This is a very lucky man...lol!!!

Hey, guys, Bill here. We've been away so long. Just got a new computer and all kinds of new toys to go with it and decided to get back in touch with all of you. Things have been going along pretty much status quo for us. I'm still recovering from my stroke ( maybe 80% ). Found out why it happened. I've been diagnosed with a hereditary blood disorder called Factor 5 Liden Deficiency. Factor 5 liden is a protien in your blood that keeps your blood from clotting and I do not have enough so I throw off emboli (blood clots). I'll be taking Plavix for the rest of my life and that should keep this in check. Well, once again, it's good to be back. I promise we won't be strangers. Posted 2 new pictures. The beard is gone as of yesterday (still have a goatee). So is my hair. Talk tommorow, Love, Cathy and Bill

I now know why some people wear loafers...lol!!! I practised tying my shoes today. What a bitch!!! Cathy wants to get me velcro shoes. She cares so much. Why does it take something like this to realise how much you are loved? The concern of our friends, and even people that I never really considered friends, has been overwhelming!!! Things I always took for granted have become mountains to conquer!! I will win!! I have many people rooting for me, I can't disappoint them!! Thanks for the well wishes, everyone. It means alot to me and Cathy!! Love and Thanks, Bill

Hey guys, Bill here. Just got home from the hospital after 3 days!! Woke up Wednesday and had problems moving my right hand. I thought I had a pinched nerve. We went to work at the bar and by the time we got home it didn't feel better. I decided to take a nap. When I woke up it still wasn't any better. Cathy and I made love, we showered, got dressed and went to work. After my shift was over, we went to the bar and I cleaned the deep fryers. Hand still sucked. I told Cathy I wanted to go to the hospital. Got to Largo Med and told the triage nurse what my problem was. They rushed me right in. After some tests they came back and told me that I had a stroke. Not one of those mini strokes but a full blown one. Not only that but the brain scan shows that I've had a few others. Lots of dead spots on the brain. Christ, I'm only 46 years old!! Well, I'm home now. Rehab is in my future, again!!! I'm getting tired of this shit!!! Cathy is trying to be helpful. She has to understand that I need to do things on my own. I realise she wants to help out of love, but I need to struggle. I'm really happy I said the things about her that I did in my last blog!!! It was almost my goodbye!!! Man, I love you guys and I love Cathy!!! Good night for now, Bill

Cathy and I went to play darts last night and a strange thing happened. The owner of the bar, Greg, came up to Cathy and said,"You know, I was bored today and was just cruising the web. Guess what I saw??" Cathy knew what he saw! Actually she knew who he saw!! Needless to say, we are now the talk of the bar. After her initial embarrasment, Cathy started to have fun with the idea of all our friends seeing our pics. She told me this morning that she wants us to start our own website. I'm so proud of how she is handling this development. Since we've started posting, she has really come out of her shell! Who ever said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks did not know Cathy!!!! I realise how lucky I am to be married to her for almost 20 years. What an awesome lady!!! Well, time to bid you all adieu. Hope you all have a great day, Love, Cathy and Bill

The first photo I posted was from the State Theatre show we went to!!!!

Hey, guys, what's been going on? Cathy and I have been so busy! Missed writing our blog and missed all of you!!! Tuesday night Cathy and myself went to a concert at the "State Theatre" in St.Pete!! The "State" was, at one time, a vaudeville theatre back in the day!!! Now they have really good concerts about 5 days a week!! What a place, you can almost feel the ghosts!! The loge has no seats and is standing room!! The balcony still has seats. The best thing about this place is that they have a full liquor bar. 32oz beers are 8 bucks so it's hard to get drunk there. Well, not really hard but expensive!!! The headliner was Shooter Jennings. He's the son of Waylon Jennings and Jessie Coulter. He tends to be a bit of an outlaw (just like dad)!! The set was awesome. The music was much more balls-to-the-wall rock than I expected (he's supposed to be country), and it was great! The best thing about the evening was the opening act!!! The band was called "The Elms"!!! We had never heard of them. I think the audience was pleasantly surprised!!! These kids were totally awesome!!! They are from Seymour, Indiana!! I could not believe how tight they were, very impressive!!! After the show we went to meet them. What nice kids!!! They seemed so amazed that there could be a full house on a Tuesday night!!! We spoke for a while and bought some merchandise!!! I did get some good pics of them. After the show, Cathy and I went to "The Tap", our regular joint!! They have one of those download jukeboxes. There is 350,000 songs. Lo and behold, "The Elms" had a CD available. I played a bunch of their songs and introduced their sound to about 35 new pairs of ears!!! The have a new CD coming out on May 2 called "The Chess Hotel". Check it out, these are really nice kids that make great music!!! All in all, a pretty excellent night!!! Love, Cathy and Bill http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f378/cathyandbill/DSC_0013.jpg

