Dean Garrison, the owner of the popular blog, The D.C. Clothesline, is a good friend of Fellowship of the Minds. I so admire him for his writing and, of course, his political conservatism and love-of-country.
A former factory worker who lost his job in the Great Recession, Dean works very, very hard to support his wife and three kids with the ad revenue generated from his blog. We had exchanged emails, confiding to each other that we both find ourselves falling asleep at our respective computers, from fatigue.
I hadn’t heard from him for a while, but didn’t think much of it, attributing his silence to his workload. Then I received an email from him out of the blue, informing me that he had had a stroke.
An MRI discovered that he’s had “multiple past strokes,” albeit “minor.” He says he’s now on meds and living normally, but he tires more easily and has less endurance than before. So he has reduced his blogging, from 10-12 hours a day to 6.
Dean is only in his mid-40s. I need not point out that stroke is a disease that is much more common in older people — those 65 and older; about 10-15% of strokes happen to those younger than 65. However, strokes seem to be becoming more common among younger people. Experts think the increase may be due to a rise in risk factors such as diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol. Stress, of course, is a factor.
Dean is a good man who very much deserves our prayers.
Please pray for him — for good health, stamina, and strength. You can also help him by visiting his excellent blog, The D.C. Clothesline. Unlike Fellowship of the Minds that (intentionally) eschews ads, Dean depends on the ad revenue that D.C. Clothesline generates. You don’t have to click on the ads; just visiting and reading D.C. Clothesline does the job.
Thank you for your kind hearts and your prayers.
And to Dean:
Please pace yourself and don’t overdo the blogging. I recently, finally learned the hard lesson that I must balance my work on FOTM with other things (like gardening) that provide a respite from work and the ever oppressive, depressing political news — or I would crash and burn. You need to do the same. We need you in the fight! I will pray especially to the ultimate warrior, St. Michael the Archangel, to watch over and protect you.
~Éowyn
