Health & Wellness - My Strokes
Overview
I had a stroke the morning of October 10, 2025 - the day before my 64th birthday, which meant that I 'celebrated' my birthday in the hospital, surrounded by other stroke victims - a sobering environment to contemplate one's own existence ...
One of the first things I did when I got home was to create a Caring Bridge profile to log my stroke experience to share with family and friends. I have now copied those diary entries over to this website so that a wider audience can easily access the information for their own purposes. I have also created a stroke knowledge database that includes various 'technical' presentations on the subject.
My stroke involved left-side paralysis and the hospital imaging found evidence for 2 prior strokes so they started looking for a root cause given that I had low LDL cholesterol levels and moderate BMI, was a non-smoker, etc. They found the likely culprit: a fairly large hole in my heart that was letting dirty blood get circulated to my brain, hence heart surgery was in order ...
Strokes are a form of hidden brain damage that only the person suffering from one can feel/experience. Recovery is anything but a straight line to full recovery. Many people, myself included, are left with permanent deficits. In my case they are well enough hidden from view that most people wouldn't notice that anything is amiss: epilepsy; poorer balance; lower energy levels; less resiliency to stressors; headaches; occasional difficulty speaking and swallowing; and spasticity. My stroke knowledge database provides detailed info on these things.
In the end, my stroke also provided many 'positives' that nicely offset the 'negatives': I was supported by a number of friends old and new, forming deeper bonds with people that have now enriched my life; my inability to keep charging forward with my usual physically demanding activities has taught me the benefits of slowing down and living a more purposeful and reflective life; my hearing is more acute now (brain hyper-excitability is suspected) so music is more involving and enjoyable; and perhaps most importantly, I now have greater empathy and understanding of other people with disabilities and critical health challenges.
Feel free to reach out to me if you or a family member or dear friend has suffered from a stroke as I want to give back - so many people supported me and helped me on my path to recovery, helping me accept the 'new me' so I now have an obligation now to 'pay it forward'.