It's been only 10 years come 15 January 2014 but it feels like many more than that to me as I sit here looking back over my life as a stroke

survivor of a brain bleed! I feel I had good therapy of every kind over the years and I tell you all now you can not recover enough to be more able to do for yourself without therapy!

I came home five months from the day I was admitted after the stroke unable to walk and in a wheelchair with my poor wife struggling to push me at 220 pounds. Also loading/unloading that chair in and from my SUV. With more out patient therapy I was soon walking with a cane. Then a few weeks later took my driving test passed and I was driving again!

A burden was lifted off my shoulders and the VA gave me a 3 wheel scooter and a lift to get it in/out my car. My wife was hired at another bank and my whole life started to improve. I got out the hospital bed the VA had given me sleeping downstairs and started sleeping in the bed with my wife in our bedroom upstairs. She no longer had to check on me at night was using the urinal on my own by then.

I drove myself to therapy and back plus to my doctors appointments. I ate lightly and lost the extra pounds then a year later I started working at Walmart as a greeter using my scooter. As I look back from now it seems so long ago but I came a long way and it was not that easy to me looking back 10 years ago next month!

I'm very proud of my sweet wife for caring about our marriage and not leaving me to care for myself. Looking forward I hope to still recover more in my ability to do more for myself with one side paralyzed. I will always be a stroke survivor and I pray just once! I been a member here now since about January 2005 when a friend from my hospital days told me about this stroke site created by a man who couldn't walk but sill had his creative mind.

That enticed me to volunteer my services as a welcome committee host back in 2007 which I really enjoyed!