This millionaire’s stroke led him to a life of philanthropy

Interesting thoughts from a stroke survivor, a millionaire whose stroke led him to a life of philanthropy:

The stroke changed you physically, but how did it change your outlook?

I was scared. A stroke is very difficult because it’s physical and mental. It’s an attack on the brain. But I had a lot of support: my wonderful wife and a lot of friends. But I also had to turn to my faith. When I was sitting there that night after I came out of the coma, I didn’t ask God to let me go back to work or play basketball again. All I said was: Give me the strength to deal with whatever you send my way. That was different for me.

Had you been very religious before that?

My view back then was that Sunday was God’s day, but the other six days I was in control. This was the first time that I realized that God was in control every day. I would not have recovered had I not relinquished control.

The point is not to imitate him in detail - we're not all millionaires - but to do what we can. I need that reminder.

Stroke survivor, ever stumble - either via feet or speech? That's not a crime

Stroke survivors are often misunderstood. And while I can't condone smoking, I can feel for the stroke survivor claims she was wrongly jailed for public intoxication:

Deana said she had just left a convenience store, where she purchased some beer and cigarettes and was headed back to her apartment.

For much of her walk home, Deana said she tried to remain on the sidewalk. But it starts and stops, and because she can’t balance on the grass, she said she was forced to step out into the bike lane.

Stroke and faith - a survivor's story

Photo from Sean P. Anderson via Flickr

Another story of a stroke survivor, and a reminder that strokes pay no attention to someone's station in life, occupation, wealth, notoriety - when a stroke hits, it hits.

Kevin Sorbo recounts place of faith in stroke recovery:

"I was a broken man," Sorbo said. "But I have been revived, redeemed and most certainly I have been reborn. I have been reborn through faith and the hope that comes from that faith."

His testimony included the story of his battle back from three strokes in 1997, the background for his book True Strength. Sorbo described his journey from his TV portrayal of Hercules — the strongest man in the world — to his realization that he was just a mere mortal.

"When those strokes hit me, I went from what I thought was a physical specimen to a guy who couldn’t even stand up without falling down," he said. "My life changed forever in the snap of a finger, or the crack of a neck, in my case. This is where faith and hope come in."

The stress of aphasia and recovery

When my stroke happened, I couldn't talk. I slowly recovered that ability, but not without some stress, worries and frustration. And, as this story (link below) reminds everyone, aphasia doesn't reduce intelligence.

Check out this story about someone who speaks volumes of stroke rehab - by not saying much at all:

The stroke survivor has spent the last six years learning to speak again, thanks to aphasia, a condition that can range from trouble finding words to losing the ability to speak, read, or write.

It does not affect intelligence. Tom understands exactly what you've said, and in his mind knows what he wants to say - but the message gets scrambled when he opens his mouth to articulate a thought.

"Before...smoke, smoke, smoke," Tom said in describing what likely led to the stroke at just 49. "But now - quit."

Young stroke survivor finds strength in determination

Photo from the U.S.
Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention

Are we all destined to run after a stroke? No. BUT, I still like stories like this because they do illustrate that after a stroke, determination is often key.

If you've visited this blog before, you'll know that was a runner before my stroke in 1998, started running again several weeks later, and continue to run. People, though, have different outcomes - physical, speech, vision, etc. - and not everyone can run. In fact, as the last post noted, stroke is the most common cause of permanent disability in the United States.

But the story is more than running. It's about a stroke survivor who found strength, a story that can echo in other lives. People might have different levels of abilities and strengths, different disabilities, different challenges. The important thing is to keep those challenges challenged.

So, here's a link, an excerpt and a video about a young stroke survivor finds strength in running:

Stroke survivors need compassion

Clearly, many people are unfamiliar with aphasia, which, at the extreme, might leave a stroke patient unable to speak. I lost the ability to speak for a while during and after my stroke. I regained that ability, but not everyone does.

So I really feel for this stroke survivor who was denied flight out of LAX:

Sherry Wright, of Canyon Country, is still upset about the way she and her disabled sister, Heidi Wright, were treated by a Transportation Security Administration official at LAX.

