A Stroke of Humour

The following is an article published in the September/October issue of Synergy, a bi-monthly periodical from Nanaimo, BC, "dedicated to body, mind & spirit".

Writing here, I listen to the fountain gurgling beyond my window. I turn to look outside as the undersides of the Stewartia leaves reflect the shimmer of flowing water. A fat robin does his post bathing ritual dance to dry off sufficiently to fly. Soaked to the skin, he is not a pretty sight. Norm, my husband, chuckles at the drenched bird. His laughter is infectious and I also giggle at the spectacle.
Norm is a remarkable man. He has a sense of humour that has been his saving grace. A vibrant man, bookkeeper, jogger, photographer, Norm had a devastating fall that left him paralyzed on the right side. After his accident, he lost his speech, his ability to recognize letters and numbers and with a condition called post-traumatic epilepsy. Naturally, Norm went through a period of mourning after such an enormous loss but eventually acceptance and a love of life started him on the road to stroke recovery.
Learning to speak clearly was first on the agenda. Sometimes sentences came out garbled. Eventually, however, Norm’s speech improved. He then needed to tackle re-learning to walk, dress himself, eat and finally to read. Words on a page appeared to be jumbled. He could not keep track of the rows of text. “They are running into each other. I don’t understand how little kids learn this so easily.” Numbers were even more difficult. Dialing his home phone number was an insurmountable obstacle. But, again, with time and stubborn perseverance Norm began to be, as he says of himself, “Normal Norm”.
Housebound after the accident, he could no longer jog. Being “single handed” he could no longer manipulate the camera. The computer grew to be his best friend until he became so proficient that he is a now a published writer.
He started by writing out his favourite shaggy dog stories. He had been notorious for the telling of these lengthy groaners. Now his goal was to get good at it again. So he practiced diligently. Writing, reading, memorizing.
At his first birthday party after the injury, he felt sufficiently well-rehearsed to try one of his stories on the guests. Despite last minute cold feet, he embarked on the following tale. (This is the shortened version. Be grateful.)
A cougar chewed one of Roy Rogers’ new Birthday boots and removed the other one altogether from the porch. Angry, Roy was determined to shoot the culprit. He was gone all day. Dale was beginning to worry about him when she saw him approaching, cougar slung across the horse’s rump. She called out “’Scuse me Roy, is that the cat that ate your new boots?”
That was, supposedly, the punch line. Nobody laughed. At first, neither did Norm but as the realization of his error dawned on him, he nearly fell from his wheelchair in paroxysms of laughter. Puzzled looks flew around the group. Some laughed, out of politeness, others simply shrugged their shoulders. When Norm finally regained composure he was able to deliver the punch line as intended.

“Pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoe?” (A pun on, “Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga ChooChoo?”)

Since his debut, Norm has laughed long and hard at many mixed words. He has also told lots of jokes well to appreciative audiences. In my considered opinion and that of Norm’s friends, his recovery has been largely due to his willingness to persevere and the ability to laugh, not only at the shaggy dog stories that he loves so much but also at himself.

Márta O’Reilly is a Medical Intuitive, Reiki Master/Teacher and Counsellor. Her practice is in North Nanaimo’s Wellspring Healing. She is fortunate to be married to Norm Johnson with whom she shares much laughter. Márta welcomes new clients for Intuitive body scans, Reiki healing as well as Reiki classes. Visit Márta’s Website at http://wellspringhealing.net
Phone: 619-9074 or e-mail: marta@wellspringhealing.net