Slice of Life/Travel Blog
by – Sheri de Grom
I lay on the cold concrete and wondered how I’d managed to get there. No pushing or shoving had been involved but I’d fallen hard. Did I dare move? The entire right side of my body, the side that had been injured far too many times, took the total impact of my full body slam.
It wasn’t good. I knew that immediately. For once, I didn’t care who saw me on the unforgiving cement. I had to be still and check in with all my body parts.
My neurologist wasn’t happy with my latest fall, especially since I’d had the same experience almost one month before and I’d lost consciousness with that fall.
It’s been a week since that last fall and I’m still in recovery. This fall cost me a cracked collar and shoulder bone (right side of course) and my right hand and arm refuse to be civil. They already have nerve damage. The swollen areas on my head are slowly reducing in size and my neurologist snubbed me today as we passed in the halls of the medical center. (We have an interesting relationship. Often we sit side by side in his office doing research on any number of topics from how to mix the soil for his garden, how to raise the necessary money to bring our soldiers’ dogs home from Afghanistan or the latest in home design. Sometimes we research the latest findings in Traumatic Brain Injuries but he knows I already do that on my own).
If you’re interested in reading about my thoughts and relationships with former Traumatic Brain Injuries, I’ll place the index at the close of this blog.
I’m on first and I must take care of us (Tom and myself) but not by moving at neck-breaking speed on my way to living life.
I also thought about the thousands of veterans diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and how their lives have changed forever. It angers me that the commanders of our warriors returned them immediately to battle without down time for rest and recovery. It’s impossible to recover completely but with the appropriate amount of rest and quiet it lessens the amount of permanent damage the head trauma causes. Unfortunately, the injuries caused by each TBI are cumulative and once you’ve had one you are more susceptible for additional TBIs.
With love and appreciation I move on to the purpose of today’s blog.
I’m now a proud member of the ‘traveling blog’ and one of my all time favorite activities is to share the terrific talents of fellow bloggers. The traveling blog is not an award, it’s the opportunity for each blogger to write about their writing process and to pass the torch onto other bloggers they’d like the blogging community to meet.
I received two such nominations back to back and received permission to accept both and away I went. I know we all think this blogging world of ours is crazy wonderful or we wouldn’t spend so much time reading, liking, commenting, following, thinking about what we might want to write, consider how much honest research might be involved and then send our creation out to the world.
When I read a blogger’s ‘travel blog post’ I know I’m in for a real treat. I know I’m automatically going to receive the cream of the crop with the bloggers’ recommendations.
I was first nominated by Hunt Mode of http://chasingrabbitholes.com. I started following Huntie immediately upon reading my friend Tess’ blog at http://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com. Don’t let the title of the blog throw you. I’ve never missed one of her blogs since I started following her. Give Tess a limit of 50 words and she’ll give you back a complete story. It never fails. You’ll also encounter the stories of her recent trip to China.
Huntie talks about her need to write with freedom and not to what she calls writing to ‘order.’ The government officially retired her this past April and I have an idea we’ll be seeing some amazing writing on http://chasingrabbitholes.com. A special thank you from me, Huntie. Thanks for having faith in my blog and especially for being willing to get to know each other.
Marie at http://writingwingsforyou.com also nominated me to the traveling blog. Marie believes healing takes place each time we set a pen to paper. It’s the creative process that allows us to set ourselves free of demons that remain within. Marie covers a wide range of topics as she continues to work with young students and by assisting her father with Alzheimer’s disease at the same time. Through our creations, Marie believes, we will arrive at our destination of contentment.
My second requirement is to nominate a minimum of six blogs I find especially gratifying and that I enjoy each time I visit. They are blogs wherein I have thoughts to take away plus enjoy their beauty and willingness to be honest.
Gallivanta at http://silkannthreades.wordsmith.com was the inspiration for my blog this past week. Her blogs are among the most beautiful I’ve read and her food photos are among the best I’ve seen. There’s a refinement in the placement of her blogs and a literary quality. Her city has been destroyed by four large earthquakes and 12,500 aftershocks since 2010. Gallivanta writes of the truth and once I was introduced, I couldn’t possibly turn away.
