Eight years ago, today at 11 am.... I paused and looked back - ever so briefly...

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Then I strode into My Post Stroke Life.

That’s right, Thrill Seekers and Fellow Time Travellers at 11 am on 11 August 2016, I strode through the sliding glass doors at Bankstown Hospital.

Past the Emergency Entrance through which I had been rushed 16 weeks earlier……and into My Post Stroke Life.

Little did I realize the changes that would now become my daily reality!

Since that momentous day, I have regaled you with my Stroke Story - so on this occasion, I will stick to the facts—68 years of age, a sedentary lifestyle, a horrific diet; a heavy smoker, and a workaholic.

A Left Lacunar Stroke; zero strength on my entire right side; a damaged swallow, and hemiparesis on the right side of my face. I was destined to be in a wheelchair for ten months.

As a certain doctor later told me 'Brian, when I saw you in the ED, you were in a f#$King mess! We nearly lost you! TWICE'

Eight years on......

I still recall the curative skills of those clinicians in the rehab gym who put Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Their names and faces are forever etched in my memory, such was their impact on me.

If you saw me when I was admitted to the ICU, then met me today, eight years on – you would feel the same way about these people!

Why am I regaling you with my story?

Well, it is part of my Giving Back strategy - that through my storytelling, and relating my challenges, shenanigans that other stroke survivors can realize there is always hope.

Your Stroke Story is Important and Unique!

I urge you, whether you are a stroke survivor, carer or family member to share your story.

Whether you sustained your stroke, a year ago, five years ago, or even a decade ago, your Lived Experience is equally relevant and valuable.

Do not let anyone tell you differently!

The benefits will flow into corners you never thought possible

Don’t surrender to the tentacles of stroke but try through a carefully constructed rehab program to become the best YOU can be in your post-stroke world.

In this blog, there are links to other blogs that I have written that may help you in your rehab road and post-stroke life

Read on....

Sharing your Story. The importance of storytelling.

Personal storytelling helps us to communicate our unique experiences, capture important lessons, and convey any wisdom gleaned. Stories also help to make information stick.

Parts of our brain light up as if the events were happening in real life — the experts have defined this process as Neural Coupling.

Personal stories also impact the listener as well as the storyteller. When we tell (or listen to) a memorable story, experts say that our retention of information may increase by as much as seven times!

My life eight years on.......

The journey I am on now started in 2016 with a simple invitation from Associate Professor Simone Dorsch from StrokeEd , a Senior Lecturer in the School of Applied Medicine, at Australian Catholic University. North Sydney Campus to talk to Physiotherapy students about my Stroke Journey.

Eight years on, in the company of another amazing Stroke Survivor, Stephanie Ho, I still have the privilege of speaking with Simone's students.

Steph's story is one of amazing courage, self-belief and resilience -RESPECT.

My blog The Power and Impact of Lived Experience When Stroke Survivors Talk with Student Clinicians discusses these activities in more detail

In the last eight years I estimate I have addressed 1,300 students at three universities in Australia and the UK.

In addition, I have appeared in multiple webinars, online discussions on topics such as motivation, neuroplasticity, and training programs and videos that Simone and other organizations have produced.

Thrill Seekers and Fellow Time Travellers, we Stroke Survivors possess a unique quality, it is called Lived Experience and it is invaluable to researchers.

My Giving Back Strategy.

My Giving Back Strategy is self-explanatory and has grown to a point that it is almost Full Time- but I love every minute of it.

I will NEVER decline a request to use my Lived Experience for the benefit of Stroke education and research.

Currently, I am involved in 9 research projects (both here and in the UK) as a Consumer, or as an Investigator, writing grant applications, and vetting survey questionnaires are just some of the tasks I am involved in.

I had the honor of being invited in 2021 to join the Consumer and Community Advisory Group of The George Institute for Global Health in Australia. To my delight, I was elected the Inaugural Chair of the Group.

This burgeoning involvement is the theme of my blog "The Downstream Effect of My Left Lacunar Stroke"

For me, it is easy to find the time to participate in these myriads of activities- it gives me a level of satisfaction that I had never anticipated I would glean.

Despite during my corporate life I was recognized internationally on three occasions for projects that I have been involved with.

(Not bad for a lad who grew up on a dairy farm in Singleton in the Hunter Valley).

My Special Achievers of StrokeMy Special Achievers of Stroke

I created a blog in 2023 Meet the Achievers of Stroke that highlights the people who have helped me on my journey.

Please take the time to read this blog about some very special people.

Over the past years, I have been a prodigious blogger, and it is a very handy way of spreading my key messages, insights, and learnings to fellow stroke survivors and other stakeholders in the Stroke landscape.

I have been truly humbled by the reception and reaction from my fellow Twitterers

Subjects that I have espoused my musings on include \{in part\} my stroke story[pre and post-stroke]; my thoughts on stroke rehab; the delivery of rehab and relationships and workplace culture.

. I have listed several blogs that are examples of my writings...Please enjoy.

My Long and Winding Road – The Nature of Stroke Rehab.

Recognizing and Harnessing the Power of Your Inner Strength – self-evaluation after a stroke.

The Quiet Strengths of Solitude – the benefits of Solitude.

The One Question that I have never been asked- A question so obvious- yet unasked.

Plateauing- A Term Often Used in Haste…

Some Giving Back highlights.A number of projects stand out over the previous eight years

I-REBOUND -A web-based portal providing after stroke support, which was developed and launched in November 2022, a true collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and Stroke Survivors.

StrokeEd Webinars on Motivation and Neauroplasticity - Associate Professor Simone Dorsch moderated these online events and featured Stroke Survivors moderated. Both had worldwide audiences.

My Blogs on various aspects of Stroke Rehab-How the Mediterranean Diet helps Stroke (3678 hits), Plateauing- a Term used in Haste(2145 hits). Stroke Survivors talk about the hidden aspects of their Stroke (1874 hits). If you want to read my tweets, search @brian_beh

. My Message to Stroke Survivors.

Hopefully if you got this far Gang you now realize the importance of your Lived Experience.

As I stated earlier in this epistle, my reason for sharing some of my activities over the past eight years was to demonstrate that you can genuinely utilize your Lived Experience to help fight the scourge of Stroke.

So Please Get Involved, you can, through your involvement change peoples’ lives. Your input will be treasured and respected.

In April 2024 on the eighth anniversary of the onset of my stroke, I composed a blog to mark this life-changing event- a digital autobiography of my post-stroke life

Simply click on Research you will be taken to the Stroke Foundation's list of research projects that are seeking your Lived Experience.

It worked for me! And has done for eight years.

What have I planned for My Future?

More of the Same.

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Brian A Beh, Stroke Survivor, Advocate, and Investigator.

Lived Experience Stroke Researcher

Life Member of the Hopalong Cassidy Fan Club

Poet, Philosopher and Child of the Cosmos

Survivor of the 60s[Just\}

Winner "Improving Life After Stroke" Category

Stroke Foundation of Australia 2021 National Awards.

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Inaugural Chair, Consumer & Community Group

The George Institute for Global Health – Australia.