If you’re checking in for my monthly update on my recovery from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, you’re in the right place. Today marks the 17 month-mark in my journey.

17 months ago I was laid out in a hospital bed with little-to-no feeling in my arms, legs, face or hands, and worried if I was going to be like that the rest of my life.

Yesterday I played catch with my son at the local ball fields. Twice.

That’s definitely a good thing, but I’m still not all the way back. I still get numbness in my arms and face, and sometimes my legs when I overdo it. My left eye still jumps when I try to focus it on something close up, especially first thing in the morning. In general, I have less energy than I did before I got sick. I’m not yet cutting my own grass, and I wouldn’t dare go hiking in the mountains. Going to the ball field is about right for what I can comfortably do, right now.

I worked from home at least 3 days a week in June, and not commuting helped save energy. But I also tend to be a lot more focused when I’m working from home, so the intensity of my work goes way up, meaning the energy usage is a bit of a wash. I also was treated to another chest cold (which I am still recovering from) and that has sapped my strength the last week or so. It was one of those colds that wakes you up during the middle of the night coughing, so not only was I sick, I also couldn’t sleep well—a nice double-whammy.

I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve been working pretty hard, both for my day job and on writing. I’m still in the middle of editing Nowhere Wild, and am on-target for finishing the edit by the end of the summer if all goes well. But by the time I ‘m done work and writing at the end of the day, my eyes are shot and my brain is tired, and blogging just has to wait.

One change that will be happening in July is that I will be getting another prescription for my glasses—one that I will now be required to wear all the time. It’s a progressive lens: one part of the lens is for daily wear, one is for computer work, and one is for reading. I’ve noticed that I’ve been straining my eyes quite a bit just walking around, and I hope that my eyes will thank my for relieving that stress by using less energy.

I’ll be returning to my normal 4 day a week commute starting tomorrow. That makes me a little nervous, as I’m not feeling as energetic as I want to be today because of the chest cold. I’ll take it as easy as I can this week, and try to find the right pace to keep things going, and healing, despite the increased energy requirements.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Have a great week!