Something big is coming. 

I am writing a book! It is on my theory for stroke and brain injury recovery from a "WHOLE-istic" perspective. I will be sharing information about what I feel are three big things we need to focus on if we want to heal from something like a stroke - nutrition, fitness, and mindset. These three things all work together to help us create a balanced, healthy life. 

I have been working on the mindset portion of the book a bit for the last few weeks, and I wanted to share a...
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I have been going to the gym regularly (3x per week) for months now, but my limitations make a lot of things that I would like to do there difficult. A great example of that is planks - I have difficulty with getting up onto my toes, as my affected leg gives out every time... until today. During today's really-quite-tough workout, I somehow managed to do FIVE 30-SECOND PLANKS, on my toes, near-perfect form, and I can still (kinda) move afterwards. 

I am shocked and SO PUMPED! I could feel that...
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I really only seem to update this annually these days, but life has gotten busy! It's been crazy in all the best ways. 

Let's start with what my adult life looks like lately - I am working full time for a regulatory consulting company. I am on their Marketing team and absolutely love it! I work from home most days too, which means that commuting is super easy. It also means that I get to work out of mine and my boyfriend's condo, which is right on the lake. Paradise! 

Speaking of the homestead,...
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At what point does something stop being a story and start being reality?

I was thinking about this recently, because ever since I have all of my medical stuff go on back when I was a teenager, people keep commenting to me that my attitude must be one of the things that got me through it all. And while they are not wrong, it made me realize that there are a lot of things about who I am growing up to be that were 100% shaped by the medical events of my childhood.

I think that a lot of this ...

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Well guys, I am really quite happy today. It has been more than 20 years since my second stroke, and it looks like I am STILL improving, even after all that time has passed. 

I peeled THREE oranges completely with only my affected hand today (right hand). I haven't been able to do that since I was a teenager. 

Victory is mine! Just keep believing that recovery is POSSIBLE and recovery is CONSTANTLY HAPPENING, and then just watch what happens. 

I think that the other thing that has been helping m...
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Found this article today and think it's got some really good information: Sleep After A Stroke The Key To Faster Recovery | Saebo

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Sometimes, the universe sends little hints that all of your efforts are going to be worth it and that everything really is going to work out in the end. This past week, I had a massive one of those experiences, and it’s the simplest little thing that is the most significant too… I can feel the ground underneath my right foot.

That is HUGE NEWS, because that was the first thing that I lost with my first stroke back in 1998. I was 13 years old and it was March Break. I was spending it at ...

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I can feel the ground underneath my affected foot today.

I don’t think that you all understand how significant this is… when I had my first stroke, which was a side effect of cranial radiation treatment that I had to have back in 1997, the first thing that I noticed was that I couldn’t feel the ground under my right foot. The radiation treatment had caused brain swelling, which in turn caused a progressive stroke on my right side. First the nerves in my right foot stopped communicatin...

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Today's epic realization: I am already better.

In fact, some days I would dare say I am better than better. (I'm talking about my recovery of course, but isn't it amazing how much that blends into the rest of our lives as stroke survivors?) 

But it's true when I think about it! I have days when I am so functional that even I can't tell that I have had one stroke, let alone two of them. My hand works and I have all of the fine motor control. My leg co-operates and I can walk normally. There are ...
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As another week draws to a close, I was sitting here reflecting on the things that I managed to get done and what I accomplished this past week (and during the month of February as a whole). This month has actually been absolutely incredible when it comes to my physical recovery! I can now lift more weight, do more reps and accomplish so much more than I ever dreamed in the gym. I am actually doing well in school and really understanding and learning the material (which is sort of a new exper...
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This time though, it isn’t literal (I had a couple of brain hemorrhages back in 1998 and 2001, for anyone who doesn’t know). This time, the thing that is blowing my mind is actually the power of that very organ.

I had a pretty serious stroke right after that last brain hemorrhage, which I am still recovering from. But for the past few years now, I have been working on teaching my body to remember how to be functional. This is accomplished through some pretty intense visualization tech...

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