Stand by….shameless self-promotion here.
It’s something I’ve been saying for years: “I should write a book about it.”
Well I did.
When I was writing my column for the Standard Times I had several readers, especially after I had my stroke, suggest that I write a book about dealing with the rehab and the ups and downs. I also wanted to write about all the experiences I had dealing with a metabolic disorder called Alkaptonuria. The listeners to my radio show knew that I had several surgeries and I was away for testing at times at NIH, the National Institutes of Health, near Washington but I felt like I never really explained why.
Once I had my stroke and lost the radio shows my family suggested I work on the book as a form of therapy. Then, as my wife puts it, “He went ahead and did it so we had to figure out how to publish it!”
My book is called, “I’m Not Done Yet: Turning Disabiilities Into Possibilities.” At the moment it is just available on Amazon.
It’s a look at how it all began. I was diagnosed with Alkaptonuria, or AKU, when I was a baby but the symptoms really didn’t show up until my 30s. I take you through the body breaking down as I continued as a young father coaching his children in athletics. I write about losing a job that I loved in morning radio and then the stroke. I share with you how the children all found out including my son who was halfway around the world on an aircraft carrier. Then we talk about the many hours and days of rehabilitation, the high times and the low times. Finding a new “normal” and learning to adjust.
If you are a regular reader you may recognize some chapters as I have included some of my columns. I don’t think I’ve left anything out. The days are not always rosy and at times downright scary but we just have to move on.
I spent a few months trying to figure out a title but one day it just hit me: “I’m not done yet.” I’ve got things to do and more memories to make. As I point out several times in the book, all strokes are not the same and I realize I am blessed with how much I’ve been able to recover. If you know someone who needs some encouragement, or “a kick in the pants”(It’s covered in one chapter), I hope this helps.
It’s available here if you’d like to order. Welcome into my world.
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