jjohnson

A Prayer Warriors Thoughts for Steve from the heart There is a common thread here at StrokeNet that holds us together He is a strong, kind, gentle person whose love knows no end He had a dream to help others who were Stroke Survivors such as he He had a vision and with God's wisdom they worked together to start this wonderful group of individuals from all over the world You see, stroke knows no bounds It will strike anytime and anywhere With Steve's vision, his knowledge gives insight to family and friends That there is HOPE beyond your wildest dreams Where there is fear, there is Strength Where there is sadness, there is Joy Where there is confusion and doubt, it is replaced with the ability to meet others who are in the same boat There are tools to use to help you along your journey Message Boards, Chats, Steve Mallory had a vision for you and me That there is LIFE after stroke Now, Our Steve, is in the hospital and needs us We need to let him know how much we care about him Let us all shower the heaven's with prayers, positive thoughts and energy along with thanks and love for all he has given us Steve, please know how much you mean to each one of us Thanks seems like such a small word BUT It carries so much from each heart that you have helped heal For some of us, we never thought the light would appear in our lives again You shared your journey and held out your hand for us to join you God gave us the best when he gave us StrokeNet and your legacy began Written with Love just for you Steve, Jan Johnson 3/29/09 Believe In Miracles And SOAR

:groupwave: :congrats: :clap: I am happy it is up and running. Can't wait to read your entries. Enjoy. Hugs, Jan

Wes: I am so happy to see you posted along with your Mom. I have missed the both of ya. I hope you and Deb enjoy your trip, I can't wait to hear all about it. Don't forget to take pics. Yep, your workmates don't know the type of guy you are. There's nothing to it BUT to do it, they should have known you would be back. Here is my happy dance for you :Clap-Hands: :Dance: Hope those who used your parking space realize they are :busted: Other mode of transportation to get to work. :bicycle: Bet they would not park there if they saw the gun. hehe :hunter: :scooter: Oh, well, maybe they were just protecting it for you until you came back to work. Think positive, right. Take care my friend, Jan

Dear Wes: I will miss you but I totally understand your decision. I will keep you and your family in my prayers daily and whenever I see a bike rider I will think of you. You did make a contribution to others here and you will continue to do so. Did you see where Lance had a bad fall and broke his collarbone? I am happy you are so far along in your journey. Just remember the lessons you learned here. You will be a part of my stroke journey. God Bless, Hugs, Jan There's nothing to it but to do it. Believe in miracles and SOAR Wes, it's your time to SOAR *************************************************************************************** Time To Say See You Later There comes a time in our journey when we realize it is time to take another turn to learn more lessons God has in store for us We will miss you and will never forget all that you shared with us, But God has other plans for you Wes You have been given such a gift The gift to drive again, to ride your bike, to be the Dad and Husband you were meant to be and so much more You are going to do great and know you have so much support from all of us here you will hear our words from time to time I am sure There's Nothing To It But To Do It and Believe In Miracles And SOAR That is what you are doing my friend SOARING Your Blogs were fun to read and taught us so much How you would inspire others to go that extra mile That you can achieve your goals if you set some Enjoy your new road to explore Remember your friends will always be here Stop by every now and then and Blog a line or two so we can be kept in the loop A few pics here and there too As they say "A Picture Is Worth A Million Words" Enjoy your vacation One that you so well deserve May God be the wind beneath your wings Soar, Soar, Soar, Soar, Soar, Soar, Soar Guess it's time to say See you Later "Wes" Written For Wes 3/24/09

Leah, Bless your heart. Did you get to the DR? If not, I hope you do just to make sure everything is ok. Did you have a phone near by so you could call for help? Who got you up or are you able to do that by yourself? That is my problem, when I am down for the count, I have to call 911 as I can't get up by myself. Harley, sometimes, will get in my way and not budge or move, so I try to go around him and I have fallen a few times .. but, now we are good at him getting out of my way. Did your babies come to your side? Harley does that, when I am down for the count, he will bring me his toys like a peace offering, and he won't leave my side. Bless his heart. Our pets are something aren't they? I am keeping you in my prayers. God Bless, Hug, Jan P.S. Let us know how things end up ok, please? Believe In Miracles And SOAR

:forgive_me?:Hey there my buddy, Jeanniebean, My heart goes out to you, It seems there are two roads we must go down sometimes, our journey road and the one that the Civilians travel. They don't stop and try to understand the ups and downs we have in our journey. When they want to go and get things done, they just say bye and hop in their vehicle and go on down the road. I understand how being in a situation where you can visit with people and make new friends is such an exciting thought. I never get that opportunity. I am going to keep you in my prayers and I hope that person will humble themselves and apologize for their behavior. However, in my walk with civilians I don't think they learned those two little words that could make all the difference in our lives. I am sorry... but, it is great that you could share your journey and maybe it will help others. Now aren't you glad you started blogging? It is very healing for me and I am so happy you started one. You do wonderful with it. I am here for you always, just remember that. You are a wonderful gal. Hugs n Love, Jan Believe In Miracles And SOAR :You-Rock: :hug:

