A series of postings written up at the Palo Alto Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto CA, where I moved for about two weeks afer some days at Stanford University Hospital, entered in the grip of alcohol poisoning and also alcohol withdrawal syndrome (prominently featuring the tremors of withdrawal, the famous shakes).
It turns out that an assortment of afflictions i had attributed to other causes were actually facets of alcohol poisoning. I have now largely emerged from this fog of disability, severely damaged but in overall shape better than I have been for many years. (I am pushing the positive here, as I strive to recover what I can and work around what I cannot).
The crucial fact is that the shakes have vanished (though I still occasionally shake from the morning cold of my glacial hospital room.) As a result, I can write up more or less legible commentaries on my experiences — subject only to the proviso that my handwriting has always been problematic, especially when I’m in a hurry.
Those commentaries are severey stripped down, almost entirely to plain text, largely without links of any kind, or any sort of interesting formatting; one of my cognitive defects is the disappearance of knowledge about how to achieve these things, though I’ve already been helped to recover some of this knowedge. Here I insert wild cheers of gratitude to the therapists at the rehab center, who are the truly bright point at the place (don’t even ask about the food). They brought me along, fast, from grave disability to facility at many things, and provided me with work-arounds for the more intractable stuff. In addition, I enjoy observing people performing their jobs, and in this case I got to see how the various therapists achieved ther goals — a whole new sphere for me, even as I was the object of their efforts.
I can stand on my own two feet and walk across a room (though for safety’s sake I have promised to use a walker for support). I can learned to assess my new cognitive deficits and find ways of coping with them, in good spirits. All of this is a gift from the rehab center’s therapists, and I am immeasurably grateful. And, yes, they are also very nice and interesting people.
In any case, as I said, this is a bare-bones project. The postings are dated — the dates are of when I wrote them up in my notebook, not when I originally conceived of them. I will present them in still another order, according to my whims of the moment.
Perhaps someday, when I become more secure in my posting abilities, I’ll be able to supply some of the bells and whistles. But for the moment it’s pretty much the barest of demonstrations that I’m Not Dead Yet.
The postings:
— 0. The rehab postings [this posting]), from 12/4
— 1. Memory gaps, from 12/3
— 2. On the orientation questions, from 12/2
— 3. It’s always 4 a.m., from 12/4
— 4. Pee-shy no more, from 12/2
December 5, 2020 at 5:54 pm |
So great to ‘hear’ your voice, AZ. Who needs bells and whistles?
December 5, 2020 at 6:29 pm |
It is so good to see you again.
December 7, 2020 at 10:45 am |
Just digging in to the new posts. As far as the bells and whistles go, nobody at all is going to be bothered by their absence. I know that the design of your posts is to you a significant part of presenting your work, but your writing, your voice and style, are as deeply engaging as ever. I’ll be thrilled when you’ve relearned the relevant techniques, but for now, I’ll enjoy the essays unadorned.