Many of you know what my story lately is, After 19 years of marriage and a stroke I am getting divorced, I'm presently living on my own, loving it and basically making the most of every day that I am able to. My life is full and rich in friends. In many respects I truely think my life is more enriched and rewarding since I stroked. I have this site and a special guy in my life whom I could never get rid of. Anyway yesterday, much was put into perspective for me. I'd like to share it here.

My next door neighbor is a 77 year old dynamo named Maddie or Mat for short. She is the mother of my old bosses I worked for when I stroked. She came over for a neighborly visit yesterday and told me her cancer has returned. She had had breast cancer a year or so ago and she had beat it. So upon hearing the cancer returned, she tells me where it is. It is in her breast, lungs, Kidney's and Lymp nodes, she is just loaded with cancer cells and where the cancer has taken up residence aren't the best places for hope of a recovery. I can still see her face telling me, I've lived a good life, and I've had tragedy touch my life and bad things happen, but I want to live! I love life!

So it hit me today that at least with stroke, I Have a chance to recover, rebuild my life, and an opportunity to live every day to the fullest. My hourglass has still got quite a bit of sand left in it. Sure, I don't know when I'll die, I haven't got a clue when my time is up. But I do know I am not wasting this wake up call and wallowing in self pity, wasting each and every day. I face each day positively and a Mary Poppins attitude.

Now, I'm not writing this to pat myself on the back and say look at me! I am writing this because I hear to many survivors say things that tell me they are letting the stroke win. It could be worse. We could be about to die instead of dealing with a disability. I think I'll take the disability, thanks.

Pam