I may look better but . . .

22/12/2017 00:26

Hi Ros

Thank you for sharing about what it is like to live for you I amongst this fast paced world with all you manage on a daily basis.

EnableMe is a safe place to put stuff and explore your personal life as you move forward.

And that loneliness. I send you a big hug.

💫 sue

22/12/2017 02:55

Again Sue, thank you for your support and caring. I have learnt over the years that it is best to just carry on. My husband believes that it is my determination to 'carry on' that brought about the stroke. Who knows . . . Thank you for the hug :-D

Ros.

Katrina

28/12/2017 01:34

Hi Ros,

thank you for sharing your story, what a challenging life you've lead, but you keep going which is brilliant. Well do many of us know about the 'invisibility' of certain health conditions, and the associated stigma that comes from ignorance. I often say to my husband, family and close friends: I'm invisible and I'm good at it!

I think the more we share our stories, the less stigma will be attached to it. When I had my stroke I was 30, and the only young person on the stroke ward. Every doctor wanted their students to see me. I always said yes, until my family stepped in to ask the doctors to limit the number of times they visited in a day, I wasn't getting enough rest. I used to hate talking about my stroke to strangers, but I know if I can give people the opportunity to see what it's really like, then maybe it helps someone else. I know being on Enable me has helped me greatly, and reading your stories has helped me to feel less alone.

Thanks for sharing, I hope you're enjoying the Christmas/New Year celebrations!!

Kat x

01/01/2018 12:02

Hi ros. You have had a bugger of a time, but you are not alone.

The way l see it, the bodies we were born into changed for 20 or so years as we grew. If we were lucky they stayed roughly the same shape for the next 20 years, then we start the ageing process and our bodies change again. Whatever our body is currently is what it is, that’s my simple summation and my goal is to make sure that however incapable my body or mind is or will become, that l will do whatever can to make it the most capable it can be.

As as an old boss once said to me - don’t be so hard on yourself that’s the job of others, and who really cares what they think.

Motor on. Greg

01/01/2018 21:46

Oh Greg! Thank you! Your comments made me laugh - especially as I pictured the changes my body has made, and is continuing to make. If it maintains its current trajectory I shudder to think what the outcome will be! :-D I also agree with your 'old' boss; life is too short to worry about what others think - so long as you live your life right and don't deliberately hurt others that is.

I have never felt 'sorry' for myself or wondered 'why me' - I actually consider myself extremely lucky! Yes, it took nearly 20 years before I came across an ENT specialist who knew how to 'fix' my ear problems; yes, I have not long suffered a double stroke - but I am still here, my mind is still functioning, I can still enjoy being part of my adult children's lives and my grandchildren . . . I am a bit slower, hard of hearing and sometimes walking as if I have had one too many but I can still do so many things. I truly consider myself one of the lucky ones.

It is nice, though, to know that I am not alone . . .

I hope you have a wonderful New Year.

02/01/2018 13:25

Cheers and best wishes also for the new Year.

I would like like to say that having a stroke can be a positive but l know that for many the road back is tough bloody tough. My stroke l don’t know why but l just accepted as part of my life’s journey. Having 4 now adult kids who probably saw me as a far super man than l was gave me the push to try do something super in their eyes and show them that if their simple dad could fight and rebuild post stroke then anything in life was possible. My challenge to you ros and anyone else post stroke is to think of what you could rebuild to that would amaze anyone as to what they think you could have. For example, post stroke l had weakened left arm; with committed gym work my left arm is as strong as my right and both are stronger than pre stroke - what can you you rebuild.

02/01/2018 23:00

Hi Greg! You have certainly shown your kids, and everyone else, that you are more than a 'simple' father. Congratulations on the results of all your hard work. As for myself, I was fortunate in that, although severe, my strokes have not left me unduly incapacitated. Yes, my balance sucks - but, due to a chronic ear condition, this has generally always been the case for me; my left hand sometimes doesn't hit the mark but it is getting better; my memory - well, my memory is just . . . ; it is the fatigue that gets to me the most. Reading the other posts I can see that I am definitely not alone in this. My way of dealing with fatigue is to just battle through it - if I have something that needs doing I do it. After all, it doesn't matter if I stop and rest or not, I will still be fatigued. My personal challenge is to deplete my stash hoards - fabric, wool, art stuff . . . I tend to collect way too much! Physically, my challenge was to go out without my walking stick for support and today I achieved this! I hope that 2018 sees you continually overcoming your challenges. Good luck and thank you for your support and comments.

Ros.

03/01/2018 03:08

Hi Ros,

Great achievement on going without you walking stick for the day. I sense an excitement in your post as you are writing about your thoughts on what are delving into, your drive to explore what is before you in 2018.

For me as down, out, depressed, lonely and every other loathsome word I thought about myself in the past -I always had some little spark of excitement, just waiting to encourage me to move forward.

I truly respect my

03/01/2018 03:09

Whoops that posted before I had finished.

I meant to write I truly respect my journey!! And I look forward to reading more about your year as it unfolds.

Have a good day Ros!!

Sue

03/01/2018 03:46

Hi Sue! I am so glad to see that someone else has a hair-trigger finger on the computer! So often I hit the wrong button and send incomplete items to others. Yes, I was thrilled to go stickless! It means that my life is beginning to approach some level of normality - although my girls would argue that I was never normal in the first place! Hmfph, what do children know!? I respect all who have embarked on a life journey that was not in their original plans. You never really know what you are capable of until fate gives you a little (or gigantic) shove.

Thank you for your continuing words of encouragement.

Ros.

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I may look better but . . .

Roson December 22, 2017

10 Comments

I may never be totally 'normal' but I will live my life as 'normally' as I can. Sometimes though, it is lonely suffering with health issues that others cannot see.

10 Responses

22/12/2017 00:26

Hi Ros

Thank you for sharing about what it is like to live for you I amongst this fast paced world with all you manage on a daily basis.

EnableMe is a safe place to put stuff and explore your personal life as you move forward.

And that loneliness. I send you a big hug.

💫 sue

22/12/2017 02:55

Ros.

Katrina

28/12/2017 01:34

Hi Ros,

Thanks for sharing, I hope you're enjoying the Christmas/New Year celebrations!!

Kat x

01/01/2018 12:02

Hi ros. You have had a bugger of a time, but you are not alone.

As as an old boss once said to me - don’t be so hard on yourself that’s the job of others, and who really cares what they think.

Motor on. Greg

01/01/2018 21:46

It is nice, though, to know that I am not alone . . .

I hope you have a wonderful New Year.

02/01/2018 13:25

Cheers and best wishes also for the new Year.

02/01/2018 23:00

Ros.

03/01/2018 03:08

Hi Ros,

For me as down, out, depressed, lonely and every other loathsome word I thought about myself in the past -I always had some little spark of excitement, just waiting to encourage me to move forward.

I truly respect my

03/01/2018 03:09

Whoops that posted before I had finished.

I meant to write I truly respect my journey!! And I look forward to reading more about your year as it unfolds.

Have a good day Ros!!

Sue