An Outing A Day Keeps The Blues Away

I've felt a bit down this past week. It could just be normal, seasonal "blues"...but it's more likely a result of my recent concussion. Yep, some girls just have all the luck.

Last week I returned to my field placement after a small, but wonderful Thanksgiving break. I had a delicious meal with my family on Thursday and headed up to Rochester on Friday to see John's family. It was a long weekend full of food and family; I never wanted it to end. But on Monday morning I was actually excited to get back to work. I couldn't wait to see the kids and to hear about their holidays.

Every day at about 12:30pm the students in Miss Rachel's "morning class" take a seat on the blue rug. They're tired from a day full of playing and each one anxiously waits for their parents to trickle in. I sat down on the rug to help zip up some coats and before I knew it, there was a 4 year old girl charging toward me with arms wide open. What was meant to be a goodbye hug turned into a catastrophe, as my head slammed backwards into the corner of a bookshelf. Suddenly my vision was blurry and the pain was overwhelming. If I were a cartoon character, I'm pretty sure there would have been little birdies circling around my head.

My amazing supervisor brought me to an urgent care department where I quickly developed a fever. The fever stumped them, but I know my body all too well. My autoimmune conditions have taught me to both expect and fear any kind of fever, but I'm sure it was just my body responding to the shock. They called an ambulance to take me to the hospital where I stayed for the rest of the day. My amazing mom drove up to be with me and, since John was still in Rochester, she also spent the night to make sure I was safe.

Prior to this concussion, things were going very smoothly. I was happy and settling into a weekly routine, Most importantly, I finally had my health under control. Now I'm dealing with daily headaches and fatigue, as well as severe and sporadic migraines. Although things are slowly returning to normal, the whole event really threw me for a loop - both physically and emotionally. It's normal to feel "off" after a hit to the head (there's even something called post-concussive syndrome). I could feel myself slipping into sadness, and was determined to fight back against it. I had come too far to go down without a fight.

There are days when a trip to the grocery store or a walk down the street is as much as I can manage... and that's okay. Be it a stroll through a nearby park, a trip to the coffee shop, or a quick visit with a friend, I've found that leaving the house when I'm feeling down is essential. It's easy to stay put when you're feeling crumby or sad, especially with the winter months setting in. But if you're anything like me, it's best to keep moving. An outing a day can be life-changing, so fight back against those blues. You'll thank yourself for it later.

Love,

Maya