Hey Doc you go to any Phillies or Eagles games? Just wondering about accessibility at the stadium.
Sorry, I’m not a sports fan and can’t help you there. I can tell you that SEPTA, the local transit authority, has what has got to be one of the worst ADA compliances in the country.
Just another thank you for joining us, blinkie. And thank you for putting my own life in perspective. You seem to be an amazing person - I really admire you for beginning your sdmb career by opening this thread. That kind of openness is amazing, especially on the internet where noone has to know. Do you find it easy to “come out” online?
Wow. Just wow. Thank you so much blinkie. I’m overwhelmed by your story and your honesty and openess in answering everyone’s questions. I read this thread in one sitting and I’m a wreck now!!! But in a good way. May you have all the years you want to enjoy life and especially your terrific family.
I know that you will LOVE the Dope. It’s just your kind of place.
Welcome to SDMB, Blinkie. We’re thrilled to have you.
It’s a shame that your life changed so dramatically in a space of a few heartbeats, but it’s marvelous that technology has given you the ability to communicate. What a gift. That connection to other people must make all the difference.
Best wishes to you and your family.
Binkie, you said your skin has had no breakdowns since you left hospital, how about contractures? I am guessing that your incredible family and your PT and stuff have kept you from getting them, but do you do anything else, TENS or other things to keep your joints moving?
Again, like others I really welcome your quick wit and your political bent on these boards. You are incredible and I am grateful to live in a day and age where I can chat with someone who has been through what you have. My first job out of nursing school was in neurosurgery, and while I have dealt with apraxia, aphasia, and various paralysis I never had a locked -in patient.
Again, all the best to you, Mrs Blinkie, and Blinkie’s kid.
Doc Cathode
That actually answers my question because I would be going by public transportation, taking our van is too much of a hassle. It’s pretty easy for us to get into Manhattan for us, so I guess we’ll keep doing that.
Panurge
That’s an interesting question. “Coming out” is different on line. I could go back in the closet at any time by opening another account and posting with a different name. But I certainly don’t mind being open about my condition . The questions I have answered here are VERY tame and the welcome everyone here has given me has made me feel lucky to have found this site.
Computer illiterate that I am I had never heard of this site but when I mentioned it to my son, I found out that he is an infrequent poster here. And he won’t tell me who he is. I’m supposed to guess!
PeacePlease and PunditLisa
I already enjoy the site and am really amazed at the warm welcome I have received. Already an avid lurker on a few threads and look forward to staying.
Mona Lisa Simpson
My P/T, politics aside, is excellent at stretching me out. Additionally I have a Standing Frame, who knew you could find one on Ebay, that I use as much as possible. Since I have total sensation TENS was not recommended for me.
Well someone called blinkie’s kid posted earlier in this thread, but they have a join date of this month, so that is probably a different kid of yours.
Blinkie, Im glad you are the one leaving your PT “bent out of shape”, and not the other way around.
dhkendall
Blinkie’s kid does post here from time to time under another name, which he hasn’t shared with me.
Moderator Note:
blinkie, since you’re new here, you may not be aware of our rule against multiple accounts, a.k.a. sock puppets, a.k.a. socks. Scroll down in the registration agreement to “Only one screen name…”
So, blinkie, as a hypothetical – no, sorry, you can’t just add a new account; if you do and get caught, that is a bannable offense. You should probably have a little talk with your kid – if the person who posted as blinkie’s kid has a different account here, he or she is on thin ice. I would recommend that he or she contact TubaDiva (at aol dot com) to straighten that out. If these are two different kids, of course, no prob.
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
Dont want to break any rules. Mikes partner opened the account so he could post in this thread. As for me I don’t want to hide. Just meant that if I didn’t want my condition known I would have stayed in the closet as I do on other sites.
[moderator] Great – glad there’s not a problem here. [/moderator]
[just another poster] I was thinking about you earlier, blinkie, and thinking about what would bother me about your situation, were I in it. One of the things that would bother me is the lack of privacy, of a sense that there can’t be certain things that aren’t anyone else’s business. Not necessarily secrets in any big sense, just dumb stuff that you can keep to yourself – the kind of thing that, back when you could move around autonomously, you would leave out of an account of your day when you’re chatting with your spouse. (“Swung by the video arcade on my lunch hour and played some pinball.”) Does it bother you? Or were you a pretty open and gregarious person before the incident, so there’s no huge change there? (Me, I have an extremely well-developed sense of privacy, one that my critics might describe as secretiveness.) [/just another poster]
That was very difficult for me to give up and is something I still struggle with. I would describe myself as shy before the stroke, certainly not gregarious. Maybe shy is the wrong word, introverted might be more like it. But it still drive’s me crazy when someone reads over my shoulder.
Oh my gosh, any time I get down, I’m going to come back and read this thead again. You are a hoot!
Welcome and thank you very much!
T.
Blinkie; just occured to me to note, and hope you’ve looked around on this site to see how good it is with smart folks… beyond this thread: know that you can have all kinds of weird thoughts of the day, and even if shy, you’ll find great folks to hear ya and give good thoughtful response. And, some good twisted ones!
Ok, so I guess I need to figure out what account my brother is posting under…so I can razz him about it.
Anyway, my dad sent me the link to this, and I just wanted to jump on and tell everyone how proud we all are of his strength and courage. I couldn’t ask for better role models in my life than my dad, and Mrs. Blinkie! (Stop crying Dad, I mean it!)
And just for the record…I only took Dad to show n tell ONCE…and it was his idea! LOL!
Thanks to all for the questions and support…I know it helps my dad to share his story with others, and help those he can!
I agree, he needs to get this memoir out there!
Hey Blinkie welcome to the boards!
I was a caregiver for many years to a stroke survivor who was paralyzed but not ‘locked in’. Near the end of her life though, she lost the ability to speak and was kind of locked in though never diagnosed as such.
It was a long road for me and this stretch was especially challenging. I was so at a loss, but certain she was still in there. So I just kept on talking to her like she was still the same. It seemed like she could emote with her eyes.
Or was that just the wishful thinking of a heartbroken caregiver? Do think she could feel my gentle kisses on her cheeks even though she was fully unable to move or speak by then?