Quick Exit

The following is more or less a recounting of an email I sent to Jeff a few days ago that sparked a good little discussion. I just wanted to share the impetus for that discussionwith you, ask if you or your LO have experienced such episodes and, if so, what effect did it have on you and those in your immediate circle and how did handle it?

Sometimes this disease mystifies me with its sudden transient nature. By way of example, I was carving the lid to a box for a Christmas present a few days ago, I know it’s early to start on Christmas but when you can’t rely on your brain you do what you can when you can, and things where going along as smoothly as they have in a loooong time. I was using a roto tool to outline the design I was carving into the lid and my lines were unusually crisp and straight, something I had almost given up on of late. I was approximately 2/3’s done when I realized I had completely fogged out. It took me several seconds to even realize where I was or what I was supposed to be doing. According to those with me, I had been speaking and responding normally just minutes before so I know the fog wasn’t long lasting but what was amazing is that it occurred in the blink of an eye. I didn’t feel it coming on at all and I don’t remember any of my actions during the fog. But here’s the really neat/freaky/amazing/(insert your own word here) thing, my body continued with what I was doing as if I had had no mental lapse whatsoever, sortof. The nice, crisp, straight lines that had been taking place now looked as though I had followed the path of a worm rather than my pattern. They were squiggly and ragged but for the most part followed the pattern lines. It’s as if my body was working on autopilot, just continuing from rote memory or muscle memory. I’m sure I must have seen what I was doing and visually guided my hands to some degree but I have no conscious memory of it. Again, autopilot.

One of the more interesting questions to come out of our discussion of this scenario was that if I’m/you’re/whoever is working with a power tool in this autopilot state and happen to slip and start digging into your finger say, would the pain be enough to bring you back to reality. And if it did, would it bring you back far enough to realize what was happening and that you needed to provide a remedy to the situation or would you be as a young child and only know that it hurts and perhaps go on to make the situation worse. We have our theories but I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

To be clear, sligpping fairly quickly into a fog is nothing new to me. I’m just not accustomed to it becoming that profound that quickly and having absolutely no memory of the intervening time afterward. I suppose I still have a lot to learn. Just hope I can remember some of it. Take care. Randy