Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

I met with my eye doctor last week about taking some time off from my vision therapy. I have been doing therapy since my stroke almost two and a half years ago. I am tired, and a need a break. My doctor said, “This is completely understandable. Take some time off.” At the appointment, my doctor tested my vision. Because of the strokes, my vision was affected, and I have a problem in my field of vision on the right side. I have a deficit with my right side peripheral vision. However, it is getting better. During the test, I told him that I “sense things on the right side of my peripheral vision.” It seems that I know that something is there, but I cannot really distinguish what it is. He told me that there is a body of thought describing phantom vision or phantom blindness. A Polish researcher, L. Bieganowski, described this phantom blindness this way:    “The subject of the paper is the phenomenon of phantom vision. It occurs among the blind (or almost blind...

Early this morning I drove to the grocery store to get Downy. At the store, I bought bacon,  stew meat, eggs, bacon and English muffins.  This morning, I'll be making breakfast and preparing beef stew for dinner. On the way to the grocery store, I drove to to get my Mountain Dew, which is my last vice since the strokes. Returning from the store, I drove to Dutch Brothers coffee to surprise my wife with a skinny mocha. Basically, it seems like a typical Sunday morning.  The severity of my strokes two and a half years ago makes this typical Sunday morning a miracle. This typical Sunday morning belies the fact that when my strokes happened, most people -- including my doctors and therapists -- believed I would never  have that typical Sunday morning again.  Consider this morning: I got dressed. Alone. I made sure that I had my wallet, my car keys, and my phone. I drove to Jackson's, Fred Meyer and Dutch brothers. I conversed...

Sacred Heart Catholic School, 3rd Grade, at the Idaho Capitol May 14, 2014 On May 14, 2014, I accompanied my son’s third grade class on a tour of the Idaho capitol building. Our son goes to Sacred Heart Catholic School, and I helped his wonderful teacher with some logistics.  When I was in the third grade myself, I visited the Idaho Capitol building. I have always been interested in politics. In 2 nd grade, I supported Nixon in the 1968 election! I still have my old “Nixon Is the One” button! I was eight years old. Our son asked, "Were you always a geek Dad!" Mark Dunham at the Capitol 1969 Mark Dunham at the Capitol 2014 Because of the Capitol tour, our son has been asking a lot of questions about presidents, Idaho history, and government. Our son’s teacher is a great educator who keeps the kids interested. Keeping third graders interested is a challenge. But, “Mrs. G” has a way of making learning fun. I thought a lot about my own teachers from...

I have a blog through “Blogger” which is a Google service. I have had my blog for many years. Recently, I decided to try Google Plus. That was a massive mistake. However, now my blog supported by Blogger (and even my YouTube) account will NOT let me sign on at all. If I use my IPhone, my Blogger and my YouTube accounts work. I can edit my blog. However, if I use a desk top computer, it will not work. I  been trying to call Google for several days. Several. I have been on hold for hours and hours. My internet service is Cable One. Cable One tech support has tried over and over again to rectify this issue. I have a Cable One account and also a Gmail account. It does not matter which account I use, I get the same result. If I try to sign into my Blogger account, I get these messages: “Google Plus is not available for your organization (cable one) Please contact your administrator to enable this service for at least one user in the organization. ...

20 years ago, a friend and I had a conversation about the "impostor syndrome." We laughed when we admitted that we have that condition. Throughout my career I have thought about the impostor syndrome a lot. I have been honored and have accolades heaped on me.  But often I don't believe my "Press" has been deserved. From high school when I was honored to be the "Most Likely to Succeed" and through the years I have received honors like "BSU Alumni of the Year," elected twice to be on the board of the College of Western Idaho, etc. I have plaques galore.  Since the strokes, I was elected again to be on the board of the College of Western Idaho. The governor appointed me to be on the Board of the Idaho Housing and Finance Association. And I was chosen to be on the board of the American Heart and Stroke Association, the Idaho Chapter. I'm trying to reconcile my life and being a victim of the impostor syndrome. From Wikiped...

Four years ago my family and I to Disney World. At that point my son was five years old, and I did all the rides with him. Of course, there were height limits and my son was too short to go on some rides. At Epcot, we did go to test track and we rode that ride over and over! For four years, our son has been waiting to return to Disney World so he could experience the big kid rides.  Four years ago, he did all of the five-year-old boy things: pirate face painting, Jedi training, digging for fossils, etc. He has a good memory and he often tells me about that Disney World trip.  He will say, "Daddy, do you remember the haunted mansion! You remember splash Mountain!" I remember. I'm glad I have those memories. This week we are returning to Disney World. Because of my strokes and health issues, I'm very wary about rides and elevated blood pressure. My doctors and my neurologist cautioned us about making this trip. We are being very careful. My...

I had a vivid dream last night. A friend and a former coworker asked me to help him present information for new Idaho lobbyists. We were going to present together in a tag team format. That was a common occurrence in the “old days.” However, when I woke up, it was back to reality. I do not make presentations like that anymore. Because of my strokes and my aphasia, it is simply not possible for me to do what I loved doing before. There is a song called “Silent Lucidity” from Queensryche . That song is haunting, and sometimes when I have dreams for some reason, I wake up and think of that song: “Hush now don't you cry Wipe away the teardrop from your eye You're lying safe in bed It was all a bad dream Spinning in your head” “Wide awake you face the day Your dream is over or has it just begun?” When I woke up from that lobbying dream, I was lying safe in bed. However, it was NOT a “bad dream.” It was wonderful because I was my “old normal self.” ...