Posts by KARL HOSTETLER

I'm not sure why, but idioms are hard for my brain. Hmm. Well, maybe they work okay in my brain, but there is something happening when I try to express it with written words. Sometimes when I write the words they don’t make sense.   Here is how the dictionary defines “idiom” : A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those…

How can you quiet your spirit in a world of chaos? A) have a stroke, B) figure out something else.  Okay, I realize my stroke didn’t quiet my spirit, but it led me to a crossroads of sorts. It is common to find people who had a stroke in a state of distress, in a state of chaos. That makes sense. I have also met people, like…

It started with a couple of questions. Are you content with your life? Or are you envious of your neighbors' success? That is how our men's bible study began.  We were studying the book of Ecclesiastes. What a weird and amazing book. Solomon wrote it as he was reflecting about his life. It deals with the meaninglessness of life, but through it all, Solomon realized God's meaning,…

My grasp of words is floundering but my love affair with words is still there. If you’ve been following my blog you know I often comment about my struggle with words. Last month I mentioned the problem of verb-noun disassociation. Most everyone knows what a noun is (person, place, or thing). A verb is also well known but a little harder to define. They are action words. …

The word “Come” often makes me stop, right in the middle of a sentence, because it causes me to remember when that word was spoken into my heart. If you're wondering what I'm talking about you can read the story on the homepage of my blog, chairsontheporch.com. The word “come” has become so meaningful for me.   Well, today another word has started to surface. I see it…

Sometimes my ability to converse works, sometimes it doesn't. Last week I was trying to talk to my daughter-in-law about the swimming lessons my grandkids were doing and nothing came out except random words. I realized I was babbling. Granted, watching the grandkids have fun in the pool was a good place to babble, but still, that day talking was so hard. There is an interesting story…

Instead of composing a blog post, I have been working on my book. Here is a little bit of the chapter I've been working on about Aphasia called the Elephant in the room.   ...So here are some things that are happening in my life as I’m dealing with Aphasia. Along with my battle with my language issues there are also some broader issues, things that are not…

Instead of composing a blog post, I have been working on my book. So here is a small snippet of the chapter I've been working on called the Elephant in the room. The elephant in my room is this thing called Aphasia. It came to life during my stroke and it reared up and tried to steal my ability to talk, read, and write.  Jon Hopkins medical…

What does it even mean, to let go of the reins?  Well, I have an answer. It means did you have to let go of the reins. That is all I wanted to say.   As my recovery has progressed I have been thinking about this. And I realize, now, how hard it is for me to really lay down the reins. To just let go.  I had…

Numbers live somewhere on the left side of my brain. Well, that was where they used to live.  I think they likely still live there, but the door is closed. As it stands, the part of my brain where numbers reside is unaccessible. My grasp on words (aphasia) is hard but doable. My fatigue is manageable. In fact, it seems everyday everything gradually improves except for my…