by guest blogger Gary Wilkerson
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Gary before his whole food, plant-based lifestyle change |
In April 2004, I was working in my shop when my left arm went
numb. Someone suggested I go take a nap. Shortly after, I just collapsed. I had
been vegetarian since the mid 90s. I heard a friend calling 9-1-1. The fire
station was across the street. A young helper soon said, "Here they come!
They're here!" I never saw them. I was out. Gone. That is until 2 weeks
later when I awoke in a hospital downtown Fort Worth, Texas with tubes
everywhere. One doctor had written: "Prognosis: POOR" on my record.
The stroke occurred on April 16, 2004, I awoke on April 30;
and on May 10 I was transferred to a horrid nursing home in Arlington, TX.
Fortunately for me, the friend who called 9-1-1 visited me almost every evening
or else I would have never made it. She worked hard to get me accepted by
Veterans Affairs into the Transitional Care Unit, Dallas VAMC. There, the
dietician said I needed dairy to replace the protein if I didn't eat meat. I
agreed. I was still vegetarian at the time, but soon started giving most of it
away to other veterans. I was there nearly two months from Dec 30th
to late February 2005. And what about the nursing home food before that? Well,
unfortunately, I wouldn’t call it food. On most days I was brought meat on a
plate when I requested not to have meat.
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Gary at Canyon Lake, Texas Hill Country |