5 Months Later

Yesterday marked 5 months since Peter had his stroke. And what did he do? He went to the premiere of After Earth at the Ziegfeld and then to the after party. We saw our friends at Overbrook along with the rest of the floating heads for Mystery Trekkie Theater (yes, they have picked the episode and no, I won’t tell you what it is but it is gonna be a lot of fun so mark your calendars now for that Sunday slot at Shoreleave that we have grown to know and love). Caroline got to talk to Jaden so she is over the moon right now.

It is amazing to me how far he has come since the stroke stopped attacking his body. We have a tentative diagnosis for what has been going on with the shoulder. They think he has frozen shoulder syndrome. There are ways to counteract it but he has another MRI scheduled to make sure this isn’t any more damage.

He is typing now along with dictating. He is typing as long as he can before switching to dictate. He has been writing the end of X-Factor along with some other projects.

He continues both physical and occupational therapy. That is where we get our empirical evidence that he is improving slowly. They have been measuring what he could do when he got there and what he can do now and the results are encouraging.

Everyone who talked to him at Phoenix Comic Con can attest to how well he is doing. We also got to thank people in person for all their help and well wishes. Wil Wheaton told me that he boosted the signal for Peter on his twitter feed.

There are good days and bad days. He injured his right calf muscle just about right after he had gotten his gait pretty much back to normal so he didn’t need his cane of support. This has now solved itself. He bowled rather well this past Tuesday.

We are still very grateful to everyone who has helped us on this unexpected journey. Your good thoughts and support have helped us through a pretty dark time. I am seeing light at the end of this tunnel and I don’t believe it is the oncoming train.

I am opening this thread to questions you care to ask. Please do understand if we can’t answer it. We live in a household of NDAs and the like. This can be questions for Peter, Caroline or me.

In other household news, Ariel has her driver’s license and has been driving. She graduated from college but will be going back to finish up her masters next year. Anyone know anywhere that is looking for an early elementary school teacher to start in the Fall of 2014?

29 comments on “5 Months Later

  1. Hemingway said that people go bankrupt “gradually, then suddenly.” I’ve been in PT, and found getting better works that way as well. there were months where I would have loved just a 2%, 1% improvement. I was in the gradual stage.

    Then comes the sudden stage,a nd what used to hurt doesn’t hurt, and every day is a full 10% better than the day before.

    Crossed fingers and bro-hugs from Bloomfield, NJ.

    Jeff Ryan

  2. So pleased to read your update. I’m so very happy Mr. David is doing so well, and typing again. (Although I don’t think he ever stopped working.) Thanks so much for the updates. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, your wonderfully written updates have helped a lot of fans and friends cope with what happened, and have taught us a lot, too.

    I have a question; an X-FACTOR/Polaris fan posted that he was thrilled to meet PAD during the Phoenix con, and said that he got some commissions from “Caroline.” I thought, “Caroline? Wow.” Is Caroline an artist, and can we see some of her work? (I mean, isn’t she still in Elementary School?) Although it doesn’t surprise me one bit if she’s inherited any number of talents from you both.

    ~Rivka

    1. I will do that at some point. She did have a drawing that she did for Hero Initiative up on their site but I don’t know if it is there any more.

  3. “End of X-Factor”? Say it ain’t so! Well, my 4 title pull list will decrease by one 🙁

    Just as an offer… I teach massage therapy and medical massage at New York College in Syosset as well as at one of the Manhattan campuses. If PAD or indeed any of you require such services, I can try and locate a licensed therapist close to you willing to work a deal with you without breaking your bank. If I had a car myself, I’d gladly do it for free.

    Still wishing for a complication-free road ahead.

    1. Yeah. That “end of X-Factor” hit me too. My pull list isn’t nearly as small as yours, but the loss of “X-Factor” will pretty much leave me with a grand total of ONE Marvel title (“Astonishing X-Men”), considering that “The Dark Tower” is coming to a close. Marvel has lost me over the last decade and “X-Factor” was pretty much the last fiber keeping me there. “Astonishing” has been okay but its last little “event” crossover (with a pair of books that I’ve never read nor in which I’ve had any interest) really lowered that title’s appeal (and I’m sure Marjorie Liu is a nice person and is a good storyteller, but something just seems off with the title since she took over–perhaps she could do better if the book were given a little more creative freedom and not seem so tied down by the other X-books, but I digress….). I know PAD’s been involved with other projects at Marvel but I have no real interest in those (I’m not really into gaming so nothing in the “Halo” universe means anything to me and I’ve never watched “Castle” so there’s no real incentive in a derivative product).

