Today I am launching a new website,
ISurvivedAStyroke.com.
In case you did not know, July 14th, 2002 I entered a hospital
in Modesto California for corrective heart surgery. The next day when I
was awake in the CVICU the staff wanted me to stand. I feel to the floor.
That is how I learned I had survived a stroke.
I am approaching the ten year anniversary of this event.
I will admit I have come a long way in the ten years. I can walk with the
assistance of a walker nd even take a step or two in my house without the
walker. Just to name one of the many things I can do today that I could
not do the day, weeks, months and years after my stroke.
The new website is dedicated to anyone who has survived a
stroke, their family, friends and caregivers. I also feel it will be
useful to anyone who is looking for information about strokes.
The site is divvied into four sections:
Stroke Facts (http://www.isurvivedastroke.com/facts.htm)
This section gives you some alarming facts about stroke you may not know.
I also provided links to other resources on the Internet where you can gain more
information about strokes. You can also find very important information about
the warning signs of stroke (http://www.isurvivedastroke.com/warningsigns.htm).
I personally wish I knew this information before the summer of 2002.
Resources (http://www.isurvivedastroke.com/resources/)
There is a lot of information on the net about strokes. I have found 5 of
the best sites you should check out that will give you accurate information on
the subject.
Support (http://www.isurvivedastroke.com/support/)
If you are looking for support, possibly a local support group. I have found two
databases on the net you can search.
ISAS Store (http://www.isurvivedastroke.com/Store/)
This section is powered by Amazon. Here you will books and DVDs on strokes
an long with products that a stroke survivor may need to help make his or her
life more enjoyable. I also included a section of my recommendations.
I also have launched a Twtter feed (https://twitter.com/#!/isastroke).
You can follow it @ISAStroke. The feed provides news stories about stroke.
Stories include medical news, stroke survivors, people who passed away due to a
stroke along wiht inspiring stories and videos. Occasionally I will post
an update to the website on the twttter feed.
Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Survived-A-stroke/277965072283687)
Here is where I will be posting some of the most interesting stroke articles
form the twitter fed.
Please share with anyone you know who may be interested.
Last week I started to write a book about the stroke that I
survived 10 years ago this summer. I do not want to give away to much of
the book, however I have written the first two chapters which covers the six
months prior to my stroke, the stroke itself and the first 15 days afterwards.
I am writing this book in hopes of first getting it published,
Second, to chronicle what I went through when I had my stroke. I am hoping
that my experiences may help others who either survive a stroke or knows someone
who did. This includes experiences that I remember and feelings that I
felt.
Today I just finished writing the second chapter. In
this chapter I talked about the stroke and my first fifteen days in hospital
after the stroke. I shared about how I learned I had a stroke and the
tests I went through. The damage the stroke had done to my body - my life
and the beginning of my rehabilitation from the stroke.
As I was recalling what the first two weeks were like for me.
The memories of frustration I felt and the obstacles I had in font of me, I
realized that I have come one hell of a long way from the day I woke up to
discover I could no longer walk or stand.
What really touched my heart as I wrote today is the memories
I have of my wife being right by my side in the hospital room every day almost
24 hours a day the first 2 weeks after the stroke.
At the time of my stroke she was not my wife, she was my
fiancée. She slept in a very uncomfortable chair at night so I would not
be alone. She helped feed me, turn me and was an advocate for me
with the doctors. She helped me with my exercises between visits from the
physical therapist. She also help me keep in good spirits during some of
the darkest times.
The time we sent together after my stroke in the hospital I
truly believe has made our relationship and marriage as strong as it is today.
We truly enjoy spending time together - even if is just being in the same room:
me playing a playstation game and her watching a Netflix video on her tablet.
The weeks and months after the stroke were very hard for the
both of us, but I will cherish in my heart for the rest of my life the memories
of her sitting with me in my hospital room, us taking walks around the rehab
hospital her pushing my wheelchair, or even sitting in the lobby at the rehab
center watching the sunset together.
Thank you Lord for those memories and thank you Kim for being
there for me.
Yesterday I attended my very stroke support group. I
know that seems odd since my stroke occurred ten years ago this coming summer.
This is something I have thought about and wanted to do and I finally just did
it.
The topic of this one hour meeting was "loss" The
presenter drew a comparison between the loss of life to being similar to losses
that stroke servitor and their families feel after the stroke.
When the presenter threw out the question: "What did you loose
from your stroke?" The very first thing that popped into my mind was that
I had lost the ability to walk without mobility devices. I shared that
answer with the group as I really miss walking. I also thought about the
loss I feel of not being able to work not to mention the los of going to a a
place or an event where there is a lot of noise (such as a ballgame or a crowded
Applebee's) without getting disorientated.
At the meeting there was a very nice couple, the husband
survived a stroke 17 years ago - just a few months after he was married to his
wife. The interesting thing he said at the meeting was "we survived a
stroke". I thought that was quite interesting, I felt that is what I
should be saying about myself and my wife, that we survived a stroke a year
before our marriage.
The presenter also shared at the meeting a common mistake that
is made by well meaning people. When a person suffers a loss, regardless
of if it is life or if it is a loss of ability from a tragic event such as a
stroke, Well meaning friends often say "Don't cry". I must agree this is
the worst thing someone can say. One person at the meeting shared a very
inspiring though to say "Go ahead and cry, that is why god gave us tears".
He also mentioned a research project where we can learn to be
"Sock monkeys". A sock monkey is someone who is just there and does not
need to say anything. The sock monkey study showed that when someone has a
person there during stressful times, even if the other just is there and does
not say a word, it helps reduce stress for the other person.
The past few months I have been writing daily on this blog on
a ride range of topics.
