What I have been up to..

On Saturday, January 23rd I went to my little sister, Rachel's cheer competition. She is on her High School Varsity Squad. They did really good! Above is a picture of me and her after she had competed.



Last Sunday I taught the lesson to the yw laurels class in my ward. I made Valentines Day cookies for all the girls. I am so glad because last Valentines Day I was stuck in bed, unable to talk, walk, or move at all so ANYTHING will be better than last Valentines Day and making some cookies would be near to impossible! During the surgery to remove the AVM they had to remove a part of my cerebellum. Here is a little health class for ya, something I never cared about before until now. The cerebellum is located at the base of the brain and controls balance and coordination. The right side of the cerebellum controls the right side of the body and the left controls the left side unlike the rest of the brain that controls opposite sides. The cerebellum is unique because it’s actually is considered its own brain and is called the “small brain”. Since a part of my cerebellum was removed, all my motor skills were affected and since it was on the right side my right side was even more affected. During the first months after the operation I had severe ataxia. My right arm was super shaky and uncoordinated. I remember in the hospital I tried to open a wrapper and kept dropping it because I could not hold onto it. Then one time I tried to clap my hands but missed them both completely. I remember the first time I tried tying my shoe it took me a ½ hour because I couldn’t hold onto the shoelace. Well, I wanted to just give you a little piece of my experience so hopefully this gives you an idea.