Epilepsy Blog Relay: On Recovery Days |Living Well With Epilepsy

Here’s a hard reality that I’m still (decades later thank you very much) struggling to deal with – living with epilepsy means there are going to be days that require some extra rest and recovery. I have always fought this tooth and nail. But now that cancer is in the mix too I’m reminded all the more what my friends with uncontrolled epilepsy have been struggling with all along.

The thing is I don’t like needing recovery days.

Okay so seizures are a bummer. And they tend to literally suck the life out of you. And depending on how strong the seizure is or what your recovery time is, it can take a while to get back on your feet. So what do you do in the meantime?

My recovery days

I’m writing this today because well, today is a recovery day for me. Not because of a seizure, but because I just pushed myself too hard over the weekend. I know what I did to take it easy today but it made me wonder what everyone else does when their brain or body or both can’t keep up with the rest of the world.

This morning I took my time getting out of bed. But I didn’t miss my brain training games. If you haven’t started using crossword puzzles or tried Wordle I highly recommend it.

I took my medicine with lots of water. Although because I stayed in bed so late, I didn’t get my meds until late and that was a mistake. I would have been better off if I had gotten some water and pain meds in my system sooner. Oh well – live and learn.

I spent a few hours working and took a few calls. This made me feel like a productive member of society.

I then went out and watered my gardens, front and back. And I packed up some seedlings for a friend who came by to visit.

Then I parked myself on the couch and began crocheting a new blanket as a gift. There are so many people I need to thank for their kindness and generosity. This is an easy way for me to sit, but still feel productive. It also calms me and uses my brain a bit.

What does your recovery day look like?

How do you spend your recovery day? Is it in silky pjs binging tv shows? Is it going for walks in your neighborhood? Is it spending time with your family and playing outside? Comment below I can’t wait to hear.

Jessica K. Smith Founder and CEO; Executive Director

Jessica Keenan Smith is a patient advocate and epilepsy community leader with more than 15 years of experience. As Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy and Executive Director of ASENT she bridges the gap between the scientific and patient communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the epilepsies. Jessica Keenan Smith is Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy, an award winning online resource for people affected by epilepsy to share stories and access in-depth information on the disease. Since 2009, Living Well With Epilepsy (https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com) has been featured in Forbes, Wired, NBC, NPR and the cover story of Epilepsy Advocate Magazine and has partnered with companies such as UCB, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Eisai, and more. Ms. Smith is also the Executive Director of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) (https://asent.org), an organization that brings together leaders from industry, academia, government and advocacy who are engaged in bringing drugs and devices to market across all neurologic disease states. In this role she is responsible for leading a successful scientific journal and annual scientific conference with speakers from all over the world.

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