Author’s Note: After my stroke in July 2015 I had to think about how I would proceed. This project started out as a way for me to focus on writing. The year took a different turn for me. I spent two months relearning how to walk, talk, and type. A had a stroke at the age of 51. It became a rebirth.
After My Stroke: A Year of Possibilities
A year ago I started this experiment with a lot of promise in my mind; it felt like I would finally focus on something and complete it. Then work piled on and I set this aside. I could always come back to it because it was something for me.
The months rolled by and I found myself in Texas helping my son with a fireworks stand. Long, hot days and nights filled with outrunning the local flying insects. I still think about the bites on my leg. A few days after the 4th of July I was back in Nevada and working again. I sort of thought about this writing corner and promptly moved on.
A week later I was staring at myself in the mirror and wondering why one eye was closed and the other was bigger than a rabbit’s eye. I had caked blood on my ear and my head hurt.
“It’s probably an ear infection,” said my wife. “Come back to bed.”
It was 5 a.m. and I was thinking with all of the travel and the change in climate maybe she was right. I stumbled into the bathroom, spun down on the toilet, and thought about the day. It was going to be a killer with a new Commission meeting and many media expected. Plus, there would be all of the angry people.
I tottered off the toilet and spun around toward the bed. It was going to be a tough day and this spinning wasn’t helping.
The bed was cool and I allowed the room to stop spinning. I actually felt a bit better.
At 7 a.m. I decided to shower and dress. As the water fell down I continued to spin. This was going to suck.
In the closet, I spun around and fell down. It was really going to suck.
“Maybe we could run by the Quick Care and get something for this blocked ear?” I asked as I fell into the car. “I don’t think I can drive.”
We were still early for work and I let them know I was running by the doctor and would be late.
As I sat in the lobby, the light was getting very bright. I scrunched my eyes shut and waited for my name to be called.
Once in the patient room I waited for the nurse. My wife was starting to look at bit worried.
“Maybe it’s more than an ear infection?”
I just sat and tried to keep the room from spinning and the light from hurting my eyes.
The nurse came in and took one look at me. Without hesitancy she said, “He’s having a stoke,” and rushed out of the room.
A stroke. That is different. I thought about the future during the ambulance ride to the hospital.
© 2016, Michael Shawn Sommermeyer. All rights reserved.
Wow. Thank you for sharing your memory of the event. You are doing great considering the trauma. I continue to be amazed by the human body and the mind. I think both keep us on our toes—spinning or not.