For those affected by a stroke ...
There are two types of stroke: ischemic (accounting for about 88% of all strokes) which is caused by a clot blocking an artery, and a haemorrhagic or bleeding stroke
.At the end of April 2003 I suffered a haemorrhagic stroke whilst out shopping with my daughters. I was 45 years old at the time.
Having a stroke can be very traumatic because it often strikes unexpectedly, rarely causing noticeable warning signs beforehand, and if it doesn't actually kill you it is likely to leave a legacy of ailments or disabilities to cope with. It has so many differing
side effects and hits everyone to differing degrees. Statistically, we know that about a third of people will die within 10 days, about a third will recover within one month, and a third will be left coping with longer term disability and need rehabilitation.I'm in the long-term group and here is the reason for writing these pages. In my own experience, recovery is such a personal journey that questions to medics are too often met with non-committal, wishy washy answers, leaving me feeling that basically I'm on my own here. Discussion boards can help in difficult times and a search on Google or a look through my links will lead you to helpful pages. I thought however that it might also be useful to make a chart of my own recovery. Your stroke will be different, you may well have different hurdles to surmount, but for me at least it has been useful to use other people as a focus and inspiration. If they can do it, I can do it.
My recovery is 22 months long as I write this. In my first hours post stroke I was drifting in and out of consciousness, in my first days I could not sit up. The right side of my face was paralysed and so my speech (and my eating) was affected. My right arm and hand were paralysed. I was unable to stand and walk. Now, I no longer need my wheelchair and my confidence at walking without even the use of my cane increases daily - to the extent that I'm actually starting to forget where I left it last. Regaining full use of my right hand may be taking longer than I would like but here too I'm noticing a slow but steady improvement as the weeks go by and given the example of my walking, I know that I'll reach this goal too.
If you think it might be of help to you, please click here to visit my
recovery chart.February 2005