What is Neuroplasticity?
I am not going to try to explain this except in very broad terms. Since the experts in the field can’t define it clearly, there is no reason for me to try.
Neuro
Neuro refers to the nerves in your body. They are the roadways for communication travel inside the brain and travel between the brain and all the other parts of your body.
Plasticity
Plasticity had several meanings. The easiest to understand is the “bounce back” like a rubber band. You stretch out a rubber band and when you let go, it bounces back to its original shape. But with a real rubber band, if you keep it stretched out too far for too long, the rubber band may break instead of bounce back. Nerves are more resilient than that.
In college, I had swelling in one knee that stretched a nerve too far for too long. Surgery resolved the problem that was causing the nerve to be out of shape. But I had no feeling in the skin from knee to ankle for two years.
Then the damaged nerve bounced back to its original shape and function. But sometimes the nerve is damaged permanently and you need to find another nerve to use as the road. The tricky part is that there is no map.
The Experts
Doctors, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Psychologists all have collections of types of therapy. What works in any given instance is still in the trial and error stage of science. So those who specialize in this kind of work are very flexible.
The experts don’t have to know what nerves are damaged or why to start working through their list of therapies. But if they do know, they have a better chance of choosing the best options early.
The Damage
In 2019 I had my second knee replaced and that caused a neurological disorder called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CPRS) to come out of remission. Not only does it have symptoms of its own, it has a reputation as a “trojan horse.”
It is well known to spread from left to right or visa versa, but can also spread up or down the trunk to other limbs. In addition, it sends a malfunction into the brain. Once that happens, almost anything goes – including damage to other nerves and other body systems.
By March of 2020, I was having serious issues with brain fog and it was interfering with everyday living. One day in March, I suddenly felt like I was in a Charlie Brown episode when the teacher was talking – waa waa waa.
A group of friends and I were apparently supposed to count off. I had no idea what that meant. I could barely grasp that they were calling out numbers, but the concept of counting was completely gone. Who ever heard of an engineer who couldn’t count?
I eventually realized that I had lost everything I learned in kindergarten about numbers. I still have problems understanding bigger, smaller, before, after, and of course counting.
The Tests
The three years of tests included an MRI, a spinal tap, two EEG, two Nerve conduction studies, two skin biopsies, X-rays, and a seemingly unlimited number of blood tests. They we working from the most likely issue down to the least likely. In addition to all the known neuro problems several doctors independently came up with the idea that I had some mysterious systemic “something” wrong and it was possibly viral, but not COVID.
West Nile Encephalitis
Much to everyone’s surprise, in December 2022, the very expensive blood test for West Nile Encephalitis came back positive. The mysterious systemic something was West Nile. I was bit by a sick mosquito in early 2020. (Mosquito season is almost year round where I live.)
No Cure
None of the neurological disorders have a cure and neither does West Nile Encephalitis.
Therapies
- Physical Therapy. I had lots of physical therapy until they came to the conclusion that there was nothing left to teach me. The physical therapists did struggle quite a bit with me not being able to count. But they were quite entertained that I had been in and out of physical therapy longer than they had been alive.
- Medication. After much trial and error, we came across a medication that actually helped instead of increasing pain.
- IVIG. I get immunoglobulin infusions two days every other week. It is not much fun, but it is a big winner in getting some of my brain back.
- Meditation and Prayer. I have always struggled with meditation but I can do it a little better now, but I need to do it more. I have forgotten most of words to the prayers I once knew. Good thing there are always more ways to pray.
Mind Games
This is the trial and error part of trying to find new roads in my brain.
Puzzles
This is the first mind game I started with. It combines shape recognition with relaxation.
Coloring
This was my least favorite activity as a kid, but I have a whole new appreciation for relaxing and seeing how colors combine. I make some of my own coloring pages from photos from our travels.
Crochet
Counting combined with hands moving. I tear out more than I put in, but I am making slow progress.
Writing
Like most engineers, I have always struggled with writing. I nearly failed a French class in college because my written sentences were too short.
My psychologist had me start writing genealogy – mixing something I was once good at with something I was terrible at and stretching those nerves. The first one I wrote took months. Now I am trying to write something in genealogy every week.
I am also supposed to write about my childhood to help with the grief of losing my sister. I am not doing as well with that.
Sewing
Early on in my illness my sister told me to start looking at sewing from an engineering perspective. All of a sudden, it made more sense. But I still struggle with measuring (counting) and laying out patterns and assembling (geometry).
Physical Exercise
Nerve damage takes my balance away erratically, so I need to use a walker when I walk down the street. I can only go a few houses before I wear out.
I prefer water aerobics, but I haven’t even had the energy levels needed for that lately.
