Four months post stroke.
I’ve moved away from hospital based physio now and hopefully will get some further prescribed physio eventually.
I still can’t walk, but I live in hope.
I can rise, at least, to a solid standing position, on a par with Marlon in Emmerdale, but don’t have the parallel bars like him. I bet he’ll be propping up the bar in the Woolpack within a fortnight.
Recently I’ve been parking my wheel chair a little further from the bed and now take a couple of wobbly steps before sitting down. It isn’t physio monitored or approved but needs must.
I don’t feel confident enough to try to walk further but have considered getting my Mrs to follow me close with the wheel chair so I can sit down fast if I feel a wobble coming on.
I still silently envy those of you who were able to leave hospital walking, but, trust me, I’ll be skipping along behind you shortly,
Good morning @Bobbi. You have the right attitude. Little by little, mindful of what could happen but pushing limits sensibly. Improvement happens slowly and muscles that haven’t been used take time to regain strength. I was pushed out of hospital after 7 weeks in a wheelchair, feeling pretty hopeless and weaker than I could ever have imagined. I only managed at home because of multiple aids, shower seats, bed frames etc and help from my husband. Don’t give up trying. I make a point of walking every day now 11 months on. Wishing you strength and persistence, Julia x
@Bobbi it sounds like you’re making great progress even if it’s not as fast as you’d like. Your suggestion about your wife following you with the wheelchair could work…but small steps don’t try too much in one go. I was a bit more mobile than you but I found pushing a wheelchair helped me walk better. Have you thought about a rollator?
I admire your enthusiasm & determination but whatever you decide to do please take it steady. You don’t want to be back in hospital because your enthusiasm got the better of you & you fell over. xx
Hi Bobbie , nearly 3 years on . Wheelchair to begin, took me tooo long to accept problem walking & definitely not giving in . Cheap rollator, with seat, ebay first. Recently upgraded to carbon fibre, rather pricey version. My wife drives me , max half hour, more, I feel giddy, too much info ,blue badge parking. I can then manage short distances, if only slowly, stopping & use seat brilliant! My tiny bit of independence. Put off to long, just a thought. Good speaking David.
Yes, I have one. I call it my freedom tool. It allows me to go further than with just 2 sticks and gives me reassurance that I can sit down immediately if I get tired or dizzy. Money well spent for me.
@a.clare71 I’m not eligible for much of that, although quite a bit has already been done for me.
I’m thinking in investing in a rollator off ebay which might get me up and out of my wheelchair, as I mentioned above.
I’m seven months post stroke as I write this. It is an addition and progression from where I was earlier.
I did get a rollator. Everything I could see on ebay needed collection, which I was and am in no position to do. So I bought a refurbished one from CareCo. There was a bit knocked off the price and it was delivered.
My first steps with the device were just in the room where I live these days (and nights). As my stamina and ability improved my range increased. I still am housebound but I can, with the aid of my ‘rotivator’, (slight pun), get around in the house independently now. My actual walking ability, I have attempted to improve as I use the rollator by watching and controlling my steps. I’ve no physio, they’d let me pay for that too, the kind souls, or should that be R souls? but I try as best as I can. I’ve (hurrah!) reached the stage where I can take a few steps unaided. All for the price of one hour’s physio (the cost of the ‘motivator’).
It is a process which can be tiring at times, but the feeling of triumph after each small improvement makes it well worth the effort. It will be some time before I am no longer housebound, I imagine, but it all seems a little closer, a little more possible, these days.
The support and encouragement I have obtained on these Forums has been invaluable. Thankyou to those who have offered a listening ear and a kind word, I am indebted.
I hope that these scribblings, even if incoherent at times, can also offer encouragement to others on this same path.
You are doing amazingly well @Bobbi especially considering you’ve done it all without professional help & with sheer guts & determination & of course love & help from your lovely wife. Keep going you’ll get there I’ve no doubt.
Would you be able to leave the house in a wheelchair? If so, seeing some different scenery is good for the soul & does wonders for our mental health.
Your achievements & posts are an inspiration to many of us. In the roads of someone I know…keep on keeping on
Bore da, I needed a cane for the first year after the stroke. I could only shuffle. This they call hypometria, and is a result of cerebellar dysfunction. I could shuffle about twenty paces, and then needed to hold onto something or sit down. I worked on my walking all year, mainly, in my sitting room. I did crawling exercises, walking on my knees, and side steps. I also counted steps while walking because counting is, apparently, a cognitive process and not a neurological one. You are doing very well, Bob, and your self-driven determination with or without physio will, hopefully, reward you with well deserved progress. I look forward to hearing of your milestones, no matter how small, they all add up.
@DDMH For now I am housebound. Getting a wheelchair out of our house is something an ambulance man could tackle, my wife is not up to that task and once outside I think she would need an ambulance if she tried pushing me around. (mind she does push me around a fair bit without wheelchairs or the outside being involved ) And then there would be getting me back in the house. I suppose I could go live in the shed . . .
I might eventually try trundling my ‘rotator’ about outside, but it wouldn’t be far. I’ve got a big window here that lets me see if there’s a blue sky, or a grey one for that matter. So that will have to do for now.
Thanks though for the suggestions and words of encouragement. The folk on this forum are very supportive aren’t they
keep on keepin’ on
by the way people do say ‘he’s very quiet isn’t he?’
as they get to know me that changes to, ‘does he ever shut up?’
I don’t know which I prefer.
I am stuck in my new house until they put a bigger step in at the front and one at the back door. I can open the front door and sit on my rollator and watch the world go by.
Hi Ann
Aww I hope you get sorted soon and can get out for a walk with your rollator.
I’ve been having adventures of the accidental kind. I’ve generally been well behaved recently and toddling around in the house without a problem, until this evening when I decided to go over backwards bouncing off the hard wood edge of my bed onto the floor. I’ve had a warm drink and some painkillers, the panic and shock have subsided and we decided no need for an ambulance. I’m feeling sore on my arm, my leg and my ribs but it looks like I will survive, once again.
However I am also feeling triumphant. As I lay on the floor, catching my breath, the pain began to subside. I made an attempt to get up, something I had managed with some difficulty and much struggling, on previous occasions. This time I managed to get up into a standing position without any difficulty. I was pleased to find that I managed it easily. I am so glad I had to get back up out of bed and write it up straight away. It seems to me that using this rollator around the house has helped me regain some strength, helping me to get back on my feet. I am uncomfortable and sore, but again I have made a little progress. I better get back to bed and my rest, now.
@ Loshy thanks for your interest and concern. Yes I am sore, but will continue to continue. I’ll give it a day or two before I try any more gymnastics. Just going to gently make my way to the kitchen and put the kettle on for a life-sustaining cup of coffee.
) And then there would be getting me back in the house. I suppose I could go live in the shed . . .
