Things continue to improve for Peter slowly.
He can now touch the thumb of his right finger to his pinkie with pretty much normal effort. He has started to type again for limited amount of time. Between that and Dragon Dictate, he is able to get work done. It might not be as fast for him as his pre-stroke speed but he is getting a lot done for various projects.
His gait is returning to normal. He is only using a cane for very long distances. His stamina is returning slowly.
He is bowling again and starting to get his game back in order. He is throwing closer to his average these days.
Each normal activity that he can do is a victory.
And like any recovery we have our good days and our bad days and our OK days.
Next month is a busy one for us. Ariel is graduating from college. We have Phoenix Comic Con at the end of the month and a lot to do the rest of the month.
Caroline is doing fine in school. She is happy to have her ELA and Math tests behind her. She has her math and social studies left. Her flute practice is continuing. She is learning the flute part of the Star Wars theme.
My neck is doing fine, thank you. I am adjusting to things as they happen. I had my annual wellness visit and, after I take some other tests, I will find out if I am “well”.
You, dear reader, can still help us by spreading the word about Peter’s books and other works. We do still have some pretty steep medical bills coming in. The insurance company keeps deciding how much they are going to pay and how much we are going to pay. Just when I think we might be pretty much caught up on things, we get hit with another charge that was sorted out by all the other parties. It does wear one down but with your help I can say that I am not as worn down as I might have been.
Oh, in other forms of excitement, the brakes went on my truck and I managed to get to the service station before they were totally gone but it was pretty scary there. I was the only one in the truck at the time.
I am going to open this up to questions. So ask and I shall answer the best I can. If I can’t answer, I will tell you that I can’t and I ask that you respect that. Yes, you can post again.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us. We would not be here if it weren’t for your help and know that we are very grateful.
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So PAD has a dragon taking his dictation? That’s pretty cool!
Seriously, I’m glad y’all are doing better. (And I’m very glad that the brakes on the truck didn’t go while it was driving — that could have been substantially bad.) I hope everyone enjoys the graduation!
And as for questions, is this a “ask PAD/Kath anything” thread, or just about the rehabilitation process?
I’ll open it to anything with the understanding that it is probably going to be me answering more than Peter.
Congratulations to Peter for his continued improvement!
Congratulations to Ariel for her graduation! What is she planning on doing professionally?
Congratulations to Kathleen for her improved neck!
Congratulations to er, –the mechanic whose kids will no doubt be able to go to college on the basis of whatever you’re paying them to fix your brakes!
Happy Spring to you all! 🙂
Ariel is working on an education degree. She is finishing up the masters portion next year.
While I am incredibly happy to hear how wonderful Peter is doing… Holy Carp, Ariel is graduating college already????
Yes, yes she is.
Nice to read that Peter is doing so well. Same for the rest of the family. Sorry to read about the brakes though. Been there, done that. Not fun.
Questions…
What are we looking at insofar as future Crazy 8 Press works from Peter?
There will be but we haven’t announced them yet. But we will tell you as soon as we can,
Sigh. I downloaded an audiobook from audible.com called “Warriors,” a short story collection about the title subject edited by George R.R. Martin. I found it when I did a search at audible on peter’s name. I am now in the last story of the book (written by Martin himself, and set in Westeros, the world of “Game of Thrones” — or, if you prefer, “A Song of Fire and Ice”) and haven’t heard anything written by Peter. I’ve realized that contributors to the book include PETER S. Beagle and DAVID Ball. That’s what brought the book up from the search.
I really thought I was getting something that both Peter and Mr. Martin had contributed to.
I could get audio versions of a lot of Peter’s “Star Trek” novels, but they’re all abridged. (I listen to audiobooks at my job, if you’re wondering.)
There is an unabridged book called “Tigerheart,” which I THINK is Peter’s. I plan to order it next.
There was an unabridged audio version of Peter’s Tigerheart. It is very well done.
Okay, two questions — one about PAD’s rehab, one about comics, both I bet Kath can answer quite well.
1) Post-stroke, are there any specific things PAD is now doing to prevent/minimize the possibility of another stroke? I’d imagine medicine would be obvious, but what about diet, exercise (more to build him up, less to reduce strain), specific activities, mental exercises, etc?
2) Do you see a lot of usefulness in superhero characters whose sole power is flight? It seems like flight is so common among so many characters that just being able to fly wouldn’t be that useful; yet Angel and Hawkman are still around, and the Vulture was considered one of Spider-Man’s biggest villains for years. (There’s also this wonderful deconstruction of Hawkman on the Super Friends: http://www.seanbaby.com/superfriends/hawkman.htm ) So, is there still a place for folks who can fly in a genre filled with folks who can fly, plus punch through walls, shoot lasers, etc.?
1) He is on a slew of medications to keep him from having another stroke although I almost had one when I had to pay the first co-pay.
He has made changes in his diet. I am relearning how to cook things so I can meet his dietary requirements and get rid of things that shouldn’t be in there any more.
He is still doing both OT and PT twice a week to continue to improve his motor skills. We are taking a Tai Chi class once a week and working through various exercises during the week that Sufi gives us. Class leaves us both drained. He is bowling again.
He did a lot of the mental work while in rehab and has been working on his coping skills based on what he learned there.
We are working on reducing stress for all of us including Caroline. Success has been spotty but we are figuring it out.
2)I think flying can make one super because a vast majority of the population can’t so it looks cool and allows one to get places that mere morals can’t.
Thanks for the answers. I’ve had some experience (relatives, not personally) with cancer and diabetes treatments, but not with strokes. It sounds like the latter requires a lot more mental work as well as physical.
And for an aside on flight, back when the superhero miniature game HEROCLIX was big, most players used characters whose only power was Flight (like Angel, Hawkman, and the Vulture) as a taxi service to move the powerful/useful figures around. Just sayin’.
Any idea why I can get to this site with Firefox in Windows 7 but not with Chrome? I know this isn’t really the kind of question you were probably thinking of, but…
I will ask our web master.
Thanks. FWIW, it’s only the front page. When I get a direct link to a post, I can follow it through Chrome.
Could it be something with your settings? I use Chrome (for Windows 7) and I can access the site without any problems.
It certainly might be. I got to the site just fine on Chrome for Win 7 on my laptop; it’s my desktop that’s messing it up. At the same time, I haven’t changed any settings in Chrome on the desktop…
I’ll try to figure it out.
Glad to hear Peter is feeling better. I had a car accident about 10 years ago and have, oh let’s call them ‘interesting’ memories of both OT & PT. My question is what is Peter’s schedule and plans for Phoenix Comic Con?
They are starting to post the schedule on the PCC website. I know he is on a Babylon 5 panel, his own slot, and will be performing with me at the PuppetSlam (Friday night). He has a table and will probably be there when he isn’t doing panels and the like.
That sounds great looking forward to seeing you guys there.
No real questions, just thanks for the update and good to hear that things are improving.
Oh alright, when do we get the review for Iron Man 3? 🙂
Just wanted to comment that I am very glad to hear that Mr. David’s recovery is going well. I was fortunate enough to get to meet him when I attended MadCon a few years back where Harlan Ellison also appeared and Mr. David’s kindness and dedication to his readers were apparent with every interaction. I actually used some of the comics Peter David wrote when I did my student teaching several years ago to have students draw comparisons between Greek and Roman mythology and modern comic writing in an Honors English course. I am sincerely glad things are improving… no one writes characters like Mr. David…