will2

Absolutely! It was sorely missed. I exchanged emails with Willis a few times and in that course he had a type of seizure during Church services accompanied by his wife. I'd ask a small favor or request to add a little prayer or well wishes his way. I hope he's doing ok and responds here. Willis, you are a great friend and dearly missed. Nothing can take the place of the type of care and comradery of the members here.

Spirit Airlines

What always gets me is the intermittent or unexpected foot drops that come and go. It's not an ordinary event either, and catches me unwittingly and off-guard. As a result I've taken my share of tumbles and hospitalized with a fractured vertebrae over the years. My first fall was even in the hospital after the brain surgery, they didn't tie me down to my bed, nor was I aware that my legs didn't work and slipped off the bed to use the bathroom and down I went. The collapse resulted in 7 stitches above my left eye and the panic that ensued from the staff that ran to assist. And that was just days after the surgery to start my legacy of tumbles. My last was unexpectedly due to a flash downpour and a water puddle on the sidewalk out front. My humid environment causes a mold/algae growth to develop on concrete surfaces like the pool deck and/or sidewalks because of the lengthy time water sits on the surfaces in this humid climate. It doesn't rear it's ugly tendencies until another downpour and standing water makes the algae/mold surface like slippery ice conditions. When I stepped onto it, down I went on the sidewalk and a passerby postal employee ran over to help me upright..that left a mark The unexpected foot drop that resulted in the fractured vertebrae was in the house from stepping up from a sunken TV room. The foot drop just comes and goes. You'd think that I'd likely be more prepared or aware but the interval between the falls puts me into the "complacent camp" and I loose the awareness. I can take precautions most of the time but due to the long intervals between he tumbles is what eventually gets me. Whoda thought falling would be an issue when your younger and as you age. But I also never gave a seconds thought to having an aneurysm rupture and stroke during surgery. Then again, whoda thought I'd be living during a Global Pandemic either, if anything it's made me rethink that nothing in life is taken for granted and drawn me closer to a higher power, I needed that! Falls...yea, I've had a few.

Green Peace

Ring doorbell

I agree with you Janelle, and for whats it worth, I wouldn't change a thing even if I could. It has moulded and shaped me and my behaviors as I am today and thats not such a bad thing. Honestly, like Deigh and his reminiscing thread, I often think back to those days and really miss the fun, the much simpler life, but growing out of it is a big part and I truthfully was more the late "adulthood bloomer" I didn't make major changes and get my stuff really together until I reached about 30ys old. Even at almost 70yrs I'm still learning, growing, and oftentimes changing but it's more spiritual in nature than behavioral. Yea, my Sis and I often look at one another and say "We turned out ok!" smile and roll our eyes, knowing what experiences we went through, we weren't no angels thats for sure

Janelle, my claim to fame (hippy) has long since expired by about about 51yrs and though those were some really great years growing up in the late 60's and 70's you'd never know it by appearances. My sister is only a year older and she attended Woodstock. So many years later we both reminisce about those days but these days we all live very respectable and rewarding lifestyles. We are often stigmatized with being the early drug culture, but is a whole lot worse these days with crack, meth, designer drugs (ecstasy) heroine and many other more harmful drugs. We did a lot of dope smoking and listing to music at a lot of rock concerts but all mostly grew out of it. The peace and love crowds types, no activists throwing rocks, drive-by shootings, burning police cars and that such nonsense. It was a phase, a very fun memorable phase but, we all grew out of it like most young adults growing into adulthood. I'm not hypocritical but I don't criticize those who may partake if they so desire either, it's just not for me anymore, and other than a beer or glass of wine every now and again, thats it. After all I got this old curmudgeon image thing going on that I gotta protect

Deigh, I can only imagine the balance and coordination it takes to ride one of those things! These days I'm good just to navigate up a few steps post stroke. I have a great Trek bicycle just siting in the garage but as much difficulty I've had with walking and navigating, especially uneven surfaces, there's no way I'm going to try the bike. I've had a few good falls, to include a fractured vertebra from a good fall in the house. Now I have out of my love for outdoor cycling thought about those 3-wheeled bikes. I see a lot of them in our area. We even allow golf carts on the public roads in my small town with a good population of older folks. I have to admire you though Deigh, even when I was young and growing up, I never attempted ever riding a unicycle. Like those folks that even dare ride them on a tightrope in the circus

Here ya go Deigh, a real space saver for the flat!

Hi Janelle, yea the "hippies" were my generation. We would spend many an hour in those Head Shops back in the 70's. Buying the clothes, the John Lennon round frame glasses, living the part. I did my share of partaking of the evil weedIn fact, out of just about all my friends I grew up with in High School got high. Maybe one or two odd ones didn't. We were the Coconut Grove crowd and made our way from concerts in the parks to Stadiums. I eventually grew away from it in my College days and then my employer of 25yrs did random drug screening. In fact because our dept had Nuclear Plant access, we were on two random drug testing. I can tell you though, so far I've only used the oral routes of administration and it's nothing like what I remember smoking back in the 70's recreationally. Best I can describe is that it seems more controlled, or targeted for specific purposes, like pain and/or anxiety and sleep. No realized "buzz", no outrageous laughing, no munchies, etc. Now with that said, I've yet to try any of the smokable route, from what I understand the full flower effects technically called the "entourage effects" I haven't tried. And those brownies, cookies and candy edibles I prefer not to indulge in, I'd be eating way too much to keep my girlish figure It does however without a doubt help to get a faster more relaxed sleep though, thats a fact!

