kkholt

Stroke Survivor - male
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About kkholt

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  • Facebook URL
    http://
  • Interests
    Backpacking, Camping, Hanging out with my family!

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  • State
    AK

kkholt's Achievements

Associate Mentor

Associate Mentor (5/10)

  1. Happy Anniversary kkholt!

  2. Happy Anniversary kkholt!

  3. Happy Anniversary kkholt!

  4. Yes a long time has gone by since I've been on strokenet. Guilt creeps in that I need to give back to the people and site that was so instrumental in the first months and more after Rob's stroke. I feel the need to give back with the same caring support I received - that was so helpful in our journey forward. Okay I'll try and log in more often .... that said I'll just blog a little about how things are going for us. My job is still going well, I HATE being away from home, but that is life in a small town where employment is not available. The upside is that in about 8 or so months, after our son graduates from high school Rob and I will be able to travel to warmer climates in the winter. Working up north on a 2 and 2 schedule provides me the opportunity to go anywhere the two weeks I am off work. We can go to Costa Rico, Mexico, Arizona --- course I'm naming all the warm places I want to be. The benefits at my job are amazing (100% paid health care) and a fantastic retirement plan. Both are top priorities for me now. Rob is getting around well - not to the level he was prior to his setback about 18 months ago - but well just the same. His arm seems to be doing better than his leg and he just doesn't have the muscle strength in his hamstring that he needs. He makes a good effort to exercise and or walk every day and because of this I believe he does continue to improve. He made the very difficult decision to sell his guide business and this Fall will be the first in over 20 years that he will not be heading to Kodiak. He keeps busy with his many projects and the only concern I have is his memory seems to continue to deteriorate. I sometimes wonder if people who have had strokes are more prone to this deterioration at a pace faster than just the normal memory loss with age. Well we are two peas in a pod, because I am losing my hearing as fast as he is losing his memory. I attribute mine to years of duck and bird hunting with a 12 guage exploding hundreds of shells just inches from my ears with no protection. So my normal response these days is huh? because I didn't hear something and Rob's normal response is huh? because he didn't remember something .... yeah, two peas in a pod we are.
  5. Asha, So glad you had a good trip. I was thinking about you. Next time if you come into southcentral Alaska in June, it would likely be very warm. Alaska is an extreme place. Take care Asha. -Karen
  6. Sue - yes the North Slope is the Alaskan oilfield. It is called the North Slope because it is the North Slope of the Brooks Range (Mountain Range). I fly an hour and a half in a 737 to get to Prudhoe Bay. I stay at a camp for fourteen days and then fly home fourteen days later. While at Prudhoe Bay we work twelve hour days (sometimes more), every day for fourteen days. I live in a camp that is very comfortable. I have a room and share a bathroom with another woman. I don't have a permanent room because the company I work for is building their own camp, and when that is finished we will move over there and I will have a permanent assigned room so that I can leave all my things there and don't have to lug my clothes and personal items back and forth. I am working in a temporary office until the new camp is built and it is in the parking lot of the main camp. It is a little trailer that is very dirty and has no bathroom facilities. I make about a 300 foot trek across the parking lot several times a day to use the restroom and get food in the main camp. The weather changes constantly up there. The wind almost always blows. The day I left, it was blowing about 30 MPH and the visibility was next to nothing. It was 3 degrees below zero, very cold and hard to get across the parking lot to my office. I am the only girl on my shift for this company, working with about 30 men. The camp has a ratio of about 10% (or less) woman, the rest men. I LOVE the job, it is a lot of computer work, problem solving, and I like the fact I can focus on my job for two weeks and then come home and relax. While at work, our food it all cooked for us, our rooms are cleaned, and all I have to worry about is my laundry. They have great exercise equipment at the camp I need to check out. I used to work up here 17 years ago before Elias was born - but at a different camp. Some people that I knew up here 17 years ago, are still here. Hope that helps with a description of the North Slope.
  7. Oh my, it has been so long since I made an entry. An email from Sue prompted me to post and keep in touch. Rob's rehab and recovery this go has been slow. It has been hard. His PT shakes her head at him because he has the ability to make some movements but he gets used to taking the path of least resistance to sometimes just get things done. I started a new job last week. I am back on the North Slope working a two week on two week off schedule. I always wanted to go back after Elias was raised, and although Elias is only 17 I feel like I'm going back a little earlier than planned, but the opportunity came up, and I needed to take it. Getting jobs up North are hard. It seems Elias and Rob are getting along fine without me, and I know they will both benefit from me being gone. I came home to a house of dirty laundry, but I can deal with that. We're waiting to get some more snow so Rob can get out on his snow shoes and skis. We've had the snowmachines out a bit, but there really isn't enough snow to do much just yet. I'll try to come back on in a few weeks and get caught up - but just to let you know we're here, doing good. Greetings from Alaska! -Karen
  8. kkholt

