Everything I need to know…

…I learned again.

I am a stroke survivor.

Two years ago if you had asked me to say that it would sound like “Blah blah blah.”, or something similar. Actually it was more complex than that, but only just.

After almost 18 days of thinking that it was something else my right arm and leg were about 20% of the strength and control of my left side. Surprisingly my voice, thoughts and pretty much everything else was fine. When my stroke was discovered I was put on ‘medication‘ and all that changed.

I could no longer move my arm, and my right leg was down to 5%. I could no longer speak in sentences, only about 5 words at most. I couldn’t read, and being right handed I definitely could not write. I had a friend who said, quite rightly I believe that I was made worse by the medicine and not the disease.

I stayed about three weeks in the hospital and I needed help to get up the stairs. I couldn’t remember how to do the simplest thing and needed my wife’s help for everything. I couldn’t identify the letters on my keyboard. I’d take 10 minutes to type the word ‘the‘ on the keyboard and then find out it should have a capital ‘T’ and have to start over. Oh, and I didn’t know how to start over. I should thank my wife for putting up with me and my 1+ year old daughter. I definitely could not have done it without her help.

Me and my daughter.

Two years and I can walk, but my leg sometimes has a mind of it’s own, and I can move my arm, but not my hand. My memory is very bad, but I can still remember important stuff, just not what I’ve been watching when the commercials come on. Also anything in the last 10 years is a bit iffy. My voice is better but I can no longer sing or whistle. I learned to type with one hand and I’m up to 20 words per second. I think I was five times as fast before. I travel slowly since my balance is off but I haven’t fallen in a year, at least while standing.

My hand is improving; I can clench it okay, and almost relax it again. But I keep trying. Most of the people I’ve talked to said that if it’s not healed by six months it’s never going to but I don’t agree. It’s slow but it’s steady. I think another two years and I’ll be like new.