Reagan at http://bluestockinghack.wordpress.com is to my delight more of a blue stocking and I haven’t found anything on her blog that qualifies the ‘hack.’ Reagan is pursuing her graduate studies and checking her summer reading list is enough to make some quiver. She states her goals upfront and with conviction. Not only does she want to contribute to great literary scholarship and research, she also wants to write teen fiction. Reagan’s is a name to watch.
I started following Inese at http://inesemjphotography.com after seeing a series of photos she’d taken wherein fog was a major contributor. I was hooked at once. I visited her fog photos on a regular basis telling myself nothing else would compare. Once I started checking her other work, I knew I was seeing real art in photography made complete with her love of language. Inese’s postings go far beyond being a photo blog. I follow several photo blogs but Inese has the most varied of any I’ve seen.
I found Barbara of http://thedeparturelounge.co as a result of following Huntie who nominated me. Barbara’s lyrical writing should be set to music, it’s that good. Her subject matter of COPD is dire but the words she wraps around it never cease to amaze me. I’ve always given myself credit for having a good grasp of most diseases, although from the legal-defense end of medical malpractice while at JAG. Barbara’s blogs are not only informative but entertaining. She inspires me to become an advocate for all individuals with COPD. How can you not read the blog of someone who proclaims gongozle a lost word and one of her favorites?
My heart is still, I have the opportunity to travel down memory lane when I read and communicate with Emily of http://beefandsweettea.com. Emily’s photos first caught my eye and when I started reading her blog, I knew I was coming home to visit. Emily is the real deal. I’m forever pointing out “drugstore cowboys” to my husband and there was no place in my blogging world for anything less than real.
Most of you know that I grew up in the Flint Hills of Kansas and had I gone home after college, I would have become an 8th generation Kansas farm/rancher’s housewife.
I scanned Emily’s about page and there it was – a 5th generation beef cattle farm in the Southern United States. Emily knows the industry but more importantly for a woman on a working ranch/farm is to know the culture and embrace it. It’s these stories that Emily tells so well that always return me to my roots.
Last and certainly not least is Andrea at http://harvestinghecate.wordpress.com. Andrea’s blog is all about creating. Her blog has wonderful insight into creative writing that’s fresh and new while she’s actually on a walk with her dog. She writes with both knowledge and grace about the wonders of nature and brings each blog to life with her own photographs. Andrea’s writing invites the reader to look closely and take nothing for granted, especially if they are a writer.
Thanks for reading with me and I do hope you’ll check out the two individuals that nominated me and the six individuals I’ve nominated. They all are deserving of your attention.
I’m supposed to tell you about my writing process in this blog but I’m leaving that for another day.
TBI SERIES
Traumatic Brain Injuries – The Aftermath of Memory Loss
Traumatic Brain Injuries – Fifty Five Years of Memory Stolen
Traumatic Brain Injuries – No Fault of Their Own
Traumatic Brain Injuries – Do We Need To Bring Back The Draft
Traumatic Brain Injuries – My Story
Sheri Lawrence de Grom 
So sorry to know about your fall, Sheri. Hope that you’ve already fully recovered as I wrote this comment in your blog
Chris, I’m doing much better, thank you.
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Sheri, I’m sorry to hear of your injuries. I hope you carry on you a life alert necklace and cell phone at all times to summon help if you find yourself alone. Independence is so precious and greater measures to ensure safety will not hem you in but release you to maximize your independence. God bless you for your kind promotion of others!
Jan – Oh how I love my independence. I’ve spent so many years taking care of Tom I neglected to really unravel some of the mysteries that were going on with my own body. I’ve thought about getting a medical alert tag and Tom has even made replicas of the tags in both gold and silver for military men and women. It’s a good thing I married a master jewelry designer and one that can actually make what he designs because I’m allergic to anything less than 18k gold. I may have to get serious about the cell phone. After being on call 24/7 for 20 years, I’m not fond of having the phone tag along with me. However, you do have a valid point. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and they are valid. I do want to maintain my independence and that means I have to take extra caution now. Thank you.
I’m so sorry about your falls and wish for a speedy recovery!
