Tom Gordon had gone to the doctor for a routine colonoscopy and gastrointestinal scan on Dec.

Friday, April 12, 2002

Tom Gordon had gone to the doctor for a routine colonoscopy and gastrointestinal scan on Dec. 21. Gordon went under and when he came to, his whole right side was numb. But he came out of it, except for some numbness in his hand.

&uot;They thought he had a pinched nerve in his hand,&uot; his wife, Cindy, said.

&uot;Then an hour after I was released, I got the big one,&uot; Gordon, 55, recalled of his stroke.

He’d had some warning signs of &uot;the big one,&uot; including dizzy spells and migraine headaches for years.

It was the weekend, and the Gordons decided to go right to Rochester’s Mayo Clinic.

&uot;They have a whole medical team just for head injuries,&uot; Gordon said.

Doctors told him that on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most severe, his stroke had been an eight or nine.

&uot;When you have a stroke of eight or nine, you go into a nursing home,&uot; he said.

Indeed, Gordon couldn’t even talk at first, much less bend his arm, and spent one week in the stroke unit in Rochester, then a month in the rehab unit there.

He received intensive therapy twice a day. &uot;That was really hard work,&uot; he recalled.

Gordon was sent home at the end of January, and continues to receive both physical and occupational therapy at HealthReach.

&uot;I’m come quite a ways since then,&uot; Gordon said. &uot;My leg is 20 percent of what it would have been if I hadn’t had a stroke.&uot; He wears a brace to walk.

He admits he does not know what he would have done without the help of his therapists, and in the beginning he literally took only baby steps, since no one knew how much use of his right side he’d be regaining.

&uot;At first, they started helping me with balance,&uot; he said. &uot;They were training me to transfer myself from a wheelchair to a bed, make me as independent as possible.&uot;

During a recent visit to his Rochester doctor, the nurse who had been on hand when he was admitted was there. She was visiting with Cindy about her husband. &uot;He can talk now,&uot; Cindy said to the nurse. &uot;She couldn’t believe it.&uot;

He is determined to work as hard as he can to continue to regain strength in his right side.

&uot;Attitude and discipline have everything to do with it,&uot; Cindy said.

Gordon has lifted weights for 42 years. He still goes to the Albert Lea Family Y and walks laps (he can do 14 laps without his cane) and continues to lift, although with his right arm, lifting one or two pounds is like lifting 200 for him, he said. &uot;It never gets any easier. I just use more weight.

&uot;When I do leg presses, it’s coming a lot better,&uot; Gordon said. &uot;I think working out is really helping too.&uot;

He said his goal is to continue to try to lift weights as he did before the stroke.

&uot;People don’t understand it’s a part of me,&uot; Gordon said.

Gordon is self-employed and owns Motorcycle Specialties, but because he is right-handed and works with his hands, he has been unable to return to work. He has been supervising someone interested in learning the work he does on cylinder heads for Harley Davidson, but can only do that about 2 1/2 hours a day. He’s happy to be doing that, he said.

&uot;Hopefully, a year down the road, I’ll be back to 80 percent of what I was, and then I can take over again,&uot; Gordon said. &uot;I can’t just sit around.&uot;

Motorcycle drag racing has also been important to Gordon for the last 15 years, and knows he won’t be racing this year. &uot;I’m hunting for somebody to put on my bike, somebody who will listen to what I tell them,&uot; he said. &uot;We could probably set a record with it (his motorcycle) if I find somebody light.&uot;

Gordon’s friends are organizing a benefit for him from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the Albert Lea Moose Club. A pancake breakfast, including pancakes, eggs, sausages, coffee and juice will be served for a freewill donation. Aid Association for Lutherans Branches 6334 and 1965 will provide matching funds. A bake sale will also be held.

In addition, an auction of donated items will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Medical trust account donations may be sent in care of the Tom Gordon Benefit at Security Bank, 437 Bridge Ave., Albert Lea.