We Interrupt our Regular Programming

In August of 2010 I had a stroke. It was my own doing. Against my wife's advice I tried to let time heal a bad cough. My coughing was so energetic that I managed to put a rip in my carotid artery and a small clot formed. A bit of the clot broke off and decided to get chummy with my brain.

Apparently if coughing were an Olympic event I could be a medalist.

It was a mild stroke by almost any measure. Mostly it affected my cognitive ability.  The day after the stroke I struggled to put words into alphabetical order, I repeatedly failed to make correct change, and my speech was a little unclear. But the vision problem that had signaled the stroke's beginning was gone, and the weakness on my left side was gone in only a couple of days. Most importantly, my memories were still completely intact. As I said, a mild stroke. The emotional aspects were the worst parts: The shock of knowing my brain was damaged, realizing the pain I'd put my family through.

In five days I was home. In 9 days I attended the state fair, although I only had enough energy to stay for a few hours. As I've learned, stroke recovery demands an insanely large amount of energy. A couple of months of rehab brought my cognitive skills close to what they had been. I was driving again in October, and shoveling snow by December. I've gradually continued my recovery in the months since . I may never be 100% again, but I'm darn close. In some respects, I may be better than I was. (My sense of smell has become rather acute since the stroke.)

Astronomy played a role in my recovery.  I needed to work my mind, stretching it to grow. My body needed strengthening and my spirits some lifting.  I decided to plunge back into astrophotography.  Less than a month after the stroke I resumed. 

If you've read earlier posts you know what goes into imaging.  In my case it's a lot of carrying things from house to back yard. The heaviest piece is the CGEM mount which weighs in at 41 pounds. At first this was a struggle, but it seemed to get a little lighter with each trip.

Then there's imaging itself. With so many ways to mess up, it's a challenge to a healthy person's mental capacity.  I was using a DSLR at that point which is not all that much easier to use than a CCD. Night after night I imaged, taking advantage of the pleasant fall.

It was gratifying to know that I could still make images, and I'm convinced that it helped speed my recovery.

There may be some truth to the advice to get back in the saddle as soon as you can. It seemed to work for me.

Oh, and listen to your wife when she tells you to see the doctor. Don' be a dummy like I was. I got off easy, you may not!

Become aware of stroke symptoms. The sooner you get help (don't hesitate to call 911) the better the damage can be minimized. Read more about strokes here.