What does a stroke feel like?

I had a friend ask me that and I wonder how many other people want to know. I don’t remember the stroke itself but I remember the hour or so before, I was having pains in my stomach (I thought it was my lapband). I went to the emergency room, they couldn’t figure it out until my nurse saw my face drooping and said she’s having a stroke. All hell broke out.

My advice is this, know your body, if something feels off, trust it and go to the doctor. My doctors said there is no connection between my stomach pains and my stroke, but I’ve talked to EMT/Police and other witnesses that have seen survivors who had stomach pains first. So know your body!

The next question you should ask is: What does surviving a stroke feel like? Half your body doesn’t work and the doctors don’t know when or if it will work. It all depends on your brain, how much damage has occurred and if the brain can recover.

I’ve survived for two years and I have regained some but not all of my right side. Initially my foot turned in badly, I had to sleep with a boot. I used an Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO) brace to help me stand and walk. My knee didn’t bend when I walked, I had to think bend your knee. I still sleep with my boot but I can walk without my AFO and my knee bends. When I walk I have a quad cane and I concentrate on walking. It’s funny I never thought about how to walk before my stroke and now I constantly sing “put one foot in front of the other” in my head.

My arm has a mind of its own, it’s a stubborn arm. Wonder where it got that from. I’m told the arm is the last to ‘wake up’ and is the hardest to work with (I’m finding the doctors right on this one). I can move my shoulder back and forth, but not the elbow or the hand. If the fingers are relaxed I can move them with my other hand, BUT if they don’t want me to move them they curl up into the tightest fist. No moving them. This gets fun when I’m getting my nails trimmed.

I move my arm when I’m in bed or my recliner. When I took this picture I was so excited because my arm stayed above my head long enough for me to take a selfie. I didn’t think about how my neck looked, I was looking down at the camera. Ten minutes later I showed Walter the picture and tried to demonstrate how I did it BUT NO, my arm wouldn’t cooperate.

Then there’s my head, my smile is lob sided, I have to chew on my left side otherwise I drop chewed food out of my mouth. Plus putting a bit in my mouth is a crap shoot, I don’t have a shirt without a stain on the front. Finally there’s the brain.  I am pleased I have my brain. Some stroke survivors lose their brain or part of it, but I didn’t. I’m lucky, I can blog about my experience and maybe help someone understand how to survive a stroke. I am told I’m an inspiration, what I’ve done the past two years, hopefully I can continue to inspire everyone with my story.