlessly. Now that I'm trying to relearn to walk, I was hoping that, one day, I'd find myself ambling along, absentmindedly; then I'd be cured. But now I realise that I will have to brave up. Toddlers have the advantage, over me, of being able to topple over relatively comfortably, not to mention

Hello. I've a lot to cover, since I'm a week late, so I'll get cracking. Firstly, and foremostly, I've tried a couple of different walking aids since Aschaffenburg with varying degrees of success. During my time in Aschaffenburg , I had ordered a 4-pronged cane, meanwhile I got busy practicing with a cane that Autonomie provided me with. When I got home to Bergedorf, I continued training with a 4-pronged, while secretly waiting for, what I considered to be, my salvation; a zimmerframe, or Gehbock, as I've come to know it. In theory, a zimmerframe should have done what I had hoped it would, namely, the 4 legs would provide ample security while its lightweight nature would mean that I could move it along comfortably. It didn't work quite like that, sadly. The G ehbock has the stability, and does offer security. However, the speed at which I have to move, to avoid toppling over, renders the whole exercise pretty useless. Back to the 4-pronged then. After real

As weeks in my life go, this has been highly irregular. My first week, of two weeks, in Autonomie Therapiezentrum, Aschaffenburg has ended, so here follows the lowdown on my stay, so far, in Aschaffenburg: I'm living Partridgesque in an hotel, The Olive Inn, a mere 500 meters from the Therapie zentrum . I have to taxi it to and from my therapies daily. To get here Claire and I took the train from Hamburg, it took around 4 hours last Saturday. After we spent the first night of my epic hotel dwelling together, we went through the actions I would later require, for example, getting with my wheelchair outside to wait for a taxi and safely returning to my room. We (she) also fixed a safety handle on the wall near the toilet. As soon as Claire was satisfied that I was in no imminent danger, she was free to return to Hamburg on the train, until Friday when she would return to check on me and do some weekend training. She has just left for Hamburg for the second time, after a very eventf

I'd like to thank Cathal for submitting the first, of many, I hope, guest articles by an Irish author. Guest Blogger: Cathal McCoy WeWell. How are yis? Ah, I’m not too bad. All’s quiet . Sure I’ll head on here, make a start on this blog. Declan introduced the idea of me doing one of these a right wee while back. I said ‘I would, aye’, and relegated it to the part of the memory where most people keep promises they’re fairly sure will never be called upon. For any readers outside of Dec’s family & friends – I hear this blog is fairly big in Asia – something very similar happened to me as happened to Declan. ‘Very similar’ could’ve even been in all caps there such was their similarity, but that would seem very shouty and common, unbecoming of such a respectable blog. I was hit by a car (‘hit and run’ driver) while on my hols nearly 7 years before Declan’s accident. #Dec[Car emoji][‘The Scream’ emoji]: 16th September 2017, #McCoy[Car Emoji][Face Palm Emoji]:16th Novemb

This summer is expected to match last summer, in terms of heat. This is sadly a reminder of the global warming that we are experiencing. This past week was pretty eventful. On Wednesday I received a visit from my father and brother, Jim & Jimmy. After they had arrived we went on a mission with a rental car. 3 months ago, I smashed my tv screen with a basketball during a balance exercise. It was still usable because the speakers still worked and I had learned how to navigate blindly to the Youtube app in order to get my music going to accompany me on the Gehbarren, and since Claire and I don't watch that much TV, it wasn't that urgent to replace. Since Jimmy and Da were going to be here with a rental car, why not use that opportunity? They would leave on the Friday so I figured why not utilise the car as much as possible? So then I thought, since the weather was reasonably nice, why not make our way to the Billtalstadion, which is the local football (soccer) pitch and runni