I wanted to share a poem I had written for Lisa a few years ago after she took me away for the weekend with her two special children, Abby and Colin. She does such special things for me .... now the table has turned and she is in a fight for herself, the Beast Cancer... she is scheduled for surgery and that will be when we will all know what will be... We are very positive and know the power of prayer. So, Prayer Warriors get that positive energy and thoughts going out to her. She means the world to me. I am making her a special necklace that I am puting on the new thing out there, the black cord and they are silver round discs that you just add to it and I am writing a poem to go with it. The words I picked out for the necklace are: Love, Happiness, Courage, Faith, Love, Inspire, Believe and Friend I just need to pray on it and ask God for the words to type. Hope everyone is doing well. I appreciate your friendship and most of all, just the prayers .... that is the best gift of all. Take care and love those who are in your life and take a moment or two and let them know how very special they are and how you appreciate them. God Bless, Believe In Miracles And SOAR Jan *********************************************************************************************** The Greatest Gift God has given me many gifts - the ability to love others and have a real desire to help others who are in great need - the capacity to make things happen and through God

:friends:My Mom It's been thirty five years ago today since you went away How I wish I was there that day But I didn't know No one told me Mom Had I known, I would have done things so differently I didn't have the maturity that I have now I was just a young kid The thought of dying would have never entered my mind I have my own demons and fight with the Beast We both had Beasts but yours was Cancer and mine was Brain Stem Stroke The legacy of your Faith is what gets me by Every good thing I possess or do is because of you Your capacity to Love and Understand The meaning of being a good friend How I wish you were still here I need you so Mom My heart aches for you My heart aches for what could have been Your beast, Cancer, robbed me of so much Your love which I know is enduring forever But, I just miss your smile and hugs Your words of wisdom, your laughter and loving nature How you could take the pain I felt away Mom, I will never have all the answers I didn't get to have closure with you and this has left me wondering I need to let this go so I can live my life the life I know you want me to have I have asked God every year to mend my broken heart and set me free with assurance you are doing just fine Please know Mom you will always be a big part of my life and one day we will be together again for all eternity I love you Mom and I always will You were just fifty-one how so very young you truly were So much time was taken from the both of us Just know you will always be my Mom You have a permanent home in my heart Written in Memory of My Mom, Mary Cochenour with Love, Jan 3/19/09 :hug:

Although things are not perfect Because of trial or pain Continue in thanksgiving Do not begin to blame Even when the times are hard Fierce winds are bound to blow God is forever able Hold on to what you know Imagine life without His love Joy would cease to be Keep thanking Him for all the things Love imparts to thee Move out of "Camp Complaining" No weapon that is known On earth can yield the power Praise can do alone Quit looking at the future Redeem the time at hand Start every day with worship To "thank" is a command Until we see Him coming Victorious in the sky We'll run the race with gratitude Xalting God most high Yes, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but... Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad! "I AM Too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Love and peace be with you forever, Amen. Your Friend, Jesus

:cocktail: :You-Rock: :cheer: :congrats: :happybday: I am so happy God gave you an awesome day today on your special day. I had left a HB Message on your page under comments last night. I wanted to surprise you. Enjoy this first morning for your new year ..... May you have many more happy days. There's a whole world out there just waiting for the special "Jeannie" touch and smile. God Bless, Love n Hugs, Jan Believe In Miracles And Soar

Donna, I am here for you 24/7 you know that. I am glad your headache went adios. Stress is not good for you. The only thing I pray for is you both aren't PMSing at the same time. If so, Look Out Loretta. You are a great Mom and She realizes that. Love will win out and God is in the middle of all of this. Growing pains is hard for teens. I am finding this out with my oldest Grandson. She loves you and realizes how good you are to her and you only want the best for her. I think kids don't realize that their parents have gone thru the "kid stage" themselves. I am keeping you both in my prayers as always. God Bless, Hugs, Love, Jan Believe In Miracles And SOAR

Fred: I've been outside going up and down my ramp, I've walked simple steps, but never like I did yesterday, The last two strokes I had did their damage as well and my MG is a hard thing to deal with. I am going to try to build up to walking outside a few times a week, Wayne and I have discussed it. I know with God's help, all things are possible.

She isn't my Granddaughter, she's my friends, Debbie. Oh, I know, I would never go by myself. I know God is with me always though.

