merichsen

Ruth,

It's great that William is being treated so aggressively and willing to work hard to meet the challenge.

Seeing his progress as a result of his hard work and determination must make you very proud.

Maria

Yolie,

I echo Sue's sentiments. Taylor is quite blessed to have such a supportive family who has exposed her to so much and provided her with the tools she needs to continue to thrive.

Being too adorable for words doesn't hurt either.

Maria:friends:

When you're ready for a new one take your daughter's advice. Never, ever, ever again...

We have 8 Dells in this house, a premium customer account, and theoretically a dedicated tech.

Had a similar virus nightmare and was told it would cost me a couple of hundred dollars if

I wanted to speak to someone in the U.S. Like somehow I might go for that.

Two months and countless stressful phone call from my husband later

thy did finally upgrade and replace my computer.

Wasn't worth the angst for something that should have been taken care of without

the run around.

Like I said never, ever again...big mistake...they lost a good customer.. With schoolwork my kids go through computers at a rate of about one a year. At this point I thik of Dell as a cheap disposable that's good for them.

BTW - One thing I learned from my tech in all this...(you mentioned you have a ouple of programs to catch the viruses ~ aka antivirus programs). You should really only have one. Dell comes preloaded with MacAfee. Many people then dd their own without uninstalling the MacAfee. When you have more than one it thy conflict and it creates gaps which can allowa virus to get through. For a few hundred dollars though we can connect you to someone in th U.S. to assist you in fixing that problem. Pretty sleazy business practice. ~guess that's all you can resort to when you're drowning and desperate.

Glad you got yourself up and running again. Sorry you guys were stressed over it.

Fred is a very wise old coot. Getting your education, defining and learning to take care of yourself is the best thing you can do. No one can ever take that away from you.

Relationships may resolve or not work out as you had hoped, but you'll always have your sense of self.

A long time ago you asked what was meant by....you can't love someone else unless you love yourself first.

This is it! ~~ not you can't. but you're really better off

Never look to someone else to complete you. ~if they go away you're shattered.

Educate yourself and grow from within so you are complete within yourself and no one can shatter that or take it away.

Love and romance are then more of a choice you can enjoy than a desperate need to fill a hole which you always fear at any moment could bring your world to a screeching halt.

We'll have to find you a younger version of Fred...He's a keeper.

Asha,

You will always be his mother and nothing can ever change that or the place you have in his life. His growing into an independent young man is a testimony to the outstanding job you have done raising him.

I was out shopping Friday and called Marc to ask if he wanted to meet me between classes for lunch. As we were leaving the restaurant he saw a group of friends and started talking. After always having him with me, I forgot he has his own car now. About 10 minutes into his socializing he turned to me and whispered...I'll see you at home okay.

Later on I apologized and told him I kind of forgot he wasn't a little kid.

Funny~~~He said it didn't bother him that I was standing there with his friends waiting for him. He's pretty used to that too. He just knew he'd be a while and didn't want me to have to wait (not sure if I totally believe that one).

Point is growing up and letting go a little bit is never easy for any of us, but it's something that's inevitable.

You'll start to see with the maturation of not needing you for the little daily things he can do for himself, you will still be the most important person. You will be the first person he has to tell things to when he's excited about something.

When Marc went to France as a sophomore in high school and his phone temporarily didn't work, he drove the host family and teacher insane. Finally I got a call from the host family mother saying I just had to reach you for your son. He's so upset. He wants to tell you that he got to go in to the WWII bunkers. He got on the phone and could barely breathe telling me. Not that I'm a big history fanatic, but he knew I knew how much it would mean to him.

They know our maternal love for them enables us to feel just what they re feeling. Asha, it's also irreplaceable and one they never grow out of.

Maria :mwah:

Katrina,

Great news on the arm. Keep throwing your left hand in there. It took many years for your brain to learn to live without it, now you need to reteach it to use it again. Keep up the great work, you'll get there.

I'm so sorry you got hurt honey. I know you don't see it now but he did you a favor. No one should love you for what you do for him, but for who you are. You are an amazing beautiful young woman who deserves to be attended to and appreciated for who you are. Ones that will make you cry are a dime a dozen so...LATER!

The one who's worth you time will jump through hoops for you because you are worth it. Never, ever sell yourself short or settle.

Love,

Maria :mwah:

The quote is from Carl Bard, Fred.

and Seneca said, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"

No people Green Day didn't make it up, they stole it from Roman philosopher.

So the Water Pic was to get th stray chocolate chip cookie residue out of her teeth or your eye? just checking.

Glad the date is set. Once it's over and done with will be a huge relief. Bear in mind many of us have been though craniotomies, myself included. While any kind of brain surgery is not exactly having an ingrown toe nail removed, those guys really know what they're doing. Only the best of the best have what it takes to become neurosurgeons.

She'll be just fine and before you know it, it'll be over. Then you guys can get matching goggles and have an all out Water Pic fight til you flood the bathroom.

Maria

Paws,

Visiting and talking with friends here may begin to become a hobby of sorts, In doing so you'll begin to see what others do to cope with how stroke has altered their lives, and come to understand with some modification you guys can do most anything. Sue is a prime example.

Before you know it you will be too, and looking back in amazement at how far you've come.

Maria:friends:

Tony,

I'm really sorry you're having such a hard time and in such a bad state.

