June 2, 2001. I was a Pharmacist employed by CVS in the downtown Ephrata store. I have been in this field for over 40 years, and this pharmacy for about 20 years and love my work. The hours can be long and hectic as any healthcare providers can be. On June 2, 2001, after working a particularly long stretch I had a day off and my wife, Connie, and I went to a local nursery to buy some flowers for the yard and pond since it was spring and we love working around the yard. Connie was doing the picking and I was pushing our cart when all of a sudden I couldn’t make my right leg move correctly or bear any weight and my right arm didn’t want to work. So I told Connie to finish checking out and I’d meet her in the car. By the time she got to the car the right side of my body wasn’t working well. And I was pretty sure from what I was experiencing I was having a stroke.

I told Connie what I thought and we went to the emergency room where my worst fears were confirmed. I didn’t know that a stroke can take time to develop and I can remember laying on a gurney and praying that I would be left with something. I didn’t want to lose my memories or not be able to speak coherently, if at all. I was scared and not in control of anything.

I was kept at the hospital for a week of tests and to be stabilized. I could not have been treated with more care or concern. God bless everyone there. I have always been involved in healthcare and I know good care when I experience it. I was then transferred to another hospital to undergo acute rehab where once again I was treated with concerned and dedicated care. When I was released I continued to receive therapy for another couple months, three times a week.

I had lost all faculties on the right side, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, and some cognitive ability. I had gotten back a lot of my ability to perform everyday activities but I was not able to function as a Pharmacist. The cognitive loss compromised my ability to perform my profession with any kind of predicable accuracy. By the end of August, 2001 I had regained my ability to walk without the aid of a walker or cane, could then feed and dress myself. In September 2001 I passed my drivers exam and was almost back to normal. I was gong to the Recreation Center at least 3 times a week for about 3-hour workouts and looking around for things to do.

Then, in the beginning of November I had a second stroke while watching a Steelers/Browns football game. This CVA was actually an extension of the previous stroke. I lost some of the advances that I made following the first stroke especially cognitive ability. Connie thought I had selective memory and in a way it was, but at least I had an excuse. I’ve had so much care by so many people I feel I’m the most blessed man in the world.

Now, two years after my stroke, I have gotten back most faculties. I still have cognitive loss and a right knee that won’t listen but I can do many things. A local Historical and Museum Commission have allowed me to become a guide/interpreter, after memorizing the information for about four months. I give tours to busloads of visitors weekly and portray a Physician at special events. I am active in my church and fraternal organization. All these activities help in preserving my cognitive and physical health; of course, knowing that fall-out health problems will continue to be a factor in my life and knowing I do have limitations on some things. But I am truly blessed with the recovery and steps I have made over the last two years and would like to tell all stroke victims to hang in there, do as much therapy as you possibly can and never give up.  

Copyright ©  September 2003

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