2020 - A Year of 40ths and Lockdowns

 Well, after quite an abscence, here I am again!   2020 is certainly stacking up to be a most memorable one in all respects. 

A year when Coronavirus came into our daily lives and caused disruptions and a year of 40th celebrations. (Or what should have been celebrations.)

Our Ruby Wedding came first, and we were so lucky to be able to go on holiday for a week to Tenerife. The sun shone from morning until night, the sun and warmth were just what we needed after a gloomy winter. It was a time for total relaxation & to this end we had a daily routine of walking along the seafront, stopping for a coffee, then lunch before heading back for a relax by the hotel pool.                    We hired a Mobility scooter for two on the last two days.  What fun this proved to be - we could go further afield and had a great rapport with local business owners who would shout, wave and joke with us as we passed by! I got quite adept at "giving the Royal wave"!

The next celebration was a family gathering that we could enjoy with our family, cousins and friends. We had a pleasant afternoon and little did we know at that time, that this would be our last visit to Lancashire for the remainder of the year. 

Our final Ruby Wedding celebration came in March, when we stayed overnight in a nearby five star hotel with an evening meal.   A fantastic experience, but little did we know what was coming! Two days after our return the country went into Lockdown.   So, it was from luxury to supermarket shopping to prepare for any impending closures or any restrictions that may be being imposed. 

Lockdown came on March 23rd and how strange and surreal it all felt. School closures, noone passing by, peope were advised to work from home. All of this meant no traffic and it seemed eerily quiet. Everyone seemed to start off by painting garden fences before swapping to garden and DIY projects. Thankfully, the weather was really good, probably unusually so for the time of year.

Our town quickly had a good support network up and running. Local shops delivered their produce,  found inventive ways to market their businesses, and two new organisatons have been born out of this. We stayed around home for the first three or four weeks until we felt comfortable with the new situation that we had found ourseves in. We would buy take away coffees and sit in one of the town gardens and while away a couple of hours each morning. The weather was perfect, it was a very quiet place to do all kinds of relecting. My stamina was good at this point and we ventured out for walks where we knew that it would be quiet. Eventually, we had an occasional drive out to local quiet places -trying all the time to support as many local independent businesses as posible. 

We "moved" into the conservatory and watched the flowers come and go and also watched fledglings grow and fly the nest.  Nature at its best. We got to know our closeby neighbours more, so the beginning of Lockdown, although a diffrent way of living, proved beneficial in many ways. It was as though everything had temporarily stopped and made us look at things in a different way.

One of the downsides to this is that we haven't been able to see or celebrate our eldest son's 40th birthday or that of a neice and nephew.   We only take comfort in that everyone remains fit and healthy.

All of this has meant that my support network had to tempoarily cease; No acupuncture, massages or seeing my MSK person from March until the end of August/September.  My stamina became less and as much as I have tried to do small walks it became very difficult.  This was very disappointing after my good run of health.

Our family from London came to visit at the end of August, before the schools were allowed to reopen for the Autumn term.  This is the first time that we had seen any family members since February and it is whilst they were here that I had a fall.                                                                                                       I awoke one night needing the bathroom and fell on the way back. I must have gone down with some force as I have probably broken a toe on my right foot, displaced some joints and am bruised. It is far from ideal, but tell myself that it is a "sideways move". Not a backwards one. All of this means that walking and puting my right foot down can be quite painful.  

Thankfully, the people who treat me have been allowed to restart practicing and I am now once again having acupuncture and being able to receive MSK treatment.                                                                    The Lockdown has had an adverse affect on my stamina and muscle tone. I have quite a stiff back and my affected arm requires continual stretching and exercising.   The unfortunate fall means that I now walk in a way to compensate for my walking difficulties, which in turn can affect my muscles and posture.

I have now found a new person to do my body massage, which will greatly assist with relaxing my muscle tissue and relieve tension. A couple of times I have had the additional  Daoyin Tao treatment, which restores body balance and uses Accupressure treatment for the face, scalp and ears. This treatment is remarkable, so gentle and I could feel the immeadiate difference.       

Quite a mixed year of fortunes so far this year. However, my mantra has always been to:

                                             Look forwards and not backwards.       

      "What If" or "Why Me" will never solve anything, and just wastes too much precious energy.                               

Ten Years On...

This Summer saw the tenth anniversary of my Stroke.  Each year the date rolls around on the calendar, but I never have looked back, and am only grateful that with a lot of support from family, friends and professionals I have been afforded the opportunity to make the best possible recovery.

Pre-Stroke we always ate healthily, infact I had a fruit bowl at the end of my desk at work, and went for a daily walk at lunchtime.   Others had cans of pop, chocolate and sweeties in their desk drawers.
Recently, with all the increased awareness of our planet, global warming and the like we are constantly re-thinking our way of life and diet to be as healthy as we can.
We have red meat only once a week and eat a lot of fish and chicken. Although we still eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, we have tipped the balance to be more vegetables than fruit on a daily basis, as fruit contains natural sugars.

