Stroke at 57. Our story of recovery.

Megan in Speech used electrode stimulation therapy to assist with swallowing today. M was not wild about the way it made his muscles contract, but he was very brave. Currently he is very good with honey consistency liquids, ok with nectar consistency and we are not able to even test regular liquids yet. We have special powder for home to be sure he continues to be safe. Our house has been a daily stop for Amazon lately as there is so much to buy and get ready for his homecoming the day after tomorrow. Wow! Both scary & exciting. Mostly exciting though.

A very nice final inpatient Sunday. Michael had a good PT session earlier. Then he did some wheelchair control practice in the courtyard under my watchful eye. He is really becoming the proficient driver. He had a great lunch of some really good roast beef, surprisingly so. I even asked to speak with the chef to find out how she made it, so I can make mine the same. I think she was quite surprised to get a compliment and give cooking advice. 👍 I am very sure that does not happen often. Lol Now we are just watching basketball, snuggled under the covers. Two full days and two half days to go until M is homeward bound. 💗

Our final Saturday as an inpatient. Yay! M is doing his one hour of OT right now with our buddy Jean from Haiti. He rocked the bike thing again for 20 minutes this time. He had another entirely choke-free lunch and had me laughing a couple of times with his facial expressions..reactions to a couple of things that happened while there. He is expressing his excitement to go home. The nurses are already telling him they are going to miss him. ☺

We had family training today. I got to assist Michael with all of the transfers from place to place via wheelchair, etc. He did well and I know we are going to be a good team. We are super tired after all that activity so it's time for a rest. Patience is indeed a virtue...working on more every day. Happy to say this is our final Friday as an inpatient. Yay!

Today Michael worked on his independent wheelchair driving skills. His PT, Kenny, got him outside navigating the sidewalk. He did great and when asked what he thought, he said it made him feel  "invigorated." He also didn't crash, so that's good. 😃 During Speech he thought of the words he wanted to say to Jake in wishing him a happy birthday! He read a whiteboard that Megan had written his message on. He did well and Jake really liked hearing him speak. Today is our final inpatient Thursday. THAT is exciting!

Listening to funk on the patio soaking in some sunshine waiting for PT. M is a little quiet today. But that will happen. We went rogue today and did our own shower. He did great! (Lol...don't tell) Looks like May 2 will be our release day. He is so ready to get out of here and home. Me too so we can settle into our own routine. We will have lots of appointments, but it will be awesome to reintroduce him to our beautiful new home. Lots of family care training over the next few days. I proudly take on the challenge!

WHEN Michael speaks he has a very gravelly voice. Today his favorite thing to do with that voice during speech was to say, "I'm Batman" a la the Christian Bale version. Megan and I cracked up! He is super happy when he makes us laugh. He completed all therapies before lunch today. So once again he is VERY tired. But unlike last week, he maintained endurance throughout and didn't "bonk." That is in itself is amazing progress. He has a team evaluation this afternoon. I'm hoping they keep his release date for May 2, but will once again trust the process and go with whatever they recommend. I'm still thinking about yesterday's OT session. It was pretty darned awesome. Here is a pic of him doing a half-Superman exercise on the ball. Looks like I have a Superhero on my hands. Actually he IS my hero.

PT morning report was awesome. In Speech Megan gave him words and he was supposed to tell her the one that did not belong with the others. One set was Appalachian, Sierras, Rockies and Everest. Instead of the reason behind Everest being a mountain and not a range, he said Everest because it is located in Asia and the others are in the US. Lol. As usual, an outside the box thinker. That made me happy! ❤ OT is going great today too. He is doing every task VERY well.  👍

Had a nice relaxing Sunday. We watch some basketball, played some games on our touch screen Chromebook, watched more basketball, listen to music and even had a wheelchair dance party. M seemed to enjoy his PT session this morning before I arrived. Today is a very good day. Looking forward to all the progress he will make in his therapies this week. ❤

