It’s been awhile, and although I do share tidbits extra ceaselessly on social media and by way of my e-newsletter, I wished to do a full write up of what has been happening. I haven’t printed a weblog publish since April, so it is a lengthy overdue replace. It shares some thrilling skilled information, but additionally the non-public because it pertains to my well being.
This group has been an enormous a part of what has stored me afloat throughout the previous couple of, troublesome years. With my restricted bandwidth because of the ongoing spinal cerebrospinal (CSF) leak, I’ve needed to lower out a number of the work I wish to do. The weblog was placed on hiatus first, as a result of updating on social media (primarily Instagram) is faster and fewer labour intensive.
But whereas I’ve not been placing out new posts right here, I’ve spent many hours updating the backend of the web site, and dealing on plenty of different issues that I wished to share. I’ve additionally seen specialists and realized extra about my physique, sufficient that that data sheds a really totally different mild on the a few years of continual ache I endured previous to my CSF leak.
It has taken time to course of the thread that now connects dots I by no means thought to attach, and I wished to maintain my group up to date.
Personal Updates
A number of updates about how I’m feeling, these related dots, and the place I’m residing.
Moving to Gatineau, Quebec and Living Semi-Independently
Since May, I’ve been residing in Gatineau, throughout the river from Ottawa. My brother lives in Ottawa, and my plan is to finally transfer there as effectively. For now, although, Gatineau has been a stunning center floor. I acquired to spend a summer time wandering all the way down to the water, seeing my household, and studying find out how to dwell largely alone, with a leak.
My brother and his accomplice come over as soon as per week to assist with issues I can not do, like getting groceries for me, and doing my laundry and my vacuuming. I’m fortunate that I’ve them to choose up the slack that my leak steals away, and I’ll by no means complain about getting extra time with folks I like a lot.
At first, adjusting to the house felt actually deflating. There have been many issues that I couldn’t attain, or use. The mattress was too low and really painful to get out and in of. The freezer was a drawer beneath the fridge, so I couldn’t open it with out making my CSF leak worse. The dishes and pots have been too heavy for me to scrub myself, or use comfortably. The listing went on.
These are fixable issues, after all. I acquired a mattress pad, a tiny freezer, and new light-weight dishes and a small pot to make use of, thanks in no small half to the Amazon present playing cards you bought me for my birthday.
But the preliminary weeks right here felt actually deflating. As people we’re so good at adjusting. Sometimes too good, and we neglect the place we actually are. The perspective I misplaced was that I’m really extra disabled than I remembered, one thing that hit me arduous once I moved into this house.
Like anything, adjusting to this new life has its ups and downs, and finally I acquired previous the frustration and began strategizing methods to repair the issues I used to be going through. I additionally acquired a kitchen rolling cart, plenty of canvas storage bins since the whole lot has to take a seat on counters to be reachable for me, and some different issues that make the place extra snug.
I used to be by no means certain if I’d even be capable of dwell independently once more. So whereas there’s a lot I want I might do, I’m very grateful that I’m able to have extra autonomy after years of being so depending on others for each little factor.
Connecting the dots
As I discussed, my spinal CSF leak remains to be energetic. But my physique both appears to have produced extra CSF, giving me some further “uptime”, or it has gotten barely higher. Since my leak, I’ve had immune and different points which have cropped up or worsened. I used to be in a position, with the assistance of labs and specialists, to lastly join the dots. You can learn extra about that course of on my private website as follows:
Mast cells are “sentinels” of the immune system, a sort of white blood cell that helps management the immune processes within the physique. They are known as resident immune cells as a result of they reside in tissues and never in our bloodstream. And they reside in tissues everywhere in the physique, from the connective tissue, to the endothelial cells, to the epithelial cells, and even within the mind.
Business Updates
Some of the tasks I’ve been engaged on within the months since I final printed.
Sharing Resources about Pain on Patreon
I created the Patreon as a strategy to settle for help from this group, however it’s slowly morphing into a spot the place I additionally share assets for people who find themselves struggling for continual ache, or those that know somebody who’s in ache.
The unhappy actuality is that almost all of us are in a type of two classes.
Over the years, I’ve obtained many questions on how I’ve coped with my very own ache ranges. Now, I’m getting questions on how somebody can help an individual in ache. So the Patreon’s AMAs are a spot the place I reply these questions, and add further assets.
The posts I’ve shared there additionally go into how I made the house I’m in accessible, and what adjustments to the setup allowed me to deal with residing alone with the disabilities I now have. Most not too long ago, as typically folks really feel dangerous about asking for assist or accepting assist, somebody requested me to speak about find out how to speak to somebody in ache to assist them get help if they’re cussed. (I’ll be answering this within the subsequent AMA).
From suggestions thus far, these have been actually helpful. I sit up for sharing extra.
Also, I’m now a Patreon ambassador! I acquired an electronic mail from them in the summertime, asking if I’d be excited by making use of for an ambassadorship programme they have been constructing. I’m considered one of a small group of creators (out of their 200,000 customers) who have been accepted.
It’s nonetheless fairly new, and to date it’s been beautiful to fulfill some actually fascinating, tremendous inventive folks. The ambassadorship is unpaid, however options workshop—I’ve attended a number of thus far—and rewarding breakout rooms with others within the programme to share methods and issues/successes. Other perks embody 1:1 product help, social media options, enjoyable swag for my Patreon group, in addition to paid alternatives to take part in issues like product focus teams or inventive collaborations with their group.
I don’t understand how they discovered me, and it’s intimidating as a result of most of the different creators have upwards of 2000 Patrons, however I’m wanting ahead to collaborating! Given that it was all of you who requested me to start out a Patreon, I’ve this group to thank!
