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My stroke I was having coffee at the house of
my friend Jane, in Chigwell, on the morning of 15 February 2000 and then I
came home for lunch. I was sitting in the dining room, after lunch, and I
had a funny feeling that I was having a stroke. It was about two o’clock
and I fell down onto the floor. I was there until 8.30 in the evening,
when my husband Sam came home. I was alone but conscious and I wanted to get up but I
couldn’t. I was very calm though and thought about many things including
the garden. I was supposed to go out and weed the beds! My
son Cameron
was just nine at the time and very upset about it all. He was at swimming
club until 5.30 and I don’t know who brought him home. I was
supposed to be at school to pick him and another person up, but I was
having a stroke instead! Sam
called the ambulance – Mum was there as well because she was very
concerned – and then I blacked out. I was in Harlow hospital for a month
and then I went to the stroke unit at Bishop’s Stortford hospital for
about four months. I was in a room with one other woman; she was about
fifty, but I didn’t talk to her a lot because she and I had difficulty
with communicating. I also returned home at weekends from the 23rd of April until I came home in July 2000, so I was away from Friday until
Sunday. I still go back to the stroke group today to visit people in
hospital and talk to them about all kinds of things including the
physiotherapy, speech therapy, OT and getting on in the house. The people
in hospital talk about their inner selves, and we, from the outside, offer
sympathy as well as doing something about it. We also talk about the
Phoenix club at the hospital – it’s a social gathering in the
refectory and it’s once a fortnight on Thursdays from two until four. I’m
having physiotherapy twice a week, once at the hospital and once privately
at home. I’m also receiving speech therapy, once a week at the hospital
and once a week at home, and at Chingford once a month, as well as
attending Connect once a week. Also the OT comes to my house to supervise
kitchen tasks. She has only been a few times - she was supposed to come in
September 2000 but the head of the OT lost the letter and then found it
six weeks ago! I
was very matter of fact about the stroke but I was very angry as well
because I have a little boy who was nine years old: I got on with it
though and he was very supportive, as was Sam. In hospital the
physiotherapist was very good with me but I was still in a wheelchair when
I came home. However, about a week later I walked a little bit and in
about a month, I was able to go upstairs to the lounge and the bedroom. I
go out a lot with Sam and Cameron as well as with friends. I’m very busy
indeed! Next weekend we’re going to a 50th birthday party at
Barnt Green outside Birmingham and Cameron is going to come as well. I’m
getting better and better, especially with talking, but also with walking,
and I’m going to continue to progress slowly but surely for ever and
ever. |