Heidi, 58, suffered a stroke 10 years ago. She is wheelchair-bound and unable to speak.

"He just wanted me to make my sister talk, and I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'Wow, we're going to make a miracle right now,'" said Wright."

A miracle. Instead of a government employee conducting a miracle, a little compassion and kindness would have worked.

'I am the light of the world'

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

-John 8:12

This is the 500th posting on this blog - started in December 2005 and for many years, updated sporadically. Now, it's generally updated two or three times a week and has a companion Facebook page and Twitter feed.

I chose the verse above, from John's Gospel, because as a stroke survivor, I stumbled in the dark, in a blur of barely recalled images, while others were steadfastly working to keep me alive.

Now, Jesus is not talking about physical light, but spiritual light. So even if we are in the dark times in this world, you have the promise of the light of life that means so much more.

Now, on to the next 500 postings...

(Photo from NASA; text added by author)

‘Hercules’ urges stroke awareness

Today is World Stroke Day, a day to push for awareness of stroke signs and know what to do when you see these signs.

Even ‘Hercules’ star and stroke survivor Kevin Sorbo urges stroke awareness:

On World Stroke Day, Oct. 29, he’s joining forces with the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, to spread the word about something else he’s learned about stroke: In many circumstances, it is beatable.

Kevin Sorbo, star of the television series “Hercules,” was only 38 when he suffered three strokes.  That was how he learned anyone can have a stroke.

"Like my character, Hercules, I thought I was invincible," said Sorbo, author of True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life. “There are many myths and misconceptions about stroke. As a survivor, I have learned that stroke is largely preventable, treatable and beatable."

Aphasia advocate's story

I'll never forget one stroke story I heard some years ago - long before my own stroke.

The newspaper editor was at a meeting and was leaving when he turned and spoke to someone. He - and everyone else within earshot - heard nothing but gibberish. Classic aphasia for a stroke patient.

My good old Google alert found a story of another stroke survivor recovering from aphasia:

The first month after my stroke I was told I would never walk again or be able to use my left arm. I sat in my wheelchair and cried. Today, I would say I am 99 percent of the woman I was before my stroke due to the therapy I was able to receive. Because of that, it’s important that I stand and fight to help others just like me.

Click on the link and read her entire story, but one phrase stands out for me - "due to the therapy I was able to receive."

In my own recovery, I'm convinced that speech therapy was an important part of bringing back my abilities to read, write and speak. So if you've recovered some abilities - even if it's below her 99 percent - look for ways to support others who are in their own struggle. You can make a serious difference in someone's life.

'Cast all your anxiety on him'

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

-1 Peter 5:6-7

We've all experienced it - anxiety. Work. Marriage. Health. Children. Parents. The list goes on and on.

Stroke patients, too, can become consumed with anxiety. It's often uncertain exactly what the future will bring. Each human brain is unique, and therefore an individual's response to treatment, therapy and surgery is not guaranteed.

That being said, we have a place where we can place our anxiety, our fears and our worries. Take your issues to the one who has seen it all and can help remove your anxiety and fill you with hope.

Accept his love and hope. He will see you through.

'God's love has been poured out into our hearts'

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

-Romans 5:3-5

I monitor a few other blogs and saw a video, showing how one stroke survivor has seen all the characteristics that Paul described: suffering, perseverance, character, hope.

Watch and learn...

For this stroke survivor, recovery has been slow

A note to end Stroke Awareness Month - an uplifting story about a man in Massachusetts and his struggle in recovery - for the last 10 years. Watch and learn.

Stroke survivor's journey back:

Larry Woodberry talks about his experience recovering from a stroke he had 10 years ago. Woodberry had to re-learn everything from speaking to holding a cup.

'God is the strength of my heart'

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

-Psalm 73:25-26

We see examples of the failure of flesh and heart every day. But as this Psalm reminds us, when it's all said and done, when all seems lost and strength wanes:  God is the source of strength.

We all have known people who have had moments of hopelessness. Often, stroke survivors struggle to find hope. I certainly had my days where failure was a threat.

Remember, though, where your portion of strength comes - not just a minute, an hour, a day, but forever.

