-
Connecting with others in the stroke community
Eight years ago, at the ripe old age of 22, the universe decided to throw a wrench in my plans. And by “wrench,” I mean a stroke that changed my life forever. It took the left side of my body offline, leaving me with weakness, limited mobility in my arm…
-
Finding Joy in the Little Things
Life has a funny way of dealing you a hand you never expected. Sometimes it’s a Royal Flush; other times, it’s a handful of mismatched cards that don’t have any synergy at all. eight years ago, at just 22, life dealt me the latter. I suffered a stroke that wiped…
-
Coping with Post-Stroke Depression
When the Silence Gets Loud There is a specific kind of silence that settles in after the hospital doors slide shut behind you. In the hospital, there’s noise. Beeping monitors, the squeak of nurses’ shoes, the constant prodding and testing. You are a “patient.” You have a job: survive. But…
-
Re-Learning Everyday Tasks After a Stroke
If you’ve ever tried to brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand, you know it feels like trying to write a sonnet while wearing boxing gloves. It’s clumsy, it’s frustrating, and you mostly just end up making a mess. Now, imagine that feeling applied to everything. Tying a shoelace. Buttering…
-
Restoring my independence after a stroke
If you were to graph the trajectory of a typical 22-year-old’s life, the line usually points up and to the right. You are acquiring skills, you are gaining freedom, and you are acquiring the ability to eat a sandwich without thinking about the complex biomechanics required to lift it to…
-
Understanding the Impact of a Stroke
Seven years ago, the universe decided to play a very dark, very confusing practical joke on me. I was 22 years old. I was healthy. I was almost as invincible as any 22-year-old assumes they are. I was worried about typical 22-year-old things: career paths, dating, and whether I could…
-
The Scully Effect
If you asked me years ago if a TV character could fundamentally alter the career trajectory of an entire generation of women, I would have laughed. I mean, I love media. I’ve written before about how experiences, even gaming or travelling, shape us. But single fictional characters changing the demographics…
-
My top 3 things abled-bodied people should know
As a stroke survivor, there are a few things I wish non-disabled people knew. A stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, and it can change your life in an instant. Here are the top three things I want non-disabled people to know about stroke: In conclusion, stroke can…
-
A bad Week!
So today I’m going to talk about an event that happened to me last year, and how I managed to deal with a big issue in terms of my recovery from stroke. In May, I received a phone call from a physiotherapist, specifically the physiotherapist, who took me on for…
The Long Road Ahead 