Monday, November 5, 2007

Stroking Out, Not just for the Elderly

So, my father in law, Bob, came out for a visit in the first part of November. We had a great time with him. We took him to Discovery Cove where he learned that he's got a stability problem. He was finding it difficult to stay standing in the water, but as a result of being in the water, his ears were cleared out and now his equalibrium is now stable.
My Prince Charming and I took Bob to Epcot. We thought of all the Disney parks this would be the most interesting for him, and the least taxing....so we thought. We walked through the West Innovation Alley, and sampled some Coca Cola flavors from around the world....Italy has some nasty taste buds let me tell you! Bob is from the Greatest Generation of our country. He fought in World War II and in Korea. He was an independent photographer in the years after the war, until the mid 90's. He does have some amazing stories and he's told me a few.
When Bob lived with us in Colorado, he would occasionally let me or Mark know that he had had a stroke. I would eventually convince him that he really needed to go to the doctor and have them make sure everything was alright. So, he would call the doctor, and of course they would want to see him right away, and since I was the only one able to drive him, we would take an hour trip into Colorado Springs so he could make sure he was alright, and for the most part these were always just extremely milde strokes, where he experience moments of dizziness, or as he would describe he would forget what something as simple as a door knob was suppose to do and he would forget how to operate it. Not something I would feel very secure with. These episodes would upset me more than they appeared to bother him. But since he's been living on his own in Edinburgh, Texas, he's not had even the smallest problem.
We had just finally sat down to eat in the World showcase in China. Finally! I was starving, and was getting a bit frustrated with Bob, he couldn't decide where he wanted to eat. My Prince Charming and I were going to take Bob to Germany to eat lunch. Bob fought in World War II in Germany and we thought he might enjoy some German food. The world show case has 13 different countries that you can visit. The countries are set in a horseshoe around a nice lake in the middle of Epcot. We had to traveled (walked) through Mexico, Norway, China, and finally to Germany, when looking at the menu, Bob decides that he can fully recall the taste of German food and would rather eat at another country. He says anything would be fine....We continued traveling through Italy, America, and then to Japan, where when we had suggested eating in Japan he said sure, but upon arriving in Japan he informed us that he'd recalled once eating in Japan, during the war and having a "Not so pleasant experience" So frustrated we marched towards Morraco. Where he finally let us know that eating in China might be nice. Because I'm a diabetic if I get to the point where my stomach starts growling, this means I need to EAT NOW, and if I don't watch out cause my evil twin is mere Nano seconds from rearing her Ugly head. My Prince Charming knows this and squeezing my hand tells me everything will be alright. I headed towards the boat transportation that would move us towards China much faster than walking would have done. Except for the part where the dock is actually in ITALY and we have to WALK back through Germany to GET to CHINA! So Finally! We have after letting Bob know that the cute Chinese serving girl, probably has never heard the term " window shopping" in reference to looking over the menu, when she asks if we are ready to order. He mentioned that the toes of his feet were dragging in the bottom of his shoe. I asked him why his toes had begun dragging, he says "oh when I had my stroke." My Prince Charming and I exchanged an uneasy glance while My Prince Charming asks " when did you last have a have stroke?" Bob responds with a rather humourous nonchalance of "2 hours ago, when we were in the sea place." So after the initial shock of this discovery, Bob assures us that he's alright, now! We finish our meal, rather good I might add. Mark asked Bob the next time he decides to Stroke out, if he would please inform us so that we might either stop and let him rest and recover....or so we can leave and take him to the hospital.
I can't wait till Bob moves in! At the end of this Month!!!!