Friday ended up being a day which I never imagined would or could happen. I had invited Mary, the friend that I have been mentoring since her stroke. Her Birthday was on the big snow blizzard day and we had to cancel our plans to celebrate so we had rescheduled for the next day that would be nice. I had planned all sorts of special surprises for Mary. The day was quite warm yesterday, 60 degrees. How can we go from blizzard to 60 in one week? Go Figure. Well, I took my shower and got dressed and decided I was going to sit on the front porch. It was beautiful outside. A day of endless possibilities. As I sat there thinking and talking to God, I decided ..... You know Jan you are doing good with your food plan, you've lost weight, now the only thing that would truly top everything is if you could take a walk. I do need to put exercise into my daily life .. Now, mind you, I was 100% paralyzed after my Brain Stem Stroke, told I would never walk again, etc. I can manage baby steps in my house, but for long term walking, etc. like going to the mall and such, I must use my wheelchair, The more I rocked in my rocking chair on the porch, the more I had the urge to go for a walk. I kept talking to God and saying well, you know God, what is the difference if I'm walking in my house vs the street, then it hit me..... When you fall in the house, you have the rug to fall on, if you fall on the street, it's harder ..... Then I thought, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, God is carrying me. So, I kept having a showdown in my mind and thoughts. Should I try walking down my ramp and enter the freedom of the free world, the street? I decided, I will try and if it gets to hard, I will just go back to the safety of my rocking chair on my front porch. I want to regain my Independance. There, I did it, I'm on the driveway...... My new neighbors came out for a smoke, I said hi to them and there I went. I went to the left of the street. I took my first two steps....ok, I'm off the driveway and I am actually standing on my street. I took a few more baby steps, then out of no where I hear: MISS JAN, MISS JAN, MISS JAN, MISS JAN, MISS JAN, MISS JAN, WOW, MISS JAN........ WHAT YA DOING? I said, Hi there Julianna, it was Debbie, my dear Bible Study Partners Granddaughter, I said I'm going for a lil walk, You want to join me, just then There was a Lady I have never seen before with a stroller and inside the stroller was Colton and Ethan, Julianna's brothers, Debbie's Grandsons. I said hi to them as well. Julianna asked her babysitter if she could go with me. She looked at me, I started to laugh and I said, oh believe me, I'm not doing a marathon or anything, This will be the first walk I've taken outside of the house in five years. She looked at me and I explained my situation. She said, sure Julianna, I'll just be taking the boys for a quick stroll. Off we went, I felt such freedom actually leaving my house, First things first however, I said to Julianna, if I should fall, or need help, please go and get Mr. Wayne OK? She said OK and that she knew which house was mine. All of a sudden, five little girls ran up to Julianna, guess they were her "possee" and said, hey what ya doin? She said going for a walk with my friend, Miss Jan. Can we go with ya? She looked at me and I said SURE, the more the merrier. As I started walking, ... I got in the position where I could see that Julianna was copying the way I walk and I said hey, what ya doing? She said walking like you so you won't feel funny. I guess I can be seen as different. I just started laughing and she said what is so funny Miss Jan. I said well, sweetie, I guess I do kinda walk like a lil baby learning to walk for the first time don't I. But, you know what, at least I am walking. That is such a gift from God. Julianna was my eyes, I didn't realize God had sent her to accompany me for my special walk, I would hear from time to time, Miss Jan, move to your right, there is a car coming, one time there was a UPS truck coming. She was such a big help. I may have only gone about to the end of the street and back, I DID IT..... WOW, you would have thought I had walked a thousand miles, What Joy, Excitement...... What gratitude I felt. What a gift was given to me... I was tired, really tired. But, it was a good tired. Julianna felt so good as well, she rejoiced and said, Miss Jan, look you did it. I said, well, sweetie, God sent you to help me and it was fun talking to your friends. I invited her friends to stop by any time they see me on the front porch. I love children and it was fun speaking with them. Having my mind on things other than stroke, having some type of newness other than living stroke 24/7. Wayne didn't know I had or was doing this. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. He had a tizzy when he found out. What the hell did you try something like that for? You should have told me. etc. etc. etc. He said, well how was it? I told him it was scary. But, I was in good hands. He said, well, once the weather gets nicer, maybe you, me and Harley could go for walks. He said he didn't think I could take Harley with me as he will throw me off balance. But, that is my goal, to take the leash and say "Harley, wanna go for a walk with Mommy".. I have often thought that. Well, Today is Harley's Birthday and I am taking him for a walk by summer. Who knows what else in store for me. There are always dreams to come true. Today is Harleys special day so we are going for a ride ...... and he will get an extra treat today. What challenges ..... Each new day is full of possibilities. Will write more later. Got to go and get my shower ... I want to sit outside, another beautiful day. Oh, I had called Debbie, when she answered, I said, hey, guess what I just did, she said SHE BEAT YOU TO IT..... YOU WENT FOR A WALK, hehehe She said Julianna already beat you to it and told me all about it. She was so happy for you and her lil friends adored you. Could not believe a lil child would take time from playing with her friends to call her Grandmother to tell her what she did, helping me .... That really touched my heart. Believe In Miracles And SOAR :happydance:

