neurorehabilitationFromTheTrenches

 A lot has happened since my last update; so here's a summary: We went on our first post-covid holiday, since we are fully vaccinated. We left for Aarhus, Denmark in a rental car. It was a hassle-free drive of circa. 3.5 hours. There was an expected checking of our papers at the border; this was a Friday before we would get the all-clear on Sunday, following the mandatory 2-weeks post-2nd-vaccination-shot, so we had to get tests and show proof of same. No sweat. I had reserved a cargo bike (trike) for getting around while there. Cargo bikes are all the rage in Denmark, so I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb. Our hotel was fairly central so when we had freedom to roam from Sunday, roam we did. Aarhus is a great City, that I fully recommend. There was a street-food area, conveniently near our hotel, which we made great use of, and the beaches near the City were wonderfully empty. The weather, aside from a little rain one of the days, was perfect. Then we returned to Hamburg on...

At least it was May when I started this. Walking  This has been a busy month. Firstly I have made the following changes to my hourly exercises: Every hour, on the hour, I get to my feet without using any objects as leverage; once up, I maintain my hands-off approach by completing some* mini-squats -- I can't stress enough how pathetic these are, I don't manage the full 90 degree, knee-bend -- then I continue my standing balance training, with my feet shoulder width apart to run out the ten-minute countdown timer. This is during working hours, Monday-Friday. At the weekend, I follow this up with a plank or press-ups (again, pathetic), and I finish with 100 crunches.  *It started out as 50 but I've been adding 10 each week that I remember to do so. It's 90 now. I also do a weekly hour of free-standing. My Vision  We went to an eye doctor, who specialises in neurology. He didn't recommend that I go for an operation to attempt a correction of the double vision, as ther...

 Here follows an ordered list, in order of preference, of three books by coincidentally deceased authors. The Missionary Position This was my second reading thereof, having received it as an Xmas present. I’m delighted to report that a fuzzy memory may well mean, I can enjoy many other old favorites. It’s very brief, and like all Hitchens’s work, it makes one think. I remember reading about Mother Teresa in a primary-school, religion book, in a chapter dedicated to her. This book takes a different angle on the now-saint --despite Christopher Hitchens’s best efforts-- I won’t ruin it; get yourself a copy, but two quotes kept coming to me as I read. Both I learned about through Christopher Hitchens, in happier times. “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg "Give a man a reputation as an early riser, and he can sleep 'til noon." — Mark Twain The thing about Mot...

Spring is here! I’ll probably have my lying-bike for the next neurorehabilitation report, which will hopefully follow this new format; which is basically an update on each of the main component parts; namely, in no specific order, speaking, my Harm, double-vision and walking. You see, the gradualism of my healing, it occurs to me, is irrelevant because I couldn’t know where, in the big picture, I am. What I mean by that is; I am aware of small improvements taking place but I am aware also that I’m miles away from where I want to be, somewhere on the trajectory. So I’d rather focus on the component parts and trust that it will all come together in the end. Speaking I must sound like an imbecile, but I can assure you all that the slowness of my speech has little to do with my cognition. Rather, it is a malfunctioning of the various body parts involved in producing speech. This involves mainly breathing but my speech is also hindered by a general numbness of the left side of my face and m...

I underestimated my task, so that I have planned to reorganise my plans, as follows. My processing speed is such that I can only realistically plan 1.5 books per month, so 3 books in 2 months is achievable; and I'll plan to review all of them at that time; rather than reviewing the most deserving; starting next month, I'll review all 3, in descending order, from best to worst. All the while, I'll provide my neurorehabilitation report, from the trenches, monthly.  So, onto the "winner" last month; the truth is that the direct competitor has been pushed out to April, but I believe we have nonetheless a deserving winner here. The premise is intriguing; what if Charles Lindburgh was elected president, and he supported, on behalf of America, Hitler's Germany in WW2. We are left to imagine the implications that would have on World politics today, but we are told this story, through the eyes of a working-class Jewish family in New Jersey (Newark). There are many set-...

This has been a hell of a month, where to start... I will soon be the proud owner of a Liegerad, or lying bike, which will help me maintain my normal BMI, while contributing to my rehabilitation. February has been a month of firsts, and has truly ushered in Life 2.0 . Last weekend, I essentially showered unaided. This consisted of me making my way to the bathroom –alone, but within earshot of Claire-- I then made my way on to the shower-chair, and began showering; meanwhile,  Claire prepared my clothes for me, leaving them in the bathroom, ready for me when I finished showering, and left the apartment for the weekly shop. Once finished, I managed to leave the shower, dry myself and get ready for the day. After my roaring success with the shower. I decided to dispense with the Augenklappe for good. It felt like the first time using the cane but totally worth it. My brain will simply have to forge new neural pathways without reliable help from my autonomic nervous system. To celebrat...

Here is my first neurorehabilitation status update, that is part of my resolutions for 2021. Going forward this is how it will work: Dividing the month in two, roughly, from February onward, I will start the month, after a couple of weeks’ preparation , with a status update, as well as naming the two books that will go head to head for a chance to feature in the subsequent review, approximately 2 weeks later.  What about that update? This “lockdown” is not as impactful for me as I’m sure it is for many of you. It is not without challenges, though, for me. I, for example, don’t get a chance to further improve on my records in Athlevo , and I do miss the occasional eating-out, that we enjoyed.  I feel I must mention the second book from January, as it relates to my rehabilitation. SAL ; It makes an excellent companion book for Ultralearning . Even though, it’s worth mentioning that, the former was published some 2 years prior; giving Ultralearning’s author plenty of time to...