Slow Down Excitable Girl

Back in the day, classic rocker, Warren Zevon, recorded a tune called “Excitable Boy.” While it wasn’t the mega-hit that “Werewolves of London” was for him, it stuck with me and I have often been what I call an excitable girl. If the truth be told, I’ve never had a lack of enthusiasm.

I have always done things quickly. My mother says I take after my father like that. Until the surgery forced me to become far more aware of each movement I make, I was on auto-pilot, able to multi-task with the best of us. I love to cook and was a wiz in the kitchen. I was the owner of my own company, juggling clients, contractors and service providers all on a shoestring budget. I love a fast pace.

My brain tumor was in the right frontal lobe, directly atop the nerve center for my left side, specifically my left hand and arm, and just touching the area that controls my left leg. Surgery effected both limbs deeply, leaving my leg very weak, my hand paralyzed and my arm with a mind of its own. This excitable girl had to learn to slow her roll!

I fell down, both literally and figuratively, more than once before I figured it out. Initially, my plan was to have the deed done, be walking in two days and headed home in less than a week. I’ve been wrong about plenty in my life but never ever THAT mistaken. Nearly a month of inpatient rehab later I went home with a wheelchair and a walker.

I have wondered a thousand times what the big lesson is...what am I to learn from all of this? For one, I had to learn that being an excitable girl can be risky. I’m not saying I don’t get enthused and start dropping things or stumble, I do. The difference is that during this journey and every day ahead, this excitable girl has to learn a new way to express the thrill and excitement of life. Mainly so the rest of me doesn’t fall down.