| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
>>>I'd love to say something profound...but Ann, again, makes me sound like an amateur. I refuse to accept that excuse. You;ve a keen eye for the human condition and a gift translating it to words. Write. :-) | ||
| Tripper |
Well my dry eyes are fixed | ||
| Etennuly |
Thanks for posting Ann. My best friend of many years had a stroke six years ago. His initial prognosis sounds exactly the same as Dave's. His first six months were scary not knowing if, or how far he could come back. His speech was gone, his right side was non functional, and his being "locked" in there was so similar. He had little idea what neuropathways were, but every day he bashed out new ones. Each time he stood up, each time he pointed, each time he mumbled the wrong word it was opening a pathway albeit the right one or wrong one. It seemed most frustrating at first that when he opened a door to another thought and associated word, and it was the wrong one, that one would pop up frequently as still the path to that particular thought. We have hundreds of millions of those pathways in our brains, he was starting over with just a few hundred. He kept knocking out more new neuro pathways that would eventually override those that went to the wrong address, not unlike mail in a post office delivered to the wrong box. It might be in the mail box right next to the one it is supposed to be in, but the result was the same, the correct mail box being empty. It seemed like his individual thoughts worked like water in a stream bed, flowing to the path of least resistance.....at first, until he learned to aim his thoughts. His wife, bless her, was in your shoes. She carried on like an amazing loving spouse would. Like you are doing. To say we were/are proud of her is a great understatement. She told me once that his better days came right after myself or one of his other good buddies would visit him. I/we would ignore his problem, not help him find words and not make him look for them. Usually laughing at him for the words that came out, and laughing with him when he missed when it was making him mad. That 'abuse' promoted finding new pathways beyond her gentle mothering touch. Once hammered out a new pathway usually stayed. He had problems with his memory and speech for about four years and is now at about 95% which is probably better than I do without having had a stroke. His physicality and speech gained a little each day frustrating him because it was such slow progress, but hey, have you ever counted to several million.....one thought at a time? If I am in Florida and want to play golf guess who I seek out? I posted this because the similarity to Dave's current situation is so much like that of my friend's. I know it won't be long before Dave strokes the four or so keys to get to BadWeB and types in the two letter sentence....."hi". Remember.....one day at a time. It'll work. | ||
| Fb1 |
Vern: Once again I am humbled. It's lookin' like there ain't gonna be no dry eyes in this house today. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Here's a good image for the week, posted by Ann about an hour ago, Glitch!  I'd say he's looking pretty good for somebody that's had a substantial part of his skull replaced with titanium. | ||
| Fb1 |
WOW! Fantastic!! Brother Glitch, you are a steely-eyed missile man!!  Big, bright eyes and a confident smile. Glitch, you've made my day. God is great! | ||
| Reepicheep |
So good to see a smile! | ||
| Ourdee |
Yes, God is great! Good picture. Wow. | ||
| Denisea |
Happy Thankful Day!!!!! Smiling with you Glitch!  ! | ||
| Bigdaddy |
You look awesome my friend. So great to see that. Would love to see you on a yawateg Ginger Cake Road...door is always open for you and yours. Get better, fight it, come see us. | ||
| Twig |
Dang , Glitch looks extremely well for what he's been through in the last few weeks. I think he's saying thank you all and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Dave, you are one tough cookie! Get stronger every day! | ||
| Buellish |
Dave it's great to see you again! Happy Thanksgiving Ann and Dave.May we all be thankful for health and love of family and friends! | ||
| 86129squids |
Amen! Just got up to get the smoked turkey started... YAWN... Here's wishing Glitch and co., and all youn's a great Thanksgiving! Let us all be thankful for one another, and for God's bounty and grace in our lives. | ||
| Court |
Happy Thanksgiving to Glitch and all the Glitchettes! | ||
| Mrs_glitch |