A lot of lessons have been learnt over these ten years - a lot of advice freely given and accepted and some I have chosen to ignore. Some people have made, (in my opinion), crass remarks to which I have smiled at for a while, then decided that if these things had perhaps  been said to someone of a different disposition or temperament could be hurtful. So, I have engaged in a conversation about it.

I have sat and made a Personal list of structures which have helped me over the years:

*Never look at yourself as being disabled - look at all the things that you can do.
*Strive to complete daily achievable targets - make a tick list if necessary.
*It is ok to accept help - but do try first - don't give in.
*Do exercises as directed, if not, you are wasting the professionals time and taking someone's place.
*Wear your appliances eg: foot up splint or knee brace. People only see you for a short fleeting moment.
* What you can do on one day - you may not be able to do so on another. Don't let this bother you, and don't punish your self for this.
*If you are tired it is ok to go to bed early to rest.
* If you make arrangements to go out, it is ok to cancel.
*Never start a sentence: "I'm sorry"
*Never feel embarrassed.
*Talk to people, don't bottle things up.
* Don't listen to people who say You Can't.

"Do just once what others say you can't and you will never pay attention to their limitations again."
Captain James Cook. 

Michael Johnson - Olympic Athlete

Stroke knows no boundaries. They can happen to anyone.

Michael Johnson, athlete, superfit, healthy eater and the list goes on. How refreshing for such a high profile person to share, so publicly, his personal experience. Hopefully, this will give encouragement to others to follow his lead.

Whilst I acknowledge that every Stroke is different and affects people in different ways, the common goal is to make the best recovery possible.

For someone, who at the top of his game, who ran 200 metres in 19.32 seconds to find the reality of covering the same distance in hospital took 15 minutes must have been devastating - -
"tiny incremental" improvements gave him hope.

For me also, any small improvement brought great joy. This kept me focused to achieve the best possible outcome of such a devastating happening.

My mantra has always been: Recovery is a marathon and not a sprint. Just keep working .....

Read an interview with Michael Johnson:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/46234803

Wall Ball for Stroke

After the initial reality of disability after a Stroke, it can be difficult to keep focused on the road to recovery. Valuable work is immediately undertaken with a physiotherapist, either in hospital or in the community, and it can be hard to keep motivated once this contact comes to an end. I have tried all manner of exercises:  with my husband, doing some alone with simple objects that are found around the house and making a tick chart and also exercises within a group.

I read with interest about Wall Ball and the potential benefits that it can bring. Below is the most recent information that I have read regarding this form of exercise.

These particular kind of activity sessions are not only imperative for regaining control over coordination and body movements, but are also a wonderful opportunity to bring together people who have suffered strokes to help them support each other through the recovery process.

Coaches Shareen & Kamran have been tirelessly delivering weekly  sessions to two stroke rehab groups.  The aim of the trial, designed by our very own President and doctor, Daniel Grant, sees us use wallball as an adjunct intervention to community stroke rehab sessions. We hope that by  gamifying some aspects of rehab, wallball can help improve stroke outcomes. Stroke rehab depends heavily on community sessions, often run by volunteers,  and wallball is a cheap, simple and safe activity that can be introduced.

Phase 1 of our trial completed in October, with the team joined by London Sport’s Callum Whitton  to help with the trial recordings.

Phase 2 completes in January  when we re-measure all the tests and see if wallball has made a positive impact on stroke rehab.

We hope to unveil our results at the UK Open in February.
https://ukwallball.co.uk/stroke-trial-update/


A second link to WallBall information and the Stroke Association:  https://ukwallball.co.uk/stroke/

Clot buster operation for Stroke.

Clot-buster operation that 'brings stroke sufferers back to life': Treatment could help 8,000 patients by removing blockages using three-foot wire

• * Up to 8,000 stroke sufferers a year will benefit from the revolutionary technique 
• * Process works for more people and is far more effective than traditional drugs 
• * Procedure involves removing devastating blood clots which cause strokes

A treatment for strokes that can bring patients ‘back to life’ on the operating table is becoming available across the NHS.

Up to 8,000 stroke sufferers a year will benefit from the revolutionary technique, which works for more people and is far more effective than traditional drugs.

The procedure – called a mechanical thrombectomy – involves carefully removing the devastating blood clots which cause strokes from deep within the brain using a three-foot long wire.

Up to 8,000 stroke sufferers a year will benefit from the revolutionary technique, which works for more people and is far more effective than traditional drugs

Until now, doctors have mainly used drugs to dissolve the blood clots – but the chemicals can have severe side effects, and do not work at all in about 15 per cent of patients with the most severe strokes.

Patients treated with the new procedure have an 80 to 90 per cent chance of success, compared with 30 per cent using clot-busting drugs.

