Once a survivor.   Now a warrior.

Sept 21, 2014:   Today, I hesitate before I climb my stairs to go to the bathroom because not long before, I used to be a crippler, and I used to be scared of the staircase wearing my brace and my shoes.  Now, I pump out my barefoot going up the stairs and not touching my…

This morning, I was flying to San Antonio (where my ex-wife & my lovely daughters dwell). The pilot came on to say that the reason we weren’t taking off was because the first-in-line plane hit a deer. Seriously. Why was the deer on the runaway? Do you know the “Far Side” by Gary Larson? And,…

Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, is an umbrella term that encompasses both synaptic plasticity and non-synaptic plasticity It refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses due to changes in behavior, environment, neural processes, thinking, and emotions – as well as to changes resulting from bodily injury.[1] The concept of neuroplasticity has replaced the…

When I was barely twelve, in 1980, I gotten into an argument with my friend about cruise missiles. My friend refused to say that the Pentagon had these cruise missiles. But, I was reading it in my library’s book!  “I will show you!” I huffed-and-puffed at my commie friend.  (My friend was in love with USSR).…

[ARTHUR chops the BLACK KNIGHT’s left arm off] ARTHUR: Now stand aside, worthy adversary. BLACK KNIGHT: ‘Tis but a scratch. ARTHUR: A scratch? Your arm’s off! BLACK KNIGHT: No, it isn’t. ARTHUR: Well, what’s that then? BLACK KNIGHT: I’ve had worse. I have a lot of scars. My first one, I was two years ago.…

Americans love my euro-sounding accent. I was from Montreal. But, I was an anglophone who grew up in English-speaking neighborhood of Montreal and I’ve got South African English parents. I have Foreign Accent Symptom. I couldn’t speak after my massive stroke in 2008. Finally, around 2012, my speech therapy, SpeakIt! (iPhone app) and my book…

The ER doctor and nurses were good to me. The brain surgeons were good to have after my brain injury. The ICU nurses were good. The rehabilitation center therapists were good. But, the doctors were terrible to me. What a nightmare! The rehabilitation center nurses were awful to me. They would barged in at night…

‘Vegetarian since NEVER’. I went through my teenagehood and post-college age and adulthood without tasting meat. Then, all of the suddenly, I felt something was wrong in my aura. I had several blood clots inside my brain from a car accident several months before. Around my fortieth birthday, I devoured chicken by the tons. Thankfully,…

  Poetry I wrote between my car accident & my stroke. 9/22/2008 When you told me that loved him, You turned on a particle accelerator and blew my atoms to bits. I did not know what was inside, thank you for giving me back to myself. ~~~~~~~~ I love the way your face shines when…

Do you know what the hardest word to say for me is?   Silk.   First, my tongue draws back to the ‘Eeessss’ then, slides across the mouth and double loop-de-loop to say, ‘eeeee’. Then rounds it up around the palate and ‘laaaa’ and drop down to say, ‘ka’. Confusion reigns in my brain and…

Asheville is the #8 best place to live: Please don’t move here. Asheville was recently cited on the Froddor Guide as the 8th best place in America to live (out of 331 municipalities.) The guide cited affordable housing, good public schools, natural beauty and a good location for e-commerce businesses. And yet, I urge you…

I wonder what a medieval gravedigger might feel if a stroke survivor who “woke up” from being in a coma inside his grave. Someone who talked in gibberish and crawled out of his grave to limp after the gravediggers who are running away. “Zombies” are in fact, stroke survivors who’s family piled them up top…

Put on the AlonTwig elbow brace by yourself quickly and easily. It’s designed to be fully adjustable as it helps you manage tone (or spasticity) in your arm. It helps you flex tricep muscles by forcing your bicep muscles to lie low while it is worn. Start with the Twig unrolled on a flat surface…