First of all, I have to apologize for stopping my updates on my Tintin, way back when. I don’t have a good excuse for it, other than that I just sort of let her be the one to show you how she’s been doing through her own social media. Obviously she’s doing amazingly well, and we’re excited to announce that she is set to finally return to work this coming Monday, after the Easter weekend, on April 2nd! This was my imaginary finish line for this entire ordeal. I was not going to rest or be at ease until I knew that she was able to go back to work, and you know what? I’m so ridiculous, because I don’t think it’s going to change my worries I feel inside, one bit! But you see? That’s just it. I know she’s going to be fine, and get right back into the swing of things, and be great at her job, and she’ll exceed their expectations. It’s my own doubts in my head that I deal with all the time, every single day, that come from this weird form of PTSD that my Mom and I both talk about having. If you had experienced what a few of us went through, including her Mom, sister, and a few close friends who saw her at her so-called worst moments, then you might understand. She’s the toughest, bravest, most resilient and determined person I know, and she keeps proving that every day. Her speech therapist, and her, have been best buds for the past 6 months, seeing each other 3 times a week. Stephanie is her name, and she’s played the integral role in all of this. Well, I can take some of that credit as well, cause you know, I dropped her off and picked her up all these times until she started driving herself last week, lol. Stephanie’s so proud of her, and has seen the progress in her memory and brain function since the first day of therapy. We love Stephanie, and we are forever grateful for her. She is another true gem of a person, and a hero of ours and I’m sure Christine’s as well, even though she makes life tough for her, haha!

Although things have quieted down around here, and life has gotten back to normal, I will always be grateful for the love and support that so many have given Christine, and the rest of us as well. From simple phone calls and texts to check on me, to visiting or sending gifts to her while she was in the hospital, we thank you so so so much. I thank you so damn much. We were scared out of our minds, but we kept our hopes up, and we stayed the course, taking care of what was most important, not worrying about our own thoughts and feelings. Now that we have lots of time for that, we can reflect on it and heal ourselves. Tintin’s like, “I don’t know what’s wrong with y’all, cause I feel fine!”. As she should, hehe. She doesn’t remember any of what happened. Her last memory recollection was going to Vegas with her friends. Almost everything is blank up until a few days before her surgery, when she recalls being wheeled down the long hallways of Huntington Memorial, and seeing the exit door, thinking that the outside is just right there, and she can leave this place right now! She said she can also remember seeing a bunch of people in a room above her, watching her being operated on, which is bizarre on some alien abduction, Stranger Things, type sh*t, but it makes sense, as Huntington is one of the leading educational hospitals around, and what she was diagnosed with, ANTI-NMDA Receptor Encephalitis, is still very rare and unheard of. For most of the doctors, this was their first patient to have this, and it had to have been a major educational opportunity for them. Perhaps reading Brain On Fire should be a reading requirement for all of them!

So yeah, we are all excited and nervous to release her back into the world, but she’s ready! She’s got this! And if she doesn’t…okay there I go again, worrying for nothing, haha! Think positive!! She will succeed and be herself, but even better because we are collectively here to support and love her! Thank you all again, and drop her a message some time! -Billy

(PS- I’ve categorized all of the new and prior Christine updates and added them to the Christine category, which you can click in the top right corner of the front page, in case some of you are new followers!)