Most people are familiar with the old saying "Any day above ground is a good day." Well, it means a lot more to a person who has been lying on an emergency room bed, unable to do much more than slur out a couple of words and thinking that their number could really be up-and on the morning of February 25th of this year, that's exactly where I was. After an MRI, a fleet of doctors came up to where they had stashed my friend Jeff and I on the fourth floor to tell me that I had suffered a stroke. It turned out my blood pressure was high, and this was the result of thinking I didn't need to get an annual check-up. Had I been going to see a doctor on a regular basis, they would have caught it long before it came to spending quality time in the ER.
After the initial diagnosis it was time to pump me full of drugs and then bring another fleet of doctors to run all kinds of tests. It didn't take them long to figure out that the stroke had damaged my Vagus nerve, which controls all of the muscles in my throat that allowed me to swallow. My muscle control on my right side as well as my balance were also affected. So I spent four days at St. Joseph's Hospital before being moved to Tustin Rehab Hospital, where I spent another 17 days relearning how to do things like shower, dress, walk, and talk normally. The only things they didn't get straightened out were my swallow and my balance. In fact, I still go back to Tustin Rehab a couple times a week for outpatient therapy.
The entire time I was in the hospital, the crew here, including Ernie Lopez, Eric Ellis, Jordan Mastagni, Taryn Funcheon, Suz Baldwin, Noel Wamboldt, Alex Hearn, and Toph Bocchiaro. And while they were working overtime putting a bunch of magazines together, there were a bunch of people on the outside working on some eBay auctions to help offset my mounting medical bills. Jason from Johnson's Garage, Curt Lout from Studio 9000, and Jeff from Devious Customs worked tirelessly with Keith Ball from Bikernet.com to put together auctions of parts donated by Sucker Punch Sallys, Leroy-Thompson Choppers, Gard Hollinger from LA County Chop Rods, Legend Air Suspension, Young Choppers, and Stevenson's Cycles. And special thanks to Cycle Source Magazine's Christopher "Wildman" Callen, Rise Above Consulting LLC, Biltwell, Jose from Caribbean Custom Cycles, Chopsmiths, and Goodson Aircleaners for everything they did to help.