Skip to main content

Improvise, Adapt & Overcome

One thing I am extremely proud of my post stroke self for is the way I have been able to adapt and overcome obstacles rather than just say 'I can't'. 

I will still go for a 'girly day' such as shopping with a friend; only now its one shop, maybe two, and a sit down, normally for a drink, then I can usually handle a third shop and then its home for a rest. 

I have had to learn my body's new limitations and work around them. I'm not deluded enough to think I'll be signing up for the London Marathon (I wouldn't of been in a rush to do that before my stroke let's be honest) but I am confident that I will not have to miss out or turn down too many activities that I would previously have enjoyed. 

I still keep on top of the housework, when I am motivated enough to, even if it does mean unloading the dishwasher using a perching stool instead of standing up and bending down. I can still prepare a meal, not brilliantly but that's not because of my stroke. ðŸ˜‚

There are days when I have to admit defeat and ask Lee for help, or I have to turn down a last minute invite somewhere because I haven't planned and conserved enough energy for it, but sadly those events are unavoidable. 

I'm no longer embarrassed to have a  Blue Badge in the car window; because I am disabled and I need all the help I can get to enable me to live as normal a life as possible. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy New Year - 2022

Firstly, I want to apologise for the lack of posts for the last few months; I have really struggled to pull myself out of the  rut I was stuck in if I am completely honest. Secondly, and most importantly, I came to wish each and every one of my readers a very happy New Year; may 2022 bring you all health, wealth and happiness.   
1 comment
Read more

If I had had a stroke, I'd know about it.

The 4th of March 2020 began like every other day. I woke up at 5.30am, washed, dressed and headed out the door ready to start my day, not knowing that when I came home later that evening life would never be the same again. I arrived at work, a local Primary School, at 7am and set up the hall ready to welcome the children that would be attending Breakfast Club that day. The session was busy as always, but uneventful, no drama, no issues, no angry parents or children having issues with each other. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. That was until 8.45 rolled around and I lost all feeling in my right side.  Initially, I thought my foot had gone numb because my boots were new and, to be frank, I've got fat feet, so my plan of action was to get to my classroom and remove my boots. I would have to work with bare feet and deal with it later. However, by the time I had walked the short distance from the hall to the classroom, my whole right side had gone numb, I couldn't hold my handb...
Post a Comment
Read more

RIP to the old me

  Having a stroke on the precipice of a global pandemic wasn't one of my best moves in life; it meant that aftercare and support either wasn't in place or was drastically compromised. I found myself scouring the internet for help and support in other places.  One group in particular, Different Strokes on Facebook, provided me with a wealth of support from other people in a similar position to myself, it also gave me the opportunity to offer snippets of my experience to people at the start of their stroke journey which actually made me feel useful again.  I recall one day flicking through the group reading latest posts and seeing that a member had asked if anyone else felt like "the old me had died" and it struck a chord instantly with me. It was as if someone had put words to the way I had been feeling for so long and not been able to explain. I was grieving for my old self.  Being able to put a label on my emotions was a huge relief, once I was able to identify...
Post a Comment
Read more