An Admirable Stroke Patient

I admire my patient “Ace” Akers very much for his determination and perseverance since he has had his stroke. “Ace”, as his friends call him, was and is an avid golfer. Unfortunately, 2 years ago he had a stroke, which paralyzed his left side. Since then he has undergone carotid endarterectomies, to clean out the cholesterol plaque obstructions in the major arteries of his neck; he has survived a subdural hematoma, related to the blood thinners he was on to prevent another stroke; and he has had to retire from work. All at the young age of 60.

Regardless of all these obstacles, he has drastically changed his lifestyle and his eating habits and has worked very hard to maintain and even improve his health. He is taking his medicine faithfully, so that, along with his diet, he has been able to normalize his cholesterol and lipids. Yet, the most amazing thing he has done has been to purchase and then faithfully work out on his Bowflex fitness machine. By doing this he has been able to strengthen the stroke-affected left side of his body so that he can continue to play golf. He’s not down to his previous handicap, but what counts is the effort he is making to improve himself and his health.