[Intro Music. Vincent Tone - New Summits]
In today's video I'm going to talk about some of the best and worst things that
happened to me in 2017. Before we get into this video please make sure to give
this video a thumbs up if you liked it, subscribe if you're new and be sure to
check me out on social media - all my social media links will be in the
description below. So first I'm going to start off with is the best thing to
happen to me in 2017. The first thing that happened was better pain management.
After living in Chronic Pain for 8 years I finally was able to get my pain to a
tolerable level and have a doctor that I could talk to about my pain. I had never
had that, I had never really been to a pain management doctor who took my
concerns of my pain seriously and actually helped to treat me. So finally
after living with Chronic Pain for eight years I was finally to see a pain
management specialist while it's not a cure and I'm still in pain most days
it's certainly much better than it was and I am so happy for that. For so long I
was in excruciating amounts of pain. My daily pain level was anywhere from a 7 to an
8 sometimes it would be a nine, and now with the Lidocaine IVs my daily pain level is
anywhere from a five to a seven. So I think just that in of itself really tells
you that I was able to get better pain management and that my pain is much more
tolerable for me. I do believe that my pain management could become better
in future, hopefully I will be given something that will help me with more
immediate pain instead of Toradol, because unfortunately the Toradol really
doesn't help for my immediate pain, I still need something for when the pain
is really bad because I still do get bad days. The next best thing that happened
was I started going back to see my Naturopath. I really hadn't seen my
Naturopath much in 2017 and I really wasn't doing much when it came to Lyme
Disease treatment. But this year I went back to my Naturopath and I was able to
get on a new protocol to help address, not my symptoms but to kind of
bring my body up to scratch, really support my body, and support it in ways
that it needs it. I am currently making okay progress with my protocol, it is
taking me kind of a while to really listen to my body and kind of figure out
how my body reacts to the protocol, so it is taking me a bit longer than expected,
but um it's going none the less. The next best thing that happened to me is I got
a MacBook Pro. I'm really not one to brag but I did get a MacBook Pro this past
September, I actually made a vlog on it and that is up on my channel. And
honestly you know, I couldn't be happier. I wanted to have a - well technically I needed
to have a new computer for such a long time. I will say my sister had to lend me
all of the money because of - on the limited income that I am on it probably
would have taken me about three years to save up to get the MacBook, which is just
ridiculous. But I couldn't afford it so I am very slowly paying my sister back. But
thank you to my sister for lending me the money so I could get my MacBook. Of
course you guys would see now that I edit my videos with my MacBook, and I'm
able to caption my videos with my MacBook so, my MacBook has proved to be quite
valuable and has really made my productivity go up big-time.
The next best thing that happened was I was actually able to get out and go
places this summer quite a bit. Usually during the summer we don't really do
much, and usually it's because I'm in a lot of pain, I don't feel well, and
really it's just a crappy summer. But this summer my family and I actually got
out and did quite a few things - definitely a lot more than we usually do.
So, for example this summer we were able to go
to the wildlife park, I was able to go to beach, we went on drives ,we went to the
air show. And yeah, I was able to get outside and take a lot of pictures. I
actually had a pretty busy summer for once, and I actually did things. So I guess
that is good because really I don't do that often. The next best thing that happened
was I took a lot of great photos. As a result of going to so many
different places I was actually able to get a lot more and use my camera, and
take pictures of things. I took a lot of pictures at the wildlife park, I got plenty
of pictures of the beach, um at the air show, and basically whenever I went
outside I brought my camera with me so I was able to take pictures of the cats, I
was able to take pictures of wild flowers, landscapes, you name it I took pictures
of it. So I actually had a pretty productive year with taking pictures, so
I'm kind of proud of myself that I was able to get out more and do that because
that was a goal that I had last year and I fulfilled it, so that's a good thing.
