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Printed from https://web1.writing.com/main/profile/blog/dalericky/day/9-9-2025
Rated: 13+ · Book · Personal · #2276168

Each day feels new, and my memory of the one before is faint. I’m learning to adapt.

In September 2019, a seizure revealed a lime-sized meningioma pressed against my hippocampus—the part of the brain that governs memory and language. The doctors said it was benign, but benign didn’t mean harmless.

Surgery removed the tumor, and three days later I opened my eyes to a new reality. I could walk, I could talk, but when I looked at my wife, her name was gone. I called her Precious—the only word I could find. A failure of memory, yet perhaps the truest name of all.

Recovery has been less cure than re-calibration. Memory gaps are frequent. Conversations vanish. I had to relearn how to write, letter by halting letter. My days are scaffold by alarms, notes, and calendars.

When people ask how I am, I don’t list symptoms or struggles. I simply say, “Seven Degrees Left of Center.” It’s not an answer—it’s who I’ve become.

September 9, 2025 at 8:09am
September 9, 2025 at 8:09am
#1096990
These days, I find myself waking up earlier than I used to. People say it comes with age. If that's true, maybe I can make the most of these quiet mornings. Then again, I could be a grumpy cuss all day. The odds are like flipping a coin.


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Printed from https://web1.writing.com/main/profile/blog/dalericky/day/9-9-2025