Rehab Observations

Over the last six weeks, I have been helping to deal with the aftermath of my father’s last stroke. He is paralyzed on the right side of his body. He has no control over his right arm and leg and doesn’t have the balance or strength to sit up on his own. In many ways, he is helpless. He requires help to take care of many of the most basic things.

Dealing with this is sobering and humbling. I have had to fundamentally reconsider how I relate to a lot of things that I take for granted. Everyday that I wake up, I know that I will be able to push the covers aside, sit up, swing my feet to the floor, and get out of bed. I don’t know how I would take it if I couldn’t do this or a lot of other things that I do on a daily basis. I don’t know how I would take being totally dependent on others physically for my basic functionality. (Currently, I am dependent on others for some things in my life.)

Two things have come to mind that are important lessons that are a result of my father’s stroke. The first is of great personal importance: I must be much more ruthless and dedicated toward developing exceptional health. My dad was taking five or six medications for hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes; standard stuff in the Black community. Strokes and heart attacks are a natural outgrowth of these conditions.

I have to learn to take better care of myself be getting more exercise, eating better, and supplementing my diet with powerful, healthy super-foods. I know that this is simple and basic, and that everyone says this. This statement’s simplicity does not make it any less true or important. This experience has truly brought all of this home to me. I can’t depend on wishes, fantasy, and hope to get right. Hope is important but it is not a valid strategy. Too much of my life has been dependent on hope to change things for me. It is now time for real planning and action.

The second lesson that I have learned is less personal and more observational. For years, I thought that people of African and Caribbean descent valued their elders. Most of the staff at my dad’s rehab facility come from these backgrounds. They have terrible attitudes. They pass the buck, take their time helping people, and really don’t seem to care about anything but getting a paycheck. The only thing that I can say is that maybe we are the same everywhere.