I am Lyn from Liverpool I am 68 and had a stroke on 11th September 2018. I had a dental abscess and had gone to see my dentist for treatment , she told me that the infection was so deep, the tooth had to come out immediately, she numbed the tooth, I went back into the waiting area for it to take effect, and it happened the worst experience of my life, I had a stroke , I was lucky , my husband who is a retired GP was with me, the dentist and her team were amazing , and I will be forever thankful for her prompt actions which I am sure minimised the damage, I was inside the 4 hour window so was able to have the clot buster treatment , I was lucky my mobility wasn’t affected, only my speech, which did recover, I struggle sometimes with odd words or words that won’t come , although more when I am stressed or tired, like most of us I have post stroke fatigue, which I try to manage, but as we all know it’s hard, and of course my emotions are all over the place, and I have days when I grieve for who I was and the life we had, my husband and I are both retired and we had a very social life and travelled a lot , we loved going on cruises and had a lovely life, but I am determined we will get some of it back again and am so thankful that I am here and a stroke survivor.
Since having my stroke I have had 2 further hospital admissions with a further suspected stroke, I lost my speech and bp extremely high. The ct scan was inconclusive, and they found I had a urine infection, and put it down to that, the Dr said the infection had triggered off the previous stroke symptoms.I have never heard of that ,has anyone else?
It has taken me until now to be able to share my story with you all , I have read so many stories from this forum and can identify with so much and so many of your posts.
Thank you all for sharing and God bless you all. Lyn x
Hello Lyn, welcome to this Forum. I have also found it extremely helpful and glad of the tremendous support on here. Reading past stories and seeing the hurdles people have overcome on their journey has made life a lot easier for us. Pulled me up short on my expectations of John.
My husband had a massive Stroke (Consultant s words) in February 17 but was treated within the hour. He was able to gain mobility and speech very quickly so that he was discharged 6 days later. However, he has left neglect so cannot drive which was a huge loss to his independence. Stroke fatigue is his nightmare as he doesn’t function cognitively or physically when it hits. We spoke to one of our sons on FaceTime last night and he remarked that his dad’s face was dropping on the left side again. Yes, he was tired.
Having said all that, we’ve done amazing things since the Stroke, even having holidays, socialising, cooking,,, entertaining,,,, dancing,,,, BUT only if SF allows. We’ve also been fortunate enough to have brilliant friends supporting us despite ‘losing’ certain ‘friends’ along the way.
take care and look forward to reading your comments on the Forum.
So sorry to learn of your stroke. Welcome to the forum.
It seems that stroke can happen at any time and for odd reasons or no apparent reasons.
How the stroke happened is now of no relevance to your recovery. Yes you may need to amend some lifestyles to avoid another stroke but otherwise it is all about recovery.
I find this forum full of helpful and kind people and we learn from each other. Using the forum is hard, The old forum was easier and that was important to me as I wasnt capable at that time. I believe the SA are trying to amend the site to make it easier. It must be hard for the technicians to grasp we are not capable.
I was 68 and enjoying retirement. I do resent that I have lost that.
However, I survived when so many do not.
Thats good that you retained mobility. The cognitive stuff and the aphasia are harder to deal with than mobility isuues. But please be assured that improvements do come. Some fast but mostly slow slow slow.
Never ever give up. If your goals include another cruise then just work carefully towards that. I listed my main goals. Then I made signposts to each goal as to how I will achieve them. I think the signposts are very important.
There are often numerous illnesses following a stroke. I approach each one separatetly and work through them.
So much to learn, but then there are so many helpful pointers to receive.
You are never alone, lots of us here for you.
Be positive.
Smile at least 4 times a day. False, forced, fake or real they all work.
Hi Lyn, Welcome to the forum. I suspect every one of us misses the life we had pre stroke. I used to walk everywhere and went down the town centre every day. I can only go now if taken and my walking when there is very limited. I can cook though and have just had a short coach holiday in Norfolk. The company we go with does door to door and quite supportive of disability.
I do agree with Colin when he advises people to smile and laugh. I can often see the funny side of my disability. Last week I put my head through the sleeve of my pullover rather than the neck and I have been known to put underwear on inside out. Who cares! I am now 75, still hope to improve further and still up for a challenge. Wishing you all the best!
Welcome, this site is amazing to share stories, rant, off load and generally get advice from people going through similar experiences.I care for my dad, who has had two major strokes this year the 2nd one three weeks ago after a amazing recovery after his first one. It helps me understand what emotions dad might be going through and ideas to support dad. Xx