Self-portrait of sorts in reflection of a sculpture in a Vatican courtyard.
After waking up in a hospital after being unconscious for about a month, I began putting together what happened and the effects, I started to try to get back in touch with people , I texted a special friend with the message that it could take awhile to “get better” and her response was something to the effect of nothing stopping me from “being better”. The perspective shift was welcome at the time. I had so much hope that there wouldn’t be long before I could rejoin my life as it remained paused. It was probably about a year into recovery that it hit me that whatever “new normal” awaited me would be a full and total reboot and restart from scratch. What an opportunity to both design a new and better life! Despite the shock of realizing that most everything about my old life was gone, there was a strange optimism to starting over again with a fresh perspective. Halfway through 2019, I still find myself trying to reconcile what the new normal and next chapter holds for me. Despite my disability, I have my health. Lots of people live productive lives with disabilities more than mine, and it’s pretty likely that I will live with disability for the rest of my life. I still have a stubborn sense of hope that I will continue to see gains in my recovery and continue to gain abilities to gain independence and get back to some of the activities that are so meaningful to a life my own.
After waking up in a hospital after being unconscious for about a month, I began putting together what happened and the effects, I started to try to get back in touch with people , I texted a special friend with the message that it could take awhile to “get better” and her response was something to the effect of nothing stopping me from “being better”. The perspective shift was welcome at the time. I had so much hope that there wouldn’t be long before I could rejoin my life as it remained paused. It was probably about a year into recovery that it hit me that whatever “new normal” awaited me would be a full and total reboot and restart from scratch. What an opportunity to both design a new and better life! Despite the shock of realizing that most everything about my old life was gone, there was a strange optimism to starting over again with a fresh perspective. Halfway through 2019, I still find myself trying to reconcile what the new normal and next chapter holds for me. Despite my disability, I have my health. Lots of people live productive lives with disabilities more than mine, and it’s pretty likely that I will live with disability for the rest of my life. I still have a stubborn sense of hope that I will continue to see gains in my recovery and continue to gain abilities to gain independence and get back to some of the activities that are so meaningful to a life my own.