Author: Kathleen David

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?

Kath here. I thought I would post our schedule and where Peter’s table is this weekend.

The table is at 2416. We are right across from the Mysterious Galaxy booth.

Caroline is selling her artwork at a 1.00 a drawing. I have a couple of Phluzzies for sale. Peter has a lot of books including Pulling Up Stakes and the Camelot Papers.

Peter’s Schedule is as follows

Friday

12:00-1:00pm
In Defense of Bruce Banner (presented by Drawn to Comics)
RM 126AB

3:00-4:00pm
Spotlight: Peter David
RM 124A

6:00-7:00om
A Day in The Strife: The Making of Babylon 5
RM 128

9:00-?
Phoenix Con Puppet-slam
RM 122
(We are doing Lord of Time again so if you missed it at DragonCon, here’s your chance to see it)

Saturday
We are at the table all Day

Sunday

1:30-2:30
Creating with Someone Else’s Sandbox
RM 104B

So come on by and say Hi.

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.

It was three months ago that Ariel and I rushed Peter to the hospital for a stroke.

A lot has changed in that time.

There was fast change like during that first week when our lives were turned upside down and our pockets were searched for loose change.

And there have been the slow changes as Peter works very hard to regain what he lost from the stroke and we work out what our lives are currently and are going to be in the future.

There have been some serious and not so serious speed bumps along the way.

The most recent had to do with some medication changes for Peter, which finally reduced the number of pills he was taking in a day. He seemed to be suffering a side effect that was not in the list of side effects. We took him off the medicine and went back to the previous one for a day or so and then back to the new one. Second time around the problem didn’t re-appear so it was an aberration rather than a side effect. It just showed up the same time as the medicine change so we were all playing it cautious.

His rehab is still going well. He is still making progress in getting back what he has lost. His walking is stronger and firmer. His balance is better. He can go longer distances without tiring out. His hand is improving slowly. The shoulder is still a problem. There doesn’t seem much that can be done for it but time and strengthening. I do think it is something that we need to revisit soon as to what might be able to be done and to make sure there is no more harm being done.

I have to thank both the rehab people and Sifu for that. They have worked very hard to help him get back to even this point. Peter has worked very hard too.

We did go to Farpoint this year much to the surprise of just about everyone there. It was nice to see the gang and spend some time among fans.

Our next convention is going to be the Phoenix ComicCon over Memorial Day Weekend. Caroline will be with us and we look forward to seeing everyone there. That will be the longest plane ride since the stroke.

It is nice to be able to plan for the future and to get back to going to conventions and the like.

There are frustrations along the way. Things we can’t do. Things that we have to rethink and second guess ourselves that before the stroke we wouldn’t give a second thought to. Personally I haven’t made a creative anything since the stroke. Thought a lot about it but haven’t done everything. And now I have some deadlines looming that need to be done that I don’t’ want to blow off. So I am going to pull it from somewhere and give my muse a chance to come out and play.

Caroline is dealing pretty well. I won’t say that it has been a walk in the park for her but she puts on her brave face and saunters on. I think we are fortunate that she does express her feelings and frustrations to us. She also has people she can talk to when she doesn’t want to talk to her parents. We are getting a little taste of the teenager who is just around the corner but that it understandable considering all that is going on. She misses being able to just go out with her dad and do things. Now doing something is a production rather than a spur of the moment idea.

Honestly it is the closer we get back to normal, the better we all feel. We know that we are living in a new normal and we are about half way to figuring out what that is.

And again I have to thank our family, friends and the fans. To the gang at Marvel Entertainment, thanks for all the help and the reassurance. To Heroes Initiative for stepping up and giving us a hand up when we weren’t sure how we were going to get to the next step and your continued support. To the gang at Farpoint and everyone who helped with that auction. To JK and everyone who participated in the art auction, thank you. To everyone who bought a book or donated or just passed the words around the net, thank you.

If there is one thing we have learned from all this is that we are loved and that has helped a lot even in the darkest of times during this whole thing.

I am so very grateful that my husband is alive and working.

Kath here.

I met J.K. Woodward through Peter because JK became the regular artist on Fallen Angel for IDW. We hung out at conventions, watched each other’s tables, and had a lot of interesting conversations.

Hurricane Sandy came through New York and wiped out the home of J.K. and his lovely wife. Not a little bit wiped out, totally wiped out with most of their belongings.

Even with all this going on in his life, JK put together an art auction for Peter’s benefit. He did all the leg work and got the auction up and running. And we are very grateful to him for everything he did for us.