Have you spoken to the doctor about the possibility of medication to treat the depression?

Please keep us posted on how you are doing, we care.

Maria

Lenny,

Thank you for sharing, that was absolutely beautiful. Both you and your wife are very very blessed to have each other.

Each of you is truly a treasure and rare find. What an amazing gift to have found each other.

Congratulations and may you have many many more years to enjoy life, love, your family, and happiness together.

Love,

Maria :friends:

Hi Barron,

You are not alone! I had the flu, had gotten better, went back to my usual high speed type A routine. I then thought I was relapsing and ended up with an aneurysm and a craniotomy.

It took a very long time to accept that I could no longer function at the level that I once had. What make it easier was learning to stop comparing myself to what I was once able to do and instead learn to applaude myself for what I could accomplish now.

As time went on and I began to see although I may never be my former self I don't do so badly living up to the new expectations I've set for myself now.

It may just take a little letting go and redefining, but there is hope, you'll be okay!

Maria :friends:

Annie,

That Kimmie is a smart one. Glad A Letter from Your Brain made an impact on you and helped you realize you need to go easier on yourself to give yourself a chance to heal.

Blogging will be very therapeutic and will help you slow down to pace yourself and work through your feelings as you go through your recovery.

We all want this nightmare to end, but since we can't make that happen. We do stuff like blogging and get to look forward to answers from our friends who care ~makes ya feel good and look forward to it....it's fun.

Maria :mwah:

George,

Life sounds great.

Glad to hear you are enjoying it with much to keep you busy as always and look forward to.

Maria

Brian,

Took me 5 1/2 years to finally get that no matter how hard I try I'm never going to be exactly who I was when this happened to me 5 /2 years ago anymore than I could have turned back time 5 years then.

I was happy with being who I was at the time so why not be able to feel the same now? As long as I kept comparing myself where I was nearly 6 years ago I'd never feel good about me. I began to think...why stop there when I could make myself really miserable and compare myself to when I was 18? Wasn't I really doing the same thing- and this was stupid.

Like I said took 51/2 years but it finally hit me...maybe I just need to work on focusing on being the best me I am today.

So hang in. If you're not burning the burgers or putting the baked beans n the grill you're still doin okay.

Cut yourself a break and just take one day at a time.

Maria

Tony,

Boring may not exactly be the right word....pretty deep and intense seems more fitting, which btw usually makes a person a little more than 1 dimensional and interesting ~ not boring.

Stroke does a job on self-esteem. In time you learn to appreciate the strength you had to survive and see how far you come as you progress. Ironically it makes up for what you lost and is then built on the less superficial. So you seem to be doing quite well when you say you have matured a bit more.

Sorry you're having anxiety attacks and feel alone in the world.

Remember we're always out here for you in cyberspace 24/7 so you're never alone.

Maria

Yolie,

Great shots of Taylor.

She looks happy and safe.

Looks like a great program with children she'll do well communicating with through her warm, sweet heart.

So happy to see her in a place she'll be treated well and flourish.

Great job!

Maria:friends:

Sue,

Sandwich must have just been for the birds lol cute story. Lucky you weren't hurt...the gulls at the beach here are downright vicious.

Sorry you're feeling a little under the weather with a cold.

It's great you have those who love you around to be there for you to help lighten the load a bit.

Going with the flow is a tough concept, we'll have to see if Asha is willing to give us a crash course.

Maria :friends:

Bruce,

Having it taken care of will probably not be not a fraction as bad as you think in the end.

It will surely be worth having it tended to and will certainly be worth the relief of not having to live with the potential danger it holds down the road.

Do keep us posted.

Maria:friends:

Fred,

Thanks for sharing these interesting facts.

Of all the one of greatest note is

How incredibly blessed with an amazing mother you were

to have been one of eighteen and have been raised to be

the classy gentleman of such character that you are.

Happy birthday my friend

Maria :mwah:

Tammy,

Great that you are staying positive, able to focus, and are able to appreciate and enjoy life despite the sweltering heat.

Enjoy floating around and staying cool with your little one!

Maria :friends:

Katrina,

My heart would break for you as you shared your pain growing up trying to fit in with kids still too young to appreciate the strength and determination it took for you to never give up.

It's truly a joy and brings tears to my eyes to see you in the adult world and comfortable and accepting of yourself for the amazing, intelligent, beautiful lady you grew up to be.

Love,

Maria :mwah:

Write what you like. Jabberjaw away that's what we're here for. We don't mind at all, we'll always be happy to listen.

Tony,

You can write about anything you like, just not anything that needs to be censored. Start at birth and tell us your life story if you like.

You can throw something out there for discussion I you like. Just be aware that our policy does not allow discussions of politics or religion as they may often become heated and cause unrest to the community.

You may want to peruse our guidelines so you are familiar with what is acceptable.

http://www.strokeboard.net/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules

Any questions please email me at merichsen@strokenetwork.org

We're still in the same parental boat girlfriend and sinking fast. Marc was 18 today and I'm not taking this whole my baby's going to college in Aug. and is 18 too well either. I feel for ya babe...at least they're not getting married YET!

Maria :mwah:

Tony,

Congrats on the great financial news!

Keep the positive thoughts and keep chugging along.

We're all rooting for ya!

Maria :friends: