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Strokes and slowing down...maybe!


My stroke was 10 months ago, and I am eager to get better. "Getting better" is relative because I have a long way to go. I have had 160 therapy session so far (speech, vision and occupational) plus massage therapy and acupuncture. I was partially paralyzed  in my right arm.

When I got out of the hospital -- 18 days! -- I was so scared. I was in a fog. I was in a daze.

But, I slowly got some focus. "Focus" in the sense, that I was tired in every way. My words lacked focus. My vision lacked focus...literally! I was unsteady because I thought I would fall.

I had to learn everything again. Oven? What was an oven? Light switches. Electrical outlets. Shaving. Showering. Tying my shoes. Driving -- not that I am driving even now!

My standard answer when I am asked, "I am getting better." And, I am.

But, I realize that I need a lot of time to recover. For example, in April, one of my therapists said I must return my blog. The problem was, I could not read or write! That was a problem....

I had to write four sentences a day every day. Initially, my sentences consisted of three of four words.

I was resigned about my fate. A writer that could not write. A speaker that could not speak. An educator that could not teach. On and on.

So, I was scared not just because of my health, but because most people don't know how to deal with stroke "victims."

Some people think that I will get immediately get better. "A few weeks of therapy and go back to work."

Some people think that I am a "cripple."

Some friends were supportive. Some "dropped" me -- and my family.

The reaction runs that gambit.

The intent is to be "normal." I have always be a busy guy, so, I am striving to be busy and normal. I am a very driven person so today I am trying to  replace one set of priorities for another. I do not have "job," my new "profession" is trying what to do next.

I am not sure what I will do, but I am doing everything that I can to be "normal." So, I have been going to a LOT of meetings.  I went to Sun Valley for the AGC convention. I went to the Governor’s Cup.

This month, I went to the Idaho Association of Realtors convention in Coeur d'Alene followed two days later with a trip to Boston for the College of Western Idaho. Then, I did a series of conference calls plus some very intense political discussions.

What learned recently, I AM kinda tired!






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