Step Out 2012

Step out Rowntree Park, York

27/5/2012

Venue: Rowntree Park, York, YO23 1JQ

Type: Special Event

Step Out is the national event to raise awareness and funds for The Stroke Association, and to have a great time in the process!
There are many ways to Step Out, and the events are suitable for all ages and abilities.

Visit Rowntree Park on Sunday 27 May for a free day of 20th Anniversary celebrations. The day will include a Zumbathon, live entertainment, blood pressure checks, cake sales and much more.

The main focus of the day is the sponsored charity walk. Put your best foot forward for stroke and choose to do a 100 step walk within the park, a 1.5 mile walk along the river (with a flight of stairs) or a bigger challenge on our treadmills within the park. To take part in the 'Step out' sponsored walk you can enter online for just £5.

The warm up for the walks begins at 11:30 am, ready for the walks to kick off at midday.
But it doesn't stop there, there are many other activities during the day to get the whole family involved, including face painting, children’s activities, blood pressure guidance and refreshments.

There will be Zumba dancing from 11:00am–4:00pm. This is an exhilarating, effective, easy to follow, Latin-inspired, calorie burning dance party!
'Sponsor a Balloon' (biodegradable) for £3 that will be released on the day, in memory or to celebrate life after stroke.
 
Step Out is a fun walking event for the whole family and will be at several locations throughout the year.

I am going to participate in the above event & hope to complete the 1.5 miles event.

Aftercare

Today I visited the Physio at hospital which is the first time in a couple of months. After a general catchup on my progress we discussed the difficulties that I am now experiencing with my right knee and how exercises may be of benefit.

The knee sometimes can feel very painful and at other times I can find it difficult to walk. I have noticed that when I am walking downstairs the knee can lean to the right. After a lot of effort, and at times pain, I have learnt to walk downstairs one foot in front of the other, but I have been advised to tempoary suspend this method that we all take for granted and return to the "one step at a time" method: bad leg first then place the good leg on the same step. This is obviously very disappointing, but I have to accept that it should only be as a temporary measure.

Exercises 20th April 2012

The Physio directed me through the exercises and then wrote them up for me for reference.

I have been advised how to test out straight leg raises in three different positions, noting which are difficult or prove painful, and also how to execute hamstring knee curls and exercises for glutes.

These are to be done three times a day and I return to the physio in around eight weeks to discuss my findings.

Stright Leg Raise at 2 o'clock

Exercise for Glutes

The Straight Leg Raises are to be done at three different positions: Straight, (12.00), 10.00 and 2.00 positions. My Left leg, good leg, has to be kept straight and flat whilst I complete a 2" raise with my bad leg, Right leg.
I must only do one of these exercises, (eg:12.00), at a time and have been advised to execute that one three times a day for three days, moving on to the next position for three days etc.
A hard bed or floor would be the best place to undertake this work.

Exrecises for Glutes (Gluteal muscles) can be accomplished either standing or lying:
To achieve these I can choose either option:
Stand at the kitchen counter or sideboard/table keep my good leg straight and move the bad leg backwards, keeping it straight and foot pointed.

Exercises for Hamstrings are to be done sitting on a chair with a pair of stretchy lycra tights tied around it and around a chair that is facing. The idea is to push out the bad leg and pull it backwards feeling the resistance of the tights. In a more conventional way these stretches can be achieved by using bands or simply holding out the leg straight and positioning the body over it, rather like "chin to knee".

I am in no way advocating that these exercises should be undertaken by anyone and they should only be undertaken on advice from a professional. These have been tailor made to meet my specific needs with improvised apparatus/kit as I do not use the facilities of a gym.
This form of aftercare is not necessary for every stroke patient, but this will help my muscles during a time when I can be more immobile than I would like or want.

 It will be three years in July since I had my stroke and recovery is still being accomplised, sometimes slower than I would like, but with the support that I recieve on all levels I still remain focussed to achieve as much recovery as possible.

Sip It For Stroke: 7th April 2012

Throughout spring, The Stroke Association are encouraging people to organise a Sip for Stroke event and help stroke survivors and their families.
With this in mind I decided to host a coffee morning on Easter Saturday.

Ten friends helped with the running of the event and a meeting was held beforehand to sort out job allocation. On the previous day we set out the room and priced all the goods which had been donated, stalls included: bring & buy, cakes, raffle, "guess the name of the dolly" and books. Three ladies were tasked with refreshments.
Our local M.P. agreed to attend in his capacity as Vice Chair of the All Paliamentary Group On Stroke.


More goods and produce were brought on the day and the event raised  £509.80.

 The organising of the event proved to be quite a stressful time for me, even though my friends were all there for support. Before I had my Stroke, I thrived on this type of event and fundraising and I felt that it should have been a very easy task. During the week leading up to it I found that I couldn't switch my mind away from it and my head started to "thud" again. I can only describe the feeling as if I had got off a fairground ride and although my body had stopped my head keeps travelling.


Thanfully, with all the planning and all the goods being donated, a magnificent amount was raised for The Stroke Association.
Thank you to everyone who attended or assisted in any way.


Every year an estimated 150,000 people in the UK have a stroke. Of all people who suffer from a stroke, about a third are likely to die within the first 10 days, about a third are likely to make a recovery within one month and about a third are likely to be left disabled and needing rehabilitation.
Stroke has a greater disability impact than any other medical condition. A quarter of a million people are living with long-term disability as a result of stroke in the UK.
The Stroke Association is the only UK wide charity solely concerned with combating stroke in people of all ages.
The Stroke Association funds research into prevention, treatment and better methods of rehabilitation, and helps stroke patients and their families directly through its Life After Stroke Services.

March

Frozen beach & sea at Riga

Riga March 2012

Granny duties

March proved to be a busy month with trips to Riga, Latvia and to London.

Every year we go on an organised trip from our local Cricket Club and this year it was a party of 26 - the largest one ever.

The big challenge for this trip was the 4.30a.m. pick up something which I had never encountered before and this was of slight concern. In the days leading up to the day of departure I tried to get as much rest as possible and just had to look on as my husband got everything ready and packed. We keep a check list for such events so we do not forget essentials, making sure that I have enough medication.

I still find airports to be quite stressful, especially going through check in and security and moving from one queue to another along with a lot of other people. Although I am more mobile these days, I have made the decision to book wheelchair assistance, not only does this keep me more calm but aids my husband who has to sort out all the documents and make sure that I am ok.

Flying over Riga was pretty spectacular as the sea was frozen, and there was the last of the snow and ice in the city also, which meant that the main river was frozen over. We travelled to their seaside by train one day and marvelled at men sitting on the middle of the frozen river boring holes in the ice to fish!

Two weeks after returning from Riga we travelled to London to be with our family and new granddaughter for the weekend. On the Saturday afternoon we went to the theatre to see "Warhorse". A busy, but very rewarding weekend.

On the day we were due to return from London, I became unwell with swollen neck glands and sore throat, something which I have been experiencing for over 30 years when I get tired or run down. This laid me quite low for around a week and eventually I went to see my G.P. who gave me a check up but did not think that it was  appropriate to prescribe any medication for this. I have also been experiencing a problem with my right knee, which has meant that walking has been very difficult, I do not think that this is Stroke- related, but  rather something to do with a problem that I had surgery for only a couple of months before the Stroke. I am now waiting for a referral to see the Physio at the local hospital.

All in all a very good month, with lots of good memories.

As I have said before: "A Stroke is not the end of life but just the beginning of a new way of life"