the fear and the confusion a stroke survivor has. How would this affect and change my life? How long would it last? When would I recover? Would I recover fully? What should I do in order to speed up my recovery? And countless other questions.
I know you need these answers, too, and want to get better. Let’s travel this road together. Let me help you see the path, and the bright sunshine at the end.
Whether you are the stroke survivor, a spouse, family member or friend, stroke has now changed your life. When the dust settles and things calm down, you will realize that life does not have to be worse. But it will be different.
There is so much that I have learned over the last many years of dealing with this condition. I want to share what I have learned with you to help you in this new journey in your life. Then eventually you can pass your story along to others to teach and help them.
Now follow me. I want to tell you a story.
I Am A Stroke Survivor
This book is offered as a guide to help stroke survivors through the next several years, and to offer a glimpse of the the wonderful world of recovery. In this book I talk to the stroke survivor, primarily. However, the information presented will be of great benefit to the primary caretaker, and to family and friends. My goal is to help others understand this new world of stroke, and to help with full recovery using what I have learned. I am not a doctor or a counselor, so this book is not intended as medical advice. It is my story and what I have learned, and I hope this will be helpful to you.
Join My Free Email List
To join my free email list and get updates about future editions of this book, please go to my web page at www.jeffkagan.com and scroll down to the section on Stroke. That’s it!
Web Sites:
Stroke and Life After Stroke at Google
National Stroke Association at www.Stroke.org
American Stroke Association at www.StrokeAssociation.org
The Stroke Foundation at www.thestrokefoundation.com
On The Way To The Beach
It was mid-July, 2004, and the beginning of another beautiful and sunny summer day. We were packing the van for a week at the beach. My wife, Deborah, and I had a very typical family: three teenage kids, a dog and a guinea pig.
Life over the last fifteen to twenty years had been phenomenal. We started out struggling — like most everyone else — but in our early 30’s we finally found ourselves on the right track, and my business started a long period of healthy growth.
The kids were happy, and growing, and in high school. We went to all the choir and band performances. Mom and Dad, and Grandma and Grandpa, were always there cheering. The kids were so happy. They made us proud. They had good friends, and we felt like everything was perfect in our lives. We had been blessed. We knew it, and we were thankful every day.
I am an analyst; a technology, wireless, telecom and healthcare analyst. I am also a columnist, speaker and consultant. Okay, I wear many hats. Maybe its because I get bored easily. Or maybe it is because I started doing many things years ago to earn a living, then realized I just liked the lifestyle. I was busy and successful and happy at work.
My business kept growing. My name became well-known in the industry. A quick search of “Jeff Kagan” and “Jeffrey Kagan” on Google resulted in thousands of news stories I have been quoted in over the last 25 years.
We couldn’t believe the good fortune we were experiencing. We were flown from coast-to-coast, from Maui to California to Las Vegas to Palm Beach — and countless other places in between — to give speeches for big companies, and at conferences. I spoke about the changing industry, and had lots of fun doing so.
We met a lot of interesting people including celebrities, politicians and CEO’s, and visited many interesting places. Deborah and I had lunch at Donald Trump’s place, called Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, and took a private tour of his home. It was incredible, of course. What, you had doubts? Things were magical.
It Happened Between Two Speeches
It was June, and I had just returned from a keynote speech at a conference in Las Vegas. My next appearance was coming up in Seattle in about two weeks. I was to moderate a panel discussion between the CEO of AT&T Wireless and a company they were acquiring. The meeting was to be filled with the media, investors, customers and employees in the audience.
I had to make my first-ever cancellation call to let them know that I would not be able to be there. Actually, it was an email, because I could not have a conversation yet.
It was a beautiful summer morning and we were packing up the van. The week at the beach was just what we needed. We lived four-and-a-half hours from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was just north of Savannah, Georgia and was the perfect example of heaven on earth. We found this place 25 years ago and had been coming ever since.
Over the years, we had tried countless accommodations there, but eventually fell in love with the Crown Plaza Hotel on the beach. The hotel was special, and still is, but we fell in love with it because, as we became regulars, they always remembered us, and treated us like royalty. No, more like special friends. It was a warm and magical stay every time.
On this particular trip the kids each brought a friend. We had said our goodbyes to their parents, and we were off to the beach for another beautiful summer vacation.
It was a perfect day for a drive to the beach, or so I thought.
Strange, but I became suddenly tired. But it was morning. Oh well, nothing a cup of coffee couldn’t fix. Along the way we always stopped in Macon, Georgia, at the Barnes and Noble, so I could get a cup of Starbucks for the drive. We had often made this stop over the years, so there was nothing strange yet.
Then things started to get a little confusing. I remember pulling up to Starbucks and ordering a bacon, double cheeseburger with everything on top. The kids laughed. However, I didn’t understand what was so funny. After all I just ordered my coffee, right?
In writing this book, I talked with them about it and they tell me it was after Starbucks that we went to Burger King. They said I ordered a super burger with bacon and cheese. Who knows, but that’s when it started happening. First of all, the restaurant didn’t carry that kind of burger, and secondly, I don’t eat cheeseburgers. The kids said that they laughed, and somehow we made it out of there with everything.
It was all a little hazy to me, but nobody told my wife. They thought I was joking around. I had a tendency to do that kind of thing all the time. Yes, I’m that goofy dad.
The words coming out of my mouth didn’t always relate to the words in my mind. That was the problem with my stroke, but I didn’t know it yet. I would want to say one thing, but strange words would keep coming out. The problem was I wasn’t aware of this disconnect. This actually kept happening for a long time, but this was the first time. And I had no clue.
You know how when you open your mouth to say something, it is connected to your brain, and you are aware of the meaning of the words? Well, suddenly, I was not aware of the meaning of the words. I would think, pass the