The purpose of
writing in my blog has been to help me feel more confident in my writing and to
develop good writing habits. I am now moving on in
my life to what I feel very strong about doing - I want to write a book about my
stroke experience, my survival from the stroke and my recovery. I started
this book early this week. Now I am changing the feel of this blog a bit
to focus more of the writing about my life with the effects of a stroke and my
recovery.
I am still going to write about other topics, after all there
is a lot more to me that just my stroke. Unfortunately I will probably be
posting to this blog two to three times a week for the time being.
I want to volunteer at the local hospital preferably in the
stroke unit or with stroke survivors and families. I would eventually like
to work in the community with stroke survivors and families as well as
caregiver. It is important to me to help others. That is always what
has brought me the most happiness.
In case you were not aware, possibly due to a case of amnesia,
May 22nd, 2011 the city of Joplin was hit by an EF-5 tornado. Some repots
claim that at least two EF-5 funnels combined as it ripped apart the community.
161 people lost their lives that Sunday afternoon.
That horrible day occurred over nine months ago. In fact
it was 296 days since the storm. There has been a lot of recovery - for
example both the Wal-Mart
and Home Depot that were
destroyed have been rebuilt and are open. As well as a
Walgreens that was
destroyed. Piles of debris for the most part are gone, some homes have
been rebuilt and more are expected this summer. We are still waiting for
the return of the Pizza Hut
but for the most part part things are getting better.
Unfortunately not all the news to report is good news: I
have stopped watching any local media. This includes all of our local TV
stations newscasts, the local paper I do not read nor do I listen to the local
radio stations. I no longer follow anything on Facebook or twitter that is
from Joplin.
In my opinion the only thing the media around here has been
talking about is "the tornado". Remember, when you speak the phrase "the
tornado" you must have a somber tone in your voice and convey a sense of grief
and/or mourning. About a week or two after the big storm my wife and
I had to get out of town because we were sick of non stop coverage of "the
tornado". The non stop coverage seemed to continue through the fall - that
is when I pulled the plug on local media. I now follow the Springfield
Market. they give me a few updates about "the tornado" but cover other
news.
In fact I feel that the local media may have done more harm
than good with the amount of coverage they have given to "the tornado" since May
22nd. I am very grateful that we got away from it for a few days last
June. I know that if you consume yourself too much with a horrid news
story or tragedy that it will have long lasting effects. I feel the media
may have played a part in people still struggling with the effects of "the
tornado".
I believe the media here has helped fuel peoples fear of
another tornado and their grief from the event.
There has been a rush on having storm shelters built in our
community. Personally I think it is a waste of money. From other
recent destrucitve storms, such as the one that hit Greensburg KS a few years
back, after a major tornado hits an area there is no pattern that I can find of
another tornado as destructive or worse hitting the same area anytime soon.
I would be very surprised if the Joplin area has anything near an EF-4 or an
EF-5 for about 20 years. I do not see the logic of spending several
thousand dollars on something that you may need once in your lifetime. I
will take my chances in the bathtub and save the money.
I do see some signs that people are moving beyond "the
Tornado". The local newspaper created a hard cover book as a fund raiser.
The book included photos from the storm and is selling for around $30. I
see piles of these books at
Wal-Mart and the piles are not getting any smaller from week to week.
One of my biggest pet peeves is local TV. Now for those
who follow me on Facebook and Twitter this is not another slam against the local
TV here in the Joplin market (although the TV here is bad), this is a blog about
local TV in general and satellite/cable TV systems.
When in college I was a broadcasting major and back on the day
(yes I am that old) I learned that both radio and TV stations were originally
set up by the FCC to be a free service to the community that they served.
Of course PBS stations were a
bit different. They had to provide their signal for free to the community
that they broadcasted to, but they were allowed to have pledge drives to raise
operating funds that they needed.
When I was a child and visited Joplin the local cable system
carried not only the local Joplin stations but also the Springfield stations as
well as KPLR-TV channel 11 from
my hometown of St. Louis. During one visit I was able to watch the same
episode of the Gong Show three times in one day
In the 1980's while living in California our local cable
system carried all the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto stations as well as
KQED (PBS)
from San Francisco and KTVU (FOX)
from San Francisco. Unfortunately in the 1980's some local TV
stations convinced the FCC that some of the rules for cable companies needed to
be changed. The first thing that occurred is certain programs were blacked
out on KTVU from San
Francisco. The first programs that were blacked out were programs from the
FOX network. This was
due to our local FOX station
KTXL from Sacramento having
the shows blacked out. The reasoning was to ensure people would watch the
FOX shows on the Sacramento
station so they can charge a higher rate to advertisers due to a larger
potential audience. Eventually most of the syndicated shows that were on
KTVU that also were being
aired on our local Sacramento stations were blacked out for the very same
reason. In time they only show you could watch from
KTVU was their local news.
Eventually our cable company replaced
KTVU with
WGN.
In the late 1990's possibly early 21st century the FCC started
to allow local TV stations (remember, they were originally set up to be a free
service to their communities) to charge a fee to any cable or satellite provider
to carry their signal. Most video providers passed that cost (probably
with a mark up) to the customer. It was the local stations option to
charge this fee and also the cable and satellite company was not required to pay
this fee or carry the station. When we lived in Modesto the local stations
wanted a fee from the video providers. The local cable company along with
the satellite companies refused. With the refusal the locals were
scheduled to no longer be carried via our local video providers. One by
one our local stations dropped their demands when they saw the video providers
were not going to cave. At the last minute our last station hold out
dropped their request. We kept our local stations and did not need to pay
for them.
Unfortunately not all communities share the same story that we
did in Modesto. Where we live now in Joplin we pay for our local stations.
Our local stations are pretty bad. The news is
unprofessional and they drop in commercials during programs.
If I must pay for local stations why can't I pick which market
to get stations from?
