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Sue, You and Ray are always always in my thoughts and prayers and will continue to be. :hug:

You and Mike are definitely in my thoughts and prayers. Mike is being held in God's gentle arms and I pray to our Ultimate Physician to guide the doctors to make the right decisions for Mike. (((hugs))) and God Bless you both.

Doug, Yes, you had and have a responsibility to Teddy. But even more vital is the unconditional love you have for him and that he has for you. Shame that sometimes families do not have that unconditional love for each other. We cannot change others, only ourselves.

Janine, Glad all turned out well from your unexpected surgery. You and Larry are fortunate to have Celcilia as part of your family. She sounds like an angel. Glad Larry is on the mend from the uti. (((hugs))) and God Bless the 3 of you.

Welcome to the blog Community Marti - so glad you decided to join in. Blogging gives everyone a chance to know each other a bit more as well as see how far we've progressed as we re-read our own entries. Please don't do what I did though - I got frustrated with myself and deleted many of my beginning blogs from the site - not too smart of me lol. You've been through much - you survived for a reason (4 beautiful children and dear hubby is fantastic reason) not as a punishment. Don't give up on your recovery - recovery never ever stops though it is in HIS time not ours. Look forward to getting to know more about you.

Ruth, Wish I had words of wisdom for you but alas I do not. I can and do offer to you (((hugs))) and prayers. God Bless

Marie, Char does get hectic at times, particularly in the evenings. Afternoon chats are usually quieter and easier to follow along. I'm almost 4 years post and still find myself lost in the shuffle at times. Multi-tasking is quite difficult for most of us.

Nancy, Good to see you keeping busy. Keeping yourself active definitely keeps the "woe is me" at bay. Your hubby is right - there will be days a nap is needed and that's ok too. I have found, for me, if I ignore the "zzz-ing out" call, I'm in danger of falling or doing something stupid and even dangerous. I try to look at it as a regrouping time.

Best of luck to you Kim. Have fun and be careful. Look forward to hearing all about your trip and the race.

Sherry, Of course we remember you!!! As Sue said recovery should be part of the Olympics. Perhaps we need to conduct our own Strokenetwork Olympics - we'd all get gold medals. Take care of yourself lady and continued wishes for recovery. God Bless.

Hi Viv, You should be sleeping away at this point (or I hope you are so you don't become even more exhausted). It's so easy to get the days and nights mixed up but such a bear getting them straightened out. Hope you get the problem resolved dear.

Katrina, Excellent post and topic first of all!!!!! For me, it's a combination of optimism and pessimism though I strive for the optimism as well as the acceptance that I may not gain any more back but I'm not going to be complacent about it either and give up any hopes for further recovery. I try to only look at how far I've come since my encounter with stroke on 1-1-05 not at what life was like before that day (seems like a lifetime ago). Part of my journey has been finding ways to adapt to the deficits I have. My affected leg is slowly coming back but the affected arm and hand are being super stubborn. I forge ahead and strive to improve knowing that ultimately all is in HIS time, not mine. Good for you that you got the bottle open - YEAH!!!! for you - celebrate each victory no matter how small.

Ken, What an honor bestowed upon you. That's tremendous to be recognized for your years of service.

Viv, You do have a point lol but I'll pass and stay home I hope. Years back (long before stroke) I was in hospital overnight for exploratory surgery. The care AND food were phenomenal. Family jokingly referred to it as the "sicky hilton". The month I was in rehab post stroke was a nightmare - definitely not the sicky hilton lol. I got better to be able to leave and return home.

This test is visible Brice.

Hiya Viv/Julia tho not VD lol Welcome to our blog community. Blogging gives an added way to get to know each other. Look forward to your future entries as well as your sense of humor.

Way to go Kyle - keep up the awesome work. You are such an inspiration. God Bless You. Thanks for the update Gary; your schedule is so so busy, do you take time for any leisure for yourself? Look forward to your review of Doc Taylor's book.

Sue, Thank you for the update on yourself and Ray. Hope your honey can return home soon to be with you. Do hope you're getting rest yourself in order to build up your strength so you can succeed in beating your chest infection. It is a blessing that we can be here for each other but frustrating as well from the standpoint that we wish we could do more than offer virtual (((hugs))) and prayers. If I were able to, I'd physically be with you and Ray both as I'm sure many other members of our cyber family would be. Love to you both

Much love and (((hugs))) to you dear lady.

Kathy, You've come along way in almost 3 years. No, we can't go back to our pre-stroke days but you're proof once again that life can and does go on after stroke. Enjoy your bucket garden. What a cool idea. Are you going to get a salt-lick for the deer come winter?

Sue, Thank you for the update dear lady. Continued thoughts, prayers, and hugs coming to you and Ray. Hope Ray begins to get stronger as the fever drops and his chest infection clears up. Please try to get some rest yourself so you too can get stronger. I think it's a blessing that we cannot see into the future; we can take each day as it comes and make the most of our days. Love you both.

Cathy, Glad all is going well with you. Have missed you around here; I last remember too you talking about a wedding Time marches on that's for sure. (((hugs)))

Kimmie, Hope you are able to go and be with Marc and your grandbaby once the stork is due to arrive. Though you're too too young to be a Grandma. Glad Matt is adjusting - the drums are a good release for him but not for anyone else lol. To bad you don't have a sound proof room to either place him into or you to escape to. Once school starts for him, he'll have another distraction to keep his mind off the divorce and Tonya.