Story 4.

October 14, 2010

Megan Norenberg

Patrick Lightheart

    

Imagine not being able to perform everyday tasks. No reading, writing, watching television, or even walking through a crowd of people. Would you have the determination to follow through with your dreams?

   Since the age of 20, Patrick Lightheart’s dream has been to go back to school. Recently he has enrolled in Anoka-Ramsey Community College to pursue degrees’ in environmental science and creative writing. This task is not without a challenge.

   Fourteen months ago, Patrick was diagnosed with what doctors thought were a series of mini-strokes. “It kept getting worse,” Patrick said, so he went back to the doctors. Finally, after 14 months, he got his diagnosis.

   Patrick was diagnosed with migraine-associated vestibulopathy. Migraine-associated vestibulopathy is a type of nerve damage in the inner ear. He describes his condition by saying, “The vestibular nerve damage causes one side of my brain to receive the information layered on top of the other side because of a 30 percent deficit due to a sinus infection that migrated into my inner ear causing the damage.”

   This disorder makes it difficult for Patrick to do tasks that used to take him minutes but this has not stopped him. Before he received his textbooks on disc, his wife would read to him four hours every night. “She knew it was my dream to do this and she never faltered,” Patrick said, “for this I will be forever grateful.”

   Other than listening to his textbooks on discs, Patrick uses a system called Dragon. Dragon is a natural speech software that allows him to type. Patrick states, “It’s been over a year since I have been able to type my own thoughts myself. I study from the time I get up to the time I go to bed. It is a relentless journey I am on.”

   Amongst his new condition and being a full-time student, Patrick still finds the time to be dedicated family man. He makes his kids lunch, gets them to school, studies all day, and still has dinner done by the time his wife gets home from work. Patrick doesn’t hang out with the boys, drink, or even watch sports on a Sunday afternoon. “My family is much more fun”, Patrick says.

   Whether he is studying, taking care of his family, or being a well-intentioned ass as his son would say, Patrick will keep fighting day to day to accomplish his dream.

                                                          XXX