Stuff

I love history, ancient history - Egyptian and Roman especially.  If  it's not 3000 years old, I'm not that interested.  I read about it, watch documentaries, and google for new discoveries found in Egypt.  While in TO we walked past the Art Gallery of Ontario.  We were 19 days too early to see Tut, so I took pictures of me with his poster instead.  Cheesy, I know.  But if I was there on Nov 24 when he is, I'd be foregoing shopping to see his treasures for sure!!!

Outside the AGO was a great status of Anubis.  I was in heaven, for an entire city block!

Other than history, I enjoy a wide variety of things:  riding motorcycles, reading, crafts, cooking, baking, taking and teaching aquabics, and being with my family and friends.  There is no one more important in my life than my family.  I'm blessed with a loving husband, great mum, my brother and his family, my grandma and papa and my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and brothers-in-law.  (God bless my father-in-law, we miss and love you!)  My best friend Ruth lives 1,600 km away, but when we're on the phone together and when I traveled to visit this summer, it was as though we haven't been apart a day.  My husband and best friend share my love of motorcycles and are part of the reason I ride.  In fact my bike was bought from Ruth.  Unfortunately this summer I found it harder and harder to get out on my bike.  Some days just getting it off of the patio was enough to drain me and then to ride, I was exhausted.  It was disheartening.  I may only ride a hundred km at a time, but this summer I even found that hard.  I noticed the strain in the back of my neck, my shoulders were tighter than usual, my hands went numb quicker than normal, and after riding I was a limp dishrag.

My other activities are somewhat affected as well.  Work, crafts, aquabics, cooking, baking, even housework depend on how I'm feeling that day. There are plenty of days I'm fine, I can do everything.  But if I overdo it, I'm often in pain, or in bed, the end of that day or the next.  And I hate it.  I'm very independent and to not be able to do the 101 things I'm used to doing by myself is taking it's toll on me.

I still haven't made up my mind about surgery.  I've been reviewing my journals from 2006 through now and I'm trying to make a list showing how many headaches I had per month, whether they were induced from exercise or activity, and whether or not I had to miss work or an activity.  I didn't keep as detailed a journal about my headaches as I do now, but there are lots of references to migraines but at the back of my head, pressure and pain after working out or working in the garden.  So it is there.  Some details of the Chiari even before my diagnosis this summer.  Unfortunately, I don't have journals prior to February 2006. Or I could have had a larger data pool.

On days like today, where I had to leave work at 1:30 and crawl into bed at home with an ice pack, I want to have the surgery and make it all go away (hopefully, God willing!!).  But when I had such good pain free days on Monday and Tuesday, I don't want the surgery because I don't want to have any complications or be any worse thereafter.

I'm still weighing my options... Think...think...think...