With age comes wisdom is a tried-and-true statement. But another fact about getting older – and a far more concerning fact about aging – is the health issues we face.
Some of you know but I am sure many don’t: I suffered a stroke two months ago.
I didn’t want to write about it until I was sure the recovery was going in the right direction. And it is.
This is probably the greatest mental setback I’ve had. Sure, the physical issues aren’t great, but mentally it has been far worse.
In getting older, you come face to face with your own mortality. When you are young, you feel bulletproof, which is the best way to live.
I wish I could live life like that now, but it’s tough when you start to realize life does not go on forever. It’s not that I plan on going anywhere soon; it’s just that it’s tough to acknowledge that there is an end date at some point in your life.
Here’s what happened – and it’s something I wouldn’t wish upon anyone, but I am a better person for having to deal with this.
It was a Tuesday morning, and I was at my usual spot working the bike rack at Harvest Park Middle School in Pleasanton greeting the kids as they came into school.
Sitting in my chair, I felt the entire right side of my body go numb. Obviously I knew something was wrong, but being a typical guy, I figured maybe it was a pinched nerve and I would be able to walk it off.
The thought of having a stroke never entered my mind.
Fortunately for me, that day our vice principal Tessie Gonsalves happened to come out to the bike rack. In seven years at Harvest Park, there have been maybe five or six times someone from the office came to the bike rack before school. Had no one came out, I would have tried to walk it off, figuring it was anything but a stroke.
But Tessie was going to have nothing of it. She asked me if I was OK, and when I told her the right side of my body was numb but that I would walk it off, she told me not to move and started working the phone lines.
I knew by the look on her face to just shut up and let others help. It’s a hard thing for an alpha male to put his pride on the shelf, but this was the time for me to do it.
From the first feeling of numbness to when I got to the hospital and was administered a drug to break up clots, it was less than an hour. Had Tessie not been out there that day, I would have tried to walk it off, which could have had a poor ending.
I am not writing this to gain a ton of sympathy, but rather as a warning: listen to your body and don’t roll the dice. It’s a well-used phrase, but it’s so true – it’s better to be safe than sorry.
In the end, I was very lucky. I suffered no droopy side effects and no speech issues. I still have numbness on my right side but have been getting better.
I went into the hospital on a Tuesday morning and was home by noon on Thursday. I dove into my rehabilitation, and it’s been tough having to almost learn to walk again.
I’ve had a horrible left knee for some time now, but I had a good strong right leg that was able to make up for the difference. Suddenly my strong leg became my weakness. I still have problems lifting my right arm above my head, but that too is getting better.
The biggest issue I face is my lack of patience. I’ve had to learn that nothing is going to happen overnight. It takes time and a lot of hard work.
I’m on the mend and my physical therapist is very pleased with my progress.
I can drive, go out with my wife and even have a vacation scheduled for Monterey in a couple weeks. I am fired up for the start of the school year where I will be back keeping the students at Harvest Park safe and helping navigate those middle school years.
The good lord has more plans for me and for that I am eternally grateful.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
