Category: Stroke Recovery and Background

Disability Insurance, Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

Updating Disability Insurance Conundrums

rbspecht

This morning I had a phone call from a lovely sounding young woman who will be my Disability Insurance Case/Claim Manager.  It was a really nice chat, and quite informative with regards to how things may work going forward.  She is working on the approval and doesn’t see any real challenges in the approval process.  One of the questions she asked  that caught me by surprise was her request that I describe to her the reasons why I shouldn’t be returning to work right now.  Be prepared for this question. It felt a bit bit odd at first, but I’m … Continue reading Updating Disability Insurance Conundrums

Stroke Recovery and Background, Watching The WorldLeave a comment

The question of privacy on the Internet and in this blog…

rbspecht

I was reminded this morning that this blog is open to the world.  I had three images on it which contained way too much personal information, so I have taken those images down, to be reposted when I can make a couple of edits to trim the more sensitive material from the images. We’ve all heard the reviews about internet privacy, that once its up there, or out there, its there forever.  Obviously the big caution is for young women, for those interested in a career in politics, and anyone whose behaviours could be considered career limiting if they were … Continue reading The question of privacy on the Internet and in this blog…

angiogram, Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

Angiogram Was Scheduled for /Monday of this week

rbspecht

Well this should be interesting…  let’s run some dye up through the femoral artery and then take some snap shots of the brain and dura and just see how well the embolization is holding.  I have every confidence that it worked and that its holding. So we met a new guy for this procedure, a Dr. Rempel.  Nice, really nice guy.  Heck, all the teams I’ve run into at the University of Alberta Hospital have been really very nice. When I asked the good doctor if I could get two 8 x 10s and four wallet sized copies, he took … Continue reading Angiogram Was Scheduled for /Monday of this week

Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

Taking an active role in my recovery efforts. ;)

rbspecht

Instead of sitting back and waiting for the over booked and over worked rehab team at the Glenrose to have the cycles available to punch forward with certain elements of my recovery strategy, we’ve determined that it was time to step up and take a more active role.   Or more to the point, we’ve been prodded into taking an active role.  Okay, so what does that mean?  Well, the vision thing was causing me such distress that I decided to take myself off to an optometrist to have my eyes tested to see what’s going on with the prescription … Continue reading Taking an active role in my recovery efforts. 😉

Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

We are moving forward, even though it seems to be taking forever……

rbspecht

When taking your vehicle in for repair one normally ‘shops the work around’ by asking for a quote and an estimate of the time it will take from a couple of different garages, including the dealer where you bought the vehicle in the first place.  Vehicle mechanics work from an industry accepted and manufacturer approved guide to provide those estimates and those quotes.  I’m not really sure what your corner garage mechanic uses these days, but in the past it used to be ‘The Michelin Guide’.  Not the travel and dining guide, but one that actually documented what it took … Continue reading We are moving forward, even though it seems to be taking forever……

Stroke Recovery and Background, Watching The WorldLeave a comment

Its not necessarily as bad as it seems; so just to add some clarity…

rbspecht

So I had occasion to send a note off to a friend just to put some things in perspective for him about how I’m doing and feeling.  Maybe it will fill any gaps for the rest of you as well until I can compose a proper note to each of you, or until I can draft the post that puts it all into perspective for you: The note to my friend starts here>> Good morning, dude!  I do have to laugh at the way that my wife and designated household communicator presents things.  Based on some of the communiques that … Continue reading Its not necessarily as bad as it seems; so just to add some clarity…

Disability Insurance, Stroke Recovery and BackgroundLeave a comment

Disability Insurance

rbspecht

And while we wait for the ‘all clear‘ that will allow me to take up my position at the assigned desk at the job that I actually like and enjoy, we’ve been told that the ‘general sick leave’ allowance will run out the first week of March.  So now we have to get the Long Term Disability Insurance activated.  I’ve reviewed the forms, passed the appropriate ones on to my GP and the Doctor managing my rehab…  this is getting interesting, and just a wee bit scary.The disability insurance provider that is used by my place of work requires a … Continue reading Disability Insurance

arteriovenous fistula embolization, onyx based glue, Stroke Recovery and Background, Stroke TimelineLeave a comment

The timeline of a Stroke

rbspecht

I am assured that everyone is different, so here’s a draft and definitely incomplete narrative of the timeline that tracks my stroke and treatment to date; Tuesday, November 5, 2013, 4:00 AM.  A severe headache woke me and got me out of bed.  My wife found me in the kitchen at 4:30 AM, clutching my head.  The pain was on the right side of my head.  My wife convinced me to take a couple of Tylenol and try to go back to sleep.  By the time I felt comfortable enough to get up, my darling was dressed on pretty much … Continue reading The timeline of a Stroke

Effects of stroke, Stroke Recovery and Background, Stroke TimelineLeave a comment

Memory is a complicated thing

rbspecht

Lately I’ve become fascinated by ‘memory’ and how it seems to work…. or not work in my case. I’ve been reading some interesting books and magazine articles where the memories of the authors are so rich in detail that I actually question my own memories, or the authors’ truthfulness. Why is it, for instance, that I can’t remember what my favourite shirt was when I was six years old, and these writers can? Or better still, why is it that they remember every gory detail about their treatments (yes, I’ve been reading cancer stuff, again) and I don’t? My memory … Continue reading Memory is a complicated thing