Wondered how you were Tony? Bit colder here today, like most places! Mum and sis were here earlier. Old pal here tomorrow. Best wishes :)
How are you today Wendy? I am improving daily, after recently breaking my hip. Almost back to how I was pre-fall. Mum and sis were here earlier, and am out with an old pal tomorrow. Best wishes :)
I am OK. I started a relaxercise class today. Lots of yoga plus relaxation. It was just magic. I learnt so much. And my left sided weakness came bounding in to the daylight. I hadnt realized how severe my LSW actually is.
Its warm down here in rural Essex. Mostly sunny and a max of 22c. Got an hour weeding done.
I am in awe that you have something arranged every day. I am not up to that as yet. I do have a short Tuesday morning gathering and a longer Wednesday afternoon. But in between its all clear for me to plod through running my home and garden. Strawberries out the garden for supper. Nice.
best wishes
Colin
Hi Colin! That class sounded brilliant for you = keep going! Hope it helps your LSW!! (Left sided weakness??) Am also starting exercise class this Thursday. Am v lucky that I now have full sensation, after lots and lots of physio..........Best of luck to ya.
Warmer here now, though not as warm as you lucky things! Am just outside Glasgow. Glad you got some weeding done in the nice weather.
Some weeks are busier than others. Have an AGM next Tuesday, as am a shareholder of my landlords now. Enjoy your Tuesday and Wednesday meets. Lovely having strawberries out in the sunshine mmmmmmmmm! Netflix now for me haha! Be well. Carole
Dear Carole
I have been looking for a suitable course for some time. I thought tai chi but honestly will try anything. This gentle yoga has fallen just right for me. And its inexpensive. Great when something goes right on this long long road to recovery. Perhaps we share brief ideas from our respective courses. I am getting a magnetic bracelet to see iif it might help. My "centre" is way offside.
Mind, I think I have a long journey but it pails to insignificent alongside the horrors that you have battled through.
A very good friend has just gone down with what appears to be a massive stroke. His wife is such a good egg and I am looking to see what comfort I can offer. Your case is one that shows you can win through.
I am in awe at what you have come through. Well done. They make em of strong stuff up in Scotland dont they. Lovely country..
Down here in my corner of Essex it is very dry and mild. I have really good friends in Manchester and it is so much milder here than Manchester.
Netflix is another world to me. I havent kept up with all the technology and three years in recovery has put me even further behind. But I am happy with my desk top PC, a video recorder and regular TV. And I still use a fountain pen !
Time for some sleep. I am very tired after the yoga.
Best wishes
Colin
Hi SpaceCadet. Yesterday I went to the opticians to sort out 2 new pairs of specs. A new pair for the computer as my vision has altered slightly for those and a pair of prescription sunglasses for driving. Today, off for a coffee and lunch somewhere and there is a strange bright light in the sky this morning which we haven't seen for over a week! Sunshine!
hy, thanks for checking in, it is always nice to get replies to posts, so I appreciate that. hope your visit from family went well. yes it was so nice to do some ordinary things at the weekend. I was saying to another correspondent that losing one's role is an underestimated bereavement after stroke. so it was so nice to be able to do something that I would have done normally as Daddy. I usually have to be so dependent on others to organise things for me. it really would have been beyond me not all that long ago. so things change, if only very slowly, as your own story testifies.
all the best
Tony
Hi Colin
Thanks for being my friend haha! Not sure how that works either, but who cares LOL?
Also fab that you have found an inexpensive and fun exercise. Likewise, the gym I'll start at soon is FREE! Gentle yoga sounds terrific, as well as fun. It should help your core? We all have our own battles, and best of luck mate.
V sorry about your friend and, hopefully, my story can give him and his wife hope. I don't want to give false hope, but WORK HARD like I did. You never know......Bless.
Thanks for saying such nice things about my recovery. Scotland, indeed, has its lovely parts, like most places. Especially in the good weather heehee! Fab that where you live is lovely and mild. Enjoy.....
Am the same re technology. Only have a Smart TV, as my sister gave me her old one! Have a laptop, but a basic mobile (quite happy with), as well as my reasonably basic home phones!
Was out most of the day with my friend. Didn't sleep well last night, so hope I do tonight. Also hope you slept v well after the yoga.
