ruthie65

Stroke Survivor - male
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About ruthie65

  • Birthday 08/26/1965

Contact Methods

  • AIM
    crazylady826
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  • Yahoo
    ruthiedom65

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  • Facebook URL
    http://
  • Interests
    web surfing, reading,spending time with my daughters,pets and hubby, watching movies and t.v.,spending time with my strokenet family.

Registration Information

  • State
    TX

ruthie65's Achievements

Associate Member

Associate Member (2/10)

  1. Happy Anniversary ruthie65!

  2. Happy Anniversary ruthie65!

  3. Happy Anniversary ruthie65!

  4. Happy Birthday ruthie65!

  5. I walk solely on the quadcane now. not too much in public places as I am very slow.I walk in and out of the rehab facility on M,W,F and around the house all the time. I feel more confident and I am starting to feel more like my old self. It's about time. I have more happy than sad days now. Finally! I am looking forward to a trip home to Baltimore in June. I will get to see my niece dance in person for the first time in 2 years.I am sooo excited. I have missed my family terribly. Life is getting better! :bouncing_off_wall:
  6. ruthie65

    Ruth

    My story begins like this.... 2 years ago,in July of 2003. The company my husband works for relocated us from a suburb outside of Baltimore, Maryland to Southlake, Texas a suburb outside of Dallas. My husband and I were born and raised in the Baltimore area.All of our friends and family were there. Our daughters Emily and Samantha were ages 14& 11yrs. respectively. It was a difficult adjustment for the girls. I was not working so that I could be available to them at all times. Picking the girls up after school was my time to chat with them and hear about their daysI really enjoyed the time, it kept us close. Then in January of this year I became restless and the 2 girls had become expensive shoppers,so we decided I should get a part-timejobto keep me out of trouble I hadmade some great friends since moving here and one of them helped me find a job.I started on January5,2005and I loved it I was a personal assistant to a real estate broker/agent that owned her own company. Then on 2/23/05 I had a headache No big deal. I had them all the time, but this was like one of my migraines.I picked fhe girls up from school went home, took some Excedrine migraine and went about my business on the computer. At some point I started to feel really bad and I went to my bedroom to lie down .I felt really weird like I had taken some kind of drugs. My husband called and I told him I had a headache and wasn't feeling well and he says,but I don't remember, that I dropped the phone. I asked my daughter Emily to call my next door neighbor and bestfriend, Sharon. She came right overand after seeing me lying in bed and trying to talk to me,She called 911. I remember her talking to them and her rubbing my foot . They told her to ask me to recite the aphabet and I must have sounded weird because I remember Sharon getting upset. I made her promise not to leave me and she says, she asked me to do the same. That's all I really remember until sometime in late March/early April.Apparently I stopped breathing in the ambulance , after that, they had taken me to a hospital nearby. and they said they couldn't help me .They told my husband they didn't think Iwould make it through the night. My husband prepared the girls for the worst. Then I was rushed to another hospital in Dallas where they took a CT scan and realized I had a ruptured AVM they did an emergency craniotomy to remove the clot from my brain. They fully intended to remove the AVM within the next couple of days,but I managed to get infections and pneumonia while I lay unconscious in ICU for the next three weeks. The next clear memories I have were mid April when I was on the rehab. floor, my friend Sharon and her husband came to visit and my husband was there and they were talking about taxes.The doctors finally chose a date,May 11th for my AVM removal and craniotomy to replace the piece of skull they had removed during emergency surgery. I went to PT and OTand ST 5 days a week 2x a day for 1 hour each. On May 10, My sister's birthday, I walked with the hemi-walker for the first time.Tthere were nurses and therapists literally cheering me on with,"Go Ruth.....Go Ruth....". I was so proud of myself and I walked about 35 ft. I called my sister when I got back to my room and wished her a happy birthday and told her what I had done and that it was a present to her. The next day would be my surgery and I was really scared.The hospital pastor, a lovely woman, came to be with me and my hubby while Iwaited for my turn in surgery. Surgery went extremely well and I was fortunate not to have any setbacks. I went to the ICU for 3 days then to acute care for a short time, then back to rehab.,where I was happy to be "home."I loved my therapists in rehab especially my ST, I will never forget her, Stephanie Sanchez.She helped me through many anxiety attacks and even came to visit me in ICU after my surgery.She is a very genuine, caring, and warm young woman I was discharged from the hopital on5/26/05, after a long journey. It was very hard to leave the comforts and safety of the hospital. My house was a scary place initially. But after a few weeks it became home again.

    © ruthie 65 happy but can't smile.

  7. aj.- .I have to echo achandra Don't read side-effects they'll just make you worry. Besides hopefully they're all helping! ruthie
  8. ruthie65

    1st year tomorrow

    Vix- I just had my first anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Lots of mixed emotions. But it is good to see how far we come in that first year. Hug your hubby tight tonight and celebrate being together. :friends: Best of luck to you. Ruthie
  9. ruthie65

    curry

    hot curry is not a favorite. for me, I prefer sweet curries. ruthie
  10. ruthie65

    amanogawa

    lovely poem. I see and feel it ruthie
  11. ruthie65

    peterc is dead

    If peterc is dead who has replaced him?
  12. ruthie65

    Irritated with OT

    NO S**T! I feel your irritation. :Argh: How thick can they be?That stuff is so frustrating! "But they're only trying to help",said with sarcasm in the voice. You go girl! Next time surprise her and do it withyour unaffected fingers. Then she'll either laugh or be the one whose irritated. Ruthie
  13. Margaret Mary- Ican not even imagine the disaqppointment you must be feeling. I feel especially bad for the children. How could they put those poor kids through such a loss. I'm sure they are heartbroken. I only hope you have some sort of appeals process you can attempt.Your plate is already so full with Dick and your parents. Did they give you a reason for their decision? :uhm: All I can say is fight! fight! fight! you sound like a good woman who is willing to make sacrifices to help those kids. Someone should appreciate that and all you have done for them so far. My heart breaks for all of you. Don't give up! :nuhuh: You are in my thoughts and prayers! Best wishes to you, Ruth
  14. Today at therapy I sorta graduated, I have been staying home alone during the day since Oct. But using my wheelchair to get around.Today my PT said, it's time for you to start walking. So now I'll be using my hemi-walker or quadcane to get around the house. My hubby is still nervous. So he rigged something up so I can wear my cell phone on a strap around my neck. He's the best. :wub2:
  15. Congrats on getting things done. It always seemed to make me feel better...back in the day: ) Ruthie