Let's Go

I went most of the year without writing much in my blog, and unfortunately I didn’t write nearly as much fiction this year as I had hoped to. Recently, I’ve been reading a lot more, which has also inspired me to work on my writing more. I’ve been working on a new story concept, which I may end up developing into my first novel. My recent reading choices have definitely influenced my new project. I’ve been reading the Walking Dead comics, and I’m currently part way through the third compendium. I finished reading “The Handmaid’s Tale” a couple of weeks ago; it has been a huge inspiration for me to write my own speculative fiction/dystopian story. I’m excited to see what I can come up with this winter, as I have no excuse not to spend my free time writing.

Considering I haven’t posted since the end of April, I have many updates to make about my personal life and well being. My seizures were still a huge issue in April;  I was having breakthrough seizures despite increasing my medication, and they were occurring quite frequently. I didn’t have a tonic-clonic seizure in May, but I did in June, July and August, fortunately all of them were in my sleep. At the end of May, I had a meeting at work with people within my division that I hadn’t met before. It was there that I met one of my Marketers, and somehow the topic of epilepsy came up. She discussed with us how both of her daughters were epileptic, and that they were both taking CBD oil to prevent their seizures. I spoke up and told her that I also had epilepsy, and that I was having breakthrough seizures that had become worse in the past few months. She told me a little bit about the Minnesota Medical Cannabis program, and a few weeks later I had an appointment set up with a doctor who could certify me.

By the end of June, I was a certified patient and I began using a CBD/THC combination vaporizer. The vaporizer definitely helped with my partial seizures, but after having another seizure in July, I knew that I needed to switch to the high level CBD oral solution. By the end of August, I began taking the CBD oral solution. I had another tonic-clonic seizure two days after beginning my CBD medication, however I did miss a dose so I believe that is the reason why.  As of today, December, 28th 2016, I am 129 days seizure free. I feel incredibly liberated, which is a huge contrast from a few months ago when I was feeling defeated. The CBD has not only prevented my tonic-clonic seizures, but it has also significantly reduced my partial seizures.  My family and friends have noticed that when I do have a partial seizure, they are less severe and I’m more responsive than before.

It might be incomprehensible to others, but I would never wish away my epilepsy. It has definitely had a major impact on my life; much of which has included ambulance and medical bills that I have yet to pay off. However, my epilepsy has also forced me to become resilient and shameless in a way that I don’t think I would have achieved otherwise. A few months ago  I was lost in my head, thinking about my epilepsy constantly, worrying about the burden that I was placing on Bob and my other family members. Now that I’ve realized that my epilepsy can be managed, I feel more optimistic than I ever have about what my future holds. I know a breakthrough seizure could still occur; I almost expect one to happen. But I haven’t had one yet and I’m going to feed off of that energy, because I know that the CBD is the only reason why I haven’t had another one. 2016 was definitely a difficult year for many reasons, but it was because of those trials that I was able to evolve into the person that I am now. Let’s go into 2017 giving all we’ve got to give.