Now that the surgery is over and the stitches are out, I’m cleared to head back to outpatient therapy. I’m pleased to announce that therapy is going well. I’m finding that I’m regaining some of the abilities that I had lost. I can taste most foods now, for example, which is rather exciting. I like food. Being able to taste makes eating much more enjoyable. My sense of balance is slowly starting to return. And my level of endurance is growing. Much of my therapy is concentrated on these physical things. I go to therapy for about eight hours a day, and usually three to five of those hours are focused on physical therapy.

So, it’s sorta like going to a gym for the brain-addled.

In any event it seems to be helping. I feel better, both physically and mentally about myself. I feel like I am improving which is doing wonders for my self-esteem.

And the haircut helped.

Friday, after I had the stitches removed I treated myself to a haircut. I had the rest of the crazy neurosurgeon hairdo clippered off, so that all my hair is a nice neat eighth of an inch long all the way around my skull. I haven’t had hair this short since I was in high school and we would shave our heads for the big championship meets at the end of the year.

Anyway, I like the haircut. Probably most of my like for it comes from my dislike for the crazy buzz saw haircut I got in the operating room. That one just had to go.

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I had my stitches removed, today. Other than some minor tugging, it was over rather quickly. I also got the OK to go back to therapy on Monday. And for the first time, I can now get my head wet without worrying about where the water might be going. We talked briefly about the few symptoms I’m still experiencing, but by and large my neurosurgeon was quite pleased with my progress.

Hopefully, today’s plan will take me to a barbershop that will trim the rest of my hair down to a length similar to what was buzzed for the surgery originally. I think that will help a lot towards making my haircut less freakish. — Plus, the idea of having two-length hair, with one section being the giant middle of my skull and the other being the periphery, does not sit very well with me. Just something to sort of clean it up and make it look less monstrous. That’s all I’m really asking for. I don’t want to be Riff-Raff.

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I was released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon after a successful surgery the Thursday previous (February 24th). My neurosurgeon determined that the cause of my mind-splitting headaches was a build-up of fluid inside my skull caused by the original injury and decided to perform a procedure to drain this fluid and reduce the pressure it was causing.

This was all fine and good, but I must tell you that the sensation of having someone apply a power drill to your skull while you are still awake is one of the most bizarre things I have ever experienced. For my trouble, I now have several new scars, a very strange haircut (they had to shave a lot of my head to get to where they needed to go with the surgery) and a couple more Burr holes through my skull. — As you might have gathered, the procedure was done under local anesthetic. I was not unconscious, and talked to the surgeons as it proceeded, to let them know what I was experiencing.

The good news is, the headaches are gone. I have not had any of the very intense and aggravating headaches from before since this procedure. For that reason, alone, I consider it a tremendous success.

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My neurosurgeon has looked at the CT scan I had done last week and concluded that the cause of my incredible headaches for the past three weeks is due to continued bleeding and fluid pressure build-up, inside my skull. After long negotiations with the new world Illuminati, Whirl was able to convince various insurance companies and medical shops that treating these headaches is a good idea.

Treatment will include going to the hospital to have the fluid pressure drain replaced in my head for about two days. I had this procedure done immediately after the accident, and the drain stayed installed for about nine days while I was in a coma. I’m not entirely excited about this possibility, but that’s just the way it goes, I suppose. If they do away with the headaches, I will count the procedure a success. Let’s just hope that is in fact what happens.

Not that I remember a whole hell of a lot of this, but the story goes that late last month while Whirl was away in Washington state, I decided to spend some time with my friends. First I spent Friday night with Princess FixIT and Farmboy up in Roger’s Park. We watched some TV and played some video games and had some really yummy pizza from a place I have missed since I lived up that way.

Saturday, I spent over in Wicker Park with my friend Mick. That was also quite fun until the moment came that required me to go home. On the way to the train station, I was struck violently by a bicyclist. I suffered several skull injuries. Police came within a few minutes and took me to the hospital. (I have no memory of any of this, and have sort of pieced the narrative together out of versions of the story from others.) Anyway, after about two hours, I was in surgery. They put a drain in my skull, doped me into a drug-induced coma, and stuffed feeding and breathing tubes down my nose and throat. (I’m not sure if it was in that order, or what, but I had both.)

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