As decorating my flat blue and silver in mid July. What would have paid the hotel when I recently broke my hip, is paying for. So, 'something good out of something bad'!!! Be well. Peace Carole :)
Dear Carole
Yes indeed the first thing the yogamaster picked up was my core being so far out of true. She is thinking about things so that I can get my core central again. I was so tired by late evening that I went to bed early. But got up again and made a bed on the settee to get me to sleep.
I hope your course is good for you. I am keen on all therapies etc. I put NHS top but I see nothing but good in the alternatives. I am also a practising christian but again I see no conflict and that yoga etc is totally good. Some of my more religious friends frown upon it, but i am certain their conflict is just pointless.
I am in quite a bit of pain at the moment and taking one paracetomol before bed. I must not get addicted to that help, but short term it works. Proper sleep is so important to us isnt it.
Silver and blue sounds nice. I ordered a blue carpet today, a replacement in my conservatory.
When I cycled in Scotland (hundreds of years ago) I was surprised how close to Glasgow were the beautiful areas around Fintry then Glencoe.
It is raining very gently right now. Just wet enough to chase me out of the garden
ttfn
Colin
Hi Colin!
Fab that your core is being focused on at yoga, and no wonder you are working hard = keep it up! V well done!
I agree, as long as it's legal, all therapies are worth a try and see what works for you! Good for you. You are so right about not getting addicted to painkillers, however, am sorry that you are in pain. Hope your good sleep helped. Proper sleep is, indeed, the best therapy, aside from food and water!
Blue is a v tranquil colour (reminds me/us humans) of the sea, so your conservatory must look lovely! Glasgow is close to many beautiful places. Wow = what a cycle!
I love gentle rain, it will soothe your garden, if not you haha!! Have a good day. Be well. Peace Carole :)
To aid sleep and relaxation I use a tinnitus relaxer. Its just a little box that makes white noise overlaid with options such as bird song, running water, waves and rain. It has a timer option so it turns off after thirty minutes. It helps me a lot if I cant settle for relaxation or if I cant get off to sleep. It was £30 including postage and thats a well spent £30 for me. I got my ideal 7.5hrs sleep last night.
Are you sleeping OK ? I reckon that after the initial 4 weeks post stroke: BP and sleep are the two essentials. Within your much longer journey to recovery what was most beneficial for you ?
Do you have much, indeed any, support from family ? And you seem such a bubbly personality...do you now make friends easily ? Its something I am currently struggling with, making friends. So your online company is very nice.
Best wishes
Colin
Hi OnwardsandUpwards! Glad you got 2 new pairs of spex! Enjoy your coffees and also that strange bright light, sorry THE SUN haha!
Thanks Tony, yes was good to see family, as always. Was out most of yesterday with an old friend. Earlier, had another friend here, and just spoken to another by telephone. Tomorrow, I begin at a new gyn and, then, on Friday I do a big shop with another pal. Hair cut on Friday afternoon! Got an AGM next Tuesday, so wanted to be able to SEE people haha! Fringe is driving me mad atm!
Indeed, things change after stroke very slowly, so take your time and accept help when you need to. Stay safe and warm! Hope it is sunny where you are and not too wet like with some poor souls. Take care. Peace Carole
Wow! That little box sounds truly amazing! I love the sound of rain, especially. (Am a lifelong poet). Or waves, do you have that one? I'd love to get a full night's sleep again (a rare event these days). Always been a huge fan of sleep!! That was my best influencier in my recovery, for sure! Helped my mood too. Although, initially, each day I never knew if I was going to wake up the following day (after I came out of my coma)! Eek - scarey days, indeed.
Family is a good support but, alas, there are so few these days. I have a lot of friends in Yorkshire, where I lived for a decade and where I lived when I took the stroke. Had heart op there as well. Ironically, where I recently broke my hip too! My sister says 'What is it about you and Yorkshire hospitals?' Replied 'I don't know, but they're bloody good!' Certainly saved my life, huh?!
The friends there and I all worked together in Solicitors (was a Legal Assistant), and they took it in shifts FOR A WHOLE YEAR when I was really ill. They were all so shocked, and remain extremely proud of my recovery. We all love each other like sisters now. Been friends for over 30 years, and never fell out haha! I don't have as many friends back in Scotland, through choice, although get on well with everyone. Am just more of a private person whilst at home at night these days.
Likewise, I am humbled by the responses to my story, and appreciate all online support and words of wisdom! Be well. Peace Carole :)
Dear Carole
The little box helps me to go to sleep or it helps if i have an hour of rest/meditation. I guess if one goes to sleep with less stress then maybe we would sleep through the night better. I set it on waves crashing on the beach, thats my favourite. Sometimes rain. Last night I didnt need it because we had real rain tapping on the window. Still had to take a paracetomol, which I am trying to stop.
