First 90 Days
Dodging the Darts
I
n July of 2020, I suffered and survived a stroke. I was only 43 years old. I apparently had a tear in one of the arteries in my brain and a blood clot formed. Brain surgery saved my life within three hours of a stranger calling 911 after I fell, paralyzed at a local cafe. That is a story in itself! What ensued was a major depression and the road to Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA). I have a toddler, dog, husband, house, etc. I am very blessed with a big life but was perplexed as to why I survived but still couldn’t stop eating. In October, I was told by my neurologist that the tear in my artery had not improved but had gotten worse. I felt numb, shocked, dumbfounded, and guilty. I was 230 pounds (about 104 kilos) and eating probably 5,000 calories a day of sugar and flour to feel comfort, connection
safety, and to cover up the fear. The doctor’s call, however, scared me straight. I heard a voice say, Go for a walk. So I started going for a walk every day. Then I heard a voice say, Go get Vitamin B shots. I did. I found out my vitamin D levels were low, so I started taking that as well. Then I heard a voice say, Start listening to the FA meetings you know about, and so I did. I clearly remember lying in bed, in the dark, with FA meetings in my ear. For the month of November, I didn’t do anything but walk, take vitamins, and SUSANLORRAINE, CA listen in on strangers saying that there was another way to live. In December 2020, I finally got the courage to call a couple of the people that I heard sharing. I began to wake up out of my depression, sit up, and turn my video on from time to time. I started to pay attention to peo3
