Disney World, Stroke and Recovery

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 wife always looks on the bright side of life. She says, "Four years ago I did all the rides with her son. It is my turn now."

We're in the same hotel, Port Orleans Riverside. The just the food is the same. The crowds are the same. Short tempers are flaring and kids and adults are hot and sticky. Lines of strollers.

The much is the same has four years ago. But I sit outside waiting ffor my family because signs warn about health risks.

But I'm okay about that! I'm just grateful to experience Disney World with my family again. Amost two and a half years ago, the prospect of going to Disney World was a faded dream.

Comments

The Two Faces of the American Dream

The massive wave of Norwegian immigration to Minnesota from the 1850s through the early 20th century wasn't a casual choice; it was an escape from crushing land scarcity and economic desperation. My ancestors, the Dunhams, arrived in 1851 and built a life in Otter Tail County in Minnesota. My great-great-grandfather, Jens Christian Dunham, didn’t just survive—he thrived. He served in the Minnesota legislature as a Republican from 1888 to 1890 and later became a staunch advocate for President Teddy Roosevelt. He was the literal embodiment of the American Dream: an immigrant who fled poverty to become a lawmaker in his new home. Fast forward a century, and a new wave of immigrants—this time from Somalia—is following that exact same blueprint. Like the Norwegians before them, they fled hardship to build a future in Minnesota, and many have run for office to serve the state that welcomed them. Yet, the political rhetoric surrounding these two groups couldn't be more polarized. Don...

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...

Eye floaters, Strokes, Another ER visit….

It is always something.... I’ve had eye floaters for as long as I can remember. My paternal grandmother had them. My brothers have them too. They’ve always been part of my vision—little drifting specks, threads, and shadows moving across my sight. Over time, you learn to live with them. Sometimes they swirl around, sometimes they settle toward the bottom of your vision, and most of the time you simply ignore them. Floaters are actually tiny clumps inside the eye that cast shadows on the retina. They’re common as we age, especially after fifty, and usually they’re harmless. Doctors will tell you that most people eventually tune them out. But sometimes they change. On Wednesday, while we were driving home from an overnight trip, something felt different. It was my left eye. The floaters suddenly looked darker, heavier, and there were flashes of light along the edge of my vision—almost like a bright crescent moon flickering on and off. At first, I tried to ignore it. After everything ...

Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

Search This Blog