Go Cougars! – Rise, Relay, Move.

I just was made aware of my upcoming 45th class reunion. Just thinking about it makes me feel old, though in my head and heart I’m still 18. As some of you know, my current health condition will keep me from attending the reunion. This post is dedicated to my fellow classmates from Bloomington High School North, the class of 1979. In the Hoosier state of Indiana for those who don’t know. In lieu of my coming, I’m going to give you a quick rundown of my life since graduation. I guess you could say this is the Cliff Notes version. So hold on to something tight, here is my life in under five minutes. For those of you who follow my BLOG on a regular basis, pretty much all of this is review. Pay attention though as there will be a pop quiz at the end. I’m kidding of course. (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.) I spent the better part of my life as a fairly successful Karaoke DJ. I got to play for many of the then St. Louis Rams, and some St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues. I even played for Michael Jordan once. (Look at me, name-dropping.) After about 30 years I moved my family to 15 acres adjacent to the Mark Twain National Forest. I’ve raised two boys. They are grown and have given my wife and I three grandbabies between them. My wife Jonell and I still have our 14-year-old daughter Lydia at home. That’s right, I said 14! You do the math. And no, she wasn’t an accident. We discussed it and decided we weren’t ready to be empty nesters. Lydia is an amazing young woman and worthy of any praise she gets. This seems like a good place to mention that Jonell is eight years younger than me. So she would have been like what, about in the fourth grade when I was graduating? Well, she hasn’t killed me yet. She had her chance, quite literally. See I was in a coma for three days and the doctors had advised her that she should just let me die. I’m sure glad she didn’t listen to them. We live in a modest three-bedroom home near the small town of Potosi, Missouri. Potosi is about an hour and a half southwest of St. Louis. We are blessed that our sons John and Scott, as well as our grandkids too, live within an hour of us. Now for the not-so-good stuff and the reason I won’t /can’t attend the reunion. About two and a half years ago I suffered a brain stem stroke. The result of my stroke was a very rare diagnosis of what is called Locked in Syndrome. An (As of now) incurable condition that leaves is victims quadriplegic and unable to speak. After 83 days in the hospital, I came home on hospice, presumably to die. Last year I was removed from Hospice because I was improving rather than getting worse. I progressed from only being able to move my eyes horizontally. I now can move my neck and head, and have some movement on the left side. I have regained enough movement in my left arm, hand, and fingers that I can manage with my laptop. Unfortunately, I’m not left-handed so it is a bit awkward for me. I am fortunate to have what is called an Eye Gaze device. This amazing machine tracks my eyes which allowed me to type this BLOG post. In fact, this device is how I have created all my BLOG posts for two years now. In the beginning, a young woman whom I met in the hospital published it for me. Her name is Celia and she was my speech therapist. She also organized a Go-Fund-Me to purchase this machine, located it from Tennessee, delivered and set it up, all on her own time I otherwise could have never come up with the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to purchase one. For the past year, I have assumed the responsibilities of the BLOG. By the way, starting next week Celia will once again be my speech therapist. I am of course bedridden. Except for an emergency trip to the hospital to replace my feeding tube a year ago, I’ve been in bed since September 22, 2021. I do occasionally get into a special wheelchair. Pain keeps me from it too often though. Recovery is an extraordinarily long and slow process if at all. I remain optimistic though. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticken’ to it. I know it’s a long shot, but I hope to be able to make it for the 50th reunion! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

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