No, I haven’t taken up golfing. So, the one stroke I speak of is the kind of stroke you don’t wanna get even once. But on April 17, yeah, just last month, I had one sneak up on me and knock me down pretty hard.
That one stroke, put me in the ICU and rehab for three weeks.
It’s one thing to read about, or watch what someone deals with in a movie, or hear somebody tell a story about relearning how to walk and do simple things like pick something up. But it’s another thing entirely to actually have to do it yourself. And yet that’s where I find myself now.
It all started, as I said, on the evening of April 17th. I had just a few hours to go before I would drive to the airport to pick up Elgielene at the airport. She was getting back home around midnight from a two-week trip to see her sister in Florida. I had just gotten off the phone with her and her sister, after a conversation about flight numbers and times. Then I got up from my desk, walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and a weird feeling, came over me. It was something I haven’t felt before, so, being a typical American tough guy, I decided to.” walk it off.” And I started pacing back-and-forth from room to room.
Unfortunately, the pacing didn’t help. I couldn’t walk it off. Matter of fact, I noticed my left leg started not responding so well and it bumped into things. Then, I started to have suspicions that something dastardly was taking place in my brain. So, I started quoting the first couple of lines from Lincoln’s Gettysburg address to see if my speech was OK. Oddly. enough, my speech was pretty much fine.
But I tried to walk again and my left leg refused to cooperate. It just felt like a heavy weight that I couldn’t even drag. Well, that was enough to get me to dial 911 and put in a call for an ambulance.
In very short order, a couple of very nice female paramedics showed up at my door, came inside, checked my vitals, and recommended that I waste no time getting to the emergency center of a nearby hospital.
The crew in the hospital very quickly diagnosed that I had experienced one stroke, and that I needed to go into the ICU for quick treatment.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t reach Elgielene because she was on a plane.
I was only able to leave her a voicemail that told her what happened and that I had been taken to the emergency room at this particular hospital. Imagine her surprise when she got off the plane and found that I wouldn’t be there to pick her up at midnight. And not only that, I was also in intensive care at the hospital. How’s that for a wake up call after a long day of connecting flights between Florida and Kansas?
Anyway…
It’s nearly a month since that took place and I just got back home four days ago. And it’s quite a drastic change in the Funderburk lifestyle. Before, I did all the driving because, well, I’m a man, and that’s what real man do. But now I’m not allowed to drive. Elgielene has really stepped up her game. And she’s taking great care of me.What a blessing! She has to do everything she was doing before plus help me do things that I don’t do so well now. My physical and occupational therapists told me they expect what they call “activation” to return to my left side eventually.
So, there’s the word I’m dealing with right now. Eventually.
This is my first message out to anyone who has connected with me online. And I expect to share more updates as my eventual recovery progresses.
There are some people who know about the stroke, and I know there have been a lot of people praying for me. For that I’m eternally grateful. Thank you for including me in your prayers. And thank you for the awesome encouragement and support.
Here’s a rhyme that I wrote way back that needs my personal attention now:
Happy Healthy Human
Hey, I’m talkin’ to you man…
Be a healthy happy human.
It’s not so hard to do man,
But don’t wait one more day.
Think about what you’re eatin’…
Those brain cells you’re mistreatin’…
Bad habits will keep repeatin’
Unless you stop and say…
“I’m a healthy happy human
‘Cause I know what to do man.
I’m changin’ through and through man,
I’m goin’ outside and play.”
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Stay tuned,
