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The Whole Saga From The Beginning

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I've lost my sweet Bernadette

Dear Friends, I have been absent from the Stroke Net for a long time while devoting much of my time to caring for Bernie.   My dear Bernie passed away 2 months ago today. She was home with me with hospice care.   The last few years has not been kind to Bernie, repeated seizures and a severe anemia caused a multitude of problems. The last of which was repeated episodes of an enlarged spleen. Radiation treatments to shrink the spleen, although successful, caused horrible bone marrow proble

mikev

mikev

An Update on my Irish Girl

Dear Friends and Support Group,   So much has gone on since I’ve last written anything here, I’ll try and bring things up to date somewhat.   Bernie is doing pretty darn well, considering the beating she took last year. She is currently in therapy 3 days a week and filling in the odd days with neurologists, nephrologists, hematologists and others. She quit using her cane and rarely uses a walker anymore, only when she is very tired at night or on just waking up in the morning. Her left

mikev

mikev

No Idle Hands Here

My Mother-in-Law's motto: "Don't tell me not to burn the candle at both ends. Just tell me where to get more wax." Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well. It’s been very busy around our house for many weeks. We have had visiting therapists, doctor’s appointments and many many hectic days and nights getting back to a routine, and normalcy if there is a normalcy.   In the news we have been following the healing process of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. It reminds me of so many of o

mikev

mikev

Merry Christmas to all.....

I will just take enough time to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and be safe.   Bernie has me quite busy lately, chasing her around the house with a walker in my arm hollering all the while "TAKE YOUR WALKER BERNIE!!!" as she half drags a foot scaring the hell out of me. She's turned me into a two Millers a night man, my Lord what's next. I need to start feeding her that Bailey's, yeah, that's the ticket.   No rehab hospitals would take her as an inpatient, too ma

mikev

mikev

Murphy's Wounded And Down

I’m reluctant to write this except to thank all who have been sending well wishes and prayers toward Bernie’s recovery. She is definitely on the mend with great acceleration.   A week ago Bernie was moved from one of the premier Detroit area Hospital / Medical Centers to a very small, but specialized rehab hospital. One of their primary specialties is tracheostomy weaning. After her initial evaluation the PT Honcho took me aside and told me not to expect miracles and that many people live o

mikev

mikev

Look Out For Murphy

Murphy’s Law seems to be hanging over Bernie’s head like a black cloud, and if it wasn’t for bad news I wouldn’t have any.   Bernie’s Cranioplasty of September 22nd went about as lousy as it could. The best thing that happened was the fit of the prosthetic scull was perfect. Initially the surgery seemed to go as planned with Bernie only a few hours in the ICU after a couple of hours in recovery. The doctor said everything went well and Bernie should be able to go home in a couple of days.

mikev

mikev

bits n pieces and finally a surgery date

My bride finally has a surgery date. On September 22 she will get her head back together (cranioplasty) with a prosthetic scull portion made of methylacrylate (fancy name for a hybrid acrylic). She had a micro scan of her scull done around a month ago, then wait and wait and wait for Medicare and insurance approvals and finally to a manufacturer. All the while Bernie has been in slight decline in all areas, eating, walking and every other form. We are both happy and scared that the date is f

mikev

mikev

Bernie and Me, The Quick Saga to Date

1965 I met Bernie (Bernadette) and she knocked me for a loop (now she does that to herself). I was just discharged from the Marine Corps, I didn't care about any wild oats, I wanted her.   1967 We were married. She was a baby, 20 years old, I was a baby too 22 years old. I think now and I think kids shouldn't be able to drive until they're 25.   1970 Bernie had a serious back surgery due to scoliosis. Nine vertebrae were fused together and she had a couple of stainless rods put in her bac

mikev

mikev