Progress, onwards and upwards

While I didn’t have any positive responses to the injection I received in the clinical trial I took part in recently (see my earlier blog post), it may be because I received the placebo injection. Since it is a double-blind clinical trial, neither I or the researchers will know what treatment I got until all of the data analysis is complete and reported. This is to prevent any potential bias creeping in when interpreting the results. This may take until sometime next year, so I’ll just have to wait. If I received the placebo and the results from the clinical trial look promising, I’ll be lining up for the treatment as soon as it becomes available.

In the meantime, I’ll work on doing what I can to help my vision issues.

I had another brain MRI in August. While I know the images are technically mine, receiving a link to all 470 images was a bit of a surprise. What am I meant to do with them??? Make a new Facebook profile image? Fortunately, the feedback from my neurologist is that there are no signs of any underlying causes for the haemorrhage and that the likely cause of the bleed was a combination of post-open heart surgery complications (fluid retention, diuretics, antibiotics, heparin infusion, wound infection and reopening for cleanouts, chest drain tube) and elevated blood pressure at the time. Basically, a one-off event and unlikely to occur again as long as my blood pressure is kept under control and I manage my anticoagulants properly. I won't need to see him again unless something else crops up, which is always nice to hear from any doctor.

I’m seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist in late November. Neuro-ophthalmology is a subspecialty of both neurology and ophthalmology. Neuro ophthalmologists specialise in vision problems that relate to the nervous system. Such as vision problems due to a stroke. One possible solution to alleviate my vision problems is prism lenses

This may be a lengthy process from the initial consultation (training and adaptation is required), but I’m eager to give them a try and I’ll post any updates as I go.

I’m undertaking some more strenuous walking in preparation for a goal I set when I was in rehab. To walk the Ted Errey circuit in the Brisbane Ranges National Park (which we live near). It’s an 8km circuit which is rated “difficult”, given the rough terrain and steep slopes. I’ve been slowly working my way up to this, with level walks of 6-8 km and some shorter rugged walks, but this will be a challenge for me. Given that when I left hospital in March 2020 I could just manage a couple of hundred metres up and down our driveway with the aid of 2 trekking poles, my wife and I think this will be an important milestone.

If you want to check out the walk I plan, there's a good description, but it also adds on different tracks for the approach so it's a few km longer than the one I'm doing.

I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes I found fitting for my own circumstances.

The first quote came from an article about other forms of trauma that some people have to get through, but I thought it was very applicable to stroke survivors.

Post-traumatic growth: Counsellor Nicola Stevens also says there can be positives, no matter how traumatic the (event) is. "People are pretty incredible and I think even when they have been through traumatic experiences, there is a thing that we call 'post-traumatic growth'," Ms Stevens says. "People can experience growth and make some sense after what has happened, and find a way to accept that it's happened. "With resilience and strength people can find ways to create a life worthwhile and meaningful for them, even after an event like this."

The second Quote came from a post on the Stroke Recovery Support Group Facebook page “⁠I’m a new person now. And even I don’t know who that is yet." Perceptive quote and applicable to so many of us. It is a journey of discovery in a way and we must be bold explorers to reach our destination, wherever that might be.