report card

Today, I’m starting my third week of independence.  Bob started his new job in Houston three weeks ago, which leaves me home during the week--so far so good with some twists, (more on this later).  A typical day consists of reading the paper, Spanish class and homework, a two-hour bike ride, errands, de-cluttering the house in preparation for our move to Houston, and house chores to prepare for showings. Bob handled our move to Austin 100% on his own since I was traveling,   ’m determined to make up for this 13 years later.When I get bored I cook and  I went a little crazy preparing for bob's homecoming the first weekend. I made a quiche, blueberry corncakes, chocolate chip cookies, and meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  Several of these were challenging with one hand. This is one of the twists, before cooking I have to stop and think through all the steps to make sure I can handle with one hand.One afternoon I was in our dressing area and I dropped my cane.   When I tried to move, I couldn't and certain I would fall.   I now know t the meaning of apoplectic, i.e., I froze .  I was very shaky and just didn’t want to fall.  If I fell it would ruin the entire weekend.  I stood there frozen and my PT training kicked in; “shift your weight and take a step”.  I did this and it worked, but I had to talk myself through the entire process, which was scary. . Just like cooking I have challenges and I work through them.   

Those days and hours of PT are critical to the long-term rehabilitation of stroke survival. Six plus years later, lessons learned in the early days post stroke– surface time and time again.

“Get back on that trike!”

My last blog elicited concern from family and friends but don’t worry. For some reason, I was surprisingly calm during and after the event.  I guess it means I'm getting used to these things and the panic is gone. Twenty-four hours after my brake failing incident, I went on another ride (Bob gave me the necessary troubleshooting measures from afar).  During this ride three neighbors unsolicited, pulled over just to say hi and to introduce themselves.  It was pure joy.  The trike is so unusual looking that people are curious and want to know more.  One new neighbor whom I had not yet met pulled over to introduce herself and thank me for the cookies I had delivered the previous day.  Her young daughter leaned out of the window to tell me how much she liked the cookies, which were packed for her school lunch that day.  I was overwhelmed with glee.  I have to admit my trepidation due to concern over the brakes. Bob will return to Austin for the weekend and I’m planning to ask him to shadow me on my route to allay my family’s fears.  My goals are 30 miles per week to reduce the atrophy in my legs. My vanity has no bounds.

be careful out there

Bob started his new job in Houston on Monday so I rely on my neighbor to help me get on my trike in the evenings. On Monday, I set out for a 10-mile ride.    I stressed the brake system on a big hill that resulted in an issue later during my ride.   (While tackling a big hill, I was four gears away from the easiest or granny gear and had to rely on the brakes quite a bit).  While returning, I rode by a tennis court and my reflector light fell off.  I was going back to retrieve it and while turning around and going downhill, my brakes failed.  I had to circle the cars at the tennis court twice since I had no way to stop.  On the third go round, I ran off the road on the right and into a small bush to stop the trike.  The whole time I was circling I was yelling: “HELP.” A couple playing tennis helped me retrieve my light, turned me around, and fixed my brake.  When I relayed the story to Bob, he asked if I explained that I couldn’t walk, etc.  I find  it interesting that I’m reminded of the stroke every time I take a step, but when this happened it nevereven occurred to me to explain to this couple that I had a stroke and couldn’t turn the trike around on my own.

These challenges strengthen my resolve to continue to exercise and keep my mind alert.