a stroke survivor story

These are some of the notes from the Disability exam: 12/12/08 MRI of the brain and skull reported craniectomy changes of the posterior fossa; extensive areas of infarction of the cerebellar hemispheres in the PICA distribution as well as the pons and middle cerebellar penduncles. 4/23/09 VA neurology note: noted to have mild nystagmus on lateral gaze and mild 6th cranial nerve palsy with slight left facial droop. 1/6/1 1 DIAGNOSES: Stroke, affecting the bilateral cerebellum and pons, due to dissected vertebral artery, with the residuals of: fatiguing, mild dysphagia, mild aphasia, left hemiparesis with mild weakness and fatiguing and lack of endurance of left extremities, episodic tremors, episodic dizziness, headache from occipital muscle tension headaches, intermittent tinnitus. Although there is no evidence of damage to cranial nerve VI nor VII per se; the veteran has had damage to the pons, the area where the cranial nerves originate, the dizziness and tinnitus are consistent wi

I came across the "official" diagnosis from my stroke: Essential dissection of vertebral artery resulting in bilateral cerebellar infarctions involving the pica distribution, hydrocephalus and posterior fossa swelling, extensive PICE infarcts of the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres. Decision made to proceed with craniectomy due to swelling that was causing compression of the brain stem. operation report indicates a burr hole . The suboccipital region was exposed, a series of burr holes were placed in this region and then working side to side decrompression was accomplished with removing successive segments of bone, once the necrotic tissue was removed the cavity was ultimately closed with the use of dural patches allowing the dura to balloon slightly outward in order to accommodate any future swelling in the area of the posterior crainial fossa bilaterally. There are other interesting tidbits that will be posted later, but this might give a little insight into the severity o

I know that I should not be, given the many doctors that I have seen and the specialists that have looked through my file, but I am still amazed at the ability of God and the great things He has done in my life. I just spoke with a woman whose father had a brainstem stroke; they have told her that there is no hope for his recovery, that there is no hope for any meaningful life. That seems vaguely familiar; they told my family the same thing, they gave absolutely no hope for any recovery at all. But, here I am 2 years later and, though I still have some deficiencies, I am generally very good. I just stand amazed. Please, if you are reading this, pray for a man in Columbus, OH, whose family just heard the bad news that nothing can be done. Please pray that this man will surprise all the doctors, as I have, and recover. Above all, pray for his family that will have to make some difficult decisions in the next few days. As thankful as I am for my recovery, I cannot help but feel sorrow for

It takes me quite awhile to recuperate from activities; I have been going non-stop for a few weeks and I was surprised to find that I was getting unusually tired easily. I told my wife that I slept better last night than I had in several weeks, but I was really tired by 2 this afternoon. It was really strange, until I really gave serious thought to the last couple weeks. When I take a serious look at the recent past, it is no wonder that I am tired; I just should not be surprised by it. It is just taking me some time to remember my limitations. Sometime I am confident that I will think about the effects BEFORE I undertake activities, rather than looking back and THEN saying, "Oops, maybe I did too much." Oh the learning that never seems to end; coming to grips with my new restrictions.

I have said before that I pastor a church in Knoxville, Iowa, so I decided to start uploading my sermons on this site. As some of you will see, there are times when I hesitate when I am speaking (although I try to cover it up pretty well). The reason, sometimes, that I hesitate is that I am seeking the correct words for the situation. I have given serious thought to creating a series of "bingo" cards for my church; there are certain phrases I use quite often now, such as "what is the best to say this..." or "probably the best way to say it is...". The truth is that these are just ways for me to remember what I was going to say. So, I hope that you enjoy the sermons.