Thread by @SportsbkConsig

Story time from the book:

You all know the importance of the number 3 when you make a football bet.

You wanna lay 2.5 or you wanna take 3.5. We have all heard 3 is a key number.

Today is officially 3 months for me to the day since I had a stroke that changed my life..

forever..

What you hear, what you know, and even more what you don’t know about strokes isn’t good in most cases..

My Nonny D’s third husband suffered a stroke when I was 7 or 8 years old..

His name was John and he had the heartiest laugh and treated my grandma like a..

princess..I thought he was the coolest guy ever because he would always bring us donuts with jimmies on them when we were at Nonny’s apartment..

For you non Pittsburgh people, Jimmies are Sprinkles. They can be chocolate, vanilla or rainbow. And they are very popular on donuts..

Anyhow, John would tell stories and make my Nonny D laugh, which made us all laugh..and those donuts were so good I can still smell them 40 years later..

The other thing I can smell is the Pall Malls that John used to smoke by the carton..

I hate the smoke to this day, and..

it wreaks havoc on me, especially my eyes. I never smoked thanks to John and those Pall Malls.

I remember the day John had the stroke. Nonny told Mama Consig and they were sad. I was scared. What did having a stroke mean?

Well, I found out when I went over to Nonny’s house..

and saw John.

He looked the same, but he was quiet. Could I catch a stroke if I hugged him or shook his hand? I had no idea..

Nonny D was a nurse in her working life. She was an amazing person and I think of her often. The lessons she would say, the stories she told, the..

way she would yell at us in her Italian accent while she babysat us, or the way she taught us to play the card game “7 and a half”..

It was like blackjack..get 7.5 and win, bust and lose..bring your piggy banks down and play..

When you lost, she kept the money..there was..

No giving it back..you learned to lose, you learned to risk and like my baby bro Doug, you learned you didn’t like to lose money to anybody, EVER..

Anyhow, Nonny said “go say hi to John. It’s ok.”

He was sitting at the table and looking at me. I walked over slowly..

Standing right next to him, I said “Hi John.”

He looked right back at me. But nothing came out.

You see, John couldn’t talk. He couldn’t smile. He couldn’t move his right arm. I didn’t know any of this until Nonny told me at that moment.

“David, shake his hand left handed”

But I don’t know how to do that, Nonny.

“Neither does he. So learn together.”

It took a couple tries, but soon we looked like two guys celebrating a three run HR.

I was 7 and I was the teacher, just like I was for my siblings. Only this was John. Man, is this for real?

This was one of my first “grown up” memories..

John never spoke again. Never drove again. Never used his right arm again. He still smoked those damn Pall Malls though, albeit in the garage and away from Nonny and all of us.

I used to look at him and remember thinking..

“I wish you could talk. I miss hearing your stories and your laugh.”

Nonny D took care of John until the day he passed. He was never the same. The stroke took away everything he had. But while he was alive, like Nonny said we “learned together.”

Fast forward to today...

I had a stroke three months ago..

44 years from John’s stroke..I woke up and couldn’t talk..my right side wasn’t working right..

Thanks to some quick action by my 3 daughters and a lifetime of being blessed, lucky and grateful, I hit an all time parlay..

Tonight, I will be..

Recording a podcast exactly 3 months from my stroke..

I’m gonna laugh like John, and I’m gonna “learn together” like Nonny D said..

Three is a key number, and whether you are layin or takin, at least you are in the game..

I have never been happier to see a 3. But this is..

only the beginning..

The parlay paid huge. Doc said I was “eight hours away from real bad”

Today, we ride with the 3.

The podcast drops tomorrow, but the grind never stops.

Everyday, let’s keep “learning together” like Nonny D said.

Thank you all for following..

🍩🍩🍩

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