The hardest part of my stroke wasn’t the hospital. It was going home.

Nith Vegaya
Nith Vegayaon Monday, February 23 2026
6 Comments

Hi everyone,

I’m a stroke survivor.

The hospital care was structured.
There were nurses, therapists, routines.

Then I got discharged from hospital and something happened.

There was no daily structure.

No clear way to track progress.

No simple way to know:

  • Am I improving?

  • Am I overdoing it?

  • Is today a good day or a warning day?

  • How do I explain this to my family?

Recovery at home felt uncertain and overwhelming

Some days I pushed too hard.
Some days I felt guilty for resting.
Some days I wondered if I was going backwards.

No reassurance that what I was feeling was normal. That uncertainty was stressful — for me and for my family.

So during my recovery, I created something to solve that exact problem.

It’s called StrokeSMART.

I built it first for myself during recovery, and now I’m opening it up to others who might find it useful.

It’s a simple online check-in you open on your phone or computer. No downloads.

It helps you FOCUS on one achievable intention per day:

• Know how you’re actually doing today

• Track small wins

• Monitor energy, mood

• Give your family peace of mind

• Feel back in control — even on tough days

It doesn’t replace doctors or therapists or any of the required experts.It simply brings structure and calm back into home recovery so the recovery doesn’t overwhelm you.

If you felt that “lost at home” feeling after discharge, you’re not alone. Using this during my own recovery helped me feel less uncertain day-to-day and gave my family more clarity about how I was actually doing. If you think this might help, you’re welcome to have a look and share your honest thoughts.

Out of respect for the forum guidelines, I’m not posting the link here. If you’d like access, just send me an email at nv@strokesmart.com.au and I’ll happily share it with you.

No pressure — just something I built from my own recovery that might help someone and building something the community truly needs.

– Nith

6 Responses
Lynda avatar
Lynda

That sounds familiar you want to do everything right and you worrying alot and it doesn't seem to get any easier you just get some days where you don't want anyone to see you and just sick of feeling the way you do and you just need someone to understand what you are going through everyday is different and that is what I can't handle so if you want me to chat to I am here for you.

Nith Vegaya avatar
Nith Vegaya

Hi Lynda,

its a relieve that someone else feels the I do too. thank you for reaching out to me.I really appreciate it.

I built the web app so that I can help me then realise it may help others too.

Right now I can't even sound intelligent during job interviews. My brain works slightly differently. 

garrylawson avatar
garrylawson

Yes very true , soon as you are out of hospital they think it is end of the story , but the real part is at home , your lucky , I was sent to a nursing home , took 5 years to get out , and still no follow up , see you doctor and he may help . NDIS is so hard to get onto , after 3 times I threatened them to go to the media and Health Minister , then the final accepted my application .

Cath avatar
Cath

I 100% agree. Going home after a month in rehab was so difficult. So many people had visited and checked in with me and my partner while I was still in hospital but as soon as I was discharged, everyone presumed I was better and I still had a long road of recovery and rehab to go.

Almost ten years after my stroke, I have found this AMAZING charity who provide a free app, which would have been wonderful to use so I wanted to share with other stroke survivors.

https://www.gathermycrew.org.au/

This would have been so helpful to be able to call on people in my community to come and help in meaningful ways (mowing the lawn, walking the dog, helping to hang up laundry)

Please share with stroke survivors, their families and health professionals. It's a great app!!

Nith Vegaya avatar
Nith Vegaya

Hi Cath,

I just looked at the website you mentioned. It is of great value and help. 

The webapp i built is StrokeSMART

I hope it will help the stroke community. 

garrylawson avatar
garrylawson

Yes but even worse is you can't do what you use too , even giving a kiss to a child can be a challenge , but most of all is accept what you can't do and improve the things you can do . As I said life is a challenge and took a stroke to realive it .

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