      But certainly hoping for the best for PAD (and the rest of the David family).

  4. In light of the Wil Wheaton mention in this post…

    Brian K. Vaughan wrote a very flattering blurb about Peter in the back of the letter page of the most recent issue of Saga (I think it was the most recent issue). He gave the link to this blog and enlisted his fans to support our beloved Writer of Stuff. I thought it was really swell of him.

    I’m glad to hear that Peter is continuing to improve- tell him the fans say to “keep at it!” And also, I have been enjoying his Crazy8s stuff.

  5. Thanks for the update. All good news. Congratulations to Ariel on her graduation and acceptance to grad school.

    My questions:1) Have you guys seen Star Trek Into Darkness yet? 2) Is a third book for The Hidden Earth Chronicles in the works?

    Here is a suggestion/challenge for PAD. I have read columns where you have written alternate lyrics for songs. I also know from this site that you are a fan of Billy Joel. What about writing some extra verses to We Didn’t Start the Fire with headlines from the ‘90s and 2000s?

  6. That’s awesome news about PAD and the rest of the family. As Bob Dylan sang, keep on keepin’ on.

    For a question: Will there be a discussion of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS anytime here?

  7. It was lovely to see you all at Phoenix Comicon and I was thrilled to see PAD doing so well! Best wishes for his continued recovery.

  8. In answer to your question about Ariel looking for an elementary school teaching job: assuming she has no problem with living in New Jersey, I’ll certainly keep an eye out at my school, and can suggest that she send a resume along just on general principles. Kath, if you or Peter want to shoot me an e-mail I can send along all the particulars privately.

    And what a five months it’s been — so many kudos go out to you both!

  9. I’m glad to hear that PAD is doing better.

    Question: Does After Earth have a lot of M. Night Shyamalan’s crazy camera angles, or is it a more traditionally shot movie? I tend to find that everything after Sixth Sense was shot in a way that routinely takes me out of the movie and makes me think about the cameraman.

    1. It is much more traditional. The cinematographer did an excellent job.

  10. Hi there! Glad to see Peter’s recovery contuining to come along. Hang in there, and keep fighting the good fight (sad about X-Factor ending though, but all good things…)!

    Here’s my question: I remember Peter’s reaction to Ned Stark losing his head in GOT a couple of years back. If Casa David saw last night’s episode – the Red Wedding – what were your thoughts, and will we get a discussion?

    1. Feel free to discuss it here if you wish. My understanding is that George has gone to ground rather than deal with several million viewers who just got blindsided.

      PAD

      1. That makes sense. I’m seriously wondering if he’s going to hire a bodyguard for the convention season.

      2. Poor George! I hope that people are not going to give him too much crap at conventions (partly because it will be my problem to deal with in August!). He really is the nicest guy, and people should not be surprised at this point when major characters die.

  11. Hi PAD:
    So glad to hear of the progress you have made! Will you be at SDCC this year? Would love to say “HI!” With X Factor ending, will you add another Marvel title or two? Any chance of going back to DC–they need some help!
    Thank you for the years of entertainment/thought/laughter.

    1. Peter will be at SDCC this year. We are working out the rest of the details but tentatively I will be there as well with him.

  12. Hi, Peter & Kathleen!

    Thanks for the updates and I hope that things just keep getting better and better in the David household. Two questions for you two:

    1. Will there be a way to buy “Pulling Up Stakes” as a book? I don’t have an e-reader but am looking forward to reading it.

    2. Since X-Factor is ending, what comic book projects will you be working on?

    1. Click on the Kindle link under the cover of the books in this website. Once there you can find a link for the paperback version. These are print to order so they are more expensive than the e-books. I bought The Camelot Papers and both Hidden Earth books this way and they are much larger than a regular paperback but they feel “solid” unlike the anthology and later books on the New Frontier series that to me felt too soft and fragile.

  13. So glad to hear things are getting better! I don’t know if you are still doing questions, but I was curious if there was anything new coming for the New Frontier series. I remember Peter saying something about there being an issue about going forward. I hope everything keeps going well!

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