I Had a Stroke
Didn't like it so I got rid of it
by
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Bad Day at the Office... February 10th, 2001 just before 8:30am I put my last cigarette out. Finished my donut and with coffee in hand walked across the street to work. As I removed my winter coat I felt "funny" so I sat down at the receptionist desk. Members of the staff were just saying hello when I became a statue. Frozen, no muscle would move. Eyes wouldn't close or blink. Thoughts raced through I head. There was no pain. The staff called 9-1-1 and they took me by ambulance to the local hospital where test results came back to confirm what I already knew. I'd had a stroke at the age of 46, just like my fathers at 47. The clot-busting drug TPa was given within the 3-hour time limit allowed. Not long after I was sitting up talking with family and friends. A personal disaster was averted. A few hours later I had my 2nd stroke. This time it was in slow motion. Minute by minute feelings and abilities were draining away. Speech came to a halt. A paralysis down the left side was setting in. Communication was down to printing with a pencil in my right hand. I’m left-handed. Sometime during that night, as the last of my communications skills drained away, I scrawled one word. It was with tiny, shaky printing my wife discovered in the morning. The last four letters I'd recognize for quite some time were " Help". Over the next 3 days the depression was overwhelming.
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About the Book
Mr. Pettitt wouldn't live overnight the ER doctor said. Wrong, Jim did live and proved miracles do happen for those who are willing to work very hard for them. He made a plan and worked his plan to get feeling and control back to his left side. Unscrambling the alphabet, which seemed like a foreign language at the time was a huge task. Relearned speech to say aloud the words in his head was another mountain to climb. His plan had an end date of 6 months but could he do it? Therapists he worked with told him they'd read about recoveries like his but had never seen one in person. This diary like true story will take you through his challenges and solutions from a survivor caregivers perspective. Get ready to be inspired whether you're a survivor, a family caregiver or professional. This could change your life as it did his. Have you had a stroke, now what? Endless hours will be spent looking up what a stroke is, how it happened and what are your chances of recovery. Most of which is a complete waste of time and effort. Think about it, you’ve already had it and you know what it’s done to you. So what are you willing to do to get rid of it? Right, how do you get rid of it? Here’s the drill. You’ve been attended to by doctors, nurses and therapists who’ve assessed you. They’ve categorized the damage and potential of recovery. Getting you up and out of the hospital, back at home is their driving need. Long term therapy is something they want you to do as an outpatient. This frees up another bed for the next stroke survivor. This sounds cold but in the glaring light of day it’s more than true. The numbers are staggering. Of the survivors 60% will be left with some kind of deficit. Those who fully recover will be told how lucky they are to have dodged a bullet. So that’s it for the 60% then, nothing can be done if the long term therapy doesn’t work after several months. If you’re willing to except this fate well there’s nothing I can do or say to change that thought. The thing is I knew better! I knew the brain is more powerful than we think and it has backup systems that can be reprogramed to do a task that has apparently be wiped out. All you need is understanding and will. If you understand what I’m talking about and have the will to work at changing your outcome then you can do what I did and fully recover, for the rest, I can’t help people not willing to help themselves. It’s been my experience that many just want to confirm what the caregivers are saying; you’ll just have to live with what you’ve been giving. If you really want to learn how to get better then listen to someone who’s do it and yes that makes me an expert because I have. Yes, I’m not a doctor or a therapist but being both of those doesn’t make them experts. They have useful knowledge but are not experts on getting rid of the effects of a stroke. To help others I wrote my book on how I solved all the problems my stroke presented me with. It’s all there and fortunately it’s a short, easy to read story. So decide, continue to waste your time or waste no time getting better. Your choice. Good Luck.
About the Author
Jims long career started at the age of 12 working as a house painter for his father. Jim was fired 4 hours later. Jim spent 14 years as a radio announcer, 3 as a Mr. Mom and the rest in the retail automotive business in both the sales and service depts. Many years in amateur theatre both on and off stage and a volunteer with the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation. His pastime includes enjoying a really bad round of golf at least weekly.