Prior to my stroke, I was an enthusiastic swimmer. I found swimming both invigorating and relaxing: a great form of exercise and a useful way to wind down when I was busy and stressed out at work. My body and balance changed radically following my stroke, but I’ve attempted (and enjoyed) the occasional swim, mostly… Read More
An online friend sent me a link to this Guardian article, which raises the issue of Stroke misdiagnosis in children and young people. The article tells the story of 13 year-old Isaac, whose stroke was caused by a hole in his heart, and whose condition was incorrectly diagnosed following a CT scan. This is exactly… Read More
It is coming up to the anniversary of my stroke, and I find myself reflecting, in various ways, on where I am now, a whole five years later. I’ll write about different aspects of my recovery in other posts, but today I want to talk about the change in my employment. I’m a knitwear designer… Read More
I am extremely happy to tell you that I have passed my driving test! The process has not been easy and has never felt straightforward, but at last I’ve got there! The main issue is that my spacial awareness is somewhat skewy, and this makes things like road positioning and reverse manoeuvres rather tricky. I’ve… Read More
1: Bruce loves the beach 2, 3: Great photoshoots in my favourite locations 4. tasty crabs claws at the Port Charlotte Hotel 5, 6, 7: Discovering Billy’s Bench near Bowmore, and a Scarlet Pimpernel growing through the shingle at Portnahaven 8. Fine weather for walking 9, 10: The first time in four and half years… Read More
Those of you who have been following my post-stroke progress may be interested to hear how my driving is going. Generally speaking, I have been for the past four years very dependent on others (specifically Tom) for basic travel, shopping, and all the other daily tasks for which a car is necessary, particularly in a… Read More
2013 has been a very interesting year. For us, its main event was undoubtedly leaving Edinburgh, and moving out West! It would perhaps seem to be a massive change, moving from a busy city to a sleepy steading just off the West Highland Way. But I immediately felt at home, and the fact that this… Read More
It is almost three and a half years since my stroke. Conventional wisdom about post-stroke recovery suggests that the first neurological adjustments and improvements after a brain injury are very rapid, and then tend to plateau off after the first six months. The importance of this “six month window” was often repeated to me by… Read More
Worry not . . .I’m not going anywhere. I produced yesterday’s post because: 1) this is my space and its useful for me to have a record of such decisions 2) this is your space too, and I like to be honest with you 3) some of you may have been expecting to run into… Read More
It has been an up-and-down sort of couple of weeks here. On the down side, I have not been feeling my best; there have been many more bad days than usual, and, most frustratingly, I’ve had to cancel several occasions to which I was really looking forward. I suppose some sort of energy-fallout was inevitable… Read More
A post for my own benefit, and for those of you who are interested in how I’m managing, health-wise. On a routine visit to my GP yesterday, she pointed out that it was the first time I’d been to see her since May. Given the regularity of my visits to her surgery over the past… Read More
I have had a “bad” few days full of headaches and fatigue. Looking at it, I suppose it is inevitable after a weekend full of (for me) strenuous physical activity, followed by a rather grueling set of medical procedures on my return home (all is well, so no worries there). In a way, the more… Read More
