A stroke isn't pretty

And your concern is...?

 

Wow, FotF, you are going above and beyond to stand by a friend. Stay true to that, for his sake. (I'm sure you will, to the degree that you can.)

 

Echo that: Way to stand in there, Friend.

 

Agreed.
A stroke killed my grandfather.

 

Every time I read a thread like this, I pray for the people involved. Then I pray that when my time comes, I go quickly. I don't think I could handle a slow, lingering death, and I certainly couldn't handle putting the people around me through that.

 

My mom had a stroke last December, a mild one. It happened at 5 a.m.; by 2 p.m. she felt well enough to order us out of her room and back to our homes. But it was scary, and my best to FOF and his friend.

 

The effects of even a "mild" stroke can be pretty devastating. My dad suffered a stroke during a heart procedure about a decade ago; he woke up and could only speak gibberish. That went away pretty quickly, but to this day he still can't say many words and phrases; he means to say one thing and says another. It makes him feel pretty bad. But the biggest thing is that he can no longer read books. He used to read voraciously, especially his Civil War books, but he hasn't read anything more extensive than a credit card bill since his stroke.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/health/10robo.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

 

FotF: A tip of my cap to you. You are a friend we all should be so fortunate to have. Hang in there, buddy.

 

Sirs, Madames,

Thanks for your kind words of support.

Over the last couple of days my friend has started to move his right arm a bit--can raise it awkwardly over his head from the side and can more or less reach across his body to touch his other shoulder. Words are still a bit of a struggle but I think he's a bit better than he was on Friday. A bit better in mood. He's taking his meds (our GP told me Saturday night that he suspected my friend hadn't taken his diabetes meds for almost two years) and he sez he's down to three smokes in two days (for him, Profile in Courage stuff). He has tried not to tell his parents everything and he wants me to keep it quiet with his usual crowd--a shame deal which I don't quite get. We took his dog out for walks, just trying to get him over cabin fever.

That's it for an update. Thanks again.

YHS, etc

 

FoF --
As St. Brigid would say, there's a place for you with the King of Kings at the great lake of beer.