About

In December of 1997 my husband, Ronnie, suffered a massive stroke which impacts his mobility and communication. We are fortunate that his recovery allows him to stay at home during the day unattended, which allows me to direct Coordinated School Health for our local school system.

Ronnie and I have three beautiful children, Ronnie’s two daughters and my son along with their significant others. When not providing care for Ronnie or my parents, I love to write fiction for children and adults. In addition to this blog, my current projects include self-publishing a children’s book and revising my novel.

Whether you provide care on a professional level, provide care for family members, or you just want to better understand folks with physical or cognitive challenges, it’s my hope that this blog provides you with truthful and relevant content that aides you in caring for others.

Thanks for caring!

Connie Foster

http://www.fieldofdebt.com Jen McDonough

Connie,
Your story and blog are going to inspire so many people. What a gift you will be giving so many people with your wisdom, kindness, and willingness to share. I can’t imagine what it must be like, however, I know you will be a blessing to not only people that have limitations, but all those surrounding them.
Many blessings to you are your family!
Live Beyond Awesome!
Jen
- Connie Foster
  
  Jen,
  Thanks so much for visiting this blog and for your encouragement. I admire all you have accomplished and how you use “speed of implementation” to get things started and make things happen.
  Connie
Anonymous

Hi just found your site. My mother suffered a stroke last May & still is not recovering well. Very little mobility, having bladder problems, major, major depression. Our family doesn’t know what to do.
- Anonymous
  
  Suzy – I so sorry to hear about your mother. Are you getting help for her depression? You might be interested in the National Stroke Association’s new Careliving Community at http://careliving.stroke.org/
Anonymous

Connie, I found your blog yesterday and appreciate all of your insight. My husband’s stroke was 18 months ago and I have felt utterly lost almost every day since it happened. But finding your blog and the Careliving site have been blessings. I finally understand that there are people who share our story and our journey. Please keep sharing! And I look forward to seeing your children’s book and novel some day!
- Anonymous
  
  Deb – Thanks for visiting our blog and thanks for your kind comments. Connecting with folks on the Careliving site has been the stroke support group we never really had. We tried a group during that first year post stroke but the meetings were an hours drive — we just couldn’t make it happen. But your right — the Careliving site is a blessing.
  
  How has your husband progressed with his recovery?
  - Anonymous
    
    Thanks, Connie. We have our good days and our not-so-good days. He has made progress on some things. But at times it seems like we take 1 step forward and 5 steps back. Initially he was very motivated when it came to his therapy, but after 6 months and a few health issues mixed in, he lost his desire to try. So we’ve struggled on the therapy front. He did not like outpatient therapy at all. We tried more at-home therapy again this year, but he we could only get PT at home and he didn’t really connect with the therapist. Add his depression to all of it and it makes it difficult right now. I am hoping he finds his motivation again (and soon). When we were going to outpatient therapy, I felt they were making some progress with his arm because of electronic stimulation. But now I am just focusing on doing range of motion exercises when he will participate with me. His overall mobility is hampered by his amputation on his right leg, as well. His speech seems to be getting a little better as time goes on and as he works on using his words. My husband is bilingual (his native Swedish and English) and thankfully he still has both languages. As I said, we’ve dealt with ongoing health issues, which don’t help his overall recovery. But I continue to pray that we’ll get a break and things will start moving in the right direction soon. Despite all, I know we are blessed because he has come lightyears from what the doctors told me to expect when he had the stroke. Thanks again for your blog! It helps so much to know there are other folks who understand the challenges we deal with. The one thing I really struggle with is getting people to understand that our lives have changed and that we are dealing with those changes the best way we can. His illness has affected us in many ways, but what it hasn’t changed is that we are still us. He is my husband and I love him dearly.
    - Anonymous
      
      Debbie – As hard as it is do to, I hope you are taking steps to protect yourself from your husband’s depression. Take care of you – physically, mentally, and emotionally – and don’t waste a sliver of guilt over doing so.
      
      I hope you stay in touch!