Thanks so much for your kind words. I appreciated them so much. We missed you here and are glad you are back.
I can’t wait to read all the bloggers you mentioned! What a sweet treat. But I will have to do that on Sunday, because we are walking tomorrow. Please take good care of yourself.
Marie – How nice to see you. Is the hectic end of year behind you? How’s your father doing? I’m still really sore and not dashing madly about yet but the garden gives me the peace I so desperately need. Thanks for stopping in.
Ok finally breathing and enjoying my family. I had a quick visit with my dad and created some wonderful memories, mostly by enjoying the journey along the way.
I feel your peace through your mage Sherri. Hugs
Dear Sheri. I cannot add anything new here. So sorry to hear you have fallen. Hope you’ve healed and are doing better now. I remember reading this post and then being called away for something or other. Sorry it’s taken me this long to comment. I’ve since read a couple of newer posts and something wiggled in my memory so I scanned my inbox and here I am.
Thanks so much for the shout out. I’m tickled but you are much too generous. You are a marvel at having everyone’s best interests at heart. I hope you move yourself to the top of the line. ❤ ❤ ❤
Tess – I always come away from your blog feeling better for having been there. How could I not pass your name along to fellow bloggers who have not experienced the pure joy your blog so often plants in my heart on a bi-weekly basis. Through you I’m learning about China but most important, I’m met some marvelous new blogging friends I picked up from your blog. You couldn’t have done a better job if you had said “I’m picking these bloggers for Sheri to become acquainted with.” Along with you, each gives my heart a reason to sing and afternoons of rejoicing when I make the time to sit down and visit my virtual world. The thanks goes to you, my friend. Sheri
Can I give you a hug. I’ll be gentle and not bruise you anymore than you already are. You are amazing in that you find the good in everything and everyone. How lucky am I to have crossed paths with you? I guess we all learn different things and share others all together. ❤ ❤ ❤
Sheri, I so hope you are all right, since I haven’t heard from you lately. My best wishes and prayers sent your way. Inese
Inese – Nothing other than life being a tad bit crazy. Sometimes I’m away from the computer for a few days at a time, especially if Tom has several medical appointments back to back. Thanks for checking in. I always appreciate hearing from you. Sheri
My prayers for you too, hope Tom is recovering well.
Thank you, Inese.
Rest, recuperate and recover! Please! You are so very valued my friend, as is wonderful Gallivanta! I have noticed in life that it is often the kindest and smartest people in life who face the biggest challenges. God doesn’t give hard trials to wimps! If only I were a wimp!!!! Maybe you and I and Gallivanta can get together and figure out a plan on how to become wimps????? Then maybe our lives will become perfectly placid????
Cindy – Placid, that’s not a word that comes to mind when I think of either you or Gallivanta. Funny how life works out. Give me a butcher block of paper and some felt tip pens and I’m fairly responsible when it comes to drawing up a game plan for results. Thanks for stopping in, you know I always appreciate it. Sheri
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Thank you for including me in your journey. Your praise is so kind. Treat yourself gently.
Gallivanta – It’s always a visual and literary feast to visit your blog. Your lovely combination of prose and words are a feast to celebrate.
Hi Sheri,
I hope you are feeling better! It is amazing how your experiences resound with so many. It is wonderful that you bravely share them.
And, thank you so much for promoting me on this post! I have continued the tradition. Please come by and check out some MUST READ writers I have connected with on WordPress!
http://bluestockinghack.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/paying-homage-wordpress-writers-you-need-to-know/
Thanks again,
Reagan
Reagan – Thanks for continuing the ‘travel blog.’ I’m looking forward to checking out those you’ve promoted. I trust your recommendations without hesitation. Sheri
So sorry to hear about your fall. These things take quite some time to recover from. I hope you’re soon feeling better.
Laura, Yes, thank you. I’m actually starting to feel human again.
Sheri, so sorry to hear about your fall, I hope you’re recovering and send you best wishes for your recovery. Thanks for the lovely introduction to my blog and for introducing the others to us. I’ll look forward to reading the post on your writing process! (Having a little trouble passing on the baton, but as soon as I find a relay team, I’ll pass it on!)
