Last spring, after surgery for removal of a brain tumor, I thought I’d be back after a couple of months of recovery. The process however turned out to be much slower and more complex than I expected — to the point where I am still suffering from a number of problems. I’m still not ready to return, but let me bring you up to date on progress.
The good news is there has been significant physical progress, especially in recent weeks. I’m now getting around a lot better and am even about to make my first brief out of town weekend trip. I’ve especially made progress in recovery on a blood clot.
I’ve made a lot of psychological progress, too, but here there is a very long way to go that is effectively keeping me away from work. I have two related problems. One is the ability to read any complicated material. By the time I get to the fourth paragraph, I’ve forgotten the first (interestingly, I can do better with material read to me). It’s getting better, but it is a slow process and limits me to a tiny share of the vast amount I should be absorbing.
More frustrating is my inability to remember lots of words. For example, I was recently watching a moving with a well known actor. I knew him in lots of movies including Cool Hand Luke and The Sting though it took me a while to remember either the name of the actor or the title, though I could remember Robert Redford. Similarly, I have trouble remembering the prescriptions I am taking though I can recall their purpose. It’s getting better, slowly, but remains a huge problem, especially for writing.
The question is of my ability to handle material with enough skill to interpret and write the analysis. For now, at least, that remains an open issue. It was all I could do to write this and it was a difficult accomplishment, slowly written. I hope I get better and faster and in a way that lasts a long time, but right now I cannot say. I’ll try to keep you posted.