M had OT before I arrived. Weekends have one session only. (either OT or PT) He told me while resting that he "Wanted to take a field trip out of here today." He said he was "Wasting too much time here." LOL. I explained that they won't let me get him out of bed into his wheelchair yet, much less take him in the car anywhere.  So, while resting I brought out my phone and started a game called Flow Free. Basically you touch the color circles and find the path to the same color circle. With a little help finding the first dot he was able to complete a couple of puzzles. It was awesome! I was super excited to see this as just a couple of weeks ago there was NO WAY he could do this. After lunch (which was the first time he did not choke once) we took a walk around the building. When we got to my car (I always say hello to it when we walk by) he put his feet down on the ground and would not let me move the wheelchair. I think he seriously thought I would put

It's been awhile since I posted my first PSA. I wasn't sure what I wanted to share, but I just realized there is another subject I'd like to bring up to my friends and family. That is the creation of a Revocable Living Trust. We created ours when I was 40 and Michael was 45. I remember sitting in the office of the representative crying like a baby. You don't want to think about getting sick or dying when you just turned 40. But we knew with two kids, a house, investments, pensions, etc. it was the right thing to do to protect not only our future, but also the futures of our boys. It was a fairly easy process and cost around $1,000 at the time. We had a really great person who walked us through the creation of the documents, sent it out to a legal service and then followed up with the signing and notarizing all sections of the Trust. (it is quite a large binder) The reason I bring this up is that with Michael unable to make any decisions or even sign his name to do

M was in OT when I arrived. Actually they were working on bathroom skills and M did well. We took a little rest afterwards to get strength for lunch. Which, BTW, we had our first lunch date at Ballard  :)   They had the same thing for purchase as he was eating, so I got myself some yummy mac and cheese and veggies and ate along with him for once. It was fun and most definitely a highlight of my day. He just got back from speech. I let them work without distraction today. (and I am quite the distraction sometimes...lol) Megan had him tell her what he would tell me in a card and she transcribed it for him. So totally sweet! I'm pretty awesome, apparently.  :) Anyway..gushiness aside, we had a nice walk outside and soaked up some lovely sun on the patio. Today is a much better day.

Well, we did not have a consecutive good day. He seemed super sluggish and extra quiet with me. But there is always tomorrow. I did hear from PT that he did well, so that is what we will go with as our positive for the day.

Well, we have put together a couple good days in a row. Yay M!!! Had good OT, Speech and PT sessions today. Lots of wheelchair strolls around the building and time in the sunshine. A good lunch and some good communication. And of course lots of music. We are working diligently on focus He has been up since I got here, so now is one tired dude! Our best day yet, I would say.

Michael is doing well, but they have extended his release date to May 2nd. (I thought the 25th was a bit ambitious) They need him to continue becoming stronger and more independent. I can say for sure that if he continues the progress I have seen in just the past week he will be well on his way. ❤

Michael is doing pretty well today. Here he is looking fierce while propelling his wheelchair down the hallway. LOL  PT here in a few minutes, but we are warming up. Go Team Canon GO!!!

Michael had his BEST session with the Speech Pathologist today. He used a voice that she could hear much of the time. Megan was so excited. I was so excited. M was super smiley and you could tell he was trying very hard! Hopefully he is able to build on that and do a repeat tomorrow. But if not, we know he CAN, so that's really cool. I had already left for home prior to the late PT session but, fingers crossed, he did well there too. Good news to end the day.

Things are going pretty well on this Monday. I'm always happy to see our favorite weekday nurses who all give M the best care. Lunch did not include quite as many coughing episodes so that's an improvement. (he is still having swallowing issues with liquids and remains on honey consistency) He often continues to have a difficult time focusing on what he's doing as he distracts very easily. But when done, he had eaten quite a bit. He knows how happy that makes me. He had OT this morning before I arrived and took a nice shower and washed his hair. For those who wonder how that happens, he has a roll-in shower in his bathroom and a shower chair that looks like a big PVC wheelchair. Speech and PT later today. He used his voice a couple of times for me this morning, so I hope he shows off for Megan this afternoon. A couple of our "lunchroom/hallway friends let us know they were going home this week. That is very promising and hopeful for us. Some day will be our "I