Just wanted to add. In another topic I discussed medical marijuana and how effective it has been managing some nagging neurologic pain that I've had since post stroke. Though I'm relatively new employing cannabis products for prescription substitutes, another positive benefit that I've experienced is that it has great sedative benefits. I currently take a capsule of the sativa blend at bedtime and it allows me to doze off very peacefully and soundly. I'm currently prescribed by my PCP Ambien (Zolpediem) for sleep as I've had my biological clock kinda reset since my brain event. I've been using medical marijuana now for a few years and tried an array of the products from our dispensaries here in Florida. I've mainly tried the oral delivery methods vs smoking. And have acknowledged the benefits over a period of time. The products have allowed me to substitute using them vs opioids for effective pain management, but have also realized benefits such as an effective sleep medication. A blessing. Another realized benefit in addition to positive pain management and sleep substitute, it also works magic with the prostrate for this older curmudgeon. Very positive report using this medication legally in the state of Florida. I hope that in time that the Government makes it legal on the Federal level so that it may reach a wider population of people that could benefit from these products and make them more widely available to those who may wish to use them for medicinal reasons. At my age/health I don't see myself using them for recreational reasons but, certainly glad that they are available to us at the state levels for medicinal causes.

I do not take Gabapentin Benni, however I remember in a past thread that another member here recommended Gabapentin. I checked with my PCP about prescribing it to give a go at it and he wouldn't prescribe it. He preferred not to in my case and mentioned the reason being that with the other prescribed meds I take, the Gabapentin wouldn't be a good idea because I just have the one kidney??? Though I would have liked to try it because of the recommendation here, I deferred to his answer. I did a search here to try and find the member that takes Gabapentin here in hopes that they may reply in your topic, but could not find the topic, it was a bit ago. I did however do an internet search and found out that it also comes under the brand name of Neurotin which years ago post-stroke a Neurologist did prescribed it to me. I just remember it did not help in my case. I was inquiring about my muscle spasticity that often gets a bit edgy. Here is what I found from the internet, and if it does get branded as Neurotin, unfortunately it did not help me with the spasticity and I went to another medication. "Gabapentin, sold under the brand name Neurontin among others, is an anticonvulsant medication primarily used to treat partial seizures and neuropathic pain. It is a first-line medication for the treatment of neuropathic pain caused by diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, and central pain." Maybe that member here that is prescribed it will chime in...

Just yesterday I saw a commercial from a pharmaceutical company for Parkinson's disease and it had an older gent displaying symptoms of onset Parkinson's, it was referring to hallucinations or delusions, the video showed him seeing a second image of his dog at the same time, side by side at the same time. Alluding to possible hallucinations/delusion. With that said, one thing is certain in my case, if there may be "two" of the Fuzz, at least one of them is in his chair, and in deep, deep, sleep!

Tracy, funny that you mention this. I previously mentioned in a past post that my cat Fuzz will often pass under between my foot rest and my recliner chair with his tail in the air. He purposely hits the undersides of my outstretched legs with his tail to get my attentions as he circles around the footrest. This is his notice that he wants me to follow him to the backdoor to let him out as he likes to lounge on the pool deck and run the perimeter of my yard enclosed by a tall 6' wood fence. (clever little monkey)..anyway, after awaking from a light sleep to follow him out to the back door, I found him dead asleep in his family room chair! It was such a vivid experience, that I sat back down amazed by the experience. I don't subscribe to any kind of multiple hallucination theories but it was very real and doesn't happen with any frequencies, pre or post stroke. I call it my "phantom Fuzz!" I can relate to much of your post experiences. Almost like post-stroke has opened a door to my imagination! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one that has experienced these anomalies. That's what intrigues me about this forum, sharing similar experiences that would seem kind of out there but in fact we seem to be on a similar wavelength, thank you.

In further thinking I would be remiss if I also didn't mention foot drop. Throughout my 13yrs of navigating through different environments, in the earlier years following my stroke, I worked hard and desperately to get into condition to get released by my PT to return to work full time. I was still very healthy and strong enough to get into shape that would qualify me to return. However since maybe due to age and general health decline my body still functional but over time weakening, I developed a slight left foot drop. It's not constant but often rears it's head. In these situations I'm personally conscious that even in my home walking through a sunken audio room and up just a small step, my left foot would catch me unexpectedly and instigate a fall. Being aware of this "foot drop" condition that can rear it's ugly head unconsciously, I take precaution in navigating the step to assure success without a mishap. My balance these days is ok, provided I do my homework and stay vigilant of potential hazards. I'm more than confident that there are many rehab techniques and strengthening exercises that will help you in the long term to stabilize your balance and improve your gait. Things will get better and improve for you through training and rehab. It is a life journey, and takes time, you'll get there. A place where you feel comfortable. Mistakes and the unexpected will still occur once in awhile. Share those experiences here, perhaps we've been there and can offer help or a viable solution that can help you get back on track. Additionally, I still use my walking aids (walker, canes, chairs, etc) when warranted because I still have those days where my body doesn't seem to do what I want it to do so, no shame on using a tool to help