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You never realize how important mobility is until you find yourself in a situation where normal activities become difficult if not impossible to do. I’ll be 74 years old next week and when I look back to the week of June 16, 2016 I realize that I am a very lucky man.
The week of June 15, 2016 was the week that changed my life.
I was getting ready to drive home from our cabin in the finger lakes. Our 1 year old border collie was galavanting in the woods and I was attempting to call him in to the truck. Of course Border Collie don’t want to know anything about going home. He loved the truck, but going back to the inner confines of a city home was not his wheelhouse by any stretch of the imagination. He was playing with me by keeping his distance and ran back into the woods each time I got close.
A we continued to play cat and mouse so to speak my fiance called to say good morning. She was away in Boston visiting a friend and wanted to tell me she was heading home and would see me around 5 pm.
I thought I was talking coherently. The words I heard in my head sounded ok, but her tone of voice was telling me something was seriously wrong.
I heard her say, “call 911”
Before long I found myself sitting on the ground and my little puppy licking me my cheek. He stayed with me as I found my phone and called for help.
I knew what had happened but didn’t want to admit it to myself.
All the signs were present: Face and arm weakness and difficult speech. All I needed to do was call for help
When the EMT arrived I was inside the cabin lying on the bed. They spoke and I heard them, but I was in a light fog. With their help we managed to put the dog in his kennel and within a short time we were on our way to the emergency room.
For anyone who has had a stroke. you know how the next few days play out…examinations, MRI, CT scans medications, tubes, fluids, and more exams.
Suffice it to say, after a week in the RGH stroke unit, I was tranferred again to a rehab facility where I underwent intense physical therapy for two more weeks.
When I finally got home I tried to act as if my life was back to normal. Unfortunately, everyting was clearly not normal. My left side was stll very weak and I couldn’t eat with my left hand. I am a lefty so you can understand the dilemna.
I must say that I feel very lucky that I had the support of loving friends and family. They were there to help me each and everyday.
As the months progressed and my cogntive skills began to return I decided it was time to share this and other experiences we share as older adults.
Individuals over the age of 50 are a dynamic, powerful economic force driving innovation across many industries.
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