Since logging into this website I’ve been fortunate to hear stories of people going through similar circumstances as myself. So I think it only right that I contribute a story as well. I will start by saying that I am 74 years old so in a way fortunate that this happened in my later years which means I’ve been able to enjoy my working years without this setback. It’s been a rough few years because I’ve also had to deal with cancer. I had surgery to remove melanoma from my left cheek and a few years ago had another surgery to remove my left kidney which was also cancerous. In the early hours of April 25th I woke up and was getting up to go to the bathroom when I noticed my right leg felt very heavy more than normal and I had trouble lifting it off the bed. I also noticed that my right arm felt like it was going to explode because of severe pressure. I was able to get up but my right leg felt like it was asleep and did not provide much support for walking. I made it back to bed and thought that my leg was just asleep so I went back to bed. I woke up later and tried my leg again but there was no improvement and my arm felt the same as before. I was able to get up got dressed made my bed and went to make coffee. In trying to walk I ended up losing my balance and fell on my back on the floor. I was able to get up with much difficulty. I made coffee and drank a cup wondering what was going on. It never occurred to me that a stroke had happened. I called my daughter who is a nurse and I told her what happened. She knew right away it was a stroke and said her and her husband were coming to get me and take me to the emergency room nearby. I had a lot of trouble trying to walk because of my leg and loss of balance. I actually fell a second time but was able to get up again. My daughter arrived and I was off to the ER. They confirmed I had a stroke and transported me to the hospital. While at the hospital I had to use a walker to get around and used with the therapist there to direct me during therapy sessions. The neurologist at the hospital explained that I had a stroke on the left side of my brain and it effected the right side of my body. Fortunately it was only my arm and leg. It did not effect my speech or cognitive functions. Neither did my face droop although I think I did drool a little at first. When released from the hospital I stayed at my daughters home for 8 weeks and was taken very good care of by my daughters family. I went through 6 weeks of therapy to help my leg and arm recover. Eventually I was able to go home. I live alone so my daughter was very worried about me being by myself. I have a granddaughter who came and stayed with me a couple of days to watch and take care of me. At my daughters as part of my therapy I had gone for short walks to work on balance and building up endurance. I began going short distances and was able to increase up to almost a mile. When I got home I was able to drive my car again so began to get back to normal living as much as possible. I made trips to the grocery store and doctors appointments. Eventually I was able to go to the gym and go through my exercise routines that I had done before the stroke. Before the stroke I was an avid Pickleball player and also did tennis drills at the park. My therapist had me going through therapy sessions geared toward getting me back on the Pickleball court. After about a month of being back home I decided to get back into tennis and Pickleball. So I remember the first time I went to do my tennis drills I was still having problems with balance and my right leg was not completely under my control. I went at it slowly and was totally exhausted after my first tennis drills session. I have a girlfriend who is a beginner Pickleball player and she helped me get started with getting back into Pickleball. Now I am able to go through my regular tennis drills and have built up my endurance so I can finish all my drills. I have gone back to playing Pickleball and recently played with a group of friends who also enjoy the sport. I thought that by constant repetition of playing both Pickleball and tennis my body would begin to relearn my old playing habits. So far that has been the case for the most part. On the courts I notice sometimes my movements to my right are not as smooth as when I go left but pretty darn close. I feel very fortunate that my recovery has progressed this far in what to me has been a long journey. I thank God for all the support I’ve received from family, friends and health care professionals. I hope my story may provide some inspiration to others who are suffering and struggling as a result of a stroke. Thanks for providing a platform to share my story.
@Jhawk235 welcome & thank you for sharing your story. Sorry you had a stroke. Good that your daughter recognised the symptoms and got you the help you needed. Sounds like you’ve done really well since your stroke & Im sure gives us all hope.
I have to admit to not knowing what pickleball is though 
Best wishes.
Welcome
I am also fortunate enough to have a wonderful nurse for a daughter and my granddaughters are fabulous as well although at 5 and 10 a little younger than yours sound. There the parallels probably stop as I’ve never been any good at tennis, or any other kind of ball sport, but I have got back into swimming and the garden if not quite as vigorously as I used to