How a stroke changed my life for the better

Posted On March 10, 2021

Last Updated on June 1, 2024 by Daniel

You never realize how important mobility is until you find yourself in a situation where normal activities become difficult if not impossible to do.  I’ll be 74 years old next week and when I look back to the week of June 16, 2016, I realize that I am an incredibly lucky man.

The week of June 15, 2016 was the week that changed my life.

I was getting ready to drive home from our cabin in the finger lakes. Our 1-year-old border collie was galivanting in the woods and I was attempting to call him in to the truck.  Of course, Border Collies don’t want to know anything about going home.  He loved the truck but going back to the inner confines of a city home was not his wheelhouse by any stretch of the imagination. He was playing with me by keeping his distance and ran back into the woods each time I got close.

As we continued to play cat and mouse my fiancé called to say good morning.  She was away in Boston visiting a friend and wanted to tell me she was heading home and would see me around 5 pm.

I thought I was talking coherently. The words I heard in my head sounded ok, but clearly her tone of voice was telling me something was seriously wrong.

I heard her say, call 911

before I found myself sitting on the ground and my little puppy licking me on my cheek. He stayed with me as I found my phone and called for help.

I knew what had happened but didn’t want to admit it to myself.

All the signs were present: Face and arm weakness and difficult speech. All I needed to do was call for help

When the EMT arrived, I was inside the cabin lying on the bed.  They spoke and I heard them, but I was in a light fog.  With their help we managed to put the dog in his kennel and within a brief time we were on our way to the emergency room.

For anyone who has had a stroke you know how the next few days play out. Examinations, MRI, CT scans medications, tubes, fluids, and more exams.

I won’t go in to how I was shuttled from Hammondsport to Hornell and back to Rochester.  That will be another story.

Suffice it to say, after a week in the RGH stroke unit, I was transferred again to the Unity rehab facility where I underwent intense physical therapy for about two more weeks.

When I finally got home, I tried to act as if my life was back to normal.  Unfortunately, everything was clearly not normal.  My left side was still very weak, and I couldn’t eat with my left hand.  I am a lefty so you can understand the dilemma.

I must say that I feel incredibly lucky that I had the support of loving friends and family.  They were there to help me every day.

Each day from that point on I have counted my blessings. And in my case, I was determined to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Activities that required physical strength were beyond my reach, but other less strenuous activities took on greater importance.

During and after rehab I was able to walk better, but still needed a walker. Now that is no longer necessary, and I can get my border collie out for four good walks every day.

With more time to sit and recoup my Interests in investing and options trading grew steadily into a daily practice.

Travel too became a new form of therapy.

According to the Haym Salomon home for Nursing and rehabilitation, it is possible to live a normal life after a stroke, but you need to actively participate in your rehab. Strokes can affect mobility, swallowing, speech, and your ability to do vital tasks of daily living. But with the help and support, encouragement, and loving care, you too can move along and enjoy the life you need. You may have to relearn things you have been doing all your life, but these can be opportunities. Who knows, you will end up doing things better than you did before.

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