Andrea – I’m privileged to have a full-time professional writer willing to accept the travel blog. I really wanted someone that wrote full-time and although your schedule is jam packed and it seemed everyone has already gone through this exercise and similar ones, you were willing to take the challenge. There’s no problem with waiting until the time is right for you. I’m learning much about myself in this blogging world and in the process I believe I’m becoming much less rigid. Rules are simply guides in this instance. I gave myself extra time to write about my writing process plus I felt so awful, I wrote about that instead. In days gone by, I would never in a million years told anyone how I actually felt. I would have followed ‘every rule’ and smiled all the way. Thanks for accepting the baton and we’ll be here whenever you are ready. Your blog is so full of wisdom and grace. I often feel I’m on vacation in a botanical garden or tropical forest and have the most knowledgeable guide anywhere. Thank you.
Oh Sheri, thanks for those wonderful comments, but I’m not a full time writer yet – I still work full time and write outside of work! I know what you mean about the rules, when I started blogging I felt as though I had to follow each one, but you realise it’s much more flexible than that. Hope you’re feeling much better.
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
I JUST WENT INTO A PANICKY “SLIP” ON A DRY BATHROOM FLOOR (IN FRONT OF A WITNESS)…I’M A NATURAL KLUTZ! 🙂
Thanks for the reblog, John. This was a nasty fall and it made me really take notice of the situation. The others have been nasty but this one left me more shook up than most. I still feel it and we’re almost 2 weeks out.
I’m sorry to neglect your suffering by an inadequate comparison. Here’s hoping the pain goes away…and you take care! 🙂
Think nothing of it. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, when can we laugh. I’ve found it takes a tad bit longer to get over those hard falls than it did in my younger years.
Sheri, how can you do so much after such a serious fall? I do hope you are recovering. You are as resilient as you are remarkable.
Sheri, from the start you encouraged me when I didn’t feel very esteemable. (You can feel useless when you’re breathless).
I called my blog ‘ The Departure Lounge – Life with Copd’ because I am in end stage disease, but being ill is only part of my identity. I am partner, sister, aunty, and friend.
Funny, two older, wiser, foxy women have been my mainstays; firstly the UK astrologer Penny Thornton who dared me to blog and secondly you, Sheri de Grom from America, who told me to keep writing.
I hope you keep writing too, and singing. Thank you for recommending my blog.
Yes, anyone out there, please drop by The Departure Lounge (http://thedeparturelounge.co)
I don’t know when my flight will be called, but a chat while I wait is more than welcome. I like strong tea, milk and no sugar.
Barbara – My dear friend. We’ve only known each other such a short time, yet I feel as though we’ve walked into each others skins and taken up residence. There’s something about writing that connects our souls and your writing is so very special. I’m so grateful Penny dared you to blog. If she had simply suggested or said you might enjoy meeting new people you might very well had blown her off with a flip comment. You’re good at such things, aren’t you? But, being the mainstay in your life that she is, Penny knew she would have to ‘dare’ you for you to start blogging. I also hope new friends flock to your site. Your words are placed masterfully upon the page for all the world to see.
There’s indeed much singing to be done and words to write before anyone takes a flight home. Sheri
Ok Sheri, no flippancy here: March 2014, looking back I think I was depressed, not just blue. For 15 or more years I had been stoically enough dealing with Copd. I’ve tried every trick in the book to stay alive, but I was in the red zone and it was nearly game over.
After organizing the music for my funeral (Audrey Hepburn singing Moon River), I was a wraith waiting to die. The long goodbye to my beloved Frances became unbearably painful. I had inflicted my illness on her and now I would break her heart and leave her alone. She is only 54.
Then one of our two precious 18-year-old cats died. I could no longer garden. I needed oxygen and was embarrassed by the nasal cannula. People stared and I am a shy person. From inside, I watched holidaymakers swimming, playing tennis and beach cricket and insouciantly enjoying a life that I had long ago surrendered bit by painful bit. For a Pisces not to swim . . .
I was too frail to have guests stay so my family from New Zealand couldn’t visit much. We could no longer have an open fire in winter. My clothes, once fashionable, wouldn’t fit me and I bought cheap track suits and flat shoes, because what’s the point of spending money. I weighed just 5 stone and wore little boy’s shorts.
