Deigh

I bow my head in shame Janelle, I'm mostly a lurker these days! Deigh

L G , What an incredible bunch of letters I've just read, everyone of you has an excellent ability to find the right words to express to explain the situation and in many cases offer helpful advice. Others ,like myself, cannot contribute to the conversation but need to add our sympathy. Like most of the other contributors I am the victim of a stroke rather than the carer but your letters made me quickly examine my attitude to see if I had been guilty of any of the attacks you have had to endure. Please keep us informed of your progress towards living a realistic life again. Deigh

As you have been told by others on this forum, we all have panic attacks and there seems to be no way of avoiding them but we all learn our own ways of handling them as I'm sure you will too. I'm in my seventh year of recovery and I believe my stroke was caused by a Doctor taking off blood thinners just before a major operation and not putting me back on them after a reasonable time. Naturally I will never have this confirmed! You have quite a few different things happening all at the same time and again this is quite common with stroke survivors. Take it easy and try to get confidence in yourself again by congratulating yourself of your achievements, and by the way..... welcome to the club! Deigh

I'm in my sixth year of recovery and just taking stock of the situation. From a completely dead right side I can now walk without a stick, up to about 2K without problems. Bladder problems are more-or-less under control with the odd mishap. Uncontrollable tears are unheard of now but care has still to be taken not to have a recurrence. Choking is a thing of the past as is foot-drop. My fingers cope with me playing guitar and keyboard again but nowhere near the level I'd achieved pre stroke. Other minor and major problems I had seem also to have either gone or have reduced enough not to interfere with my life too much. Despite a lot of work my speech has shown the least recovery factor. I can be understood as long as I don't panic but that's as far as I have got. I have found the chat rooms to be a great source of enjoyment. The reason is that I can have a conversation there and have my say among a bunch of intelligent people. To do this live would mean me working out exactly what to say and then waiting for an opportunity to say it, by which time the subject would have moved on! I found out by asking questions that most of the other devotees have the same problem as I! I'm a happy chatter! Deigh

Just had a read of some of your blogs and am impressed! The desire to play a musical instrument must be inherent in everyone but not everyone perseveres with trying to learn one. I also read of your attempts to get to grips with amateur radio and your lack of success. I was an enthusiast for many years and had a station in Ceylon when I was there in the RAF. I'm guessing but I think you may have been mainly on RT where I was a morse enthusiast and just loved high speed challenging communication. Apart from that it was just swopping the same old chat with the same people. The other reason was that I was a lonely single lad of 20 (even though sharing a billet with 30 others) and that communication took me away from all their rather coarse values and activities.. I am progressing well with the uke even though I don't practice much, my 70 years of guitar playing has left me with a lot of musical skills which the other club members do not have and this gives me more than a head start. I have a Yamaha keyboard at home and I get a half an hour daily playing that as well as the guitar. There is no way I could consider playing out of home though, just the thought of the effort required to carry equipment and setting up elsewhere leaves me exhausted. Can you read music? Deigh

Kev, welcome to the site proper. hope to catch you again on chat site. Times don't always suit me but I try not to miss contact. Deigh

On my Sunday and Monday (In USA, your Saturday and Sunday) I am stuck at my computer every morning for half an hour with my feet on my Revitive device waiting for it to tick off the time. During the rest of the week I can use the chat forum, so I'm just going to lurk in the lobby waiting to see if anyone wants to join me at the afternoon session time . Deigh

Thanks for that info Sue, next question........There are a lot of unused rooms, why? Is the chat system less used than it has been in the past? I'm quite enjoying the experience, it requires me to improve my typing skills and also develops fast brain work to keep up with others. All this is a good thing! Deigh

I'm full of questions about chat room but cant find anyone to answer........Q❔ For instance....are the chat rooms switched on all the time? If they are I can make an arrangement with someone to meet at a certain time. Can I ? Deigh

Getting better at meeting others in the chat room despite the time difference. Can anyone explain why Thursday should be different timewise to other days and also why there is nothing Saturday or Sunday? Deigh

Jim, I've followed your mail for a while as a lurker since although very concerned with your situation there was nothing I could add to the excellent advice you were being given by other members. There is one thing I'd like to add though and that is about the crying. It is not showing distress but is the result of crossed wires in the brain and it should reduce. Six years ago I was in the throes of it and it was the most embarrassing part of my life. I would burst into explosive tears at the thought of something pleasant or even uncomfortable, I greeted visitors (even those I didn't like!) with hysteria. As a 84 year old male, this was completely unacceptable. It took two years before I could say that I had it under control, but even now I have to take care with bottling my feelings. Good luck, Deigh

As you suggest, these things take a lot of getting used to. I rarely use the auditorium stick because it is very clumsy. I only carry it when going to outdoor occasions when I know I'll want to sit for a while. Deigh

I'm enjoying the chat, but I do have some problems with continuity, sometimes the subject will suddenly change direction and at other times get lost somewhere. Deigh

Managing to get to chat room more often these days but frequently find there has been recent activity which I've been unable to join. It is a pity that the time and date are not automatically shown on each conversation. If it were I'd be able to find out the best times for chatting. The full page shown on the chat schedule is rather confusing. Deigh

I think we all have this problem too, It is not unusual for me to ask my wife for a word I cant find. She is my walking encyclopedia, except when she cant remember either!, Difficult to understand what happened on last chat, you didn't seem to be answering me but having a chat with someone else whos avatar was not registering. Deigh

Hope, I amo n the chat line now, your avater is there but I dont seem to be able to have a chat with you! Talkative local keeps switching on but not talkin at all. Cant understand what is happening? Deigh

Thar was a remarkable effect you experienced, I'm thrilled for you. As you say it doesn't matter how you achieved it, as long as it happened. Life is full of surprises. I had a lifetime of white tinnitus noise in my ears. Since the stroke it has gone! Deigh

What happened to the chat room today (Your last night!) I was a bit late checking in and there was no-one around. I can't get to change my picture but am still trying ! Deigh

I completely agree with you, here in New Zealand the authorities are concentrating on putting pressure on the overweight, non exercising couch potatoes. Whilst I do not disagree with that policy, I do not know even one of my stroke victim friends who fit that group. There must be warning signs that a stroke is imminent apart from high blood pressure. Deigh

I'm also in the four and a half years post stroke and I have to say that although most of the other problems associated with the stroke have diminished somewhat, the fatigue part has stayed almost unchanged. By midday I am dozing at the lunchtable and without my afternoon kip the evening would be intolerable. By 9.30 I cannot concentrate on anything and even watching a fascinating TV program has to be cut short through exhaustion and I'm asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow. Staying asleep is a different problem. Deigh

Aha, we met for a few minutes only last Monday, hope to time it better next occasion. A lady called Christine from Auzzie joined the conversation for a while but I've not heard of her on this forum. Have you? Deigh