User:Montyshulberg

Monty Shulberg has achieved almost the impossible by 'believing in your self' and completely changing his life.

He made his living with ears, as a consultant hearing aid audiologist, and had a happy career treating children and adults from all over the world.

At 68 he was at the top of his profession, and looking forward to work every day.

But in 1997, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor that required surgery. The tumor was removed, but with significant post-operative consequences such as facial palsy, balance, difficulty eating, loss of manual dexterity and lack of spatial awareness. “Life as I knew it was finished,” he said.

For the next four years, Monty battled to recover and estimates he got back 90% of what had been lost, but in March 2001, he felt an odd tingling in his hand and foot, and when he stood up, he collapsed... It was a stroke, and it changed everything.

“I was shattered,” he said. “I just couldn’t believe that after nearly four years of slow recovery, I was back where I started.” The stroke had affected his right side and brought back balance problems and facial palsy.

He was deeply depressed. “I felt helpless, hopeless and frustrated because there was so much more I still wanted to do with my lifeand ‘Why me?’ became the question of the hour"

In the midst of this moping, I was challenged by my wife to ‘Do something, anything, take up drawing, but don’t just sit there" she said and that’s how his new life began.

Visiting libraries he checked out many books on art and then went home and traced pictures, and started drawing on his own which was the 'start' of self-motivation.

He told me “One day I was trying to think of a subject to paint, when anger and frustration welled up in me, and I began to strike out violently on canvas. I slashed it in vivid colors and caught myself saying again and again, ‘Why me? Why me?’

“Of course, no one else can tell you why and I realized that life isn’t fair” he said. “There’s no one to complain to... and a better question would have been,‘Why not me?’ after all, I’m no different to anyone else".

Calming down as he painted, he found himself asking if there was were something to learn from the stroke.

“I started searching my mind as I painted – until I realized that painting was a ‘gift’, it had been given to me to help release the feelings that were pent up inside"

The stroke and my recovery showed me that life goes on albeit differently, with limitations but you CAN do things you never dreamed possible.”

During this internal conversation, Monty continued to paint and his frenetic brush strokes calmed.

He began to see signs of a painting. He slowly finished the work, which he titled “The Burning Forest.”... “At the end, I was exhausted and emotionally drained, but I was also at peace with myself.

I realized that while I would never be the same person as before, it was possible that I could now reveal another facet of my personality, and be a person again.”

Since “The Burning Forest,” Monty has discovered an artist living inside the audiologist. He is an artist now, using a computer screen as a canvas, a mouse as a brush and software as his paints. He has exhibitied in galleries and one of his images  “Orchidii Monti” was selected for the cover of a book of contemporary poetry introduced by (the then) poet laureate.

“This has been an exciting time for me,” he said, “going from the depths of despair to joyful elation, but I eventually did I discover there is an answer to the question ‘Why me,."

It lies deep within yourself, and you have to search it out. You can stay as you are, accepting what has happened to you, or you can fight to live another day. After all, you have only got yourself to battle. Go ahead, give it a go!