Been two years

Two years ago, I was lying in bed in a Florida hospital, sleeping for the most part, while the doctor was telling Kathleen that she might have to make some tough decisions if my stroke took a downward turn. At this point in time, Caroline was still being protected from the news about her father, but she was pretty much the only one who didn’t know. The internet was alive with word about my condition. Kath’s phone was ringing off the non-existent hook. Fans were buying my books like mad for financial support and the Heroes Initiative was amassing money to be sent to us.

And I was unaware of pretty much everything. I was barely conscious and of my ten day stay in the hospital, I remember perhaps sixty minutes of it. The rest is a complete blank.

Please remain vigilant for signs of a stroke. If your vision is blurring, if you suddenly start losing feeling on one side of your body, if you can’t stick your tongue out straight, get to a hospital immediately. Minutes count.

And if you’re one of the people who pitched in to help me two years ago, thank you.

PAD

8 comments on “Been two years

  1. It’s probably all for the best that you remember so little of your hospital stay — at least in my experience, such stays aren’t generally pleasant even when you’re there for much less scary reasons than a stroke. Very, VERY glad that you’re still around to be (in order of importance) a father, a husband (close second), and a Writer of Stuff.

  2. Just glad to have you still doing your thing and creating your stories after such an ordeal. It’s a feeling that pales in comparison to the feelings of gratitude and joy that your friends and family feel over still having you around being you after what you went through, but still glad all the same.

  3. I occasionally get what i call “painless migraines” – i get the visual manifestations that accompany many migraines, but not the pain.

    It starts with e little sparkly visual artifact, slightly off-center in my field of vision, which slowly spreads until it’s covering most of my visual field.

    (The interesting thing is that i never notice it “growing”, but i notice that it’s larger…)

    First time i had one, i was afraid it was a stroke, but, as it turns out, it wasn’t.

  4. Wow…has it been two years? I’m glad that you are OK now. I understand the helplessness you may have gone through while in the hospital. About a month before your incident, I also went to the hospital. Not for a stroke, but for a “heart attack” and a seizure – at the same time. Four of those days were just a mystery to the doctors. The other four were spent on the cure. But the eight days I did spend in the hospital, I went through a lot.

    Enjoy your life and write more fun books and comics.

  5. Peter:

    It goes without saying that I am among the many, many folks who are glad you (and your family) have come through this and are well and truly on the other side.

    But even so, some things that go without saying really need not (or should not) go unsaid, so I’m saying it.

    I am so happy you’ve gotten through this. Here’s to all sorts of happiness for you and your family now and in the new year and onward.

    As a wise man once said, “Excelsior!”

    __
    ATK

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