Friends dropped away because I was unreliable, and also at a very different place in life to them. I would often cancel arrangements because I was unwell. Invitations dried up and I was glad.
For some reason I got a terribly severe form of this lung disease from a very early age. I never thought life was fair, but I just couldn’t cope with being redundant. I’d overcome childhood poverty and a lack of education to make my way in the world, but when I should be earning the most, I was a threadbare pensioner. A non contributor for the first time.
Still, I felt I had unfinished business, but what?
I wrote to Penny Thornton begging her to tell me if astrology could guide me?
She was so kind and encouraging. And I cry just thinking about her generous response. I could never afford her fees and she gave me a free reading and a telling off. Told me to get off my duff and write.
So a blog was born – The Departure Lounge — and then I met you.
To be continued . . .
Barbara – Because we are at that place in the life of a specific blog where a lot of bloggers won’t see your comments, I’m going to ask you to take what you’ve written to me and turn it into a blog. It could easily make 3 or 4 blogs. I also know the loss of friends calling and slowly they fall away. We would make plans and then the day would come and Tom wouldn’t feel up to doing anything. He only wanted to stay in bed. Often times it was physical illness but other times it was mental. Like your friends, ours started falling away. I stopped going to writer’s meetings I’d once enjoyed because I was afraid to leave Tom alone and after 2 to 3 years, it turned into my being a full-time caregiver. I no longer go to the meetings.
I know of the other losses of which you speak. The ones that make us feel good about ourselves and joyous to be alive. The ones that convince us we are capable of doing anything in the world, be as successful as we dreamed and more, and conquer whatever is put in front of us. I too love high fashion. There’s something about sliding a lined linen sheath over your head and have it fall gracefully over your hips and hug your body in just the right places. I cried when I took my 3 inch red leather heels to Salvation Army. They were the last pair to go. I remembered the hundreds of nights I had danced all night in them after wearing them all day at work. I no longer own a pair of heels, my feet have too many metal plates in them.
It’s a given that clothes, jewelry, leather bags and other luxuries are not necessary for our self-esteem but once you become accustomed it’s hard to let them go.
I now challenge you to return to your blog and tell the world what you’ve told me here. I know your pain and we’ll help hold each other up.
I hate the fact that you have an even more dreadful form of COPD, it’s like Tom having his liver destroyed by lithium when that’s the treatment of choice for bipolar disorder. No one guaranteed us that life would be fair but still . . . I want a million more songs around the May Pole . . . and you, my friend are included in the dancing and singing.
Now, get busy and write. Sheri
Sheri, I am so so sorry you took a tumble. I know that can be quite stressful. Please be careful, and if there is anything i can do let me know. Also thank you for the leads to other bloggers I already had a couple on my follow list, but I am forever searching for inspiriation, and it comes from the most surprising places. Please my dear friend take care. Bill
Hi Bill – Is it to much for me to expect that I will remain on my feet at all times. I really am getting tired of this mess of taking such nasty falls. However, after talking with one of Tom’s doctors yesterday and another one today, it seems I’m coming by way of the falls honestly. Guess I’m going to have to stay on softer ground or something. Thanks for stopping by. Sheri
I come to you with love Especially for You much happiness and good health transmits the iubire.Va want a magical evening and a good night sleep and blessed.
Godspeed for your recovery, Sheri. I appreciate the reminder to slow down a bit.
Perusing this lovely blog list will be so enjoyable. And, thank you for the nomination!
eg
Emily – Yes, slow down, indeed. I just read a white paper review regarding Traumatic Brain Injuries and one that is classified as a moderate concussion can lead to life long damage.
You are more than welcome for the nomination. Your blog is a site for all interests.
Hi Sheri again I have learnt so much from reading your post. I am sorry to hear you’ve injured yourself again, you have enough on your plate already. As for the award congratulations well deserved and also for the mention of the other bloggers. I love let’s cut the crap as you say Tess is a marvel with words. The others are new to me so I shall check them out.
