a stroke survivor story

There are times when God’s work and His timing make absolutely no sense to us. In 2008 when I had my stroke, my family and the church were taken completely by surprise. As the time went on, it was amazing to watch how God used a terrible situation to bring about something that brings Him the greatest glory. God’s provisions in the months after my stroke were absolutely incredible. He has sustained me and my family through some of the most terrible months of our lives. About a year ago, I had mentioned to Laura that there were some things occurring on Sunday mornings and as I interacted with people that might seem to suggest that some of my deficiencies were becoming more evident. What I told her then was that when my deficiencies begin to become almost a distraction, I would know it would be time to step back from full time ministry. Over the next several months, it was communicated to Laura and and myself that I look tired, appear to be having swallowing issues and more diffi...

This has really been an issue for a long time, but it seems to be becoming a little more apparent to my family. Last night we were doing some work around the house and my wife asked me several times if anything was wrong. The first few times I was pretty evasive "Nothing. Just tired. I'm OK." After awhile, and after she had asked a few (probably 6 or 7) more times, I finally had to admit that I seem to be feeling pretty spacey, or distant. It's not blood pressure; after I checked it, it was 147/88 - not bad. I have also had a few episodes of a "swimming" feeling; that is when I am sitting still or lying down and the room seems to be a little wavy - it's not spinning like vertigo, it just is an odd sensation that occurs every now and then. It is not constant, and it had only happened about every 6 months since my stroke, but now it seems to be occurring about once ever other week, or even once a week recently. It is just weird, that's all I know. But,...

I just got confirmation that my new book, How Big is Your God, is available at Tatepublishing.com.

Admittedly, my posting has been very sporadic of late (oh, who am I kidding, for the last 3 years...) It has been almost 6 years since my stroke (it will be 6 years on December 8, but I am getting waaay ahead of myself), and it seems that some of the side-effects are becoming a little more apparent to others. My wife has had some people comment to her that I seemed to be having problems swallowing during church awhile ago; others have noticed that I look really tired and I have had some tell me that they have noticed that I am having problems with my left leg being weak from time to time. I fell getting out of bed about 6 months ago and wound up with some pretty bad hip pain. When I went to physical therapy, they noticed that ever since my stroke I have changed the way I walk; when I had to relearn  how to walk, I would "kick my left leg out" so that my right leg would not cross over. Over the next 5 years it became second nature to walk with my left leg constantly kicking ou...

The last couple days I have been really, unusual. I don't know exactly how to describe it. I'm tired all the time. No matter how long I sleep at night I never seem to get enough sleep. The last few days I have noticed that my eyes have been acting a little weird. I tried to explain it to someone but it is like I just can't find the words to describe it right. It is worse when I have to change my focus, when I am looking at one thing and then have to change the focus to something else it seems as though it takes just a fraction of a second to refocus. Now, a fraction of a second does not seem bad until you are driving; then it can be pretty problematic. I also noticed that I seem to get a little dizzy when I stand up. It is not something that really bothers me, but it is a little irritating. It is not bad enough that I think "Oh, no, not this again." But it is something I notice. I don't know, perhaps it is because tomorrow will be the 2 year anniversary of the...

I know it is a day late, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. It is hard to believe that I am starting my 6th year in my new life. I am 43, so that means that nearly 14% of my life has been post-stroke. I am so thankful for my family that has been  able to keep up with my changes. My wife is 40, which means that nearly 15% of her life has been post-stroke and yet she has been so faithful to support me and understand me. I have never felt a sense that she resents anything about me. Now it gets pretty tough. My son is 21, which means more than a quarter of his life - 28% - has been with a post-stroke dad! My oldest daughter is 15, which means that nearly half of her life - 40% - has been with a post-stroke dad! My youngest daughter is 12 which means that she has lived half of her life - 50% - with a dad that was post-stroke. Sometimes I feel bad that I cannot do what most dads can. I can't go and play baseball, softball or basketball with them because I just don't have...

It is hard to think about sometimes but 5 years ago today, I was in the Knoxville VA celebrating Christmas with my kids, my wife and  my mom and dad. 5 years later, the Knoxville VA is closed, my mom and dad have both passed away, but my wife and kids are celebrating with me. It was a great year and I pray that each of you had a wonderful Christmas holiday.