Bob recently relayed information from an article in the New York
Times that suggested necessary activities for the road to stroke recovery it
discussed three main areas to focus on: learning a new language, problem
solving, and engaging in social activity.
I am working on learning Spanish and take lessons 2-3 times
a week. I wrote once before that stroke
survivors are “world class problem solvers”. A recent example of this is when read
an article about a woman in her 70’s that wins awards for swimming and a good
friend of mine has a mother in her 90’s who swims twice a week. I said to myself, “I can do this”. But, we no
longer have a pool; so I had to “problem solve”. Last week Donna and I checked out two pools
that might be an option and fortunately my mother-in-law has a great pool so we
tried it last Thursday. Before swimming
we had to assess the process and whether or not Donna could assist. She would
need to help lower me onto the first step and then with the help of a bar in
the middle of the steps I can lower myself the rest of the way. I can get out but Donna has to lift me up
after I put my leg brace back on. I swam
for over an hour and felt great. To that
end, I would add a fourth item to the road to stroke recovery: exercise.
It is essential.
Regarding engaging in social activity, I generally always have
something on the horizon. That way, I always have something to look forward to.
