Cat on a hot tin roof

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1B6JnAQKMT-htOT3rQbQ449q0yDQ_KNym

One of my favorite plays is “A Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.”

I’ve always enjoyed Tennessee Williams writings. Often there is an anti-hero who speaks bitter truth. In the tortured souls of his characters, he often exposes the dark side of life.

In 1958, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman filmed the screen adaption of the play. It’s a great movie even though in the 50s era they had to sanitize the realities Williams words.

I have often blogs about my headaches. My last post was in anticipation of my third Botox treatment.

As I write this blog post, I’m sitting in the dark in the middle of the night with a headache.

If I should take the Norco or just tough it out.

Newman’s character “Brick” had a confrontation with his father about secrets and “mendacity.”

Brick stressed alcohol is the only way to deal with the stress of living.

As I contemplate this pain, this line in the play/movie resonates to me

“Like a switch clicking off in my head. Turns the hot light off and the cool. All of a sudden, there's peace.”

Tough....

Comments

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 ...

January

January 10th was the 13th anniversary of my first stroke. After 18 days in the hospital (including my second massive stroke were I lost almost everything) we celebrated my son’s seventh birthday. I wanted to celebrate my son‘s birthday but I had no idea the sensory overload would cause. The flashing lights, the unbearable noise of the crowds and the music, and loud conversations caused me to panic. In the midst of my brain damaged confusion, I had to go to the bathroom. At that point I really didn’t know how to navigate the restaurant even though I had been there many times. I didn’t know the concept of letters and I didn’t know what “men” and “women” were on the doors. My little son gripped my hand and said, “Daddy… I will take you to the bathroom.” Stumbling through the crowded restaurant I was scared. My son guided me to the proper door and asked if I needed any more help. After I finished I came out and he grabbed my hand and took me back to the booth. In January this year, We cele...

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...

Dunham Family and My Stroke Story!

Search This Blog