Reflect on why you write about your health for 15-20 minutes without stopping.
First, I must comment that none of these challenges are possible for me to write in 15 or 20 minutes. I might have been able to do that in the olden days but now.. EVERYTHING takes much longer!
I did not start off writing a health blog. I did not even start off blogging. I made web pages!
I discovered the internet about 14 years ago and it was love at first "site". I used some online forums and figured out how to open my first web page about 4 months later. I wrote about family activities, and I even had a little pretend mouse village web page.
Soon after I opened a web page to showcase my elderly father's poetry. The pride he felt in that web site was incredible. He wrote poems about how things used to be in the olden days, but a pivotal poem of his was about the impact of landmines. We put a link to an organization that would donate money to help remove old landmines if you clicked. My dad was dying of congestive heart failure and he was proud to make a difference about an issue that touched his life. The ability of an individual to make a difference using the internet became crystal clear to us with that page.
In the years that followed I enrolled in a community college program with the plan of becoming a web designer. I found the design part of making web pages to be very exciting and a highlight was working with a student team that designed an early web site for a major charity. It felt wonderful and I was so proud of our group.
When I got sick I started to keep a diary file on my computer. My short term memory and executive brain function was very compromised so I needed to make a lot of notes in order to remember anything. I was also supposed to keep track of a lot of health related issues so I rolled it all into one daily log. I remember more now, but I also do more so I still need to keep a record in order to be organized and to remember the details of my life.
I opened this blog when I decided I wanted to think about wellness and recovery. I had a huge variety of issues going on with my health however I wanted to be positive and talk about getting well, even though I really did not expect to survive at the time. I also wanted to talk about how our community resources can help us cope.
I did not really expect anyone to read my blog back then and I was writing for myself. I wanted to record some of my experiences and I was trying to use writing as a way to sort out my feelings. I have since discovered a community of other bloggers that share similar experiences. What a wonderful support team they have become and I am grateful to have those wonderful people in my life.
1 comment:
Sharing your experiences helps others going through the same thing to realize they are not alone, that they are not the only one going through trying times. You are an inspiration to those who may not have achieved your level of recovery, giving them hope that with a lot of hard work, they can regain their memory and better mobility. I know it hasn't been easy for you to do, but I am sure there are a lot of other stroke victims out there who will benefit from the words they see here on your site. Well done! :)
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