After three years my new goal is to get on with my life and crack on till the end. I am now 75 and the last three years have been a battle back to some kind of normality. For some time, though, I have realised I have done far too much sitting around and letting time drift by. My new regime to to focus on my weak hand and arm, extend my walking and do more about the house. Today I hovered all downstairs, sorted through my sock drawer to throw stuff out, read a bit more than I do normally and exercised my weak arm. It doesn’t sound a lot, but it is better than just sitting with my i pad wondering how long I’ve got left.
Hi JJM - it always sounds to me that you really make the most of life, always keeping busy, I can't imagine you just letting things go by!! I love your approach, and I feel inspired to do more myself, even though I haven't got any recovery to cope with. Wishing you every success with your new goals, have you put the duvet on notice??!!
Best wishes xx
you sorted your sock drawer. that's s world class recovery man! thats a lifetime worth of goals in one fell swoop. your big challenge now is how on earth do follow that!
Tony
well impressed.
Good thinking John.
You have done the right thing to rest a lot, but we have to edge away from that and live a life as best we can. New John has arisen.
Its good if we start to do what we want to do. Not what we think others want.
You have been brilliant on the forum and you are like the rock of Gibralter . You have lifted my spirits many times. So do a few things for yourself.
Now I would enjoy sorting my sock drawer, so I do that as a task for myself. Tomorrow I help others at a coffee morning but then its me me me.
best wishes
Colin
Thank you Colin. As you know yourself, recovery is an ongoing battle. I think this because we survivors have to battle a number of things. Firstly we have to battle with our own bodies and minds. We could all sit and be ‘victims’, but that does us no good. Then we have to counter the attitudes of others, from those who think we are ‘amazing’ to those who want to treat us like invalids. Every year since the stroke I have vowed to do ‘more’, do a certain amount and then start drifting again. This year I mean to avoid drift and do more.
The best advice you gave me was to remember that stroke damages the brain, not the muscles. Mind you, I then had to realise that exercise has to be ongoing, not sporadic. Like you, I smile a lot, but then I always have. Being blessed with faith, a good upbringing and genetic bloody mindedness also help. Turning out the sock drawer was very therapeutic, but where do the matching socks disappear to? I have quite few single socks bereft of their partner. I also have socks, more socks and socks to spare!
Dear John
Perhaps the single socks I have in my drawer are yours. The best way to find the single socks is to throw away the existing single socks. The missing ones then turn up in no time.
It has slightly worried me when I broadcast that there is nothing wrong with our limbs its just the messaging system. Muscles that are not used will deteriorate. About two years I think, and then muscles seriously decline. But I think shoulder muscles deteriorate much sooner.
I can only do my best.
You think so clearly. Your posts are always helpful. Always insightful and always welcome.
Best wishes
Colin
I think I took the message from you that although muscles decline they can still be worked back to health if caught in time. When I came out of hospital my left leg was very sticklike. It is now a thing of beauty lol.
Spot on.
Lets all move forward together.
Colin
Well done, everyday at a time, achieve something and a wee bit more the next day but don’t forget to rest
onwards and upwards at our own pace.
stay well