Hi Everyone,

This has been a challenging year. Unfortunately, Corey’s had several setbacks and each feel like we’re going UP the Down escalator.

Corey had her first set back in the beginning of the year. She was having trouble swallowing and we discovered her right vocal cords are partially paralyzed. We’re not entirely sure what caused that to happen. As Corey says, “It’s a mystery to me”!

June 1st, a 911 call for “an episode” the Doctors could not clearly diagnose. It was either a suspected seizure, or could have been a possible mini-stroke. The residual effects for Corey’s movement and speech have us leaning towards stroke. She’s still a bit slurred, especially when she’s tired, but when she slows down, she enunciates well. She’s lost movement in her left hand and arm, and she had some minor drag to her left foot.

Unfortunately, we caught covid in August, and in September another 911 call for a severe breakthrough seizure; according to the latest research, breakthrough seizures appear to be linked to covid in people with an epileptic history.

On a lighter note; while in the hospital waiting for tests, Corey (feeling hungry) asked me if we ate dinner. I jokingly replied, “No, you chose to have a seizure instead”. She looked at me with a small grin and said, “Poor choice”!

This year has been hard ~ ‘early days’ hard. I was struggling with the composition of this update and asked Corey what we should share. We looked at this year’s list of activities and trips, along with every new ‘challenge’. She was quiet as she processed and then added, “it has been a hard year. I’m frustrated when I can’t do things. I don’t like being confused when I don’t know what’s happening or can’t remember things. However, no matter how tough it is, I refuse to give in. One step might take me backwards but I wake up and keep trying. We keep learning new ways to help me. And we still get to do fun things together. It really is growth in the end, which is all I want”.

Once again, she grounds me. Yes, this year we’ve ‘learned a lot’ from the challenges that were painful, stressful and overwhelming, but we also have to celebrate the humor and the moments of joy we’ve had along with those struggles. It’s all part of growth.

Our mantra remains steadfast ~ NEVER GIVE UP and NEVER GIVE IN xoxo