Life after stroke… a tale of love.

I have officially been retired for 40 days.

My retirement days are filled with care for my husband who suffered a stroke on 7-11-11 and it changed our life forever. To the untrained eye, or even the casual observer he appears to be fine. But to anyone who knew him before… he’s changed.

He’s the same man. No memory loss or outward signs of disability… but the subtle changes are tougher to deal with. His balance and perception are askew, he loses track of time and space and… he has other physical issues that require 24/7 care. He cannot be left alone.

The most significant damage from the stroke is his emotional response to various situations. When something touches him deeply, such as our granddaughter scoring at a volleyball game, he cries. Not just tears of joy, but a deep wrenching sob that shakes his whole body. Usually one or two seconds of sobbing and it’s over. To the observer it’s a disturbing display of emotion… to me it’s heart-wrenching because I’m certain he doesn’t know it’s happening… and I’ll never tell him.

He knows his life has changed, and some of the issues will remain. This is the toughest part of the whole after-stroke-care situation. Where do we go from here? The medical bills have eaten up all we had and then some… now what? We have no money to travel and I can’t work anymore… who will take care of him?

We have a lovely home, and I’m finishing the greenhouse we started prior to the stroke… but is it enough? Is it enough to keep us active and moving forward? No.

What we do have is our imagination… and I say “our” because my husband is my soul-mate. He and I have a really weird collective imagination! We are so in-sync that we share thoughts, dreams and ideas… then we write them down. I may get the ball rolling with my goofy imagination, but I couldn’t keep it going without him. He is the love of my life… my darling man… my husband.

So dear friends… we will keep moving forward. We will write, and laugh. We will plant and bask in the sun in our own piece of heaven… our greenhouse. We will share any life we have… that’s what love is.

Hopefully when I finally get the first book out there for all the world to read (soon), it will be enjoyed by many. I do all the writing, so blame me if it sucks… but the ideas are from both of us.

There you have it… my tale of love. There is life after a stroke.

Have a wonderful day!

From Marilyn with love….