Yikes I didn't realize that I haven't posted in so long!

I did formally withdraw from graduate school. It was too much and was causing so much stress. I noticed an immediate improvement in my symptoms once I didn't have to think about homework, studying, due dates, etc... Definitely the right decision! I can resume classes in the summer with no fall-out. Thank God for that.

Otherwise I have been so-so. I haven't had any real improvement in symptoms, but my ability to do sustained mental effort is improving bit by bit. Where I might have been wiped out after 90 minutes of real effort, now I can do 2-3 hours. I still have a lot of issues but I consider it progress. My sleep is so-so... I can't quite sleep through the whole night, but I have been falling asleep right away. I am trying to avoid marathon sleep sessions on the weekends, and have noticed an improvement with that by placing my pink-noise generator app on a timer instead of simply being on. When it turns off, I generally wake up. So, that has been a good way to limit over-sleeping.

I took a long walk about two weeks ago at a brisk pace. I walked for about half an hour. I returned home, feeling good, but I was dizzy. I remained dizzy for over 14 hours; got little sleep that night and of course that wrecked my next day. I wasn't very steady on my feet and felt like I had to look at the ground the whole time I was walking. I didn't realize that I was so unsteady. My eyes were darting around and I couldn't help but constantly check the ground to look for obstacles. Not sure what is up with that...

Hmm... what else... Reading is still a challenge. I told my family that reading is a bore because the words are just on the page. Before my accident, reading was a lot of fun. I could "enter the story" and become the character, envisioning myself as the words flowed through my subconsciousness. Now I just read words on a page and can't quite imagine the scene. So, I don't read much... But, I do enjoy movies again. That, and documentaries, or anything with very high emphasis on the visuals. Audio is just lost on me so I hardly follow dialog. That has been a strange thing to realize, but I am adjusting.

Not sure what else to say really. I am just moving along. Seems like my recovery has slowed down a lot since my last update. Kind of on cruise control right now. Thank you all for your continued support! you rock!