[Jeff Higgins]

So, I have this good friend - let's call him "Bob" (because that's his name...). Bob suffered a massive stroke last Thanksgiving at his home in Coulee City, WA. Bob lives alone. He laid on his kitchen floor for three days before he was found. Bob was pretty messed up...

He spent three months in the hospital in Spokane, WA, and in its patient rehab center. He left in a wheelchair, unable to walk, with his left side completely unresponsive. He was what they call "left side inattentive". His adult daughter took him home with her to Kentucky, where it looked like he was going to stay.

Well, Bob doesn't really get along with anybody. He is by far the most stubborn bastard I have ever met. Pretty darn cranky, judgmental, and intolerant. Especially intolerant of anyone even trying to tell him what to do. A large part of why he lives alone...

So, he's been making progress. He can kind of "walk", although he has already fallen and broken his arm once. He kind of shuffles and limps, but he more or less gets around. His left arm still just hangs there. He is still very much "left side inattentive".

He has not been getting along with his daughter, son in law, grand kids, doctors, nurses, or anyone else. Surprise surprise - it's because they are all "trying to tell him what to do". That might have something to do with their concern for him, but he doesn't see it that way.

I just got a call from Bob this morning. He is back in Coulee City. The stubborn bastard bought a new Chevy pickup on-line from a dealer in Dayton, Ohio. He talked the salesman into coming to his daughter's home to pick him up so he could pick up the pickup. He got a ride to the dealer, with no more than the clothes on his back, hopped in his new truck - and drove for three days back to Coulee City. Never said a word to his daughter until he got there and called her.

I don't know what to say. I'm completely flabbergasted. Impressed, in a way, but my God - Bob has no business driving, living on his own, or any of this. I suspect it's not over. Unless, of course, his long suffering daughter has finally had enough. We'll see. What a hell of a situation.