Hello all, I thought I had better introduce myself after having spent a few months browsing the site. It is a great source of information and everyone seems very supportive and friendly.
My name is Mark and I’m 55.
Last June one evening whilst watching TV I came round on the floor having slipped off the sofa and tried to get back up. I was somewhat confused as to why I was struggling to perform such an easy task but couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong!
Sometime later my wife came in with a cup of tea and saw me on the floor. I raised my arm up and asked her to give me a pull (but in reality I mumbled something unintelligible!). I think she laughed because she thought I was mucking about (it was boiling hot and I was just in shorts so she thought I was trying to cool off).
Then she looked a little closer and noticed my lopsided face (it was not normally like that!) and panicked. She called down to my son who rushed up and they both thought I’d had a stroke so he rushed off to call an ambulance.
Long story short, I was rushed to hospital and given a CT scan and clot buster drug (as between us we knew it must have happened less than an hour before she found me).
It turns out I had a right MCA infarction with right ICA occlusion. I could not move my left side (typical that I’m left handed).
Fast forward seven and a half months and I’m making really good progress after six weeks in hospital and rehab. I am managing to work 3 afternoons a week from home and starting to come to terms with the new version of me.
I still have no feeling in my left foot and little in my hand and part of my mouth. Fatigue is also having a big impact but I can walk (slowly) and do quite a bit.
From what I’ve experienced so far I have found that acceptance is an important part of the road to recovery. You can often find different (& sometimes unusual) ways of doing things to achieve the desired result.
Really sorry for banging on for so long but thanks to anyone who stuck it out .
I look forward to being involved with the community and will be happy to receive and pass on any advice/experiences.
All the best and stay positive. Mark
Welcome to the forum Mark, really sorry you have had a stroke. Lucky your wife was home and your family got you help very quickly. Positivity is my moto at the moment, every time I get knocked down I get back up again (song I know) but I sing it in my head and it helps me for some reason ha ha.
I hope you find the information and our own experiences helpful. I wish you luck and hope your health improves fast. Loraine
Good to have you on the Forum Mark. Here I am sure you will find lots of help and support on this forum, I have found it to be a Godsend. You seem to be coping very well with it so that is positive. I had my stroke 2 years ago and am at least lucky to be mobile, it’s the stroke fatigue that gets me, I used to be so active but now the fatigue hits me and I am wiped out. I find this very frustrating as I am not used to just sitting!!! But there is nothing I can do about it, so just have to carry on. I also get awful head pressure, like having my head in a vice, but with the situation we are in with Covid I can’t get to see anyone, so am having to treat myself, find wearing a tight hat helps…how mad is that!! Anyway take care and keep up the good work.
Best wishes, Jane.
Thanks Lorraine, yes I was very lucky it wasn’t long before I was found. I like your attitude we can’t let it beat us!
I’m still trying to get used to posting so hopefully this reply comes through.
Thanks Jane, I agree that fatigue is one of the hardest things to deal with. It makes it difficult to plan things as I find it somewhat unpredictable. I initially overdid my return to work and was doing 5 hours per day everyday. My brain was loving the feeling that I was still capable but my body really struggled and I got so exhausted I didn’t have the energy to do my rehab exercises. Luckily my work arranged an independentoccupational health assessment who advised me to cut back and slowly buold up.
I guess I need to be more selfish and listen to my body.
Thanks Alan, I agree. I’m sure most of us would like to go back to version one but this life changing experience is something we all have in common.
Accepting it and trying to make the most of it by staying positive seems to be the best way forward. It is great to have this forum to know you’re not alone.
Hi Mark @Ingo66 (and fellow Wordler). My stroke was two days after I ignored what I now know to be a TIA. Amongst the things I’ve learned from the whole experience, I’ve learned to take note of what my body is telling me. If I need to rest that’s exactly what I do.
Hello @Ingo66 (Mark), welcome to the community of survivors and carers. Stroke is such a bookmark in one’s life, and for most of us, totally unexpected. I had a cerebellar stroke (bilateral and multifocal), September 2020. It has taken a year for me to find my footing with it all. I’ve felt like I’ve been tumbling down a figurative hill for the past year, and still am rolling. Acceptance is certainly part of the way forward, it’s a life changing event, and brings home a lot about our mortality and fragility. I hope you find the forum supportive and informative.
Welcome Mark. I am six years post stroke and it also affected by left side. I also had some ‘dead’areas on the left side of my face, but they went in the first year. My left hand still lacks sensitivity. It can hold light things, but I utilise it as much as possible. I left hospital on a frame and graduated to a stick. I use the stick outside but not in the house. My ability to walk was much helped by an FES machine on my left leg, but not every health authority funds these.
Acceptance is important but not resignation. I take each new day as an opportunity to try for more improvement. I still get fatigue,bworse if I try to do too much in a day. I am in my 70s so, hopefully, your younger body will help you to improve faster. I wish you all the best.
Thank you John, that’s interesting to hear from someone with similar symptoms. No one has mentioned about FES but I might investigate a bit more.
I seem to be managing to walk fairly well now without a stick but it takes a bit of getting used to not feeling your foot and I have good days and bad.
The lack of sensation in my hand is more of a hindrance because even though I have good movement and grip, my brain forgets I am holding things when I’m distracted. Touch is a sensation you completely take for granted until you lose it!
The brain is an amazing computer that does so many calculations based on all the different inputs from your body.
you have said the most important piece of advice for all the stroke survivors “ACCEPTANCE”
i think so this is the reason going to be my third year i still cry of losing my old self. but i am grateful to many things is just fatigue and tiredness every day new kind of pain and not finding any motivation to do some walk … i beat myself and call myself failure and lazy after stroke i found out i have a thyroid made me more depressed more annoyed with myself.
Acceptance and kindness towards our own selves is the key.
i must sat to all be bold be kind and love yourself and accept it whatever and however we are but do not give up.
Thank you @nadya, you are right that acceptance is something we all need to do. It was not our fault we had a stroke just as it is not your fault you now have a thyroid condition.
Life deals us a difficult hand sometimes but, hey, we are still alive so we should be thankful and make the most of what we have.
Try to stay positive, I’m sure there are many people on here that will support you .
Hi, It is very hard to go from a active person to someone who needs help walking.
I had my stroke 2 months ago no sign just tried to get up from the breakfast table and leg and arm would not move. Went to hospital and had scans and found the clot. On blood thinners which hopefully will work.
My blood pressure was over 200.
I walk unaided in the house and have a roller for outside.
I suffer from fatigue and I am learning to listen to my body.
Have physio next week so hope that gives me advice to what I can and cannot do.
Good luck take care. xxx
Hi @Butcherd01 (I guess that’s how you feel). It is really difficult to come to terms with such a life changing event but you are very early in your recovery so I’m sure you’ll make good progress.
The fatigue caught up with me quite badly today after a busy week. I’m still getting used to reading the signs before it hits (but not doing a great job).
Hi Mark you seem to be really positive about your new self which has to be congratulated. It took me a little bit longer to be so accepting having a stroke at 48 following heart surgery. Fast forward 3 years and having a cracking husband for support giving up work as the fatigue wiped me out even on reduced hours but joining a gym at my local spa hotel which works in conjunction with the stroke association giving 50% reduced memberships accepting I needed assistance riding a push bike so traded my road bike just this year after seeing the dust build up on it and accepting I probably I aren’t going to enjoy riding it again and got an electric one so I can rejoin hubby on bike rides which is absolutely brilliant. You are so right accepting the new you stops holding you back and allows you to appreciate life. Keep up the good work.
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