Sunday Stroke Survival: Smiling in the Face of Adversity

 A few years ago I participated in a book collaboration on adversity. In going over and reviewing 2020s posts, I realized my blog had gotten away from smiling in the face of adversity.  Every other post was whinny. It was full of complaints rather than solutions. It was whinny to the point of petulance which was against what I was blogging for.

I apologize for that. I let circumstances rule my life rather than focusing on the big picture. That's about to change starting now. I'm getting back to "normalcy" again.

Have I recovered as much as I lost with my strokes? Yes, and no. With each subsequent stroke I spend an inordinate amount of time relearning and getting back to where I was before. Being able to talk and do as close to what I was doing prior to the newest stroke. I'm thankful that it's not losing new stuff. It's only relearning the ability to do rather than recovering new stuff. But, recovery is recovery.

Now, that I'm getting Botox again for the time being, I'm refocusing on balance so I can make it down the 45° inclines and declines in our homestead property. Will this ability serve me when I move into a senior apartment later on? Who knows? There are always situations that may arise where this will come in handy. 

Remember, no skill or ability is ever wasted. I'm still waiting for another possible Baclofen pump placement. Having good balance and posture is always a good thing. My focus will be getting as much ability back (contractures allowing). Even going so far as to recover enough that I can have surgery to reduce the contractures. That's a workable goal.

Making sure my specialty equipment is in good working order is also paramount. It deserves due diligence on my part. An AFO that is causing problem just breeds more issues. The same goes with ill-fitting or worn shoes. After pulling my wheelchair and roll-a-tor from storage in the barn when I broke my foot again, I found dry rot on all the tires. They had to be replaced. This could have been cheaper and easier if I had just paid them some attention while put up with petroleum jelly. My cane  tip had worn through with the metal scratching the floor, before I replaced it. How much support would it had of been if I really needed it? The same went to my bath chair and bedside commode. Rats had set up housekeeping inside the commode bucket! So I'm turning over a new leaf and giving these things monthly checks. Things do wear out with use, but decay from neglect stops now.

I'm putting on my smiling face in spite of adversity again. Enough sitting on the pity pot. I'm thinking of renting mine out if anyone is interested. Out of sight, out of mind. I'm back to being proactive and smiling through it.

Nothing is impossible!