If you’re excited by becoming a member of the Patreon group, you are able to do so right here.
A One-Time Support Option
When I launched my Patreon, I obtained messages from readers who wished to contribute and/or help me in my work by way of a one-time cost. I didn’t have that in place, however do now.
The Curious About Everything Newsletter
Despite all this pleasure of shifting to a brand new place, I’ve managed to maintain my e-newsletter working. I’ve been enjoying round with format (and emojis, I can’t assist myself), and primarily spotlighting a number of essential reads every month, together with extra enjoyable photo-essays and quirky items I discover. I typically embody private updates, however the focus of the e-newsletter is on gifted and/or essential writing price studying.
While it’s on Substack, and lots of writers have moved to a paid e-newsletter mannequin, I don’t plan to take action. The Patreon is the first help system for my earnings, alongside celiac playing cards and the meals maps store. The e-newsletter I plan to maintain free.
Even if this website has been extra dormant than I would really like, I really feel comfortable that CAE has gone out each month for the final 11 months.
You can join under in case you are excited by receiving it.
A Big Piece about Mental Mindset (Coming Soon)
I had a publish known as How to Get Through Terrible Times that I had on this website, however I’ve briefly taken it down as I deliberate to publish it individually. I’ve been engaged on this piece over the past whereas and it’s nonetheless in modifying, however I’m excited to share it on the new JE website.
Redesign of Legal Nomads:
You might have seen that the positioning is a little bit totally different!
Arthur the raven, my mascot, could be very distinguished. Ravens are such extremely curious birds, and I selected one as my website’s throughline so as to spotlight that I nonetheless am too, albeit otherwise to earlier than.
And, a brand new slogan: interested in the whole lot. I’m not telling tales by way of meals, in order that slogan needed to go. The new brand displays a divergence from my prior lifetime of journey and meals, but additionally the reality of who I all the time was: somebody who wished to be taught as a lot as attainable.
I began to really feel actually dissonant once I appeared on the ‘old’ Legal Nomads, so this displays extra of the place I’m in life whereas nonetheless sustaining the same construction.
I’ve added well being and continual ache to the primary classes on the house web page, too, since they’re now an even bigger a part of what I write about.
I had actually particular concepts of what I wished, in order with the final redesign to the positioning I supplied the belongings (new logos, Arthur the Raven, and so forth.) to an internet developer as a substitute of hiring somebody who did branding in addition to improvement. The belongings have been inked by my artist-in-Legal-Nomadsness Ella F. Sanders. The redesign was performed by an internet developer who works for fellow journey blogger Mike’s net improvement firm. While her work was paid, he donated his personal time professional bono to assist supervise the challenge.
Post Overhauls and Page Updates:
My morning routine is to stand up, make espresso, after which do some work on the web site till I have to take a break.
This has allowed me to slowly replace pages and posts over time, and hold Legal Nomads extra present.
Among them:
- The gluten free guides are up to date for 2021. They’re right here.
- The gluten free New York City information has additionally been up to date to mirror restaurant closures and a few newcomers to the scene which can be 100% gluten free.
- I added a historical past of Belize part, and a “where is Belize located” part, as a result of consider it or not that’s the commonest search time period for this publish. It’s additionally acquired COVID-19 guidelines for visiting, when you have been selecting to threat going now.
- I up to date the Vietnamese Egg Coffee Recipe with locations to get it in North America, and new items and movies in regards to the candy deal with.
- I up to date my piece on sleep points and jet lag with details about find out how to sleep higher, and new research about chronomedicine and Covid-19.
- I up to date my Vipassana Meditation retreat expertise with some new knowledge in regards to the risks of these sorts of retreats, and the way in some circumstances they will result in a psychological break.
- The Alternative Careers for Lawyers web page has been up to date to incorporate pandemic data, the rise of consultants within the authorized area, and a extra clear breakdown of find out how to go about shifting careers if you really feel overwhelmed occupied with how to take action.
- In November 2021, I up to date my historical past of chili peppers publish to incorporate the 2021 Nobel Prize successful analysis on capsaicin, somatosensory receptors, and ache.
RSS-to-Email Changes: Feedburner is not any extra. RIP Feedburner.
Google has been threatening to chop RSS-to-email choices for Feedburner for a few years. The service was deprecated years in the past, and this July they lastly stated that they have been performed supporting that possibility. So I had to determine what service to make use of so as to get these folks their emails. (Since I barely write right here, I had plenty of time to do that!)
For these of you who opted to obtain Legal Nomads updates by way of electronic mail, new posts will likely be despatched by an organization known as ConvertKit. I used to be planning on switching to them proper earlier than my CSF leak occurred, so it solely took me an additional few years. My good friend Nathan began the corporate and is a extremely beautiful human being; I’d a lot moderately give my cash to gifted mates than strangers!
If you’re not getting Legal Nomads by way of electronic mail, you’ll be able to join by way of the shape under. This is only for LN posts (about each six months, when it comes to publishing schedule today!). My month-to-month e-newsletter above is separate.
If you have been already subscribed to get Legal Nomads posts by electronic mail, you don’t want to do something. I wished to clarify why the emails look totally different, and let everybody know they will additionally join that means if they like.
That’s it for now!
While the ache I’m in by no means goes away, these tasks and my newfound autonomy have helped make these previous couple of months a number of the greatest in years. I is probably not cell or touring the world anymore, however I consider that I’m capable of assist extra folks than ever earlier than.
Whether it’s serving to navigate powerful occasions, understanding ache and loss, or simply giving extra context to the sicknesses of family members, this work feels helpful.
And feeling helpful goes a great distance towards life satisfaction for me.
Thank you for permitting me to share this journey with you.
Until subsequent time,
Jodi