Greetings All,

Our mind-boggling life continues, Not much new on the stroke I suffered on May 25th and I continue to do what I can to recover fully. Some say full recovery is not possible. They believe it changes you so much that you will feel like a different person. I don't experience that, at least not yet. I would say I have recovered around 90 % of what I was, the only thing keeping me from reaching 100% is my balance when standing up or walking but I haven't fallen yet so that's a good thing. I keep working on it though, perhaps not hard enough and I've completed outpatient physical therapy so I'm on my own. I do know the exercises to do so that helps. We are working out at the gym, Katherine and I, three times per week besides.

I'm finding how important it is to develop and maintain a positive attitude which isn't always that easy. I need to keep my goal on that 100% goal and not get discouraged by the obstacles that present themselves. Writing is something I continue to do every day; One or or two pages every morning which I think of as my daily therapy session- self therapy, it does help, give it a try if you would like. It is a practice I learned to keep writers continuing to be creative and writing.I do still think of myself as a writer, my handwriting is okay and my typing is getting a little better every day.

We continue to plan travels, if everything goes well we will take another trip to Washington State in March, we are finding it feels good to visit family and our home state. It is a pretty liberal state and a beautiful state as well as being a Sanctuary state which we appreciate.

I would be remiss not to mention my wonderful wife Katherine, she continues to be a great support through my struggles to recover as well as interpreting medical stuff. ( she was a nurse for 40 years).

This is the first time I have felt like signing off with old, I guess a stroke and being almost 83 will do that to you.

Stan the Old Man 

 

 

South

Greetings,

We have been home for awhile now and things are getting back to normal, Well, that's not exactly the truth because the truth be told; I have very little idea what our normal is now. Katherine has been driving us many miles for doctor's appointments, dentists appointments and more. Lots of them are in relation to my stroke. I'm pretty frustrated with the whole scene, no answers to the questions I have about my future like what caused my stroke and what can I do to assure I don't have another one. There are 800,000 strokes every year in the U.S. and about 200,000 have second strokes and some have more. Now the neurologist tells me I have had multiple strokes but of course I was only aware of one on May 25th, six months ago today. She had me on a heart monitor for two weeks and I have an appointment for a "sleep consult"whatever that means. Apparently these are two things that could contribute to strokes. No results yet.The waiting to hear something definite wears on me.

When we moved way South, down here to the outback of Rio Rico we of course I had no way of knowing the stroke was going to be in my future. It has led to  huge and expensive lifestyle since doctors, physical therapists and everything is a long drive away. The gas prices haven't helped either. Now the bottom line is wait and see what happens and what we decide to do. Our lease runs through April then we will either need to extend it if possible or perhaps move somewhere more convenient.

Not knowing how long one will live is not anything new, we've all known we won't live forever but I'm almost 83 years old which probably makes it a bit more imminent than in the past and there is the stroke as well. For me, a person who has always been searching for answers it leaves me with the task of determining what I want to do with my days, weeks or months I have left. Okay, maybe even years. No one can know for sure. Do I just go on writing here and elsewhere, or come up with new ideas to make my life more valuable to others and thus myself? This is an area I am spending a lot of time thinking about, reading about and hopefully I will find an answer or two or at least more questions.

Thanks for reading,

Stan the Man 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mind-boggling Trip Completed

Yes, we took our anticipated trip to Washington but before we left we discovered we had somehow made double reservations, we had four seats on our flight from Tucson but there are only two of us. Along with that issue we also had made reservations for rental cars, yeah, that's correct, two cars. It took some effort but we managed to cancel one of the cars and change the dates of one of our plane reservations and we were on our way and arrived in Washington State without further incidents. Well, I won't write about the other difficulties.

After several days with my son, Todd and his wife Joy and with my sister, Mary we drove to Beautiful Lake Chelan which has been tormented by wildfires and smoke all summer. The locals don't call it summer anymore, instead they refer to it as fire season. It was clear and sunny upon our arrival after a little rain. By day 3 we couldn't see across the lake. We packed up and left heading further south to the Tri Cities area where Katherine's brother lives and we had plans to be there for birthday party. We arrived a couple days early so did some sightseeing and shopping. And then the party, fun time for all present.

Next, we drove back over the Cascade Mountains and north practically to Canada. A visit to Bellingham which was where I went to college for one year, my junior year at Western Washington University. It turned out to be the day before classes would begin so the place was over-run by new and returning students looking for the best bar and restaurants to frequent during the fall quarter which was about to begin. The city looked like a different city than when I was there, much bigger and of course a Walmart and Costco since the population is now approaching 100,000.

We drove back to Seattle to get our flight back to Tucson. Sea -Tac Airport was chaotic. Our reservations were with Alaska Airlines which has recently acquired Hawaiian Airlines and have also "upgraded" their check in system so it's all done with technology. We and the hordes of other passengers had no idea how it worked nor did the staff. What a mess. We should have caught a flight to Hawaii but thought better of it and landed safely in Tucson and drove back to Rio Rico. So our journey took us from very close to Mexico to almost Canada and back again. Incidentally, I doubt that we will fly with Alaska Airlines again unless we have no choice. 

With our rental car we drove around 1000 miles on this trip. Well, I can't say we, because Katherine was the only one who drove, the entire distance. My doctor gave me approval to drive in spite of suffering a stroke but I have chosen to give up the keys due to a chance for a second stroke. Luckily, I have Katherine who is a very good driver. 

