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Stroke
Survivors of the Month
- July/August The funny thing is when Earl first saw me hooked up to all the tubes he told the family he wished it was him. We’ve always been very close – closer than close. He felt everything I felt and I felt what he felt. (In a hushed whisper, Earl stated, “It’s true.”) I was upset and agitated all day before I found out Earl had the stroke. I knew there was something wrong. When I found out he’d had a stroke I couldn’t believe it. The same symptoms I had he had. I was on heart medication and high blood pressure medication and he was also. We took our medication regularly but it happened anyway. I had two doctors that didn’t communicate. They both prescribed medication but something wasn’t right in the medication. One arm didn’t know what the other arm was doing. One hand didn’t know what the other hand was doing. My perception is that the trouble started there. We have full-time care at the institution we’re at. We’re on different floors in the same building. I take my medication regularly. They monitor my blood pressure and everything. I’ve got a lot of support, a good physical therapist and a personal trainer from Stroke of Hope who works with me on the weekends, and she works very hard. I say to other stroke survivors, “Don’t give up hope. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Just keep your eye on the Higher Power. You can overcome those obstacles that are in your way just like I’m overcoming my obstacles. I won’t let it get me down at all. Nothing’s going to take my joy…I’m gonna live my life. This thing can be beaten if you put a lot of hard work into it." (Earl simply nods his head and smiles.)
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Eugene
and Earl Pendarvis
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