London
(ANI):
Kirk
Douglas
has
confessed
he
is
a
better
person
and
does
not
take
his
life
for
granted
after
suffering
a
stroke.
The
93-year-old
acting
legend,
who
had
to
re-learn
how
to
talk
after
the
brain
condition
affected
his
ability
to
speak,
said
the
health
battle
taught
him
well
to
appreciate
life.
"It
affected
my
speech.
I
couldn't
talk.
Now
talking
is
something
we
take
for
granted.
We
think
of
something
and
we
say
it.
We
are
not
concerned
with
all
the
mechanisms
that
are
involved
in
speaking,
we
don't
appreciate
it.
Like
so
many
things
in
life,
we
don't
appreciate
what
we
have,
the
Daily
Express
quoted
Douglas
as
saying
in
a
posting
on
his
Myspace.com
page.
"My
first
reaction
to
my
stroke
was
to
say
nothing.
It
was
too
much
effort
to
construct
the
words,
the
muscles
in
my
tongue,
my
teeth,
I
couldn't
coordinate
them
properly
to
say
a
word.
It
was
easier
just
to
say
nothing.
But
to
say
nothing
is
to
withdraw
from
life.
I
was
not
ready
for
that.
So,
like
a
child
I
learned
to
speak
again.
It
is
still
difficult
and
I
still
have
many
moments
when
I
want
to
give
up,
but
I
fight
against
it.
The
most
important
thing
is
that
I
find
that
my
stroke
has
made
me
a
better
person.
I
don't
take
so
many
things
for
granted.
I
appreciate
more
and
that
leads
me
to
care
more
about
others," he
added.