Happy Easter to all of you!!! This is the time of re-birth, rising again!! Just like Winter turns to Spring! Like the plants begin to bloom. Our dead landscape breathes new life (my apologies to my Southern Hemisphere friends)!!! Animals have pro-created and are giving birth to new generations!!! The cold, grey winter gloom is lifted like a shroud, beneath which lies warmth and color!!! People smile again. They have a renewed bounce in their stride. Maybe a new romance blooms like a rose, pink and soft!! We begin unburdening ourselves of the oppressive layers of clothing. Like caterpillars, we have been in our fabric cocoons!! Like butterflies, the time has come to burst forth from our chrysalis!!! Take flight, everyone!! See your world from a new perspective!! Love nature and never stop loving her!! Try to see the true gifts she bestows on us, every second of every day!! Observe the overwhelming beauty of the world around you!!! Realize how lucky we are to have this everchanging drama of life enveloping us!! We are being allowed to co-star in this production!!! Keep loving, keep living and a very happy Easter to all of you!!!! Love, Cathy and Bill xoxoxoxoxoxox

I am so happy to be home!!! I had an awful night at work!!! The night started great, though. We started a new dart season at the "Scoreboard" and won 12 games out of 13!! We have to be in first place but have 13 weeks to go!!! Well, Cathy and I went to work after darts for, what I always hope, would be a typical boring night. This was not to be, unfortunatly. At about 11:45PM I received a call on my radio of a "Code Yellow", a medical emergency! Called my security guard at the lobby desk to get some background on the call before picking up my EMT (I like knowing what we are getting ourselves into)!! Terri, that's my lobby desk person, told me that the woman who answered the phone said that she tried to wake her husband, but could not rouse him!!! I assumed the worst and told my EMT to bring the defibrillator!! We arrived within 4 mins and stopped at the lobby desk to pick up the residents medical sheets and any DNR and living will. DNR, for those of you that may not know, is a "Do Not Resucitate" order. We went up to the apartment and the wife said they were in the bedroom. As soon as we walked in, I knew that he had expired. The gentlemans body was already showing lividity (when your heart stops pumping, your blood stops circulating and falls to the part of your body that is lowest, leaving a distinct line, purple at the bottom and very pale on top). Lividity takes abut 10 to 15 minutes to begin, so we knew his heart had stopped over 15 minutes prior, because it was so pronounced. Patrick, that's my EMT, checked the resident for vitals while I called 911. When he received no pulse, he readied the defibrillator. I brought the wife into another room (I just don't feel anyone should see that being done to a loved one). Paramedics arrived and our job was pretty much over. They confirmed that the resident had expired and called for the sherrif's department. In cases where anyone dies at home, and is not terminal, the sherrif has to get in touch with a doctor to sign off on a death certificate or the coroner must be called in to perform an autopsy. Well, we left shortly after and I had piles of paperwork to fill and file. I had to call the administrator to inform him. I guess we were in the apartment for close to one and one quarter hour. This was early in the shift so I had a whole lot of shift to go. What a bummer. It bothered me for the rest of the evening. I love my job, but sometimes it SUCKS!!! Last night was one of the sucky ones!! Breakfast consists of a beer and a bourbon (very healthy...LOL)!! I just hope tonight is a bit more upbeat!!! Well, bye for now, Bill