STROKE RECOVERERS NOT SURVIVORS..

Okay so I watched the programme about Barbie on channel 4 and ‘perception’ is currently my NEW favourite word :)

Sometimes I get the occasional
“I don’t know how you do it?”

I’ve never really understood what ‘it’ is..

It as in stroke ‘recoverers’.. this is a better way of saying and explaining who we are,
Because it’s what we do.. ‘we’ as in the classed as, ‘stroke survivors’

I remember there was an article written about me, they headlined it as
‘Stroke victim Elizabeth Ashmore tells of her fight for survival’
I’m sorry WHAT? Survival?..
the perception of people whom have suffered strokes;
TIA’S
‘Major strokes’
And if there are any more types of stroke..

No one sees our bad days
The days at the start where;

We compare ourselves to others recovering
We’re TOLD how we may recover and our brains will ‘re-wire
We ALL loose something and someone (friends and unfortunately for some partners)
We’re so vulnerable that we will believe and fall for anything anyone says to us
We will blame ourselves for suffering the stroke


And then obviously there is how we are affected..

Some can’t even speak- known as ‘aphasia’

Unable to ‘speak out’ to put it bluntly
Tell everyone to
‘Fuck off’

Vulnerability is a HUGE problem as stroke recovers to recover, its so difficult to realise that you are infact more vulnerable than a child..

The perception *there the word is again!!* of stroke ‘survivors’ as SOME idiots say..
Will NEVER be changed and I think as a personal opinion it slows our recovery down, you are stopping us from;

Believing in ourselves
Recovering at our own speed
To start LOOKING FORWARDS not back..
(These stroke survivor Facebook groups really don’t help)
Trying to be ‘normal’

THERE IS NO NORMAL!

Leave the past in the past and just be who you are..