Until next time, 

Stan the Man 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Onward and Upward

Mind boggling changes bring new challenges that make moving ahead more of a challenge. Yes, first there was my stroke which required  both occupational  and physical therapy. Of course I have been retired for some time so I did not have an occupation to re-learn or anything like that but I do write a lot so that's what my occupational therapy focused on, getting more control of my left hand for typing. I have improved quite a bit but am still struggling a little even though I "graduated" from that program this past week.

Physical therapy has focused on walking, first without the walker and then without a cane. I accomplished both of those goals and am now working on my balance, I can walk a little wobbly sometimes, my balance has improved but the physical therapists have continued to put me through my rigorous paces twice a week for almost a month now. I'm hoping tomorrow I will graduate from that program.

We are looking forward to our appointment, the first one, with a Neurologist in Tucson who specializes in stroke recovery to find out what our approach should be from here out regarding continued recovery and avoiding a second stroke which are fairly common. That will be helpful to me, having more information.

Hopefully we will be on our way to Washington State come September 10th to visit family. The wildfires up there in the Pacific Northwest are continuing to burn and insure smokey air so we don't know exactly what we will find but the key word is flexibility. I don't want to be in a dangerous location in terms of fire or smoke.I don't think that would be good for me, a stroke survivor or for my wonderful wife and caregiver, Katherine.

We will attempt to continue keeping everyone up to date periodically.

 Stan the Man

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I know, I haven't been posting here much lately so it's likely not too many followers have stayed tuned since there hasn't been a lot new. I continue to primarily work on my rehabilitation from the stroke I suffered on May 25th of this year. I am walking pretty good on my own without the darn walker or the cane. No falls yet. I suffered no damage to my speech or seemingly to my intellect like many do so that makes my recovery easier than many stroke survivors. I consider myself lucky and blessed.

This blog began with the idea that it would be primarily a story about my travels with Katherine.

With the stroke the travel came to a screeching halt but it's not going to stay that way. We have a two week trip planned to Washington State in September. It was intended to be a combination of visiting various family members, friends and a get-away for us. We planned on staying on Lake Chelan in a water-front AirBNB for a portion of the trip but if you are following the news, you know that area has been ravaged by wildfires as has the Spokane area where we planned on visiting as well. So some portions of our trip may need to be adjusted. I have no desire to catch fire or breathe the smoke laden air. What a shame many of the fires were set purposely by one man.

Things never seem to go the way we plan. I don't know if that's true for you but it has been for us. But we just forge on. I encourage you to do the same. I do not intend to allow a stroke to change my trajectory. I want travel, I want experience and adventure so we will venture on. It's none of my business but I encourage you to do the same. Stay tuned, there will be more.

Stan the Man 

 I'm back! Yes, if you've been following at all you would be somewhat  aware that I was totally surprised by a stroke on May 25th, 2026. After the stroke hit me at home I went to the brand new Tucson Rehabilitation Hospital. That was my home and rehab center for two weeks before I was able to talk my way out of there and back home. Now, at home I am involved in outpatient rehabilitation two days a week. Began in Rio Rico and now transferred to Sahuarita where I get physical therapy as well as occupational therapy. The Physical Therapy is working on my walking, balance and the use of my left arm; the occupational therapy is with a hand specialist who is trying to get me back to my former typing skills. You can't know how difficult what I'm doing right now is for me.

I've learned some about strokes. There are between 700,000 and 800,000 strokes in the USA every year, at least one out of every four have a second stroke so that is something a stroke survivor like me lives with for the rest of their life. There are two types of strokes: Ischemic and hemorrhagic. The first is the type I had, it's when a fragment breaks lose and blocks a blood vessel in the brain. The second is caused by a leak or rupture in a blood vessel that causes blood to flood into the brain resulting in pressure on the brain. The hemorrhagic stroke is usually the more serious while the Ischemic is the most common, about 87% of all strokes.

From my experience you really don't want either one. Prevention involves not smoking, keeping your blood pressure under control and a healthy, low fat diet. If you aren't doing it now, start today. Also exercise helps.

What they don't tell you is that a stroke, any type is an injury to the brain and brains have a lot of control over not only the physical aspect of our bodies but also the emotional. It is quite common for stroke victims to have increased and unexpected bouts of anxiety, anger and depression. I have experienced all three along with paranoia. This process can easily change a person's personality. I'm now working on that aspect since I am walking pretty well and certainly hope to improve my typing skills.Please stay tuned. I have to say thank you to Katherine the Great and God for being on my side throughout my recovery. 

Stan the Man 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mind-Boggling Struggles

 

Post-stroke...we finding its a roller-coaster ride of moods and emotions, brain altering, body and balance meddling, and yes, life changing.  It's a maze we have to find our way through.  What's not helpful; stroke survivor groups posts on their subsequent 2nd and 3rd strokes following the first one, being told, "it could have been worse," and all the flim-flam posts on Facebook on this or that gadget "guaranteed" to fix weak limbs in exchange for your $$$.  Turns out stroke recovery is an industry unto itself. With 700,000-800,000 folks per year falling victim to strokes, they have a large audience, and pool of buyers.  

What to and hope for as we move forward on this path to recovery?  Stan the Man is resolute in ditching "Johnny Walker," and his newest helper, "Hurri-Cane."  He's getting there!  We'll keep you posted.

Until then...adios, 

K