Wednesday, June 27, 2007

An Adventure Log!! Fishing in ACK (Nantucket)!



We flew out to Nantucket (ACK) Friday morning, instead of Thursday night, due to the local Thunderstorms. The flight was great, - very picturesque. We flew from Brainard Airport in Hartford to ACK, then we got picked up by our friend's parents and we drove to their great, modest, house on the South end of the island, Madaket. Saturday, we caught (raked) many clams and we had some great meals; linguine with clams, clam chowder. We went fishing Monday (though we got shut-out the previous two days). Casting with the right hand is strong, but reeling with the left hand has poor feel (lousy motor skills). I look forward to trying to perfect my fishing touch, in my old stomping grounds (Hammonasett, Duck Island, Kelsy Point)!!!

Monday, I caught 3 bluefish, from shore, alone (except Lynn clung to my shorts so that I would not loose my balance and fall in). We cooked up (Cajun) some fillets and served them as sandwiches!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Thanked the NKC church congregation for their prayers and support

On Sunday, June 17, 2007, I attended church service at North Kingston (RI) Congregational Church, near the home of my brother-in-law, Scott, his wife Sharon and their 3 boys (my nephews). S&S, some 1,5 years ago, had asked their congregation for their spiritual support. I attended church to allow the parishioners to meet me, the evidence of their thoughts and prayers.
The below text was prepared for delivery, but the portion I presented was limited to the BOLD, text.

…… Introduction by Scott Alemany, then I spoke….

There are many people here to whom I am indebted. Thanks to your generosity, having been requested by Scott & Sharon, to say prayers for me, their brother-in-law, whom many of you had never met. I am thrilled to get this opportunity to, personally, say "Thank-you". I can never express my gratitude. I can never say "thank-you" enough- for your thoughts and concerns. I am one fortunate soul to be standing here in front of you, today.
Thanks!!!!


The remainder was prepared, but, not presented……

Back in the days much closer to the accident, that caused my Traumatic Brain Injury, it felt as if I was in a dream state and I have a very poor memory of the details of those days. But, now, being somewhat recovered, I am much more aware of my surroundings and the reality of what actually occurred to me has taken-hold. I realize that the time will not come, when I awake from "this nightmare", but, everyday, I am, actually, living in "REALITY". Recovery has become a "double-edged sword", because I realize that I will "someday, but, not immediately" regain the "unfortunately superior" intelligence, that I can still remember, so well, that I can almost taste it. And the same can be said of my past athletic successes and my past ability to earn money.
Today, while I would like to maintain memories of the enjoyable times from my past, the same memories are also too painful because they haunt and terrorize me about how different life is today relative to "life before TBI".

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Documentary Premiere (Planned for Release)

We have decided to host the documentary premiere (see Archived article, "Filming of A Documentary") here, on our lawn. We have scheduled a rain date in consideration of potential rainfall (inclement weather). We plan to hold the premiere at dusk, inviting attendees to bring their own picnic dinner and their own lawn chairs. The video will be projected onto a large screen, typically used for presentations. At this point the date has been set for Friday, July 27, with the rain date set for Sat. July 28. We plan to mail/email formal invitations, but if you do not hear from us, please contact me here!!!

We plan to return to Italia (to properly say "Ciao")

We plan to refresh our Italian language before we return to Italy in the Fall. We evaluated the programs offered by 2 language schools, Inlingua, and Berlitz. While I was employed at P&WA, I successfully took language lessons from Inlingua and my language skills progressed until I was nearly fluent, so I am a bit biased. We selected Inlingua over Berlitz based, mostly, on price. The Berlitz price was nearly double that of Inlingua, and the difference in the service and the quality of instruction does not warrant that discrepancy.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Do I Need More Suffering?

I had a knee arthroscopy surgery scheduled for Monday, June 11, 2007, to “clean-up” some “floating bodies”, such as cartilage and bone fragments. I hope that this surgery eliminates some of the intense pain I have been experiencing in that joint. I have had 2 previous arthroscopic surgeries on the same (left) knee. My training partner and triathlete friend, Dr. Dan Veltri, is doing this surgery and did one previously (about 2.5 years ago, although my memory is blank on this particular event) and he (Dr. Dan), having seen it, first-hand, before, is convinced that the current damage was exacerbated by the traffic accident that caused my TBI.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Living with a TBI - Updated 5/07/09

Here are some notes on what it’s like to be me.

-My "motor-skills" have noticeably SLOWED, especially on the "impacted" side /areas affected impacted during the TBI-causing accident (Left Side)
-My past life returns to me in flashbacks
-There are definite moments when my intelligence returns
-I’m frequently cold
-I have a memory of about 10 seconds in duration
-I have very little patience
-I behave as though one who experiences O.C.D. might (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
-I’m very irritable
-It feels as if I always have food stuck in my teeth
-I feel as though I’m experiencing life on the outside of a fishbowl, looking in
-I can't eat hard foods, such as crusty bread
-I can't eat "hot" food, both in temperature and spiciness
-I prefer to have food heated up in the microwave, not in the toaster
-It's quite easy for food to "go down the wrong pipe", making me cough
-My existence seems surreal
-I aggravate my friends/family and they, fortunately, tolerate me
-”Healing” is a double-edged sword; realizing my enormous improvements is marvelous, but realizing how much further that I can improve is overwhelming. I realize the differences between the “before TBI state” and the “after TBI state” and it's quite saddening.