Kim:

is the doctor God, how does it matter what he says, things will be fine you will adapt with whatever brain you have

Asha

Kim -

Drs. don't know everything and they can't play God - we all know they don't have all the answers. Take it one day at a time and continue to be the best you can be. You are a very special person. My heart goes out to you.

Sarah

I'm probably the most drain bamaged person on here, it ain't so bad, you don't have to wonder if you are nuts, you know.

Kimberly,

You're no different today than you were just before your appointment with your doctor. Don't let his words brand you! I didn't know you before your stroke, so I don't know the 'old' Kimberly, but I know the Kimberly you are today. And that person is a warm person with a good sense of humor, loyal to your friends, and you have a lot to give the world.

Two nuerologists told us my husband would be nothing but a vegetable because his films literally showed half of his brain as one big blank spot void of all that is suppose to be on that half of his brain. (I saw the film and just about passed out.) He has far excessed those doctor's predictions and so will you! Never give up your willingness and desire to prove that doctor wrong!

Jean

Kim, those are terrible words that instantly make a person feel like less than those around them. The brain you have now is quick witted and remembers compassion and sensitivity. It recalls words I don't know and reaches out to strangers to comfort them. You must have been something else before...

hi KImberly//// my hubby had a fairly bad stroke june 2002 and couldn't do any thing for himself when he came home a month and half later//I had to check an every thing he attempted so he wouldn't harm himself in his attempts to regain his independence .... like it's cold here so when he went for a walk I had to make sure he was dressed and be sure he had his mitts on so he wouldn't freeze his hands., I picked him up a half hour later and sometimes I had to look for him as at times he would take another route.... well he continues to improve and is now able to be on his own for a longer period of time and does quite well//// he a carpenter by trade so today we built a raised garden bed... We had to measure,cut,fit, nail,level,and pound in re enforcing bar,not an easy task for any one let alone someone who has had his problems... he has aphasia and finds it hard to understand spoken instructions... I told him to give himself a star for all his accomplishments.. as he has a negative approach to a lot of things......keep up the good work as you will inprove slowly but it will come a nd never mind the drs. as things have changed it the last few years and I'm sure that they are not infallible... my brother in lowe was supposed be in a wheel chair eight years ago and now he is dancing//////

Kim,

What the Dr. said are just sounds on the air that found their way to your ears. It means nothing. I felt upset when I was told pretty much the same thing a year after my stroke. Those words hurt and wiped out all my hope. But you know what? He was wrong.

Besides, I have a great excuse for forgetting or screwing up, I have brain damage! Have a few drinks too many and find yourself doing a Hoochie on a table? Oops, sorry, I have brain damage you know.....

Kim, you need to take what you heard and turn it around and make it yours. Jean is right, you are no different after the visit then before the visit. So continue on, being brain damaged isn't so bad......

Pam

i am at a loss for words, which is VERY unusual for me. i can't convey my feelings strongly enough to thank each and everyone of you for your kind heartfelt words. so i'll just say

THANK YOU!!!! from the bottom of my heart.

kim

1st I'm going to start with you Kimmy - then Cindy's in for it - !

Have you ever in your life met a stroke survivor who wasn't brain damaged?

Honey, that's what it is! You had a stroke ... you aren't a cucumber. YOU have a brain - it got hurt, it was damaged.

The "lovely" thing about the all encompassing phrase "brain damage" is the freaking Doctors can't tell you if it was a bad as a "papercut" or as terrible as a cut that needs 12 stitches.

They can't say - they can't predict - they don't know!

Everyone who has survived a stroke has some brain damage. It's a fact. Or they couldn't diagnose us as survivors.

YOU are a survivor - and if you want to join me, I hear Pam's giving lessons on how to do the hootchie!

Love you for YOU.

V

Kim,

First,

Let me tell you something you probably already know. Your neurologist probably got his bedside manner from Atilla the Hun.

Second, if you didn't have such a relationship with this neurologist, i would recommend firing this guy and starting over. But good doctors are so hard to find so it is just as well bo bite the bullet and grin and bear it.

Use this idiot's words as motivation and prove him wrong. Because he says you can't do something, prove him wrong by doing that thing.

Charles

The Hoochie lessons are modified for stroke survivors! Ha! Cinder, you should sign up as I hear those biker types like the modified Hoochie.......

And exactly what is a Hoochie lesson Pam?

PS. I'm sorry to hi-jack the comment section of your blog Kim. But my curiosity to the answer to this question was peaked, so to speak.

Kim, think of it this way....having brain damage is liberating....you can blame anything on it.

You now have a liscense to mess up and get by with it. Right?