Post-Stroke Depression

"Son, can you pass me my glass next to the candle?"

I know very well what happened with my dad's whole conversion from guardian father to drunk stresser. My dad used to be star quarterback for the Tar Heels when he was in college. When I was 13...4 years ago...my dad was driving me in his Ford hatchback down this back country road and had a severe case of a stroke and the car flew into a fence post. All I really remember, there was this man shepherding his sheep in the field nearby. I ran up to him and scared his sheep away, but of course he knew whatever it was deserved the attention. I remember wishing my father would die right there and this man would take his spot. Someone would actually attend my soccer games.

I don't really remember much else. On the tube, Doug Ross always looks at his patient and treats it like it's something that happened to his father. "Strokes cause a rapid loss of brain cells and most people who suffer from stroke often struggle with post stroke depression. My dad's inability to function like a normal human being left him with a seemingly eternal symptom of post stroke depression, rather than a temporal symptom."

"Yeah dad, here you go."

Of course he won't be able to put the glass back where it was, because its contents could intoxicate a blue whale.

I always think, there isn't much dialogue between the two of us. I always think, he'd probably be able to break my back if his wasn't already broken.