One month ago today. August 10, 2014 will be a date that I will never forget.

Over the past four weeks I have felt more pain than I ever thought imaginable. I have felt helpless. I have laid in bed several nights slowly breathing through my nose and out through my mouth in an effort to fall back asleep while it feels like someone is drilling into my shoulder(s).

Day 29 - One Month Ago

Though I have been out of surgery for at least two days, today has been the first day where I have fully felt like myself again. That might be because of no crazy heart racing issues or maybe it's because Laura is only a few inches from me (even though both of these constants were yesterday as well). I have spent most of today just resting in bed. I did get out of bed and walked around the floor with my in-laws encouraging me to slow down several times. 

Day 35 - Recovering From Brain Surgery

Though we expected to be home by tomorrow, we were able to be released today - both awesome and hard work wrapped into one. That meant a flurry of doctors and nurses coming in throughout the day. It also meant IVs, heart monitors and other medical devices being disconnected. Finally, it meant a number of additional medications being prescribed to take home with us. 

Day 36 - Back Home 85+ Hours After Brain Surgery

Since I couldn't bend myself in bed like can be done in the hospital, I woke up throughout the night with my hands falling asleep again. I've gotten semi used to it. It still is annoying because it causes me to wake up several times throughout the night. 

Day 37 - Back To The Shoulder Pain

Though it was hot (and we don’t have air conditioning), I would mark today as being the day when the frequent naps that I had been warned about started kicking in. Several people who have either gone through brain surgery themselves or have taken care of someone that has gone through it warned me about this.

Day 38 - The Day When Frequent Naps Kicked In

It had been over a week since I had gone and it was post-surgery. My shoulders were considerably tighter, taking longer to stretch out and gain range of motion. That was a painful process to work through. It was actually probably the tightest that I have been since starting physical therapy a few weeks ago.

Day 39 - And Back To Physical Therapy We Go

On August 10th, 2014, I had two tonic-clonic (grand mal) seizures, one of which would shatter both of my shoulders. These seizures, as they would later find out, were due to a brain tumor that was in the frontal lobe where the motor skills strip and speech pathways are.

The Day That Changed Our Lives Forever

Understand why being adaptable in your life is vital when facing adversity.

Why Being Adaptable Is Vital

Gratitude will help you to handle these experiences and feelings. They will help you to reframe them hence working through them faster. Additionally, gratitude helps us not to take anything for granted because we understand how quickly it can all be taken away from us.

What You Can Learn From My Dream About Gratitude

So often we focus on whether we’re an extrovert vs an introvert. While it’s important to understand what type of person we are, at our core all humans are social creatures. Additionally being introverts aren’t the only individuals who need solitude in their lives. We all need alone time whether we realize it or not.

Why We All Need More Solitude In Our Lives

This discusses a recent fear that I experienced due to the SCU Lightening Complex fire and my thoughts on others who are feeling the same way due other similar events.

Experiencing True Fear

Built Unstoppable is a blog with regularly published articles that help you improve your life. These are the audio versions of those articles for those who would prefer to listen instead of reading.

There is also a weekly podcast where you'll learn practical, helpful tips for achieving your greatest potential, both personally and professionally. Every episode features a guest who shares their experiences, learnings, and unique talents in 30 minutes or less.

Also included is the 545 day journey that the author, Justin Levy, documented as he went through recovery from bi-lateral fractured shoulders, brain surgery, chemo, and onto epilepsy.

Built Unstoppable

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