1-0-0-0

That’s milepost, teardrop, sweat bead, wedding ring.

One thousand days: how long it’s been since Bull’s stroke in November of 2020. One thousand days since he has played bridge; since I have played the piano. One thousand days ago, Bull was running a thriving business. I was painting portraits and participating in political activities. We were world travelers, too. Then on November 13th (a Friday!), Bull suffered a massive stroke that took out a large portion of his left brain, leaving him paralyzed on the right side, incontinent, hypersensitive to, well, lots of things (especially noise), and suffering from both aphasia and apraxia, acute speech impediments. The lives we were leading ended that day.

But life goes on! We learned that when you are busy with one set of priorities, lots of other possibilities are overlooked. These emerge after the rug is pulled out from under you, and you go “look at that, can you believe it?” Well, not at first, though. First, there was trauma. Quite a lot of trauma. While we were slogging through that, we didn’t realize we were also laying down the tracks for a new life, one that we would love every bit as much as the old one!

It took a village. Family, friends, lots of medical people and therapists, a brilliant home health aide, providers of gadgets and supplies, a handyman or two, a funny adopted kitten. It still does. We still need a lot of support. But here we are, living in our own home (modified), carrying on our 33-year love affair (now married), and full of gratitude. 

It’s all good (and maybe a bit magical). We had our kitchen table sawn in half and attached to the island in our kitchen as a counter, where we can sit side by side. It’s where we eat and read tons of books, play Solitaire, work on speech, talk on the phone, and hatch our schemes. We grow much of our own food and are surrounded by flower gardens in the summer, beautiful birds all winter. We were able to purchase a wheelchair van, and so come and go as we please. And we have the dearest friends who come every week and hang out with Bull so I can do the shopping, run errands, and even have some free time. 

We are lucky. Happy. Grateful. If you are reading this, we are grateful for you in our lives.

Milepost, teardrop, sweat bead, wedding ring.