Happy Independence day! Hi I hope all is well with you. I hope you have a safe and healthy 4th.

Happy Father's Day! Just thought I would say hello. Amy

You deserve a big bear hug! Thank you cogs! You are a great inspiration to us all.

In the end that I believe was my mentor and healer. I have a lot of faith Colin now. With only the assistance Colin of the medial profession I got well because sometimes they hindered me with all they did. I had to use careful, and sometimes persistent determination and will to face them and go my own way when they were pushing me to do some things I felt were not the best for me. Yet I did nothing without a lot of spiritual guidance and prayer. I'm not much of a church goer at all I must say but I do have a great faith in a higher power. That is the only reason I am alive and well today. I am totally convinced when the time was right he gave me the strength to keep taking those "baby steps" as I called them. Each step brought me closer to the life I have today.

Oh Colin, that is a loaded question for me, for sure! Over the years I have had so many doctors I will never be able to count them all. I have baffled the medical profession like you wouldn't believe. I was never supposed to come out of my condition. I was in a semi-catatonic state for over 8 years. I was "locked up" like an Alzheimers patient because I couldn't be trusted on the outside. Then one day my brain decided it wanted to try to reconnect. That was just the beginning of a long hard road. It got all mixed up sometimes and I did some very dumb things at times while I was trying to "come back" to the land of the living. I have seen medical doctors all over the USA from Chicago to South Dakota. Neurologists, Psychiatrists, you name it...I've stumped them all. It was GOD

Thanks for letting me know Colin that what I said meant something to you. I have never talked with anyone else after all of this and I'v glad it helped. I really am. I never knew there was anyway to connect with anyone out there. I like this. Glad to meet you and your wife. If there's anything I can ever answer or help with I will sure try. My best, Dawn

I have six sons I never raised because of my accident. That was the biggest tradgey and grief of my life. It was not at all what I had planned or could have wanted my children to suffer. I had to come back and get back physically, emotionally well for me and my family. At the end of all of this I'm glad I stuck with it. It was worth it all! Every painful minute, doubt and dark thought of giving up, I've been there. Yet I turned it around step by step, with day by day improvements. Inch improvements turned into months,years, to a new, whole person. I'm here to tell you I made it. I'm walking, talking, and 90% functioning. Each person is different to improvement, it wlll be depend upon determination, the way you work at it , the medical help.

Im so sorry you cannot play like you used to. That must be hard, keep on keeping on. It will pay off. Never, give up. Like I said,it took me years to be mostly recovered. I had to retrain myself to learn to talk, walk all over. I had serious memory loss I am going to sing for the first time at a Veternas rememberance ceremony in August. I'm scared to death the closer it gets because there are going to be dignitaries there. So afraid my memory will give out. We have had to become a different kind of people Colin with determination beyond what other people can comprehend. It gives us a power that we draw from within, we never knew we had. People look at us as if we had unusual abilities.You never know what is within you until you are called to have to draw upon it.

Wish I could tell you that I know your friends but I have only heard of their music. I did not live in Nashville. I posted the picture of me when I visited Nashville. I have visited many times. I LOVE country music ; I especially love going downtown to 2nd and Broadway listening to all of the music drift out in the streets from all of the little bars! It's amazing the talent that comes there! Are you able to still do some of your playing? Tell me about it!

Thanks for the tip on using ankle weights on the weak leg. I'll try it.

Just a quick note to say I can relate to typing issues. As far as exercising is concerned what I've been doing has been exercising at my local gym about 4 days/wk. I alternate between the ellipitical and biking. Walking on the treadmill irritates my leg a little. I've also been doing some weight machines but I noticed that my non stroke side was compensating for my weak side so I recently switched to doing hand weights. I haven't figured out what to do with the leg yet.

Just a quick note to say hi! I read your intro! Wow! I guess we had similar experience. Is your recovery still going in the right direction? I'm totally impressed that you are in school. I hope to one day to go back when my kids are older. Good luck!

Just a quick note to say hi! I've never been told that I have a traumatic brain injury but I defintely have brain damage. I dissected my artery from overexertion after running a race. What about you? Did you have a stroke?

I'm doing great now, thanks! How are you? What part of the UK? I have friends there around London, Brighton and Hastings.

I too had paralysis on my right side and it caused memory loss and cognitive impairments that caused me to fall from a college education to a sixth grade level. I had to start all over again and relearn everything at a brain injury center called a Community Transition Center. They were wonderful in helping me to retrain my brain and my fears with people and socialization skills. I had to learn to walk, talk, again. I was a semi-pro singer before all of this happened and I had to learn to sing all over again. I lost the ability to care for a family of 5 children and they had to go live with other family members. It was a tradegy of all measures then. That was a long time ago. I have remarried a wonderful guy now.

Hello Chris and Colin! I would love to give you a rosy picture that would tell you that I recovered in a short time but I only will tell you the truth. I am happy to report that after 20 years I have recovered FULLY to a 90% recovery. It has been a slow, hard, step by step and I mean baby step process. Taking each day, one day at a time. Before you know it, a month has gone by, then a year. All the while you think it goes so slow but when you look back you see that you have made progress like everyone has been telling you. I am a particular kind of person that has a lot of determination and that is what it really takes Colin and a never give up attitude. As you can tell, 20 years of disability is not a quick recovery, but eventually, I DID IT!

Just a quick note to say hi back at you :)

Hey, Cog...Heparin is a drug used to prevent blood clots.

First of all there are two separate issues here. I had a car accident in 1987 that caused what they called an organic brain injury. Or to call it simply a traumatic brain injury. Then in 1990 I had a mild stroke from the injuries I sustained from that car accident. Sorry if I didn't make the differences clear.

You are in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for sending me a note. Look forward to your next note. Have a great Saturday!