0:04
I had my stroke in 2001 and it left me
0:10
with some paralysis on my left side my
0:14
left leg is mostly affected but thanks
0:19
God items my speech ability and I still
0:25
can get around
0:26
normally and I am thankful for that
0:31
two days after I had my stroke I had a
0:33
heart attack
0:34
so I suffered major head trauma by
0:36
falling down Smith state stairs which
0:39
resulted into three plates of my head
0:42
and honoring the five stitches in my
0:44
head and face I had to have plastic
0:47
surgery you know because my face just
0:51
looked like a baseball all stitched up I
0:55
spent like toby is a new nursing home
0:58
and that just wasn't for me it enhanced
1:02
my depression a lot and I became kind of
1:08
angry and I think that was the most
1:12
difficult thing cuz that's the thing
1:13
that hung on me the most you know cuz I
1:17
had no family that came to see me no
1:20
friends my wife was gone so thankful of
1:25
free bleak to say the least you know in
1:30
in a service contact me about living in
1:35
a group home I have problems now with my
1:39
memory both short-term and long-term and
1:44
[Music]
1:46
other than Adam doing alright I said to
1:51
myself I said well what's it going to be
1:53
is going to give up are you going to try
1:57
and master this and make your life as
2:01
normal as possible
2:07
I was very pessimistic I was hardly ever
2:13
in a good mood you know I was silent
2:17
depressed I had I don't give a damn
2:22
attitude but once you get used to a new
2:27
life you see how much you've been
2:31
missing and how much you're getting back
2:37
how much more improved and enriched my
2:41
life has become I've got the opportunity
2:44
now to go back to school if I so desire
2:46
or find employment you know a lot of
2:51
doors have been opened for me and that
2:56
depression I still have but it's a
2:58
minimum I'd like to go back to college
3:02
and take maybe a couple courses but I
3:05
would like to start with the intro
3:06
course break my head back into Scudder
3:09
you and stuff like that because I want
3:11
to see from the head injury how my
3:20
memory is going to be
3:26
to go drive out a house it's a high
3:29
which makes you feel good you know
3:33
is it make you accepted this just so
3:37
much I can do like for instance this is
3:39
what I really love the most when the
3:40
summer comes in it's like I can sit in
3:43
front of the house get some Sun right
3:48
can you have a little birdie here
3:50
you're right in the morning when I call
3:54
because I saw about seven o'clock in the
3:56
morning could he isn't chirping away and
3:59
feeding now that's all dissipated and
4:02
clouds are broken away and the sun
4:03
shining through and actually like I'm
4:08
really living again