M had a great visit with Ben and Jake yesterday. Something funny happened. M was in bed and Jake was sitting in the wheelchair. He tried to tell us something but we couldn't understand him until Jake realized he wanted him to pop a wheelie. (he said tilt it)  Once we finally got it, he was smiling so huge and gave a chuckle. I am thinking he is quite the wheelchair daredevil when I am not here. Great. One more thing to worry about. LOL Later in the evening one of the nurses cut his hair. I think that made him happy. His hair was growing so fast! Not much change today. However, he is putting on his shoes and can tie them with a bit of help. He does not even look at his feet, so he's just doing it by touch and memory. I think that is pretty awesome! Small steps. We watered the plants in the courtyard and enjoyed the sunshine this morning. B and J will stop by again today before heading back to Irvine. LOVE my guys!!!  💗💗💗

It's been four weeks since this rollercoaster ride began. Three weeks since M's Thrombectomy. Today was my 17th trip in a row to San Bernardino. 23 days since M has slept at home in our bed. I have to look at a calendar to find these numbers as hospital time is super strange. The days and weeks just continue go by and it all still seems like a bad dream. This morning I was greeted by a smiley Michael! I always LOVE that! The weekend day shift nurse commented on how much more alert he seemed than last weekend. I heard the report from the weekend PT who saw him before I arrived, and she said he did well (she's never seen him before) In her opinion, with just meeting him, is that he seems to be doing well for 3 weeks in. She was surprised by his strength and responding to commands with his movements. That's good! I was very happy to get that report. After a walk around the building a couple of times, he was ready to come in. We brushed and flossed his teeth, shaved, an

Had some good outdoor as well as music cuddle time today. M is still having UTI symptoms. They need to check him again. He also did well eating lunch (probably because it was a bit tastier)    Otherwise a quiet day without much movement forward or backwards. PT won't be until after I leave. I hope he does well. He is not talking much today, but we are coming up with our own sign language. They don't like me to do that, but tough! I need him to be able to communicate with me without either of us getting frustrated. Sometimes wives just know best.   😊  

I missed Speech today, but was told M did great and they talked about music. I know he did great for sure because after lunch while resting I heard a loud voice that I hadn't heard in 2 weeks! Michael started speaking slowly to me. "Tell Ben and Jake I am proud of them." I still cannot stop smiling. OT coming up then PT later in the day. A very good Thursday. ❤

M had a great PT session this afternoon. He was doing leg lifts while on his stomach and counting his reps (in his head) He walked a good distance with his walker.  Even Ken his therapist was very impressed! Keep it up Michael! ❤

M did a little better today with swallowing. I also see his left eye moving outward beyond midline. Those are very positive improvements. He is in good spirits although a bit tired. We had a nice morning nap with Classical Music. To wake him up for Speech I played some Bruno Mars. He became alert more quickly than usual after a nap. M did some good talking with Megan today. She is hoping he will work hard to breathe and project. Small steps.

Today M was able to say this with some effort, "Don't give up on me." And "It may seem like I am not trying,  but I am." I cried...a lot....as usual. While having my cry on the patio two people approached us. The man who is only 51 had a stroke 6 months ago. He spent the first month entirely out of it. But now he is doing well and was speaking almost normally. He will be released next week. This brought me so much hope. Not a lot of big changes today for M, but the words he said to me meant the world.

M was hooked up today to a electrode machine during Speech Therapy that helps stimulate the muscles and improves the swallowing process. It must have felt very odd to him because he grabbed at his throat and was not too into it. He survived the therapy and was a trooper. Today at lunch the kitchen mistakingly gave him a brownie. It was chopped in small pieces. I promised we would be careful. (To take it away would just be mean) So, they let him keep it. He brought the entire plate up to his face and just wanted to inhale it apparently.  Haha. Did I mention he REALLY loves brownies? Napping now and PT at 2:00. Another day and the hopes for continued progress. ❤