Haha! I knew that pic would make it over here! We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I spent the night with him at the rehab facility last night. He was in very good spirits and actually carrying on conversation, with just a stumble every now and then. He took me on a tour of the physical therapy room showing me the different machines he uses and tools for fine motor skills. He's getting stronger each and every day. His speech is still slurred and slow, but he's much more understandable. It kind of helps that I've been with him for 23 years too. The staples were removed yesterday, and when the nurse made a comment about how good his incision looked, he said "Instant facelift!" His favorite two words he's working on perfecting right now are Titanium Plates. Our birthed children and a couple of our borrowed ones came to visit us today and brought food. It may have just been Bojangles, but it was the bestest Thanksgiving feast ever! Didn't matter what we were eating, we were ALL together! Laughing and carrying on just like we'd be doing right here in our own living room on any normal day. Fatigue is his biggest enemy right now. That's when it's easiest for him to lose his train of thought, or not be able to find the right words. Also slows his speech down even more, so he's harder to understand. It's caused from a number of things - having been sedentary for so long, medications, weight loss. Right now, it takes every bit of energy that he has for processing thought and moving these limbs that don't always want to cooperate. And his body is working diligently to continue fighting the infection and repairing itself. But, as he gets stronger, his stamina will improve. The doctor has said that if he keeps progressing at this pace, there should be a marked improvement in his speech and mobility in the next couple of months ! He really does look better now than he has in a really long time. Of course, he had been sick for a really long time and we didn't know it. One of our friends told him that he should look at it as proof as to just how strong he really is - here he's been chugging along like he was normal when he actually had an infection raging through his blood stream and eating at his skull. A true testament to his strength, character and determination indeed! | ||
| 86129squids |
Thanks, Mrs. Glitch, for sharing!! Great news, so glad to hear of a deluxe Bojangles dinner! After all the work we put into our day/dindin, it was good, but not <nearly> as good as yours. Keep on keepin' on! | ||
| Fb1 |
Our birthed children and a couple of our borrowed ones came to visit us today and brought food. It may have just been Bojangles, but it was the bestest Thanksgiving feast ever! Didn't matter what we were eating, we were ALL together! It ain't the food, it's the mood! Thanks for the updates, Mrs. Glitch. Our best to you and Mr. Glitch & Crew!! FB&D | ||
| K12pilot |
Totally awesome! Happy late Thanksgiving God bless!! | ||
| Buellish |
I can't decide which one I like best for the new catch phrase of the day: "Instant facelift!" or "Titanium Plates"? Go team Glitch! | ||
| Denisea |
So very cool you all could be together and well, enjoy your Bojangles! Like you said Ann, does not matter what was on the menu, the fact that you were all together is the BEST! So, just gotta tell you this Thanksgiving story - might put another smile on that boy's face.  First Thanksgiving here in Virginia for FB&D - not yet tuned into the ways of the world here. So, no working stove in the house. Been cooking with a microwave as our sole means of cooking but just KNEW we would find a place to have a nice Thanksgiving supper. Wellllllll....... NO ONE is open on Thanksgiving, I mean NO ONE. We drove and drove and drove. Finally found a gas station that was open, snatched up some Fritos, beef jerky and a six pack of beer, parked in from of the Wiggly Worm (a place that was once in this part of the world a happening place but now all shut up, boarded up and not a soul in sight) and feasted. So, yeah, did not matter what was on the table (well front seat), but we had US, and that was all that mattered. | ||
| 86129squids |
Denise, that's awesome! Kinda surprised no one was open, there are several chains around here that are open on TG day, including Hooters @4pm... Mood not the food, indeed!  | ||
| Etennuly |
I like the "hair band" look, that dates back to the 60's I believe.  Go Glitch! | ||
| Buellish |
Hope your having a good day Dave. | ||
| Mrs_glitch |
Ha! That's a great story Denise! Bet I have one that tops it! Glitch and I got married at the courthouse, along with about 20 other couples. We've always joked that we went for the Jim Jones mass ceremony option. Lol! Afterward, we went to IHOP for our "reception". The only folks in attendance were my mom and dad, Dave's mom, and Colin, who was 7 months old. As we were getting in the car to leave, Dave dropped the camera and the door popped open exposing the film. (Does anyone remember film cameras? Heehee) There were no fancy flowers, no cutting of a cake, not even any pictures. But it was still a wonderful day shared with people that we loved and most of all with each other, setting the date in stone that I took his name for the rest of my life. Glitch is plugging right along with his rehab! He's been upgraded from High Risk to Moderate Risk, meaning he's able to do more things on his own with lessened or no assistance, and was moved to a new room. His speech is improving just a little bit more each day as well as his thought processes. This also means he's now getting his