[ADXA] major life change, at least for awhile

[Nick Kennedy]

I sure hope she can make a full recovery.

Along with Dennis, Melissa did a lot of good work in ARVARF back in the
day.  Maybe even serving as an officer although I can’t trust my memory.

If she does try therapeutic Morse, I’m ready to QRS with the J-37 I picked
up in Joplin last month and hand out a Benton County QSO.

73

Nick, WA5BDU

On Tue, Aug 26, 2025 at 4:57 PM Dennis Schaefer <dennisw5rz at gmail.com>
wrote:

> My wife, Melissa (N5HX) had a stroke on August 1.  She has been through
> ER, ICU, hospital, and rehab and has been home for about a week.  I haven’t
> had much experience with strokes because everyone on my side of the family
> succumbed to something else.  I’m learning way more than I ever wanted to
> know.
>
> We got her to the ER right away and she had the clot -busting drug within
> 1.5 hours.  I understand there are some downsides to this, but it was what
> the hospital had to offer on an expedited basis.
>
> She suffers from aphasia, which means you know what you want to say, but
> your mouth won’t say it.  It has gotten better and she will be in
> outpatient speech therapy for some time.  The doctors say she should regain
> most or all of her speech.  I hope they’re right but it will be a long
> process.  She does puzzles (Sudoku and jumbles) and can crochet and get
> dressed and do many things independently.  She follows the plot in a murder
> mystery TV show and keeps up with  the Texas Rangers lineup better than I
> do.  Decision-making and understanding processes need some work, though.
>
> The therapists emphasized variations in communication exercises, so I’m
> sure you can guess what I thought of.  It could involve dits and dahs.  She
> is a 13 WPM Extra but it has been decades since she actually used CW.  It’s
> something to have a little fun with, anyway.
>
> I’m aware I’m not the only member with caretaking duties.  This increases
> my respect for them.   Maybe 6 months from now, I’ll be back to meetings
> and she will be back to near normal activities.  That’s the goal, anyway.
> 73,
> Dennis/RZ
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