(Image from heartlight.org)

Kirk Douglas: Best part of Oscar night

I couldn't help but note Kirk Douglas' appearance at the Oscars this week. The stroke survivor struggled with moving and speaking, but had the nerve to stand and deliver.

There was a time that I had very, very similar speech problems. Thanks to quick action by the health professionals, followed by speech therapy, my ability to speak clearly returned. Not everyone has the same outcome.

I found these good words about Douglas' Oscar triumph in the Houston Chronicle:

Yeah, Kirk Douglas mumbled some lines at the Oscars Sunday night. It took him awhile. He wasn't always easy to understand. He sounded like a stroke survivor, someone who's had to relearn all the tongue-twisting ins and outs of spoken language that the rest of us take for granted. And he looked, well, 94.

To that, I say: Bless him! Thank God he's alive and well and spirited enough to work the crowd and flirt with Melissa Leo. May I live that long, retain that level of spunk and weather the storms of age and infirmity with as much abiding grace.

Amen to that.

Good words from stroke survivor - honoring God

Ran across this short video featuring great entertainer Della Reese. She suffered a stroke when she was at the height of her entertaining career. She was on set of NBC's "The Tonight Show."

The video was her response after recognition from the National Stroke Association:

Strange but true: One stroke sufferer's story

A fascinating telling of a story on NPR the other day, about The Writer Who Couldn't Read:

Engel had suffered a stroke. It had damaged the part of his brain we use when we read, so he couldn't make sense of letters or words. He was suffering from what the French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene calls "word blindness." His eyes worked. He could see shapes on a page, but they made no sense to him. And because Engel writes detective stories for a living (he authored the Benny Cooperman mystery series, tales of a mild-mannered Toronto private eye), this was an extra-terrible blow. "I thought, well I'm done as a writer. I'm finished."

God loves you - with love that cannot be separated

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 8:35,37-39

Ever had trying times? If you're reading this as a stroke survivor or a caregiver, the answer is likely a resounding yes. Even if you haven't had that experience, the human condition dictates that we will face some hardship. In this world, it's unavoidable.

Paul's great, comforting words here, though, can remind you, even in your hours of suffering, that God loves you. A speaker I recently heard phrased it like this: "God desperately loves you."

Paul had his own difficulties - just read Acts starting at Chapter 9 sometime if you're unfamiliar - but had the courage to write these words.

When you need some words of prayer and strength, remember these words of Paul. And remember, too, that God desperately loves you.

A story near to my heart - or brain...

Heard this on NPR Monday morning, during my typical 40-minute run in my neighborhood. It includes a story about one woman's stroke, how time was critical and what we can all learn from it.

Back in 1998, I was blessed to receive tPA, a clot-busting drug. Most, as this report notes, are not quite so fortunate. Read, listen and learn:

Drug can stop strokes, but most patients don't get it

Strokes are the third-ranking cause of death and the leading cause of disability. But most stroke specialists think it doesn't have to be so bad.

The vast majority of strokes are caused by a clot that blocks blood flow to part of the brain. Depending on where, victims suffer dizziness, weakness, numbness, loss of speech or other symptoms. Most of the time, the damage is permanent.

Since 1996 there's been an approved drug called t-PA (for tissue plasminogen activator) that, according to some big studies, can often break up the clot, restore blood flow and prevent much permanent damage —- if the drug is given within a few hours of symptom onset.

'I am the bread of life'

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

-John 6:35

And of course, "hungry" and "thirsty" aren't limited to the literal - who isn't hungry for answers after a stroke, or thirsty for relief of the stress that can stroke to a stroke survivor or a caregiver.

Last Sunday, we had communion at Community United Methodist Church in Columbia, Mo. The bread and drink were in no way able to relieve any literal, physical hunger or thirst. But it brought to our attention the more important matters of feeding the soul.

If you don't have a church home, find a place that helps feed your own soul.



(Image from rthmhlds on Photobucket)

'My salvation comes from him'

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.

-Psalm 62:1

What is "rest" for a stroke survivor or caregiver?

I think of it as finding peace, as finding a place without constant turmoil, as finding how life's priorities.

As we begin to celebrate Advent this year, may God help you find your rest.