Okay, so now I'm going to move on to kind of the worst and you know, bad things
that happened to me in 2017. I'm sorry if this part gets a little sad and you know,
not all happy because these - life, it really sucks sometimes. On January 29th
2017, Rob Stewart died. For those who don't know, Rob Stewart was a Canadian
Filmmaker, Photographer, Documentarian, Environmentalist, Marine Biologist, and
all-around amazing person. Rob's mission was to save sharks, save the ocean,
protect ocean. Rob is actually quite well known for his documentary - Sharkwater,
and Revolution, which I still believe is on Netflix so you can actually search
those up and watch them - I highly recommend you to. While I personally did
not know Rob, he was a huge inspiration to me. I have said this many times before
but I want it to be a Marine Biologist, I wanted to study the ocean and study
sharks, and you know, protect sharks - that's what I wanted to do with my life,
and of course Rob with his documentary Sharkwater it inspired you know, entire
generations of Marine Biologists. Rob was just a huge inspiration for me. He
was someone that I felt very connected to even though I only ever met him once.
He was just one of those people that was just amazing in every single way, and it
was really hard for me when he died. When he went missing
diving off of Florida, it was difficult. I was hopeful that he will be found, but I
was hoping for him to be found alive, and they didn't find him alive, they found
him just drifting in the ocean about 100 feet below the waves and 300 feet from
where he was last seen. So when they broke the news that they had found him
it was heartbreaking, and I ended up crying for days. I was really sad
anytime I thought of Rob, or someone mentioned Rob, or something of the sort - I
would break down and cry, and it is still very hard for me to think about him, or
talk about him. I still haven't even watched his movies or his documentries
because it's just too upsetting for me. I really miss him, and I really wish he
didn't die so young he, he was just one of those people that humanity really
took a hit when he died because the world just felt so much smaller and so
much more bleaker without him, and I think a lot of people who knew about Rob's
activism or knew who personally will agree with me when I say that,
because he truly was one of those really amazing and rare people. I will admit
that when he died I was - I was depressed and really sad for about a month or so
and it took me a very long time to kind of get out of that, and I still kind of
feel like I'm in that sometimes. I just, I felt so alone and so isolated it was
really hard to go through. And then the next bad thing that happened was one of
my cats dying. Fraidy Cat, he died in March and he died
very suddenly. It was a shock, and I was still just getting over Rob's death so
then to have the death of my cat was just like I had to go through the
grieving process all over again. It was really difficult to go through again, you
know experiencing a death - it's never easy whether it's human or animal it's
always difficult. Um I remember laying in bed and thinking that I'm going to hear
Fraidy Cat's little paw prints come down the hallway any minute and then come
into my room, and jump up my bed and snuggle me. Of course that never happened.
I couldn't believe that my kitty was gone, and I still miss him so much, I wish
I could just snuggle him again. But I can't, and I really miss him. The next bad thing that happened
was my other kitty cat Tazz, he got really sick this year. I
made a Vlog back in August or September talking about taking my kitty to the vet,
which was Tazz, and when we took him to that we learned that Tazzy has an
enlarged heart, he has a heart murmur, and he has thyroid problems - which are all
very serious in a cat and will eventually lead to his death. Even now as
I am filming this video, by the time this goes up Tazzy could possibly not be with
us anymore. So even by the time this video goes up if my Tazzy is gone
I will let you know, because it is difficult to deal with.
When we do take him out to the vet, I do want to be there when he is euthanized,
I was there when I adopted him, and I want to be there with him when he closes
his eyes and draws his last breath. I know that when the time comes and when
Tazzy dies it is going to be extremely hard for me, it is going to be super hard
considering that we lost Fraidy Cat earlier this year, so losing two cats in
one year is very difficult.