For further information, follow the link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4400014/Clot-buster-operation-brings-stroke-sufferers-life.html

** I am still maintaining progress and although I don't always see it,  people who have not seen me for a while notice the difference.

In the main I keep reasonably well, but there are still things that I cannot do which can cause me frustration rather than despondency. 

I am more active, which is good, but this in turn still causes exhaustion and sore limbs, muscles and joints. Although I shower daily, I occasionally use Epsom Salts in a bath which relieve the tired muscles.  It does feel as though it  can be a vicious circle at times but that is the consequence of progress and wanting to conquer the effects of my Stroke.

I still cannot blow my nose properly and it has been suggested that I could improve on this situation by trying to extinguish a candle by blowing down my nose! Well, I'm prepared to try anything and will have to see what happens!

New Year & Fresh Start

We are now three and a half weeks into the New Year, and what once again will be a fresh start with the whole year ahead.

I have been "off air" for a few months, but it hasn't been without incident. I fell in September and, to my dismay, fell in exactly the same place at home a couple of months later. I shook myself up again, but thankfully did not hurt my bad arm the second time. I spent much of the time sitting around, reading and preparing for Christmas, but now feel that it is time to put effort into my recovery particularly my stamina levels which have significantly dropped. A hard lesson to learn - no matter what - you must keep up with exercising and doing as much walking as you can manage.
It is the old adage: Use it, or Lose it.
I am back on track and managing to walk a bit further each day, thankfully the weather has been mainly dry and not too cold.

Sitting, gave me time to reflect on what a different way of life I now have. I have never been angry about what has happened, just extremely thankful for all the support that has been given to me, unconditionally. If I do lay awake at night in bed, I sometimes think about some simple arm exercises that I can be doing and Yes, I do them!! I owe such a lot to the professionals set got me on the road to recovery and I owe it to them not to give up.

I still:
Can be forgetful,  get muddled,  soon tire easily,  still type certain letter groups the wrong way round eg: ht instead of th. and thte for the
Cannot get in or out of the bath.
Cannot blow my nose!
Can be full of intention one day and have no intentions the next.     The list goes on . .

However, I can:
Walk,  how far depends on how I am on any one day
Get dressed and washed,  have only some anxieties about going to new places,
Have no anxieties about ordering food which I want to eat and not what I know that I can manage.
Eat left handed
Write, (of a fashion), left handed
Put clothes on the washing line - using my teeth to hold the pegs!!
Fasten zips and tie shoe laces - these needed hours of practice.

I miss:
Driving the car & being able to go where and when I want.

Reading this back has re-inforced my determination to conquer my Stroke and for this I have two role models: one a cousin of mine and the other the amazing
Jill Bolte aylor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

A new year, a new set of challenges to be set and overcome.

Snap! Shut the Box . . .

The following was taken from BBC News/Health 28th June 2016:

Playing simple card games, such as snap, can help stroke patients with their recovery, say Canadian researchers.

The scientists found it improved patients' motor skills.

Playing Jenga, bingo or a games consol like Wii worked equally well.

They told the Lancet Neurology that the type of task used for motor rehabilitation might be less relevant, as long as it is intensive, repetitive and gets the hands and arms moving.

The researchers designed their study to test whether virtual reality gaming, which is increasingly being employed as a rehab therapy for stroke patients, is any better than more traditional games for honing upper limb motor skills.

The Canadian team recruited 141 patients who had recently suffered a stroke, and now had some impaired movement in one or both of their hands and arms.

Approximately half of the patients, at random, were then allocated to the Wii rehab, while the rest were asked to do other recreational activities, such as playing cards.

All of the patients continued to receive usual stroke rehabilitation care and support on top of the 10, one-hour sessions of gaming or card playing for a fortnight.

Both groups showed significant improvement in their motor skills at the end of the two weeks and four weeks later.

Importantly, both groups fared equally well, say the researchers.

While it's not clear from this study how much of the improvement was from the regular stroke care the participants received, other research suggests adding in more therapy is beneficial.

Investigator Dr Gustavo Saposnik, from St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said: "We all like technology and have the tendency to think that new technology is better than old-fashioned strategies, but sometimes that's not the case. In this study, we found that simple recreational activities that can be implemented anywhere may be as effective as technology."

Alexis Wieroniey of the UK's Stroke Association said the findings were particularly encouraging because they suggest that inexpensive, easily accessible activities can help some stroke survivors in their recovery.

"Thousands of stroke survivors are left with mobility problems, and this can lead to a devastating loss of independence," she added.

** When I was an in-patient and as soon as was able to after my Stroke, I took delivery of a daily newspaper and tried to complete the crossword. This was always done prior to me reading the news.
I played "Shut The Box" and simple card games with friends and family to stimulate my brain.
Early participation, I strongly believe helped me to "kick start" my brain and motor skills. These days I use a Colouring Book - start with simple and progress. There are also Apps  to download.

It is a challenge, but that is what recovery is all about -
KEEP CHALLENGING.