LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The car pulled up, and out popped Susan Sweeney Crum into the crowded lunch-hour parking lot of Kern’s Korner in the Highlands.
"All right," she said, smiling. "I've delivered him."
Up behind her walked Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Crum in a red-and-grey plaid shirt, smiling and happy to be out, showing few if any effects from the stroke he suffered May 17, which left him unable to speak or even eat for a while before his recovery commenced.
That morning, Crum woke up and couldn’t speak. His wife, alert to stroke concerns after he suffered one in Alaska in 2017, got him to the hospital.
This stroke was a bit more serious than that one. Crum's right side was affected, as was his ability to swallow. After a few days on intravenous liquids, doctors put in a feeding tube. In all, he wouldn’t get to eat or drink on his own for a week. It was a worrisome time, but Crum has made a pretty amazing recovery in the five weeks since.
Sitting across a patio table for WDRB's Elizabeth Woolsey, Crum showed hardly any effects from the stroke. His speech was clear and audible.
IMAGES | Denny Crum talks with WDRB about his stroke and recovery
Denny Crum speaks with WDRB's Elizabeth Woolsey on June 21, 2019, at Kern's Korner in the Highlands.Â
"I'm actually feeling probably better than they think I am, only because I honestly can tell I've made a lot of progress," Crum said. "The two things that I guess are probably right now, my lungs and my right hand doesn't – it's crazy, because I can pick up something with it and hold it fine, and as long as I'm looking at it or using it, it's good. As soon as I reach over and do something else, it falls. I’ve got a strong hand, but for some reason I'm working on those two things."
Strokes often affect the swallowing mechanism. Doctors worry that liquid will get into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia. So Crum thickens his liquids at home, but he has no problems eating otherwise. At Kerns, he got his usual: a cheeseburger and a bowl of chili.
Crum was in the hospital for seven days before the feeding tube was removed and he was sent to Frazier Rehab for a stint of rehabilitation therapies that was to extend at least 10 days.
He only spent three there, before insisting on continuing his therapies at home.
"I do speech therapy, physical therapy," Crum said. "They told me, they had this, other therapy, it's called occupational therapy. I told them, 'I'm not looking for no job.' . . . Three days I was there I made up my mind that I could do the same thing at home that I was doing there – and I love being at home. . . . I'm out feeding my deer every day, my turkeys, and just enjoy being at home with my dogs and of course with Susan. It's really been a kind of a restful thing. I can do about anything that I did before."
It's a pretty remarkable thing to listen to Crum, see the excitement he has over a simple trip to Kern's and later to the home of some friends to play cards – gin, to be specific. The hand-eye coordination and mental process involved in that, by the way, also is good therapy. And he has a system worked out with Susan. She gets 10 percent of his winnings.
Crum can laugh about it all now, but he acknowledges it was difficult, and uncertain, for a time.
"I didn't really, I didn't know I had a stroke," he said. "My wife knew I had a problem because I couldn’t talk to her. I tried to talk that morning, but I couldn’t, so she made the decision to take me to the hospital. . . . I had no idea that I'd ever be sitting in a hospital 7 days without any food or drink. It never occurred to me that I'd have to go through something like that. So when you do, it's a surprise. And it’s not any fun. My kids and family and friends, somebody was there with me all the time, and yet I still couldn't do the things they wanted me to."
He still has some limitations. He can't drive. He's still doing a lot of therapies at home. But otherwise, he said he's back to normal – "or whatever that is when you’re 82."
"I do feel that my overall strength in body has come back," he said. "And I've always felt like I was strong enough to handle most situations."
He has a mountain of supportive cards and letters. More than he could ever get to, yet he's grateful and appreciative of everyone who reached out to offer prayers or kind words.
"If I had to answer all the cards that came to me, I could never do it," Crum said. "It would take me months. I've got a whole stack full of them, and I relish every one. Nobody told them they had to write me or call me, they just did. It’s been very uplifting to me just to have their support. I’ve always felt a strong relationship with the fans here, and I’ve always been grateful. Who knows how much longer I’m going to live, but I mean, I’m doing good."
As you get older, you get more reflective. And often, those gestures you receive from others mean more. At least, that’s been the case with Crum.
"I just want to thank everyone for their cards and wishes," Crum said. "It means more to me now than it did before."
Crum said he’s ready to be back in his seats in the KFC Yum! Center when Louisville basketball begins play this fall. "I think we could have a pretty good team," he said.
But first, Crum will resume his limited public schedule with an event that he’s grateful to be able to attend. Crum never missed a fundraising event for Meghan Steinberg, who died of leukemia in January of 2016 after an 11-year battle with the disease, in which she tirelessly worked to raise money and awareness. Crum visited with her frequently, and helped all he could with her efforts, held fundraisers in his home and elsewhere.
He continues to support her foundation, which raises money for cancer research. He hasn’t missed a fundraiser, and he won’t start now. He’ll be there on Saturday night in an event to raise money for Meghan’s Mountain at The Pointe.
"She wanted to help every cancer patient in the world, which is hard to do," Crum said. "But you had to love and admire her for it. She went through a whole heck of a lot."
So Crum will be there. He might not be leading the event, but his presence will be further inspiration. A month ago, his attendance was looking pretty shaky. That he's able to go now?
"I’m tickled to death," he said. "I’ll get to see a lot of people that I haven't been able to see in quite a while. I don’t know what I’m going to be doing, if anything, just sitting there and hanging out, and happy that everyone is trying to help."
And that, after events of the past five weeks, is more than enough.
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