The next bad thing that happened is I struggled with
feelings or periods of feeling isolated, I was grieving a lot of what could
have been if I was healthy, and I kind of had some periods of depression and
sadness. So this year more than ever I really struggled with feelings of being
isolated, and kind of feeling trapped, and not having any independence because of
my Chronic Illness and my Disability. I really struggled with this and I am
still struggling with this, and I made a video on this as well. I just feel like I
can't do what I want to do because I am sick, I can't go out and contribute to
the world, I you know can't go out and become a Marine Biologist, I can't even
live on my own. It is very difficult for me to kind of deal with those feelings
and, deal with the feelings of being isolated and you know really not having
any real-life friends - so yeah that's been difficult for me to deal with. And
then along with that I also kept thinking about what could have happened
if I didn't get sick. You know, I could have went to the University of my choice,
I could have become a Marine Biologist, I would be working
toward my PhD, I could be doing fieldwork, lab work you know - just living the dream
that I wanted to live. It's very difficult for me to think about that and
think that I might never get to live that out, I will probably be sick for a
very long time, and I will probably still not be at a place physically where I
would be able to achieve my dreams. And because of this kind of thinking and this
mentality it has led me to feel really sad, and
kind of experience periods of depression - I wouldn't say I was really depressed
um, because I don't want to label myself as having depression when I don't - I'm
not sure if it actually was depression, because it was more like feelings and
periods of sadness than it was actual long-lasting depression. The next bad
thing that happened is I got bit by a Tick. And this happened I think um, near
the end of August. I got bit by a Nymph tick that actually came off my cat. I
took all the precautions but I still got bit, and this was a bad year for ticks
too. But yeah, I did not really post about this on YouTube because I didn't want
to scare people and get them worried. I did post about it
on Instagram though - like as soon as it happened and yeah, a lot of people
freaked out which is understandable because being bit by a tick -- anyone who
lives with Lyme Disease or suffers from Lyme disease that's like their absolute
worst nightmare because it's not just Lyme disease anymore. Luckily I don't
think I experienced any changes in my symptoms, um my symptoms pretty much just
stayed the same - I didn't have any worsening symptoms,
I didn't develop any new symptoms, and none of my symptoms got better or
anything like that. So I am absolutely hoping that the tick
that bit me did not give me anything, which it could have gave me something
and then it could just be lying dormant in my system. When it happened I was, I was
terrified and I nearly worried myself sick thinking
about what kind of symptoms this could give me because I was terrified that
this would either make my mobility worse to the point where I really can't walk
and would paralyze me, or it would give me more cardiac problems, or more
digestive problems, or more cognitive and neurological symptoms, so yeah those are
the really scary ones that I just, I do not want. And the last worst thing is I
started to get a lot more migraines, yay. I have a family history of migraines and
I kind of expected this to happen at some point in my medical journey - didn't
know when it was gonna happen, but I kind of expected it to happen and it finally
happened. So yeah, um I have increased migraines. I get migraines probably about
three times a week, the migraines can last for about three days but the
severity of the migraines - they're really not that severe. I would say they're very
low to moderate, I really haven't had a really really bad migraine yet. Now I
have to deal with migraines which really isn't fun. Like I said I get them about
three times a week, they typically will um be in either of my eyes, they will be
in my occipitals, so I'll be on my head - anywhere's from my occipital up and over,
and then I will get them coming out of my shoulders and my neck sometimes as a
well. So, I technically, I do have Chronic Migraines now but I don't feel
like I should be calling them Chronic Migraines just yet because I don't feel
like they're severe enough to be calling them Chronic Migraines. So yeah, that's
pretty much all the good and bad things that happened to me and 2017. I hope you
guys enjoyed this video. In the comments below, I want to know what was one good
thing that happen to you in 2017, and what was one bad thing that happened to you in 2017.
Thank you for watching this video, please be sure to give it a thumbs up, subscribe
if you're new. Please be sure to hit the notification button down below to get
notified when I upload new videos. All of my social media links will be in the
description below, and I hope to see you next time bye!
[Outro Music. Vincent Tone - New Summits]
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