Hello.

I'm finally feeling like myself again! I'm not me without my work. I started working as a social worker for an Adult Medical Daycare, and there I really fit in......many of my clients have had strokes. I also got back to doing counseling on Mondays and Fridays, and I work in Baltimore City with the homeless, those in drug recovery, etc It reminds me to have gratitude for the way I'm living my life. I'm living on my own, in my house, and with my dog Paz. I get help from a guy friend (datingdisabled.com) about once a week just to do heavy lifting and stuff around the house, and of course my mom's still there to help. I get my groceries delivered. My depression is almost gone.......no further bouts of crying. But that's come and gone my whole life.

I just re-entered therapy, because I was approved for medical assistance, thanks to Maryland's Employed Individuals with Disabilities program. Both my PT and OT have noticed nice changes since I've been gone for the past six months, but I knew they would.

I'm back to the online dating world, and as I suspected, my profile draws in a lot of people recovering from various illnesses. As usual the online dating world is full of good things and disappointments, but I love meeting people, so that newness is good.

My walking is good, but it's not like regular walking. I've accepted......over the past year and a half, that I'll never be what I was. Tough pill to swallow. My arm and hand are making slow improvements, but I haven't exactly been committed to my Saeboflex, the robotic arm device. My OT will whip me into shape. I am very comfortable saying to new people "I've had a stroke," and accepted my new identity, but it was certainly a slow process. One good thing that I noticed I was able to do was put my right hand up on the steering wheel and steer! So excited!

So that's what's been going on in my world! Hope you all are healing. Whatever happens, remember your blessings.