Bonni Brodnick Blog

(Left to right) My sister Pamela and my brother Michael. I am so thankful for them. I was returning to Phelps Hospital, where I was for two weeks on the acute in-patient rehabilitation floor. My stroke was mid-April. Perched in my room on the 4th floor, I could watch the seasons change as the grass, flowers and  trees turned from spring to summer. Then during follow-up therapies, I watched them go from fall to winter. Today, the scenery is once again on the cusp of bloom. I was back to have my post-stroke, 1-year anniversary.          The entrance to Phelps has “P” in black and “helps” in red. Phelps Helps . The boxwood were trimmed just below the word “Emergency.” (Once when I was leaving in June, the flowers had grown to nearly cover the word. I thought, “How can you have a sign with the word ‘Emergency’ covered? What if there was an EMERGENCY?)          Today,  I left enough time so that I co...

Today is the 1-year anniversary since I had my stroke. I am thankful and grateful for many, many, many things. My family, for their patience, love and encouragement. My friends, for their steadfastness and love. I'm grate-full (new word for "full of gratitude") for being able to walk, talk, think, see, feel ... and dance at my son's wedding. And I am thank-full to  Joe Manno  and  Janie Parks  for stopping on I-95, calling for help immediately, and being my Good Samaritan saviors. The County Journal story,   "South Jersey Couple Hailed as Good Samaritan Saviors,"  appeared on the front page ( top-of-the-fold!). Many thanks to reporter Deb Marko and her editors for deeming it worthy of this attention.  Today, it runs i n the Chicago Tribune ... joining Philadelphia Inquirer , U.S. News and World Report , Washington Times , and many other publications in spreading good news. In a country that is so divisive, it sends a national message: B...

It's 4:30 a.m. and she wants to go out. It's so early. It's too early.  Maggie, our 1-year old Cavapoo ( Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle combo)   has  been getting into bad habits. The night before it was 4 a.m. "Go back to sleep." I reach down the bed to pet her.  She stands up and shakes her head. Then she jumps off the bed. "Maggie, go to sleep," my husband says.  We weren't giving in.  She jumps back into bed.  Power to the people.

In the swimming pool at 9 a.m. for Aqua Fit. This easy-on-the-joints exercise was recommended for post-stroke.  "Kick, kick!" said the instructor. I admired her verve. "Now move to the right ... and puuuuulllll your arms to the left." When I had my stroke on Interstate-95, my 86-year old mother (who was in the passenger seat) quickly jerked the car off the highway over to the right. "You were slumped at the wheel," she said. "I had to take control of the situation." That quick veer to the right, I believe, is the reason for the continued pain. "Here, take these.. They're lighter," the instructor noticed I was having trouble with the weights. I told her I had a stroke. She said this would be easier. I can move up to heavier ones later. My lack of strength on the right was obvious. I felt like crying. Will it ever be strong? Am I being overly hopeful that it will be equal to the left?  I flashed back to be...