21 Nov 2014

Stroke update

I had my cerebellum brain bleed (stroke) in Sept 2013 and in all honesty I was expecting to be fully fit again by now. I think my wife and I had no idea how serious this was and just how long recovery was going to take. Nearly 15 months on it is a mixed picture.

All my limbs, my eyes and ears and my cognitive functions seem to work OK. But I still have poor liquid swallow, poor speech, giddiness when walking and I tire on the least physical exertion such as washing dishes or gardening. My stamina is better than it was but it is still far from right.

I am still clumsy and amateur radio construction is still out of the question, which I find very hard to accept. This, and my speaking problem, is why I currently use WSPR so much.

I am told a full recovery is probable, but this will take time. This last year as been very hard. I sincerely hope 2015 will be a better year.

In summary, I have felt old suddenly. Until last year I felt as if I would last forever. Now I feel far more vulnerable.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Like you, I suffered a stroke, also a bleed, in 2006. Over the years I've found my dexterity has varied a great deal day to day. Like you, it has hampered my use of a soldering iron etc. since retiring recently (I continued to teach post stroke), I've been able to devote more time to radio and there are signs of my dexterity improving. I hope you see a similar improvement but in a shorter timescale.

73
Brian
G8OSN