It's a pretty normal stroke. I feel it down my entire right side, from my scalp through my right hand to my right toes. The right side is my dominant side. At first I could not speak, let alone type or walk.. The stroke was on the 23 of December, 2002, so that makes it ten months old. My speech therapist says try this out. My computer takes my left fingered data so well I wonder if it misses my two handed data. My name is Michael Robinson.
It happened at night. When I woke up I fell off the bed. I couldn't speak to my wife. She understood though and called an ambulance right away. We were in the city and only spent a little time getting to the hospital.
I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas in this unit. My main nurse was Chris. He asked my name at the beginning of the shift. I would just smile at him and try. My daughter Yayoi decorated my room with photos of my family, friends, pets, and life. We celebrated the holiday and were thankful I was alive. I couldn't talk or do much of anything but I ate my first meal with success. Some people have trouble with that.
This was where I moved on December 26. It was called The Stroke Unit. It was single unit occupancy, but my wife, Brooke, stayed with me. She got me started with a urinal, a toothbrush, a razor -- replaced right away with an electric model. My friend Steve brought my computer which I didn't recognize. I moved on my birthday, December 30.
This unit was downstairs. It had the longest time limit too. My brother and sister visited at the start, and my father came at the end. The days were filled with therapy, and the nights with visitors. Brooke started leaving me alone at night. And I really noticed that my right foot wouldn't move, to my right fingers, to my right brain. But I was alive.
Here I was at home. The only difference was the special ramp. I was able to get in and out of the house using a wheelchair. Thanks to Steve (good friend) and Steve (brother in law) for getting this working. My two favorite therapists were Tegan and Anne. They made me get up at the kitchen counter and other places. My speech therapist was Dr. Roy. He had me do exercises from old grammar books. I got my first all-day nurse so Brooke could keep working. She is the only RN at her hospital's X Ray unit, so the work was always there.
When the insurance wouldn't pay for at home therapies, we found a way to get nearly free transport to the hospital. I still couldn't drive my car, so we used the Access Paratransit , which was usually on time. I signed up for Physical and Occupational Therapy. They were about twice a week. I also signed up for Speech Therapy in another building under Mary which is sponsoring these web pages. These classes taught me to speak as normally as possible
We live in South California, along with two of Brooke's sisters. However, a third sister does live in Tucson Arizona. Visiting them (adults Christy and Jack, children Taren and Casey) means flying from Los Angeles to Tucson. I was in my wheelchair, and inspections at LAX were pretty minimal. They loaded us first, and took the wheelchair below decks. The trip was pretty easy, and the house to house part was very trivial. We got to try swimming in the pool. After a nice visit with family we came home.
We have a ranch in North California. We used to drive the whole way in one trip, each of us taking our turns. Now Brooke was the only driver, so we dived the trip to Sacramento, where my Aunt Bev and Uncle Bob live. The next morning we drove North to Redding, and then West to Weichpec. The area of Weichpec is an all American Indian Reservation. Our Ranch is 80 acres, makes its own electrity and pumps its own water. The house has three bedrooms, one kitchen, two great big living rooms, a bathroom, and three gorgeous decks. Where I used to have lots of projects at the ranch, this time I had plenty to read on the decks. On our way home, we cut through Redwood National Park, and hit the highway at Orick. From here to Humboldt were great mountain waterways. At Legget, we left the 101 to do the coast to San Francisco. We spent the night at Fort Bragg. The next day was beautiful, including a stop at Fort Ross. The sea was beautiful too, including the approach of the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco. We stayed the night at the top of a San Francisco mountain, and found pushing a wheelchair around quite a pain. Ditto the next morning when we searched for Dim Sum for breakfast. Next down the freeway to Arroyo Grande where we had lunch with Brooke's stepmother and stepsister. Then we returned to Los Angeles by freeway.
It's time for a party now. And its time to celebrate one year since my stroke began.
We boght a new power chair. From the local shop it was too expensive, so we boaht it from the internet. Now I could get anywher, even up and down San Francisco hills.