One year on…

Wow. One year on from life-changing DBS surgery and life has certainly changed. I am currently all charged up with my electrodes pumping a constant supply of dopamine producing current to my Basal Ganglia:-  Which controls movement but also  cognition, motivation, learning and other functions.

As such the life of this ‘up and coming, progressive principal’ has been flipped on its head. This crucial part of my brain that I have been able to rely on to support others in need now flares up with jerky and embarrassing movements, compromising my ability to support those around me and as such compromising my identity as a school principal. 

Social anxieties, depression and the like, that I have always had the luxury of being one step removed from – always able to coach others, though in reality  not fully understanding – are bizarrely now part of everyday life. It truly is the strangest of sensations knowing the right thing to think, but having my brain decide otherwise. 

I have a great family, I have great friends. God truly only knows what I’d do without you.

I guess some learning for us all in these crazy times is to remember and appreciate the importance of human contact. That innocuous message; that simple thought, that turns into a random phone call, can be so much more powerful than we could possibly ever know. So, call that friend, text ya mum, or share the joke with your colleague; it might have no impact, or it might have more impact than can be measured.

Peace.

Todd.