RoBBing Mind
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About this ebook
The Symptoms! Would you know if you had a dangerous growth in your brain? this author found out and not in a typical fashion.
Chuck Collins
Chuck Collins is a researcher, campaigner, storyteller, and writer based at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. He has written extensively on wealth inequality in previous books like 99 to 1, Wealth and Our Commonwealth (with Bill Gates Sr.), and Economic Apartheid in America as well as in The Nation, The American Prospect, and numerous other magazines and news outlets. Collins grew up in the 1 percent as the great grandson of meatpacker Oscar Mayer, but at age 26 he gave away his inheritance. He has been working to reduce inequality and strengthen communities since 1982 and in the process has cofounded numerous initiatives, including Wealth for the Common Good (now merged with the Patriotic Millionaires), United for a Fair Economy, and Divest-Invest. He is also a leader in the transition movement, and a co-founder of the Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition and the Jamaica Plain Forum, both in the Boston-area community in which he lives.
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RoBBing Mind - Chuck Collins
RoBBing Mind
By
Chuck Collins
Smashwords Edition
Other works
Mystery Novels
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Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is dedicated to the men and women, families, professionals and scientists who work so hard to extend life and ease the suffering of brain cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury and other things that can and do rob a mind.
The majority of the proceeds from the sale of this publication will always go toward aiding their efforts.
Copyright © 2013, by Charles L. Collins
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law This is a work based on actual events and, as such, it is a product of the author’s point of view. Some of the names of characters appearing in these pages are representative of real people, though some have been changed to protect individual privacy, except for those of public figures. Any similarities of characters to real persons, whether living or dead, excepting public figures, is coincidental. Any resemblance of incidents portrayed in this book to actual events, other than those expressed through the author’s personal experience, or public events, is likewise coincidental.
This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters relating to his/her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.
This book is owned by Chuck Collins, Studio D Books and principally edited by Pat Fernberg with help from Lou Lange
Cover Illustration Copyright © 2013 by Chuck Collins
Cover photograph by Lenora Enking
Cover design by Chuck Collins, Studio D Books
Author photograph by James Smith.
For Monika,
I will love you always
You think you’re Iron Man, but you’re not.
~E.C. Al
Collins
Contents
RoBBing Mind – Restless Machine
RoBBing Mind - Introduction
RoBBing Mind
1 - The Beginning
2 - Magnetic Personality
3 - Bringing the Pain
4 - A Study in Contrast
5 - A Fortnight With Mahesh
6 - Heading Home
7 - Fear
8 - A Moment With God
9 - Little Big Books
10- Look for the Best
11 - The Hidden Hand
12 - Spiders, Ol’ Mr. P and the Fear Hammer
13- Inelegant Exits
14 -The World’s Oldest DJ
15 – Love Fest
16 – The Verdict
17 – Labels
18 - From 12 You Get 3
19 – Cancer Stinks
20 – Hope I’m Funny
21 – Terminal Tower
22 – Bird Tree
23 – The Crystal Cave and The Sight
RoBBing Mind - To Be Continued
Acknowledgements and Thanks
About Chuck
RoBBing Mind
Restless Machine
In 2007 a 67 year old man woke in his south Arlington area home (Akron, Ohio). It was a typical Tuesday morning. He was not feeling particularly well and mumbled something about a stomach ache to his wife. He even vomited, a rare occurrence and was feeling flu-like symptoms. But Mr. K was of strong Hungarian stock and it was a workday so preparing for work was his immediate concern.
He ignored the slight blur in his vision, often closing one eye to navigate the usually heavy expressway traffic and continued to attribute the fogginess to poor food choices the night before.
Mr. K, the shift supervisor, arrived at work right on time. He was always on time. But this morning something was not quite right. Mr. K had a far-off look in his eyes and when asked about the day’s jobs he could not find the words to describe the duties on the schedule, neither could he remember any of the men’s names nor what to call coffee or the materials he used every day.
Mr. K’s alarmed coworkers called emergency services. It was quickly discovered that the otherwise healthy man had suffered a massive stoke and was only minutes away from a deadly serious neurological event. But the blockage was slow enough for the brain to continue functioning as it had day in and day out for so many years.
Mr. K’s experience is just one example of the power of the brain and it is not as rare as you might think. He was admitted to Summa Akron City hospital and through extensive treatment and rehabilitation he is now fully recovered in spite of the fact that the stroke affected critical sections of his brain.
Even under extreme stress or massive trauma there seems to be a resiliency, sometimes called a plasticity whereby the brain uses every last possible tool at its disposal to continue doing what is was designed to do: to keep us living, not just alive, but living.
In the annals and lore of law enforcement there are examples of someone with severe brain injury appearing to follow daily routines even as the rest of the body shuts down and death is eminent.
The human brain is a miracle. And that is the approach I will take in sharing these experiences with you. While there are hundreds of thousands of volumes – scholarly and otherwise - written by highly qualified scientists and others on the working of the brain, this is a personal accounting from a very intimate point of view. This is what could happen, the choices one must make, when one is faced with events that rob a mind.
RoBBing Mind
Introduction
How can a good attitude, good genes and good luck help prevent a fate worse than death?
What an audacious statement! What could be a fate worse than death, and how can we possibly control such a harsh reality?
My friend Dr. Terry Gordon can tell you what a fate worse than death is, as can my long-time friend Dr. Daniel Steinberg PhD. It might be robbing a young man, Terry’s son, of all of life’s joys and leaving him imprisoned in a broken body, justifiably bitter and feeling contempt for life although clinging to it as we all might. In his book No Storm Lasts Forever, Terry tells of his journey and the secrets hidden in plain sight for