I'm always wanting to try new things, and I saw a pic somewhere ... probably Pinterest.... of a string art project. What I really liked about it was that the string was strung in a semi-random, carefree way. Most string art that I have seen is very.... structured. Beautiful, but certainly not random. I decided to go the random route. I didn't want to sit there and calculate and measure and follow a pattern. I just wanted to wrap some string around some nails.
My favorite part of this - the nails.
That part of the process is very significant to me.
The last day that I worked before surgery, I had to leave after just an hour and a half. I had already had few days when I left early or had to call in sick because of seizures and/or headaches, and they have always been very understanding and accommodating. Best bosses ever.
So on this particular day, a big slab of granite in the lobby was being replaced. How do you remove the old granite? With a sledgehammer, apparently. Breaking up a piece of granite with a sledgehammer is LOUD! It's loud enough to give anyone a headache. For me, it felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my skull. Picture a cartoon character about to pass out, with stars swirling around over it's head. That was me. I was told later on that my face turned as white as a ghost.
The noise literally made me sick, and I had to leave. I don't remember much about that day, I mostly just remember the excruciating pain in my head, and a feeling of almost panic - like 'I've got to get home, NOW!'.
I had to call in sick the next day, because I just couldn't get ready for work. I think I was having small seizures. The following day, I had an MRI, and the next day I got a call from my Neurologist's nurse, asking me to come in the next morning. This was by far not the first MRI I've had, but I've never been called in so soon after one. And I could tell by the sound of her voice that it wasn't good. The first thing that I heard, bright and early the next morning, "we're concerned about this area here, and this excess fluid, and want you to see a Neurosurgeon as soon as possible.".
My condition deteriorated very rapidly from there. I had been sick for a while, but not sick like I was shortly before surgery.
Sooooooo..... back to the nails - turning up the music and hammering nails into a board without a care in the world was absolutely fabulous to me. I loved that I could do that without seeing stars or turning as white as a ghost.
And I have a new, *positive* memory of a hammering noise... granted, it's not as loud as a sledgehammer breaking granite, but still...
I am finding that I have a much greater appreciation for simple things like hammering nails, today. I guess a serious illness reaching a crisis point can have that effect, when you come out on the other side of it. It has for me, anyway.
