Background and Stroke:
I had an ischemic stroke on January 3, 2020. As the new year started I was 64 years old and I was looking forward to retiring at year’s end after 41 years as a Facilities Maintenance Manager at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach. I had a fourteen year old daughter still at home and was looking forward to spending time at home with her and my wife before our daughter was college age.
I have always been an avid fisherman, boater, scuba diver and loved to ride my bicycle as well as my motorcycles.
I never have been a drinker. I gave up smoking decades ago and wasn’t ever on prescription medications prior to my stroke. I was, however, overweight and had an extremely stressful job that often didn’t allow me the time to take proper care of myself.
My stroke occurred at home in my living room on a Friday night after work. I felt a little off and when I stood up my whole body lurched forward and my wife jumped up and blocked me from falling on the ground. I stood at our kitchen counter and she called an ambulance telling me she thinks I was having a stroke. Next thing I know the EMT’s were here confirming they too believed it was a stroke and they whisked me off to the hospital. By the time I got to the hospital paralysis of the left side of my body was setting in. My stroke occurred on the right side of my brain. By morning I’d lost all ability to move the left side of my body. The stroke itself was extremely small on the scan but had a mighty takedown. It was determined that there was narrowing and a blockage in an artery and that was the cause of my stroke.
As I lay in my hospital bed, paralyzed, I wondered, will I ever walk again? Will I ever fish again? Will I be a burden on my wife and daughter? Then I made up my mind that I would accept the circumstances that I found myself in and do what I could do. After a few days, I was showing my wife how I could tie my shoe with one hand. I wasn’t going to just lay in the hospital bed and feel sorry for myself no matter how scary the situation seemed.
Physical Therapy:
I was really fortunate with my physical therapy. After a week of acute care in the hospital, I was transferred and spent 3 ½ weeks at SeaPines Rehabilitation Hospital and had excellent therapists that really encouraged me.
Upon release to my home the Visiting Nurses arranged physical and occupational therapists to come to my home for a couple of weeks while I was waiting for placement for my outpatient therapy.
We were fortunate enough to find Ginger and her top notch team at Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center.
Ginger and her team weren’t just therapists to us. They are like family to us. Ginger is so knowledgeable that not only does she treat your physical condition, but she helps you work through the emotional process of processing your new normal.
We incorporated fishing reels and skateboards into my therapy sessions which gave me hope that I would one day be able to do those things I love to do.
It took a good year of work, after my stroke, but I have to say that I can fish, I can skateboard and I can ride my bicycle. I’m enjoying being retired after 45 years of working and my daughter just turned sixteen. I fish most days and ride my bike to get to the fishing dock.
Advice for anyone recovering from a stroke:
I would say work hard and never give up. Keep moving forward no matter how pain staking or small the forward progress might seem. Celebrate every victory big or small. The harder you work, the more you potentially get back. When I say work hard, I mean you have to work hard at the therapist office as well as working hard at home on days you aren’t at the therapist’s office. No matter how much you dislike it, learn to accept the help of your family and friend’s. A good support system is a wonderful thing. There will be days of despair and frustration, but that is all part of the process. Keep fighting to get your life back. Follow your physician’s advice and always express your concerns and get clarification on anything you don’t understand.
By the time I finished my physical therapy I had lost 65 pounds and was able to go off of two blood pressure medications that they put me on after my stroke. My point here is I changed my eating habits and got serious about taking off the excess weight. My life depends on it. My latest brain scan a year out from the stroke, the neurologist actually saw rare improvement in my vascular structure and told me to keep doing what I am doing with my diet well being.