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.