my speech therapy home work

 As i sit in my chilly hospital room i am filled  with hope, through Gods mercy. I have the opportunity to live my life in service to my fellow stroke survivors.

I am dedicating  my rahab and my upcoming through paddle of the Missouri river, to the over 7,000 Americans suffering from strokes

My brain is working hard to rewire itself. And writing is a challenge.  my apologies to my blog readers for any spelling and grammatical errors.

THE JOURNEY STARTS

Saturday marked the start of my recovery from severe stroke on Wednesday, November 3rd. After days of work that earned me the privilege of admittance to St Thomas Mid Town rehab hospital. Over the next few days I will be working with speech therapy and physical therapy, as well as occupational therapy. 

Before we get into the structure of my rehab work, I want to first acknowledge the blessings that I've received.

Thursday my dear friend Shawn Pye made the 13 hour drive from Austin, Texas to sit with me at my bed side. I can't imagine I was much fun, but stay by my side he did. I can't express the level of appreciation that I feel for his dedication to our friendship and to my recovery from the stroke.

Jon  & I in the Gulf of Mexico

Shawn and I 

Catie & I in  the rehab hospital

Alex surprised me on Saturday morning by coming to watch the Nebraska Huskers game with me. It was so nice to have him by my side. It was just like the old days sitting and watching football, cheering on Big Red!

I was surprised by my daughter Catie who came home from her trip to Minnesota to attend a wedding and came straight from the airport to visit me.

Then there is my brother from another mother Jon Wunrow. We recreated an evening on one of our river trips that became an old fashioned sleepover. He brought his hand written journals from our Source to Sea Mississippi River expedition. Jonny read them to me, then we worked on the USA Today crossword. Jon and I are planning to paddle the Missouri River from its source in Three Forks, Montana to St Louis, Missouri. Can't wait to get in my kayak!

My schedule for PT tomorrow looks like this:

Physical therapy - 8-9am

Occupational therapy - 9:30-10:30am

Speech therapy - 11am-12:45pm

Physical therapy - 1:45-2

Update on My Second Knee Replacement

I finished my Source To Sea paddle of the entire Mississippi River,  with a torn meniscus. In researching the recovery times of my options, of either repairing the meniscus, or having a total knee replacement, the recovery time for a knee replacement was shorter than a meniscus repair. 

My right knee replacement surgery on Jan. 12, 2021 was very successful, allowing Jon and me to complete our planned  Tennessee River expedition in April and May of 2021. Having this goal in front me, was a great motivator to dedicate myself to daily physical therapy.    Not only was this 5 week trip a great part of my recovery PT program, but we later learned that we were the first people to complete the Tennessee River Line 652 since it had been rebranded. Brad Collette the founder of River Line 652, was a great supporter of us throughout the adventure. 

Since I had met my medical insurance deductible with my first procedure early in 2021, I decided to get my left knee replaced in the same calendar year. So, on November 1, I had the second knee replacement procedure successfully completed. Upon release from the hospital two days later, I returned home and within hours suffered a major stroke that landed me in the ICU. I underwent emergency surgery and the clot was removed from my brain, saving my life.

In the first 24 hours after my brain surgery, I had a dream that spoke to me, that I was meant to use this experience, and my upcoming Missouri River expedition that is planned for Spring 2022, as a way to motivate other stroke survivors. I hope to show that a 60 year old can recover from a catastrophic event like my knee surgery and subsequent stroke, and lead a satisfying life that is filled with gratitude, adventure, and helping others. I want to show that the work that is required to recover and heal, is worth it…..is worth the pain, and effort, and commitment.

Please subscribe to this blog if you want to follow my recovery. 

I will be leveraging my YouTube channel (http://www.YouTube.com/c/JeffWunrow) that is also accessible via www.JeffWunrow.net so that people who are struggling with the tragedy of a stroke in their life, will have some inspiration, and know that life does not end with a stroke, but that it can be the beginning for lead a life that is filled with activity, gratitude, and adventure.