I totally agree with your comment that sleep is a great influencer for recovery. I think us SS should first get BP/pulse to a reasonable level and then get sleep to a good level. After those are sorted we can start working through the hundred problems that seem to follow a stroke.
My mobility recovered very fast, indeed miracle fast, but the cognitive stuff still stays with me. My memory and logistic abilities are terrible so please forgive me if I repeat myself or forget things.
I am amused to think of you located so far North of York whereas I think of York as so far North of me. From my London house, (where I havent stayed since stroke) to York is exactly 200 miles and to Edinburgh is 400 miles. A long way whichever way you look at it.
I do not worry that I might not wake up in the morning, yet as soon as I awake I wiggle all fingers and toes to ensure they are still working. My better half often worries that I might not wake up. I got stung by a small bee on tuesday and my foot has swollen up a lot, so better half is alarmed about it and wants me to go to the hospital. Sometimes things are worse for the carers than for us survivors.
I struggle to make friends. Dont know what to say so I am quiet. Old Colin was the opposite.
I have a tiny voluntary job that takes about 4 hours a month. I did two hours yesterday and it zonked me out. Will I ever find new Colin ?
Best wishes
Colin
Hi Colin!
Also love the sound of rain/waves. No wonder that's your favourite, it's v soothing. Really atmospheric too. Quite right to want to take as few painkillers as possible.
Too right that sleep is ultra important for stroke survivors. I constantly asked for BP checks BEFORE my stroke, because I KNEW I didn't feel right. I was basically shunned as a 'neurotic woman'. BOOM! Do you know when I collapsed with the stroke and was initially in hospital, my GP apparently visited me! I am delighted that he saw me totally paralysed and unable to talk. I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG and the doctors weren't haha! Am still angry about that. We know our own bodies better, right???
Totally understand about cognitive problems. Please don't worry, and am lucky that I have overcome that now! Am really humble and thankful. Am starting at the gym soon. Yes, you're right. Visit Yorkshire at least once a year. Love it, and seeing my pals (as they do). I feel detached from the rest of the UK sometimes! Adore GB! A long journey awaits from one part of the country, or oveaseas to Ireland etc. So worth it though! Am a huge remainer. We are better together. Hate the SNP with a passion.
Your poor foot. Good luck and feel better soon. My husband left me whilst I was in hospital, so I know it's tough for partners, but Mark still broke my heart. Thank God for my friends. I miss me before too. Still, good on you with the voluntary work. Shame though it tires you so much. Take care of yourself and your dear partner.
Peace Carole :)
Hi Tinkerbell
Just to say I truly hope plans are in place for your husband? Best of luck with everything. Be well. Peace Carole :)
Hi I have just got soaked, collecting my grandaughter from school, the heavens opened just as we got there. Thankfully we were able to find one last disabled parking place, all the others taken with no blue badge showing, which does annoy me. Otherwise I am not too bad, looking forward to swimming next Tuesday, the first time since my stroke. Unfortunately the doctor has cut my time on the treadmill to 5 mins only, as my pulse goes too high. I should have asked him before I bought it. Live and learn as they say. Hope your hip feels better soon. Wendy
Poor you and your grandaughter, getting soaked like that!! It also annoys me when people use disabled parking spaces, with either NO DISABILITY or NO BADGE DISPLAYED!! Really shows that the majority of the public view the disabled as rubbish grrrrrrr! It could easily be any of them. How would they like it??
I always loved swimming too. Have oodles of fun! Just a pity about the doctor's advice, shame......Thank you. I'm almost the same as I was before the fall. Lost my confidence a bit, as am terrified of falling again. However, am back to using my walker.
Have a great weekend. Be well. Peace Carole :)
Hi Colin
Just wondered how you were? Hope you are sleeping better, and still enjoying the sound of waves!
Been really down lately, as have PiP check a week on Tuesday = eek! Why do they always pick on the poorest in society, if not the disabled, it's the pensioners or vice versa grrrrr! Treat us all like effing criminals!
Still, am trying to focus on the positives. Wimbledon starts tomorrow = yay! Am also having flat re-decorated beginning on 16 July, so that'll cheer me up haha!
Hope all is well with you are yours. Hip has healed. Trust you are keeping well too. Peace Carole