    Rehab Revisited

    Ross and Family, Diane's strength, persistance, and positive attitude was an inspiration. I am filled with sorrow and will miss her on the site. Healing thoughts. Karen
  9. Phyllis, I totally forgot about the dog! You're right. Thank goodness we tried to teach this one not to run through the door without permission, and I can easily back her up with one word. The previous two dogs we had both would attempt dominance by running by fast, really close to us - can't imagine having a dog like that around now with Rob being so unstable. We live in a community where one rarely locks their doors and we always leave our keys in the car (otherwise we would lose them) - So the door lock isn't a problem unless we leave overnight.... thank goodness. Karen
  10. Asha, isn't it wonderful that your mouth comes in handy to hold things when you only have one strong hand I see Rob all the time use his teeth as tools (am sure the dentist hates that). Karen
  11. Since Rob has been home (about a week) from the hospital I noticed it must be hard for him to close doors behind him, because so often he doesn't. I would find the front door open, and that was a clue he had gone outside. I won't talk about other doors that were also left open I didn't think much about it, except that it must have been a difficult task, that he wasn't able to take on. Today I saw why he has been leaving the doors open. I watched him leave the house, he was managing the door trying to close it behind him, the door jam that was raising havoc with his foot, his cane..... all with one strong arm/leg. It made me realize the little things, like trying to close the door behind them, that are so hard for disabled people. That I take for granted. I had gotten used to him being independant, and helping around the house - back to doing the dishes, cooking, the laundry. All those activities are back on me now. Not a huge big deal, just that I am aware of it, and I certainly know it could be harder than it is. I have a new job at work, and less hours which is helpful, however a lot less money but we'll get used to that. -such is life
  12. Hi Sue, I can relate to your description about Ray's health and his behavior moderate and deficiencies under control. Sometimes that is the best there is, huh? As we are getting into the Spring/Summer season you must be going into the Fall/Winter? Karen
  13. Hi Sue - I can't even fathom where this rehab will take us, and push the fear that he will not regain what he lost from my mind today...... It is one day at a time, watching and willing his thumb to move, remembering how long it took to start moving last time. We will never be able to pull this off without a lot of help from his awesome therapists.... and am greatful for our insurance that does not cap therapy at a specific # and continues to allow it based on medical necessity. We do have things to be thankful for. Yes we have to pace ourselves, but if I stop and look back for too long, I may sink. We can do it again, and I gotta keep movin' forward. Thanks for you thoughts. -Karen
  14. Rob is home after a week of in-patient rehab. Staying in the hospital a few days, gave him some intensive therapy, which was really helpful because we drive over a hundred miles one-way for his out-patient therapy. His PT said that his leg is so weak, that most people wouldn't be able to walk on a leg as weak as his.... he's done this before, so he figured out how to do it. We aren't back to square one with this stroke, we've done this before. No sense complaining, we're just getting to work on the rehab. My co-workers have been bringing food over - I am humbled by their kindness. They know Rob is the cook in our house
  15. Asha, That means the artery that goes to his brain, on the left side is totally blocked. Today I hope to get the news from the vascular surgeon on what if anything that they will do about this. Yes, we are fortunate that this didn't knock him down as bad as the last time, and it took the same side out as last, which is good. The new deficit that he is showing is inappropriate emotional response - as he is laughing at things that one normally wouldn't laugh at. Rob said he could get medicine for that, and my response was, why? This is kind of fun. We'll know more today about his test results. Bring your warm clothes (polar fleece) and good quality rain gear on your cruise - sorry to say but we've had a cold spring. It's still in the 40's and 50's. But, it will likely be a beautiful trip. Karen