Be well Sheri try and keep upright , I know you are also main carer for you husband Tom so you need to look after yourself as you need your strength . Tell me why do we always injure our already weak spots… Sods’ law!! Never mind Murphy. So thanks for being there and sharing and take care…. or more water with it ! 😉 hugs for now. Xxx xxx
Hi Willow, I’ve yet to figure out why I always hit my head when I go down for a nasty fall. It’s no fun and they really scare me. I’ve also had all the broken bones I’m allowed plus some. However, when balance is a major issue, I’m not sure how to remain upright all the time.
I hope you check out my nominations for the travel blog. I enjoy each of the bloggers and hope you will also. Sheri
Thank you Sheri I am sure I will. I have had more than my share of broken bones but I am sending you steadying thoughts!!
Thank you, Willow.
Bless your sweet heart, Sheri. I’m sad to read you took another fall. I hope all the love coming to you from us out here help you heal fast and feel better. Take care.
Paulette – I told a friend the other day that I probably shouldn’t write about my fall because then everyone is going to think nothing good ever happens around here. It does, honest. The ugly thing about having cumulative TBIs is they build on one another and you lose more of your balance and everything else with each one.
Thank you for dropping in and cheering me on. I’ve tried to take it slower this week. Sheri
I think of you often and I’m so sorry to read of your fall. I’m always wishing you and Tom the very best.
PLGCM – Thank you. A few nights ago I was roaming around on your site while at a coffee bar at the medical center. I came across some links I wanted to listen to and put my ears on for my iPad. Soon, someone wanted to know what I was listening to and then others wanted me to share. We had fun talking and drinking coffee to your preselected music for us. Thanks. Sheri
Sheri, I am so sad that you are once more in pain from your recent fall. I hope you feel better soon. Love the links to your traveling blog. I must admit this is the first time I’ve ever heard of it. Someone needs to post it on FB also to get on more “walls.”
Get well soon 🙂
Hey, Florence. How are you? I keep telling myself to slow down and to remember that I’m no longer 30. Do you sometimes have days when you are going about your business of getting things finished up and forget you are moving faster than you really should, especially for the whatever the environmental conditions are? I bet you do. The swelling is starting to go down but I still look as if I went to the bull fights and the bull won.
I also thought the travel blog was great but the same as doing awards, it takes tons of time. I felt honored to be included and I’ve definitely met writers with high quality blogs along the way.
Sheri, I know exactly what you mean. I don’t tell my age, but let’s leave it that I am way past the eligible age for Medicare 🙂 Slow and steady still wins the race !!
Sheri, what are we going to do about you? I’m so sorry you fell AGAIN and on THAT side. Interesting collection of blogs! Thanks!
Hi, Jane – Some things you can compensate for and some things you can’t. I guess balance is one of the issues I’ll always have problems with. I like to think I’m being careful and then, bang.
Each of the blogs has something different to offer. I love the variety and quality of each one.
Oh Sheri, you scared me… You must be still in pain… Who is taking care of you? Like the Veterans you are writing about you too need a downtime. Sending you good vibes. Thank you again for the nomination! Even being in pain, you still think about others. I wish you a speedy recovery!
Inese – I look at pain as relative to the remainder of my life. I could give in to it every day but then I wouldn’t have a life. I much prefer living so I will slow down and repeat to myself that every item I wish to accomplish is not a expectation of anyone but myself. Bill at http://dealingwithcopd.wordpress.com posted an excellent essay last week about the expectations others place on us and the expectations we place on ourselves. His blog really hit home with me and has provided hours of looking inside and contemplating that indeed, I am my own worst enemy most of the time. Sheri
I forgot to mention, I tried twice on the inesemjphotography link, but couldn’t get it to work.
G.P. – Thanks for letting me know. I thought I’d checked them all out before hitting my send button. Elese’s blog is one you definitely don’t want to miss. I’ll paste it in to this reply.
http://inesemjphotography.com/ I hope this will work for you. I grabbed her comment tag above and that led me to her link. I hope the copy and drag will get you in. Elese’s blog is one of a kind. Sheri
I kept your injuries to myself, I knew you would talk about them when you were ready. I visited the sites you had linked that I don’t already follow and found them very interesting, Happy to see you’ve improved enough to write a post this size – you’re a strong woman, Sheri.