Now it is our turn to step up and spread the word for him.

J.K.’s limited Prints to raise money to return home

So go take a look. There are such a variety of prints for a variety of fandoms available. Even if you can’t get a print, please spread the word.

Thanks

Kath

Caroline had to write an essay on faith for her religious class. I found the final result to be very moving, and she has given me permission to share it with you.

PAD

My Dad and Faith
By
Caroline David

I have a lot of faith in God and my Dad. But there was a time when I had to rely only on my faith in God. Here is what happened.

I was going to stay with my oldest sister Shana in Jacksonville for a couple of days while my dad, mom and Ariel stayed in Orlando visiting friends. It was suppose to be three days at the most and then we were going home. When my mom did not come on the third day, I thought “OK, she is a little late. Who cares?” I called my mom to see what happened. My mom told me that I could stay there as while longer, but she did not tell me the entire truth of what was going on. I asked about school. My mom said it was okay that I missed some school.

I hung up the phone. It was weird but I played with my sister and my friends Amelia and Jetti. I had a two day sleep over with my friend Jetti. I told her that I was worried about my parents. She told me everything was going to be okay.

After a few days I called my mother and told her to come pick me up. What I did not know is that my life was going to change forever.

Driving back from Jacksonville to Orlando, my mother told me that my father had a stroke and could not move the right side of his body. Then my tears welled up in my eyes. All of the sudden the tears burst forth like the rain of hurricane Sandy. My mother tried to calm me down but she could not. I cried for about an hour and then I remembered I had a giant tootsie roll I had gotten on our trip and had only eaten half of it. I ate half of the half and fell asleep for what seemed a short time but was the rest of the ride back to Orlando.

When my mom and I got to the hospital, we went to dad’s room and went in. I felt so sad to see my dad in the hospital that I started crying again. My dad told me gently to stop crying. My sister Ariel come over and hugged me. I hugged Ariel and sat next to my dad on the hospital bed. I told him to try to move his right hand around my hand but he could not squeeze my hand very much. I was very sad.

My dad told me I needed faith in him that he was going to get better but I told him I didn’t know how to because he was so hurt. He said to have faith in him and do what mom says.

I went to the house where we were staying with friends and their doggies. My mom talked about prayer and faith and I prayed to God and Jesus to make my daddy as he was before the stroke. I knew I had to have faith that my dad would get better. My faith in God helped me and I asked God to protect my dad no matter what.

My dad home now and getting better. He has had to change how he eats a lot and a lot has changed around the house. I still pray to God and try to have faith that everything will be OK.

Kathleen here.

I thought I would do an update on Peter and the rest of us on Peter’s site since I haven’t done one of these in a while and because it is now 10 weeks later.

He’s home and we are so happy to have him back. He is enjoying being back home.

He was able to navigate the house with minimal help when he got home and now he is pretty much able to get around on his own. This is a big considering we were talking building wheelchair ramps and the like so he could get into the house when we were first talking about getting him home.

The double vision is gone which he is very grateful for. He also got a new set of glasses, which he said he needed to get before we even left for our vacation, that have helped a lot with eye strains and the like.

His right leg is getting stronger each day. It is a slow process but he is making steady progress. He has to think his way through each step although the process is getting easier. We really don’t think about walking, we just do it. At this point for Peter, it is a matter of thinking about the knee going up and walking heel to toe and not to throw his hip out. Walking is a lot about thinking right now for him.

The right arm is improving. He has managed to get his right arm over his head. He is working the fingers with a number of exercises to try to regain control over them. The elbow is working better every day.

Today he went into the city on the LIRR for a business meeting that he needed to attend, which shows how far he has come in 10 weeks.

He has returned to his Tai Chi classes and he is bowling again.

Caroline is so happy to have her daddy home. She spends most evenings curled up next to him.

He has been working hard at his out patient therapy. He goes twice a week and then does exercises on the days that he is not in therapy. It is not easy and we have our good days and our bad days but we have days which is a blessing indeed.

I am doing OK. I am doing PT for my neck and doing a lot of thinking about what I need to do for my arthritis. I have been driving a lot to get people where they need to be on time.

We wanted to say thank you to everyone who had helped us. I don’t think I would be as calm as I am considering what the mail brings every day. We feel supported and we feel loved and that helps us so much.

So I am opening this up to Ask Kath or Caroline. Peter might participate if he is feeling up for it. Have at it. If I say we can’t answer a question, please don’t take it personally. There are certain subjects I would rather not talk about and I ask that you respect that.