Category: My Story

Why am I called the Miracle Man? My doctors, friends, and family call me this because I’ve had a pretty incredible journey since October 26th, 2015.

It was an ordinary day. I had worked with my patients, eaten dinner and eventually sat down to watch a TV program at 10 pm.  That is the last thing I remember that day, as the rest has been told to me by others. I did not know when a blood clot went racing up to my brain, lodging in my middle cerebral artery. Without warning my vision, speech and the right side of my body were gone. I was left helpless, seemingly staring at the TV. Continue reading “The Miracle Man”

One of the first books I listened to after I had my Stroke was “My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor.  I had to listen to an Audio Book as I could not read, write, or speak- much after it first occurred.  This book was a comfort to me, knowing that someone had survived a devastating stroke.

In 1996, Jill Taylor was a Harvard Brain Scientist, who developed a severe brain bleed, underwent brain surgery and was not able to speak, read, walk, write or remember. She spent 8 years fighting to get back to her full-time Academic work. She was only 37 years old.

People ask her, “How did you survive?” She responds that she didn’t die that day.  She decided not to dwell on what she lost, but what flourished, as her brain continued to open up to new levels of clarity.  She reports that All Comebacks happen in the Brain—soo treat your Brain right.

Make SLEEP a Priority.  WATCH what you eat.  MOVE YOUR BODY!  AND if a setback occurs–take 90 Seconds to let your emotions calm down, then disappear.  YOU are responsible for the Energy that you bring each day!

9:00 AM- my Neurologist, from the ER last night, came to see me in the ICU, I think I was sleeping. After checking my neuro status, he reported that my NIH stroke score was down from 20 to 16.  I still could not verbalize very well, or even say my name. “J” sounds were extremely hard for some reason.  I had difficulty following commands. Continue reading “Speechless – 5”

Since my left brain was damaged it could not recognize letters, or how letters fit together to create a sound, or be able to form that word I was always trying to get out. Hemispheres of our brain process information in uniquely different ways. Both sides work together with every action we undertake. Our left brain thrives on details. It houses our language center, using words to communicate about anything and everything that happens in our lives. Our right mind interprets nonverbal language and pays more attention to the subtle cues of language, including tone of voice, facial expression, and body language. Our left brain understands the details of forming sentences and the meaning of the words we use.

www.stroke-buster.com