Stroke Week 5 - 11 August
In Australia, it’s National Stroke Week (5-11 August).
One person will have a stroke every 19 minutes!
Stroke doesn’t discriminate and can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time (from babies in-utero right through to the elderly).
There are many reasons why a stroke can happen, and by learning the signs of stroke, you can help save a life
F - face
A - arms
S - speech
T - time
Look for other signs too, such as vision loss, loss of balance & coordination, severe headache, nausea and vomiting.
I remember wanting to know - exactly where the term “stroke” originated from as I lay thinking about the definition after it was very clearly said to me that I’d had a stroke after I was being pulled into the world upon being discharged from ICU, anything to keep me entertained and focussed on the life ahead.
What I found was: that the first recorded use of “stroke” as a lay term was in 1599, attributing the sudden onset of symptoms to a “stroke of God’s hand” It was not adopted into the medical lexicon of the time and physicians used the term “apoplexy”, a diagnosis that had been in existence since the Hippocratic writings.
So here we are now in a very medicalised way of looking at stroke the mysteriousness of what happens in any one person’s experience is somehow forgotten…..
Not everyone survives having a stroke - not everyone lives and I am saddened that this is not acknowledged more - not everyone gets to recover in ways that they could only wish. I survived my stroke, I survived other events in my life, and having lived being so triggered by life in many ways. The lack of compassion, understanding, or hope that people living with not just stroke but other brain health conditions will be given better access to the knowledge and treatments coming out of many years of “brain study”.
ARE YOU THAT PERSON ?
Are you that person who doesn’t know,
That a stroke attacks the brain.
Life goes on around us,
And it’s never quite the same.
Labels coming out our ears!
With never ending work….
Our precious selves in tatters,
Hidden traumas, invisible they lurk.
So when I forget my words..
Or when I’m weary as I walk..
Please give me love don’t mock me.
It’s an effort as I talk.
I didn’t choose for this to happen,
Do you think that I am dumb?
Your second cousin had a stroke,
And he was never any fun.
Respect me through my losses,
They are real for me, I grieve.
I am a gamut of emotions.
My body’s tired, rest me, please.
Uncertainty surrounds my days,
Does it feel like that for you?
A leading cause of disability….
You could be affected too.
Learn how to recognise the signs.
Then how to respond.
F……is my face drooping
A………my arms not level
S…………speech slow or slurring
T………..Time to call 000.
I’m a survivor not a victim.
I’m a person just like you,
And when it comes to fighting stroke.
I’m here to see it through.
My gluten free carrot cake and delicious spiced cacao that is my morning tea as I think about stroke week and what it means.
I’M STILL RECLAIMING
Sitting up straighter
Feet flat on the floor
Brain reclaimed, legs reclaimed
Focus, non inflamed.
Falling into place
Sense, curious, catching up, measured hurry
Puzzle pieces more in place…… defined and not blurry.
Lean in further without sinking
Connecting the disconnect
Awareness, energy, forwards thinking.
I danced this morning in an online zoom dance, freeing my nervous system, loving the progress I noticed in my ability to balance, twirl, spin, and drop deeply into the spirit that held me through all the practicalities of recovery. How freeing, amazing, how brilliant!
My nervous system - not a lot of love is spoken about towards our brilliant nervous systems, which tell us how we are travelling. It all just seems too complicated and there’s confusing amounts of information which seem to miss the mark. I’m focussing on sending my nervous system kindness and so much love throughout the day as I look for more compassion and like-minded people. I follow the aches and twitches appearing along my spine and neck after craniosacral massages, leaning into the flashes of memory and feeling the past as if it’s the present. I go as far as I can go - not turning away from the discomfort of decisions made in survival mode.
The patterning from my early life taught me the ways to disappear in plain sight, watching injured farm animals separate themselves from the herd - I did the same, still do to a degree.
I still look for the gold in my days, sometimes it’s harder to find than others. So for stroke week my gold is gathered in the sparkles within the smiles I exchange while I wonder about all those people who need a little love to find their smiles again.
Peace
Nina Wilde