The therapist du jour was most definitely the coolest yet. Jean is from Haiti and was so nice and had a great accent. When I told him M spoke some French, Jean asked him a question which M answered (whispered) in French. It was so awesome. Jean is an OT, but put M on a recumbent bike type of equipment (arms and legs) which he did not want to get off of. I think he really enjoyed sweating a little. Went for 15 minutes full force as his arms and legs are still very strong. After the cardio he practiced standing and sitting. (yep...that's an acquired skill for a stroke survivor) We spent a good amount of time outside enjoying the beautiful day. He was awake for several hours so now it's time to rest and watch golf. But as watching golf usually does, it put him right to sleep. 😴 For those of you who are wondering, no, he really can't speak. It's a chore just to get him to speak up and use his diaphragm. If he does get the words out, it's often not co

It was an emotional day. That happens. I need feel however I feel without being too hard on myself. Sometimes it's difficult to be strong while visiting. But I try...oh do I try. My update earlier today was quite short. At that moment I really couldn't find anything positive for the day. However, a sweet moment happened with Michael that my dear friend, Shaun, encouraged me to share. We were walking outside, I was pushing him in his wheelchair. We stopped for a moment and I tried to work with him and do some of the speech therapy the pathologist had suggested. He just wasn't into it. He did not do what I asked. We started walking again and I began to cry. He recognized that I was sad and he could hear my sniffles behind him. He reached back as far as he could above his head and grabbed my arms and pulled me in for a hug. He had complete empathy that I was sad and he was comforting me. HE was comforting  me....  ❤  He was my strength.

Two weeks since the Thrombectomy. Good days.....bad days.....Trust the process. That's all for today.

Good OT session today. They were working on M's ability to track his eyes since he still has the double vision issue . Cesar his therapist du jour said he did a good job. He isn't verbalizing much really, but definitely understands what they ask him to do. Processing time is a bit delayed at times, but he is working hard. We spent some good outside sunshine time this morning. I brought him some shorts so we could soak in the sun. He wanted to do two laps around the building in his wheelchair. I'm becoming quite the efficient pusher and haven't yet taken out any plants, trees, or people! Yay me!! The nurse this morning told me that he scooted himself down the hall last evening toward the dining room. I thought that was great news! Maybe he likes the food better now that he can eat chunks. He smiled as she told the story. Independence is good. PT and Speech later in the day. There is a quote on the wall near the patio exit and each time we pass by he grabs the wall

Had a good Speech Therapy session today with Megan. He is sustaining his voice a lot longer than he was even a few days ago. So that is one positive for today. Also, he is officially is on chunky foods for all meals. Small steps!

People ask me, "How are you doing?" Most of the time I don't even know. One minute I'm crying, the next I am hopeful. Try to be positive and strong, stay in the moment, look to tomorrow, but don't look too far ahead. How long will this detour last? Honestly, it is exhausting. Transitioning from wife to caregiver is a very strange experience and one I never imagined I'd be thinking about at this point in my life. The main focus and energy is on the recovery process but the reality is that life and my role has changed entirely. That is a difficult concept to face and I still cannot wrap my mind around it. The days blur...the nights are lonely...I miss my predictable life...I miss normalcy...what will my new normal be? I find very few normals these days. But when I do, I find them in the dumbest places. A morning shower, a load of laundry, traffic. Sometimes, during the day, I will just snuggle with M in the hospital bed and he wraps his arms around

M did not have to get up quite so early for OT this morning. He has already had Speech and even got upgraded 2 levels on food consistency just on a trial basis. He got to eat chunks! He chewed and swallowed well. They will try again tomorrow to make sure he can tolerate again. PT any moment. He's having a pretty good day. Wants me to bust him out of here, but I just keep reminding him that he needs to get stronger. But soon.. very soon.

