namaste

for some reason, in the few years before my stroke i had got out of the habit of reading

the stroke changed this - suddenly i had lots of time - and having got through the stroke with my cognition intact but my right arm out of action, it was ideal

one of the books i chose from the talbot rehab patient library was by robert mccrum.  i'd read his novels 20 years ago, now i was reading his stroke survivor memoir,  My year off : recovering life after a stroke 
he was 42 at the time of his stroke (a year younger than me) and his stroke was worse (which made me feel less sorry for myself)
i hadn't quite recognised that young people (other than me) have strokes
now i could face life with more aplomb

this book gave me a thirst for more.
my librarian instincts kicked in and i trawled trove for other accounts of (preferably) young stroke survivors
*initial search strings -
Subject Cerebrovascular disease -- Patients -- Biography. 
Subject Cerebrovascular disease -- Patients -- Rehabilitation.

i found some wonderful books, but also many duds (perhaps good for others, but not for me - i donated some to the talbot library)

the most inspirational, and informative is My stroke of insight : a brain scientist's personal journey by Jill Bolte Taylor
jill introduced me to neuroplasticity, reinforcing what my rehab therapists and my own body were telling me about my recovery - the brain can recover from the devastations stroke can wreak
but more than the physical recovery, she demonstrated eloquently the opportunity for re-awakening
jill's left hemisphere was affected by her stroke - in particular the parts of her brain that provided an understanding of the outside world - language, numeracy and critically where her self began and ended.  she recounts dreamily of feeling at one with the universe and feeling full of love and joy.  she says it's amazing but we're just one thought away from nirvana.

this book lead to a wider exploration of titles, about the brain and spirituality

just recently i've come across another gem, Learning to Fall : the blessings of an imperfect life, by Philip Simmons, a university professor, suffering from a degenerative motor neuron disease, writing about the inextricability of life and death, that you can't fully appreciate life until you accept the proximity of death.

his book is a series of observations.  one i loved involves namaste

brain quake - 21 july 2013

just after 12pm on 21 july, i had a stroke - a haemorrhage in my left basal ganglia.
i was in emergency at the austin within half an hour

an mri confirmed what i had guessed.

• my face drooped on the right, 
• my right arms hung limply by my side. 
• my right leg was wobbly but ostensibly okay.
• apart from extreme shock and distress, my cognition was unaffected.

i spent 2 or so days in the stoke unit at the austin, and was then transferred to the royal talbot rehabilitation centre in kew.
the first bed available was in the abi (acquired brain injury) unit, so i didn't spend time with other stroke victims but i did start intensive rehabilitation therapies - physiotherapy  - looking at the range of movement
occupational therapy  - getting back to movements you need for daily life
speech therapy - speaking, swallowing, but also looking at sentence structure, grammar and understanding

i spent just over two confronting weeks at the royal talbot.