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Hearing loss and loss in general


About five years ago, my step father suffered a minor stroke. I rushed to Twin Falls to be with him and my mom. 

The neurologist made Karl do several tests. My mom and the neurologist left to talk. I held Karl's hand, and he mumbled "it's tough to get old."

Karl was very athletic and vibrant. However, almost overnight he got old. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration and then started to wear hearing aids. I still have a picture of Karl showing our son the lighted magnifying that Karl used in a vain attempt to read.

The loss of his hearing plus his eyesight was devastating. It seemed it was it was a 10 year long struggle to the death.

When Karl had his stroke (maybe more), I didn't really comprehend what a stroke meant. When my strokes happened, I realized the horrible affects.

Karl not only had a stroke and perhaps a heart attack, he had to deal with loss of eyesight and hearing.

No wonder was so depressed.

Because of my strokes, I have vision loss. Certainly is not as bad as macular degeneration. Nevertheless the stroke and my vision affected my reading skills in a bad way. I remember Karl loved books. The loss of reading was horrible for him.

My recent ear surgery has left me with hopefully temporary hearing loss.

I now completely understand what Karl went through. The loss of reading, hearing, and eyesight makes me feel like I am in a silent cocoon. 
Trying to watch TV or listening to the radio is difficult. I can only describe it as an old AM radio station with bad reception with no stereo.

I've always loved Karl. The fourth anniversary of his death was September 10. I miss him a lot. I miss him even more now because I'd like to talk to him about the loss that we have both experienced in different ways.

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