Even though I work at the school district, I've never been in an IEP meeting, but now I understand how it must feel to be the subject of this type of round table discussion. You walk into a room with 6 people sitting there tapping away on their computers/devices waiting to discuss your loved one. It is an intimidating moment even though some (but not all) of the people look familiar around the table. You hold your breath hoping to hear good reports, dreading you won't. Present were the doctor, head of speech dept, PT, OT, Nurse and Patient Coordinator. I'm pleased to report that all-in-all it was very good news. M has already met some of his short term goals and there was nothing but optimism that he will continue to improve. (might I add he's done much of this therapy half asleep)   :) After reports from each department it was time for them to tell the doctor how long they believe their particular therapy will take to complete. The unanimous number thrown around

Trust the Process. The boys and I have been using that phrase since he has been here at Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital. It's out of our control, so we just have to trust they are doing all they can to take care of him and bring him to the point where he can come home. (he tells me he would do better at home...I keep reminding him I need him to stay here for me, so when he does come home I can take better care of him) This morning they woke him up for OT at 7:00AM. That seems a bit early to me. I know they have their schedules, but really? So then that tired him out for PT a couple of hours later, which was cut short since he was too tired, and now his is sleeping to gear up for his 11AM speech therapy which leads into lunch. At least maybe he will get the rest this afternoon. I would be tired too with this schedule. That brain needs rest! When he gets tired he doesn't want to talk and kind of zones out. (but that is kind of how he was when he was 100%.....My introvert doe

Each time I go to the mailbox I expect to see bills. Bills from ambulance companies, bills from hospitals, medication, etc. I always wonder just HOW much those bills will be? Today I got our first bill and that was from the (March 21st) initial transport to Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley. Total amount $1,547.16. Total due from patient- $0. Seriously ZERO. I nearly cried. I don't expect that outcome for every bill since we've had 5 hospital admissions and 6 ambulance rides including from hospital to hospital,  but so far I am so thankful we have insurance. Kaiser seems to be taking good care of us so far.

After being awake so long yesterday and with this morning's OT and PT back-to-back we have one tired dude! When Heidi, his Physical Therapist, brought him back to bed for a nap before lunch he smiled and looked so happy. He is sleeping right now with Classical Music for Studying playing gently from my phone on his chest. His brain needs a well-deserved break if even for a half-hour. Very happy to see him working so hard. So far all the Therapists have been patient and kind. I found another stroke blog and contacted the owner. Alvin is a 60 year old man who had a stroke 3 years ago, also at age 57. I'm not even sure what country in which he resides (thinking UK) , but I DO know that he is in New Zealand right now celebrating the 3rd anniversary since his event. He says even after 3 years he still sees improvement. He's offered to be available should we have any questions or positive stories. This is very comforting to me. Here is to a good day (albeit sleepy) with smal

In case you do not know us (as I see on our stats that we have some followers from other countries) let me introduce ourselves. Michael is 57 years old. I am 51. We recently moved to a beautiful, active senior retirement community in Beaumont, CA. Our sons, Ben and Jake live in Irvine. Prior to Michael's stroke we made an effort to get in the suggested 10,000 steps each day. Many days we ended up with more like 13,000 or more. So in other words we moved an average of 5 miles per day. We also rode our bikes, hiked, played pickle ball, worked out, and stayed active whenever we could. Even at work (we work at the same place) we would take a loop around the District Office campus when we could. Days we didn't get out on the nature trails in our community seemed like wasted days. We even incorporated night walks during the summer when I work 10 hour days and the temperatures get in the 100s here. We love to see the wildlife in the neighborhood. Birds & rabbits in the day,

Got some PT in today! Alan, the Physical Therapist, had M up and walking with a walker and between parallel bars. He gets super dizzy and sways a lot, so we have a ways to go, but it was sure good seeing him vertical for the first time in 10 days. He was awake for longer than he had been in days and by the time we left he was so tired! Super proud of today's progress.

Today we are playing lots of music! One of Michael's favorite things to do. He keeps wanting to hear Charles Earland "I Love You More Today than Yesterday" in a loop.  https://youtu.be/9PjYQndM-JM  Not sure the blog creates an active link to click on, but if not, copy and paste it in your browser and enjoy it and think of us today! It's long...but a happy song! The next song on our fav playlist today is Sara Bareilles "Brave". This has been MY song for a few years now, but today I officially gave it to Michael. I want to see him be brave.  (this video is amazing too, FWIW)  https://youtu.be/QUQsqBqxoR4 The BEST thing about our music session this morning is that he is singing and I can hear him! I think this is the most amazing therapy for him. He may have his other Therapists, but I am officially his MUSIC Therapist! We are having some fun this morning.