Me as a 'Sister Wife'!

When all of us "stroke wives" were in the depths of grief, problem solving, mastering the juggling act of so many roles, I joked that what we each really needed was a "sister wife". I'm sure the idea came from my adoration, commitment, and obsession with HBO's "Big Love" series.

We each needed someone who loved our stroke-survivor husband as much as we did, was willing to stay "knee-deep" in the trenches of this post-stroke life, and be a support system, shoulder to cry on, and another adult brain in-the-room to help make decisions for us stroke-wives.

I received this mug in the mail today from one of my fellow stroke-wives... It's like a trophy or an award!

So... "I'd like to thank the academy".... of aphasia, apraxia, epilepsy, neurology, ... To all of 'the therapies'.... you know who you are ;-) ...

And to my stroke wife sisters... *tear* ... I don't know where I would be without you, both mentally and physically, if I had not had you to share AND CONTINUE TO SHARE this unique, forever altering journey.

LOVE YOU 'sisters'!

Foreclosure/Auction: 18339 Dayton Pl N

Hello there, wonderful neighbors:
 
This is Julie Bacon at 18339 Dayton Pl N.  Some of you know us and our story: my husband, Wayne, had a stroke on April 1, 2008 when Morgan, our daughter was only 3 weeks old.  We'd only lived in the neighborhood for 9 or 10 months, and although we hadn't met any of you, many of you stepped forward and were extremely supportive and helped us tremendously during the past 3 difficult years.  You cleaned up our yard, weeded our garden, took our trash bins in and out, brought us dinner, had us over for dinner, babysat my daughter, responded to my multiple desperate concerns about where Wayne was because he wasn't answering the phone while I was 'stuck' at work downtown.  You took care of our beautiful (and now deceased) golden retriever Tucker, you came over and checked that we were okay every time an ambulance showed up... THANK YOU!!!
 
I truly believe I could not have come out of the past three years as "intact" as I am if I had not had your support and help.  And with that, I am sad to say that our attempts at keeping the house and staying in the neighborhood have not been successful.  The loan modification was approved by the investor on Monday but was denied Wednesday by the Closing Dept. based on a few factors (which to me feels like they were just listing a few reasons for them to not push this through the last bit of red-tape).
 
The house is set to be auctioned on March 11th.  I think I am finally going to "let go" and move onto the next part of our journey. I am looking into a few last options, but really it's to minimize the effect on my credit than to attempt to "save the house".
 
I wanted to let you know this and give you a heads-up that this will be occurring.  Maybe someone wants some investment property in the neighborhood... I don't know--it just felt right to contact everyone and let you know, as well as extend our deepest gratitude for the friendships, support, and assistance you have given us these very difficult 3 years.
 
Although we will miss this neighborhood terribly, I have my head high, my eyes looking forward, and am excited to see where we'll rent a house in the next month and see what else the future holds for us... we can only move forward. :)
 
Thank you again.

Sincerely,
Julie Bacon
 
www.thebaconfamilyfund.org
TheBaconFamilyFund.Blogspot.com
julieannbacon@hotmail.com