Oct 10 2022 I got a call from James that was scattered words and phrases but what I could comprehend was "help me".

That morning we had both been off of work and had plans to pack more of our stuff for the move and work on the blog we wanted to start. He had taken some time to go eat breakfast with a friend and I was about to have lunch with one of my daughters but as I started to leave I had this huge feeling that I shouldn't go. Something was about to happen. James told me not to worry and so I went to my car. I sat in my car for about 10 minutes trying to understand my feelings. He texted me to get going and that God could handle anything, not to worry I started the car and pulled out. Right before I got on the freeway I got that call for help from him and I turned back around and got home

He was standing outside on the phone with his daughter but he couldn't say much except that 911 was on the way I got him to come inside and sit down. What happened next is a bit of a blur for me which plays back in my head like flashback snips from a movie. They took him to a stroke unit and I signed papers for an experimental study to thicken the blood from the brain bleed he was having

During the next weeks in the hospital there were tests and scans and constant doctor visits as we spent our days together with him relearning to walk talk. brush his teeth and eat. One night it all became too much and I laid in the little hospital couch/bed and cried. I woke up to James standing over me and holding my hand. I still don't know how he got out of bed and got to me but he did. We were in this together.

About two weeks later a diagnosis that made the room spin came back... cerebral
amyloid angiopathy (CAA). He had had 20 to 30 minor strokes in the past two years and now this major one. More strokes would keep occurring, they would lead to early onset dementia and finally death. More over, there was nothing they could do to prevent them.

What does someone do with that information? Well most people I know would give up and let depression sink in but not James. Even when we were in the hospital he praised God for saving him. He also still wanted to travel. Before he could even talk much he could write the dates down of our planned vacations to ask the doctor if he would still be able to go.

So we are traveling... with CAA and living life to the fullest by accepting and giving grace.