butt kicked more with physical and occupational therapy. His speech therapy has been kicked up a notch to a more challenging level as well, forcing those neurons and circuits to reconnect and get busy! He exclaimed this morning that he was "so sore!", but that it's a good kind of sore because that means he's getting stronger. He thanked me for not feeling sorry for him today. I told him I feel sorry for no one - it ain't how I roll. Lol! I also told him that I knew he wouldn't want that and that people who knew him would know he wouldn't want that either. Feeling sorry for him or looking upon him with pity would devastate his spirit. At the end of the day, a man has got to have his dignity, even in the most undignified of situations. He's still my husband and he's still the head of this household, and he'll be treated as such. Rushing in to do things for him before he's even had a chance to try, or not being patient while he accomplishes them in his time would essentially convey the message of "you can't do this anymore because you're not whole anymore". When our boys were little, there were people who thought we were "mean" parents because we didn't coddle them. We helped them, but also required them to at least try something before asking for help. "I can't" was not allowed. They could say "I can't figure this part out" and we would show them, but we essentially taught them that they could do anything they set their minds to. Practice makes near perfect. We held fast to the belief that if we expected nothing of them, they'd expect nothing of themselves and never discover how truly smart and resourceful they are. That's kind of the attitude encircling Glitch right now. Not that I'm saying he's like a child - far from it! He's a man having to re-learn things, as well as new things and having to be resourceful to find different ways of doing other certain things. That's all. If he needs help, he'll certainly receive it if he asks and wants it. He's tackling his recovery with an intense determination and a greater acceptance of his current temporary situation. He's in a much better mindset than he was even a week ago. He's starting to accept the "baby steps of progress" as progress. Seeing the notice on his new room at the rehab center of "Modified Risk" made him very happy. It was actual evidence in writing that he has and is improving. As we were discussing what the near future holds, I mentioned that we would just deal with whatever limitations there may be and we'd adapt to it. He told me, quite firmly, "Not limitations - setbacks." Now if that ain't Glitch talking, I don't know who it was! | ||
| Denisea |
So very cool. Just love to hear these great updates! Yepper, while Ferris did not have the "mental relearning/rehab" after his surgery back in 2008, he had INTENSE PT. But, like you Ann, I let him do his own thing. That man, with his right arm in a sling, who was NOT supposed to do anything other than as instructed by the home therapist, was down in the basement ripping the crappy ceiling plywood off - a project that he had planned to do somewhere down the line but now with not being able to type for a living - made the most of it. Though he did soon enough figure out how to type kinda single-handed with his arm in that sling. We are so blessed to have these "stay outta my way, got stuff to do" men in our lives! | ||
| Buellish |
So glad to hear Dave is getting stronger and regaining his confidence. | ||
| Fb1 |
"Not limitations - setbacks." There's a book of inspirational quotes justing busting at the seams to be published here. "Instant facelift!" | ||
| Buellish |
"Titanium Plates"! | ||
| 86129squids |
Ann, thanks for the great update! Looking at the Christmas music thread made me think- what kind of jams does Glitch like to listen to? Music stimulates the brain in different, unexpected and good ways- when I've had hard times, one of the main things that helped me gain altitude and good attitude is my CD collection. Rap isn't really my favorite genre at all, but I have immense respect for The Roots... the only CD I have from them is "Prhenology", which is really good. Tariq, the voice of the band, is fascinating to listen to- his ability to turn and deliver a phrase is magical. The chorus of "Sacrifice" is now running through my head, maybe it should run through youn's too... "I tell you one lesson I learned If you want to reach something in life You ain't gonna get it unless You give a little bit of sacrifice and Ooh, sometimes before you smile you got to cry You need a heart that's filled with music If you use it you can fly, if you want to be high" Had to go look up the lyrics in their entirety, here's what I found... http://www.metrolyrics.com/sacrifice-lyrics-the-ro ots.html | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Dave and Ann; them some strong people right there!!! Dave, keep on fightin' bro!! Miss our track time at JGP and you showing up at pits when I was racing at Road Atlanta!! Ann, you are an absolute amazing woman!! Both of you, hope to see you again soon. |
