Skip to main content

Our parents died last September....

One Year….

Yesterday, my brothers, Steve and Dirk, and I went to Twin Falls, Idaho. It was a quick trip.  We had to do some estate legal work, and after that, we went to the cemetery.  Our parents died in September, and we have not seen the headstone.

It was kinda surreal.  Because we live in Boise and our parents lived in Twin Falls, it seems that they are still here.  Seeing the headstone makes it real.

It seems like yesterday that my wife told me that my Mom was sick.  It was about early May.  Our step father was ill, and we knew that he would not get better, but this sudden news that both of our parents were going to die was heart wrenching.

Last summer was odd. I was recovering after my stroke (still am…), and my brothers and I went to Twin Falls every week…sometimes two times a week.  There were so many fires last year, and the scenery seemed like a burnt orange Moonscape.

Watching a parent’s demise was awful. It seems like reality was in slow motion. Mom was so healthy until ovarian cancer took her. 

Our step dad – a wonderful man – seemed to want to give up because of Mom’s condition. They were so vibrant, and then, they were gone.

Seems like yesterday, but it also seems so long ago.

Weird. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Phantom Blindness and Taking a Break after Strokes

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...

What is wrong with us! A lot: Aphasia, Apraxia, and Dysarthria

This morning, from 10:30 to Noon, at St. Lukes in Meridian Idaho, I participated in the “Aphasia, Apraxia, and Dysarthria Support Group” started a year ago through Idaho State University. We meet weekly.  So, what is wrong with us? Aphasia is the name given to a collection of language disorders caused by damage to the brain. A requirement for a diagnosis of aphasia is that, prior to the illness or injury, the person's language skills were normal. The difficulties of people with aphasia can range from occasional trouble finding words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write, but does not affect intelligence. This also affects visual language such as sign language . The term "aphasia" implies a problem with one or more functions that are essential and specific to language function. It is not usually used when the language problem is a result of a more peripheral motor or sensory difficulty, such as paralysis affecting the speech muscles or a general hear...

Same as it ever was

When I had my two strokes more than 13 years ago, I was 50 years old. In the ensuing years I’ve had some health issues related to my strokes and other assorted “age related” things. In May of 2023, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. As a result I have endured two years of pain and the resulting lack of exercise. That summer I tried to walk regularly but my heel pain was too extreme. I tried to do exercises to relieve the pain but nothing helped. In September of 2023 I asked my doctor to give me a shot of Cortizone. We were headed to Boston for meetings and then headed to Maine. I just wanted to enjoy the trip without pain. It helped a lot. Six months later I had the same pain. I went to an orthopedic doctor who prescribed minor physical therapy. It worked for a bit and then the pain got worse. In September of 2024, my regular doctor gave me another round of Cortizone shots so I could travel to Phoenix. It really helped. For a while. In February of 2025, the pain got worse. I went ...