Bedhead Bob: Life and Times

 Once upon a time, I used to live in the hospital. Not really, but it felt like it. 76 days, nearly three months! I met a lot of good people there. And I met some that made me feel like I was never going to leave there alive! It's no different than life. You will meet good people and you will meet bad. With most being among the first group, good. The latter group, however, the bad people, can ruin your day, if not significantly much more than that! Avoid bad people at all costs!  I must admit my emotions have changed dramatically since my stroke. I did a little research and it seems as though, the region of my brain stem which was damaged,  controls my emotions. The damage causes me to sometimes have inappropriate laughter and uncontrollable crying.  People will simply walk into the room, and I will start to cry. Most often they are tears of joy, but still, they are difficult to control.  I often cry when I write. I don't think it has an effect on what I write. ...

 I was writing an email to my sister Theresa the other day. I started it out with the greeting of good morning, and my wife, who was nearby, came over and rubbed my arm and responded "Good morning! ". Realizing that I was intending it for my sister, she retorted, "Oh sure, she gets good morning, but all I get is, wipe eyes! " I realized at once, that she was right. My condition, which in no way excuses me, has caused me to lose some of my humanity. In my effort to speed up my getting my message across, I have deleted many of life's pleasantries. I don't want to become one of those patients that caregivers tell stories about. Who is rude and demanding, hates everyone, and blames everyone for their condition. When it is probably something they have done or failed to do, which has brought them to their present state of affairs. Lacking that, it is no excuse for them devolving into a person that no one can stand to be around.  I hear stories about patients that ...

 Our staff here at Bedhead Bob is recovering from COVID. That's right, I'm sorry to say that Celia contracted a case of covid and has had a difficult time. I'm going to ask that you keep her in your prayers if you're so inclined.  This BLOG will go on. We may be a few days late when posting, but we will push through this. Just as I'm sure most of you have had to push through a difficult situation. Life is full of potholes. We find ourselves cruising along smoothly, then hit one of those potholes, and BAM! We are thrown off course! It's all we can do to maintain control.  Yet we do maintain control. We have people that depend on us and we find a way. And very often the way is at our own sacrifice. We sacrifice sleep, we sacrifice food, we sacrifice anything lest we be looked upon as weak.  A shout-out is in order to my wife Jonell and little girl, Lydia. I was a bit under the weather this past weekend, and truth be told, I'm still fighting whatever this is.  ...

We thought it would be good to include blogs that allow me to answer questions people might have regarding my stroke and locked-in syndrome. If you have questions you would like me to answer, you can post them on my blog and Celia will shoot them over to me! 1.) What is some advice you would give medical staff when working with a patient who can't communicate?  My first bit of advice to medical staff would be to get a hold of Celia. As a patient who was at the mercy of everyone asking questions only require a yes or no answer. I must say that I would often get too part and open-ended questions, which only left me wondering how to answer.  My getting this device changed my life forever. I have actually developed anxiety over a couple of times I have had to be without this device for one reason or the other.  There are actually three different classifications to my locked-in syndrome, while mine has never been disclosed to me. I think by what I've read, mine is the type tha...

I have always fancied myself somewhat of a writer. From my taking a creative writing class in high school, to my writing this BLOG, I picture myself as an Earnest Hemingway type, scribbling away on some deserted island. Don't worry, that's where my comparison comes to an end.  But if I could tweak out an existence at this writing thing, I'd be a happy man indeed. I've had my share of factory worker jobs and retail clerk gigs. And while they may be for some, they weren't for me. I was fortunate enough to have spent a good portion of my life doing something that I loved. That was being a karaoke DJ. That was a younger man's job, requiring the setting up and taking down of some heavy equipment. And while I know that my audience now comes to me as a result of my condition more than of my writing skills, I am grateful for them.  And while I'm certain that a rich man and a happy man, can be one and the same. Most often being a rich man comes at a great cost. The s...

 I find I do my best writing in the morning. After a good night's sleep, when I am the most rested. But it is also the time when I make the most typos because I am the most groggy. My mind is racing with ideas, and my eyes can't seem to keep up. It is like I suddenly can't spell.  Let's be honest, I am a bad speller anyway! I have never been a good one. Before my stroke, I had always been a talker. And as someone that could talk, I didn't have to know that pneumonia began with a "p", or that the word bicycle ended in "le "and not "el ".  All of those grade school rules come rushing back, like "i "before "e ", except after "c ". And stuff like geography is spelled with the first letters from the sentence, George Eats Old Grey Rats And Paints Houses Yellow. I mean, who eats rats anyway? Much less, is particular enough to choose old gray ones?  And this painting houses yellow thing, I tell you this George char...

Overall, I'd have to say that I am pleased with this BLOG. it has given me the means to express myself and except for a few minor setbacks, I'd have to say that Celia and I turn out a pretty good product. Today's post comes to you with a specific goal in mind. I wish I could say that of all my posts. But the truth is, sometimes I just start out writing with no end goal in mind. Maybe that is obvious to most of you, but I'd have to say that some of my best works have been the result of nothing more then a direction and a feeling. Today, this post started out with two specific purposes. One of which I've already forgotten. Chalk it up to " old timers " disease or whatever you like. I just know that even before my stroke, I would sometimes go from one room to the next and forget why I was there.. If the reason comes to me before I come to the end of this post, I will include it. But the other reason, before I forget, is to announce that this ...

  If anything bothers me the most, it's when I am at a loss for words in describing what it is that is going wrong in my body at any particular time. I know right? Me at a loss for words. That is like saying that the Titanic was nothing more than a fishing boat! If you believe that, then don't ever invite me to go fishing with you! There are so many issues happening inside my body at any given moment, that I don't know what it is I should bring up if any. I am anxious to have you share in whatever small victories I may have. But hesitant to disclose something that may be just the tip of an iceberg, of what may become a much larger issue. Do I really need to tell you about some random pain in my right ankle? Perhaps it will disappear in the manner in which it appeared. Or if I disclose it to you now, maybe I will avoid much greater pain and suffering down the road. Is it a sign of my age? Something I would go through even were I not to have been diagnos...