Stroke - One Year Later

 One year ago today, April 5, 2020, I had a stroke. It severely weakened my right side and it has been a long recovery. I am 98% recovered and I want to tell you more about what helped me recover, and what my continued struggles are so perhaps you can learn something that will help you or you can gain compassion for someone going through a similar recovery. 

First and foremost, I thank God for His protection and for being ever-present to help in time of need. I cannot so much as breathe without Him and He did far more than help me breathe through this process. He protected me when I was in the hospital being neglected; He protected me from having a worse stroke; He gave me increased compassion for others who are suffering; He stayed stedfast when I could not so much as read His Word or pray. I could go on.

I have to give much, much credit to Leon and Carrie Knight, The Performance Doc, who gave my life back to me and helped in more ways than I can express. They cared so deeply about my recovery and helped every step of the way. To this day, we keep in touch and I consider them friends. The confidence they gave me was one of the highly motivating factors that led to my recovery. Thank you to Leon and Carrie!

I also needed help with my speech and swallowing. I was originally sent to a speech therapist but she offered no help whatsoever, so I was on my own. I found a lady on YouTube who helped me the most. She gave exercises that really helped, and helped quickly. I did them several times a day and they worked. Find that resource here.

I still struggle in a few areas. I still have Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA) and it is difficult. PBA is when one laughs or cries at potentially inappropriate times, or laughs and cries uncontrollably for no apparent reason. I've found that when I'm upset or facing a difficult conversation I will lose it and either begin to laugh or cry and, at that point, the conversation is really over for me. I've had a few people not take this well and I've had no ability to correct their misunderstanding of it. On another note, my husband wins all our arguments now because I start laughing or crying and that's that. I have found that if I know I'm going to face something emotional, if I have a good cry before hand, I do better at the time. It is better in that sense. It's still a challenge. It's like my emotions are incontinent....I can't control my response to things.

While my speaking voice is 100% healed, my singing voice is not. I used to sing soprano, but right after the stroke, I could not sing at all. Now I can sing, but I sing tenor. That's a big adjustment. Singing soprano is still too taxing.

My typing, aka keyboarding, is slower. Before the stroke, I did 90-95 words per minute. Now I'm going, maybe 55-60 words per minute. Very frustrating but at least I'm typing, 

Occasionally, I choke when drinking water or another liquid. I have found that using a straw gives a big advantage with drinks and I almost always use one now. This is the opposite of the advice a speech therapist gave me. She said never use a straw. That was not good advice. A straw is better in this situation. 

I can honestly say I am healthier now than before the stroke. I've lost 50 pounds, my energy has skyrocketed and I sleep so much better. My doctor put me on Hydroxychloroquine to avoid Covid19 and it has had tremendous health benefits for me; i.e. my arthritis cleared up as did my severe eczema. It helps the body with inflammation and lowers cholesterol as well. It's been good for me and I plan to keep taking it long after Covid is gone.

Overall, I'm pleased with my progress and I will never forget the helplessness I felt when it first happened. Thank you to all who have prayed for me and continue to do so. I had to blog about this a year later. Such an interesting anniversary to have!

~Tricia