G.P. Thanks for the vote of confidence. This blogging world is special to me and I hope you find blogs within my list that you truly enjoy. I was shocked when I looked at the length of the blog and I didn’t add pictures. Sheri
Best wishes for healthier days ahead.
Thank you, Robert. If I could keep my feet planted firmly on the ground, it would contribute a great deal to the quality of my health. Unfortunately, with each TBI I lose more and more balance. Each time I see someone riding a bike or motorcycle without a helmet I want to insist they watch a film of what happens to their brain each time it slams into their skull. It probably wouldn’t change a thing – anymore than the campaign on driving and texting.
I’ve fallen twice. On both occasions I blacked out and fell, not the other way ’round. First time I dislocated a shoulder and split my head open, bleeding like a stuck pig all over the outside foyer of this building. Taken to hospital by ambulance. Second time only damaged my right shin. Taken to hospital by ambulance anyway. On both occasions the fall marked an indescribable loss in my life: (1) my husband and (2) my beloved second-eldest sister.
Terrifying, all that. Stress-related, of course – as yours probably are, under the circ.s, Sheri.
Hi there, M-R. How are you today? Life is moving along a tad bit slower than normal for me but I’m not allowing myself to move far away from any wall or something substantial to hang onto.
Yes, your falls definitely sound stress related to having gone through a major loss. Mine stem back to a major vehicle accident the first year we lived in DC. We were broadsided and my head went thru safety glass along with critical injuries to the remainder of my body. Since that date, I’ve had constant migraines, can’t stand bright light, am often nauseated and dizzy and the list goes on. I simply try not to think about that accident because I become angry when I do. Previous to the accident I ran ten miles every day and with that accident, everything came to a complete stand-still. I have enough metal in my body to set off the sensors when I fly and have to carry medical documentation with me. When I step in the x-ray machine, I short it out. I’ve learned to accept the TSA personnel just don’t get it when I tell them I have documentation they might want to read before I step onto the little platform. Long story short, I put the x-ray machines out of commission for a couple of hours along with their wands and everyone else gets to have an evasive pat down!
Bloody mindless. Infuriatingly so. Makes me grumpy to read about it.
As does what happened to you, Sheri: I hope you don’t reflect too often on how you used to be …
Difficult not to, sometimes …
Margaret Rose: Nope, I haven’t time to reflect on how it used to be before that terrible car crash all those years ago. If I did, the rage alone would kill me. I’ve done a lot since that fateful day that I can put a check mark on the good side of the page.
Wonderful positivism !
Sheri, you have my full support. Kindly let me know how I can be further your assistance. Sorry to hear of you injuries Sheri and I wish you a speedy recovery. God Bless you. I am here for you!!
Mihran – Yes, I know you are available with a simple telephone call. I’m all smiles when I read below that your CD is finished. I had planned to write and ask when you’d have more music available for me to enjoy.
Has the CD gone into distribution? You are so talented, I can hardly wait. I’ll send you a message and thank you for being such a great friend and of course the address for the CD. Thank you so much. Sheri
Sheri – I have a very short message for you – This is a very special surprise for you!!
Sheri, you kept quiet until now about this fall and past fall(s) you’ve taken. I know exactly what you mean when you said you had to just be still and do a body damage assessment. The first thought, “What just happened?” followed immediately by that instant shock of “Oh God, how bad is it?!” I will say prayers that your healing is swift.
I am so glad to see you followed through on this traveling blog – though it is the first time I’ve heard it referred to as such and I like it! All your selections look fantastic and I am pleased to say I am already familiar with some and agree entirely with you.
Great job! I look forward to reading the rest re the whys of you writing. 🙂 Huntie
Hi Huntie – Thanks for checking in with me and for commenting of course. Sometimes I simply have to concentrate on not falling to move on and get over the past incident. Falling always makes me angry at myself and yet I know it is not my fault. I do need to slow down and limit the number of things I try to do at one time.
The travel blog took me a while to organize but once I started rolling it wasn’t that hard. My mind was really in one of those wandering places and thus I ended up with a long blog.