:forgive_me?: Hi there Ms. Spring, got your Easter Bonnet picked out yet? The vehicle you purchased is the same model two of my friends have and they love it. Enjoy it girl. I loved your post. Have a wonderful day today. God Bless, Hugs, Jan :friends:

Wes: That is great and I know things will be just fine when you try to get the info from the computer. Like one of my special cancer children that I worked with always said to me: "There's nothing to it BUT just to do it" those wise words have gone a long way with me. I pray for you daily and only want the best that life has to offer for you. Take care, God Bless, Hugs, Jan Believe In Miracles AND SOAR :type: :groupwave: I hope you enjoy your time with your neighbors, sounds like great fun.

Wes, There's Nothing To It BUT To DO IT and you are and you will ..... I am cheering :Clap-Hands: :cheer: you every mile of the way. I just pray you will take it slower when you feel the need to and know if you are just a lil slower in reaching your goal, hey that is ok, important thing YOU DID IT. The only race is the race you have set in your mind and your own time frame, whether you realize or believe this Wes.... ALL STROKE SURVIVORS HAD BEEN IN A RACE OF THEIR OWN, May not bike riding, cross jumping, etc. it is beating their oponent THE BEAST, STROKE. I have total faith in you and I am so happy you have won all your races and you have shared your victory laps with us here. Your sharing has had impact on so many others. Thanks for sharing you victory laps with us and your training laps as well. Keep it up, there are so many laps yet to discover. God Bless, Hugs, Jan Believe In Miracles And SOAR

:Clap-Hands: This is my Harley today..... He had a blast in the snow. It was a bit deep for him but he was a real Trooper. What an incredible lil guy. Gosh, I adore him, could you tell? Well, Gang, Round One ..... getting through the day. Had lost the power numerous times, Wayne's TV has completely died, good thing his new one is coming this week, if the snow cooperates. Our Washer and Dryer is coming the same day. Please snow stay away until a more convenient day for us. Pretty Please. I had gotten up this am and I went to open the front door as I wanted to get some pics of the snow, guess what, the dang door wouldn't open up. The snow was so high .... it was attacking us thinking it would take us hostage. Well, God had other plans. Wayne was still asleep and I started to think all these thoughts, Oh No I am stuck in this house, what if I needed to call 911, they would have to break down the door, etc. All these silly thoughts, I am half asleep mind you. I finally went in and Wayne was stirring so I let him know Harley needed to go out and I couldn't get any of the doors to open. So, he got up and tried to get at least one of the doors to open. After much prayer .... Finally, George came to our rescue. Bless his heart. George has shoveled us out for the past five years, He left our Church and we don't see him near as much... however, he realized this was like a blizzard type storm, The news was all about it, etc. There he was coming to our rescue. Let me introduce him to you. He was a Hero of the Pentagon on 9/11/ He was there that day and has gone on to give speeches about that day everywhere. He is a very dear friend. He is an Army Ranger. It took him about four hours to get the snow in manageable condition. He even started our vehicles up and got all the snow off of them. He won't let us pay him, nothing, he just does it cuz he said it's the right thing to do. Not many people of that quality on this planet. I finally gave him some lil things and he accepted them. A deck of cards with hearts all over them. I told him he could get all cozy tonight with Susan, his wife, and they could play cards and other things. He loved it and he told me you know you didn't have to give me anything. I just want to make sure you all are ok. Plus, he loves Harley. We did fellowship for a bit before he left. He lives in our neighborhood. I shared with him we need to get together more often ... I miss him and Susan. He gave me a big hug. We're suppose to be getting another storm in behind this one. After he got everything all cleaned up, guess what, it started snowing. He said, Jan, go figure. I teased him and said, Yep, the powers at be feel we need to visit with one another. Well, I'm going to get off of here cuz the power is acting funny, flashing in and out. It might be a chilly evening if we lose power again. Frustrating. But, I am learning the meaning of my journey. Harley brings the joy in everything. Snow, Sleet, Hail, Storm, long as I have my Harley Boy, everything's A-OK. He takes after his Mommy, he is a chip off the ole block, he is a little clown. He is my "mini me". :roflmao: I will add more later on, I need to get off of here, God Bless, Hugs, Jan Believe In Miracles And SOAR