The last few weeks have been busy getting ready for winter, and then the thanksgiving shenanigans aswell.
Thanksgiving went better then I initially thought, being in a group setting I feel like I easily get over stimulated by all the conversations, the new environment and then the kids too. But when we left Joshs family, I was tired yes but I wasn't as burnt out as I thought I was going to be which is kinda surprising but super good! It was so nice to be around his family, and Ava loves her cousins so much, I'm so happy that they live close enough so they can have a relationship!
The weekend before that, Josh and I left Av with my parents and we went for a rzr, the last time I was on a good ride in that thing was before the accident, we took it out for a quick close ride in October when he proposed to me, but that ride was definitely hard, all the trees passing by and so much to look at and everything was moving what felt like was 100km an hour but it was actually doing 30km which then made me sad because we usually do do like 80, so I was kind of skeptical about how this ride was going to go, but that too went so so so good, we were gone for about 8 hours but it was so much fun, and it felt so good to get outside and hangout with friends and actually feel like a normal person again. Yes it was a huge day and I was wiped out when we got home, but I had a good sleep that night. We've also started going to strong start, which gives Av some time to be social with other kids and learning new things! They offer it basically all week, but I've decided to break it up and do it on Fridays, keep it as a treat, then I have all week to rest up and prepare myself for it. Av had so much fun the last time we were there, it's definitely over whelming when you first get there; new space, new environment, new faces, lots of kids but after a bit we got comfortable and she got some playing done and even made a couple new friends. I'm really loving this mom side of me honestly, she's so much fun. We unload the dishwasher together, we clean together, we do laundry together and dance while doing it, it's the best feeling In the world knowing you have a mini best friend.
We're a year and 3 months into this and I think we've finally have come to a spot where we've just adjusted to the new normal, and we're just living our lives now, we've learnt how to adjust and break up our days and weeks to what I know I can handle and won't get wiped out for days on end, also big too because I've stopped labeling myself as the brain injured girl. I am finding though im still SUPER sensitive to noise, and get really over stimulated when there's too much going on in one room, for example my husbands phone is on loud the tv is on medium the dogs barking and the babies crying, I get so worked up I just snap. And I'm finding that that hasn't improved. So a bit ago a friend brought up "loop ear plugs" to me and I didn't really think twice about it, I figured how could having ear plugs in all day be safe? But the last few days, I've actually looked into them and I have to say, I definitely misjudged them. They're the coolest thing I've read up on and I think they could be an awesome tool to help me with my noise overstimulation issue. I was so excited about this product that I did actually buy myself a pair. They should be in this week and I am so hopeful and excited about this! I'll link the website so you guys know what I'm talking about! I went with the loop engage option, so I can have them in and still be able to be apart of conversations and they'll block out the background noises, or I can wear them daily at home and it'll just turn the volume of all the background noise down just a bit especially when Ava's crying, it lll make it all alittle bit less overwhelming I think! I'm so hopeful!
I also had my appointment with the cognitive health coach through "well brain". It was definitely something I'd be into, she supports living with brain injury and helps you just get adjusted to your new normal. It's a 6 month program and she gives you tools to keep forever! I'm definitely into doing this later on in my journey, as for right now we're still prime healing stages so I don't want to take on too much and overwhelm myself! She's definitely a great resource and she's helped give me tips on how to navigate holidays and how to manage myself at family gatherings. She also hooked me up with a support group that meets once a month for moms struggling with head injuries. It's called concussed moms, it's US but she said that I can join it and be involved through zoom which is EXACTLY what I have been looking for. So all in all that meeting with her was so so great and so helpful!!
As for my impulsivity issue I've been struggling with, that seems to have let up a bit thank god. But it's only because I've been sleeping a lot more then I was when it really acted up. My doctor recommended that I go see a counselor, he said it's not like your regular therapy where you go and talk about your feelings and how that makes you feel, but it's more to go and chat about what makes it worse and what makes it better and to give me tools to help learn to control it. So I start next week, I'm a bit optimistic, but we'll see how that goes!
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