Thank you for nominating me so that I might pass it along to some oh so deserving people. Sheri
Dear Sheri, after reading through all the comments, I realize I missed earlier reports of falls, especially under your page of TBI. Will follow up and read.
Way back in 1975 or so, my astrologer, who became my teacher and mentor, told me that my brain was moving faster or slower than my body and that when I started having accidents, it was a sign to slow down and pay attention to my surroundings. It appears not only do you have to remember to slow down, but to look for environmental supports, i.e., a wall. You know, I think you are not alone even if the reason is different. I think, when we know we are vulnurable – whether from back pain or COPD, we begin to understand the need for situational awareness, so maybe we look for places to sit down or shopping with carts we can hold onto…. My heart is with you. xxoo HuntIe
Dear HuntIe: Isn’t it amazing that we tell ourselves to slow down and then seem to forget how to accomplish such a simple task. I find myself racing through an excellent read because I have so many books in my to-be-read stack and I’m positive they’ll all be excellent. Not only that, thousand’s of excellent books are being published every day. The same goes for blogs to read and write, roses to plant and dead-head, medical journals to research, legislative issues to keep up with, is Tom getting the best medical care and the list goes on and on. I used to drill situational awareness into my staff so often that I became tired of hearing the same discussion over and over. It seems perhaps I need to remember the same information is valuable today. Thanks for being here. Sheri
Sheri, laughter – exactly what I wrote in my journal today. Good post material. Maybe. Grin.
Reblogged this on mihran Kalaydjian and commented:
I STUBBED MY TOE ON THE WAY TO LIVING LIFE
Mihran – Thank you a million times over. I haven’t seen your blogs lately. They must have fallen out of my reader. I must investigate. I appreciate your support.
Sheri – I am glad I heard back from you. If there is anything I can be further assistance, don’t hesitate to let me know. I would like to mail to you a copy of my new cd. Could you please kindly email me your mailing address?
God Bless you and let your day shine for you.
Mihrank – Coming your way:) Thank you, Sheri
Any Time Sheri – our home, heart and doors waiting for you!!
Thank you.
Hope you heal quickly!!! Thank you for your inspiration. It matters!
Thank you.
Sheri, i can identify with this totally as i used to suffer blackouts and have had a few nasty falls in my time; luckily, they’ve stopped – for now – but i understand this pain and fear all too well. Thank you for sharing this, thank you.
john
John – Thank you for stopping in and reading with me. Yes, falling like this is the pits. I never seem to have an easy fall. When I go down, it’s a full body slam. Sometimes I blackout and others I don’t. I did learn a lot yesterday and today, from my husband’s doctors, about the falls and why. It seems to go along with all the nerve damage. I’m having a hard time visualizing myself as a wall huger but that beats another slam to the body and especially the head.
Sheri, I’m so sorry to hear of your fall and injuries. I will be praying for you, and I’m not just saying that. Speedy recovery and take care!!!😀
Levi, Having read your blog and being a follower, I know you are not ‘just saying you are praying.’ Prayers are always appreciated. Thanks a bunch. Sheri
I hope you are doing better. I shall continue to pray for you. Thanks for keeping in touch!!!😀
Still have the nausea and am dizzy much of the time. I’m ready for those symptoms to go away. Thanks for checking in.
Hopefully very soon!!!
Sorry to hear of you injuries Sheri and I wish you a speedy recovery. The traveling blog sounds like a great idea I wish I was more of a writer than a visual photo blogger. It sounds very cool. Have a great evening and rest up 🙂
Hi, Joe. Who says you can’t start a traveling blog for photographers. Inese from above features her photography and it’s always a blog I don’t want to miss. She’ll be posting next Monday on her writing process. She does a great job of laying out how she takes on the project before she turns it into a blog.
Bloggers start new awards all the time and I see absolutely no reason why you couldn’t start a visual photo blog that travels. My suggestion would be that you include at least one photographer that adds text along with their photographs.
Obviously those of us that are non-photographers follow visual blogs and enjoy them very much.
I’d be happy to send you the info you need to start a photo visual travel blog. Just let me know. Sheri