What could you do differently?
Gee, WordPress, I’m doing the best that I can. Why do you have to throw a monkey wrench into my brain and force me to pick apart my process. And I must add that it’s a process that I’m getting actual progress from. Not cool, WordPress, not cool.
If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?
While I currently don’t have a freeway billboard, my picture was on a billboard back in 1999. It was a street scene, and I wasn’t the only person in the image. There was only one word on it. The word was BLISS. Might have been for a band or something.
Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?
I used to think that I was born before my time. I love old movies, and by old, I mean from the 1920s through the 1960s .I was also a fan of music from the big band era, particularly Glen Miller , Tommy Dorsey, and Cab Calloway . And then 5 weeks after my 50th birthday, everything changed. I was forced to think about the future when I barely lived through a massive stroke brought on by a tumor in my heart. In August of this year, it will be the ten years since that fateful day . As you know, if you’ve been reading for a while ,I’m still actively trying to physically recover from the stroke. Last year, I had some real progress, and this year, I’m trying to build upon that progress.
Because I have absolutely no idea about how much progress is possible, I can only look to the future with the hope that I will have enough energy to walk around the block and the fear that it will never happen. It’s not a comfortable place to be, mentally or physically.
What is the greatest gift someone could give you?
Realistically, there’s nothing anyone can give me that I can’t give myself.
Probably not possible-if someone had the time and ability to help me fast track my ability to walk and give me better stamina that would be a dream.
What are your biggest challenges?
My biggest challenge is physical. It very well could have been cognitive, but thankfully, the stroke didn’t take that part of my brain. For the most part, it only took out access to my left side. While I’m never going to get my left arm and hand back,I’m entirely fine with that because it’s not my dominant side. I can still write with a pen, and it’s legible.
I’ve given myself a challenge for the coming year and a half. I’ve decided that I will be walking to and from my bathroom consistently before my 61st birthday, which occurs a year and a half from now. While I expect to be aided by a cane,I really don’t want to be wearing my AFO brace ,so it’s definitely a big challenge, but one that I feel is achievable now that I know I can walk without the AFO brace for 60 steps, 30 forward and 30 back. I’m encouraged to work on this goal. After achieving my last resolution to get healthier, it’s the logical next step (s).
What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?
I’ve actually been meaning to write on this topic for a while now but needed a way into it, so thanks for the prompt.
Before my massive stroke 8 plus years ago, I was looking forward to every birthday, proudly proclaiming my age to anyone who asked. I wanted to live a very long life. Since surviving that stroke, my thoughts on the matter have changed somewhat. I now know that my paralysis is permanent. This is something that I’m still coming to grips with, and there are moments of real depression in which I admit to having some dark thoughts. My husband’s father is in hospice with dementia, and my grandmother died with dementia I see that it’s possible to live too long. As long as you’ve got your health, both mental and physical, a longer lifespan is something I encourage and even applaud, but if either is weakened significantly, then I hold absolutely no judgment at all over what you may or may not decide to do for yourself.
Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?
My husband and I turn on the TV, and it’s time to play Jeopardy ! And, while I still miss Alex Trebek as host, I am enjoying his personal pick to replace him, Ken Jennings. He was the perfect replacement, being the title holder for most games won in a row with 74, he was the natural choice and he’s grown into the role of host beautifully. I’m just glad that the show finally made up their minds
