pprovost

Stroke Survivor - female
  • Posts

    107
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by pprovost

  1. Please stop to say Hi! I have been away for some time have stayed in touch via Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest.

     

    1. HostTracy

      HostTracy

      Hi Pat my name is Tracy and it's a pleasure to meet you. Hope you are doing well! 😊

  2. Happy Anniversary pprovost!

  3. Happy Anniversary pprovost!

  4. Happy Anniversary pprovost!

  5. in the process of regaining mobility after a leg fracture in May In hospital until August23

  6. Hi, i remember wanting to call in sick for work and casually saying that I would off sick for about a week. I was set on returning to work even 6 months after my stroke I was in rehab for 3 months just learning walk. It was only when my employee insurance rep came to visit that I realized that I would not be going back to work at all.
  7. Well Lin I am down over 15 lbs and I believe that a daily walk is key.how grateful I am to have recovered enough to walk as well as I do. In winter I do walk at the mall Hubby, Carl, is working from home right now and with the economy as it is he may be home alot this winter so he may decide to walk with me this winter. I intend to be more active as a SN member this fall. I have developed an interest in reading blogs of all kinds. It is great therapy I think. Pat P.S. Thanks for the pesto tip. I gonna get to that this weekend if weather permits.
  8. pprovost

    day two

    Ok for day 2! :-) Pat
  9. pprovost

    Pat's world

    Miscellaneous pics of Pat
  10. pprovost

    P1010021.JPG

    From the album: Pat's world

  11. Stroke Survivors are typically courageous. I had the courage to show up at WW even after a weekend of festivities that clearly went beyond my usual consumption of several days. My longtime friend, Lee, came to St. Bruno for her annual visit to Quebec. This involves much eating out and little home cooking, lots of deserts and sleeping in. Saturday night we had a great dinner in a bistro that the husband of one of Carl's collegues at work opened last winter. I wisely chose to have salmon with a salad entr
  12. Well, I am facing the music now as many stroke survivors are doing. Being disabled is a reason that some people gain weight after a stroke. I have decided that being overweight is NOT for me. Having never had a significant weight problem before my stroke, I scorned the masses who went to their weekly WW meeting in hopes of encouragement on their journey. My Mom has attempted several times since I was very small but only to give up and gain more weight. My stroke gave me a big wake up call in that I realized I had inherited some rather dangerous genetics from both my parents who had weight issues, my dad eventually passing away from heart failure at age 74. Now I am retired and have time to take care of my health so I started to follow many of the popular programs in our pop culture today. only to get bored and go back to my learned habits. I was really lucky to recover my ability to walk albeit I wear an AFO and use a cane and have a great deal of spasticity on my left side. BUT I can walk! My first instincts after the stroke was that I needed to find a way to burn the energy I was consuming or else walking may become difficult in the future. My staircase became my gym for a month or two until my rehab was done and I could confidently take walks on my own in our neighbourhood. We have bike paths which make walking quite safe from traffic. We also have severe winters with lots of snow.Sidewalks are rarely visible from December until mid- April and if we get freezing rain they are hazardous for anyone. This meant I would have to find a way to walk indoors somewhere. In Canada we love indoor malls and St. Bruno has a beauty. Two floors and two elevators with a few coffee shops to have a cup of jo after a 30 minute stroll around one floor, My municipality provides handicap transportation from my house to the door of the mall for less than 3$. It is really a no brainer. Now the logistics have been dealt with, I have everything I really need to stay healthy for life. My Mom has had some real success with Weight Watcher this last year and has been trying to coax me to join so I figure that because I have been getting poor results on my own, I would be stupid to not give it a try. August 28th I signed up. I have lost 5.6 pounds in little over a month. I feel health returning with all the fruits and vegetables that I now eat. This weekend is Canada's ThanksGiving and there will be much to deal with so I expect that I will be hitting some rough waters before my next meeting next Tuesday. At least my seritonin levels have been replentished by the glorious Indian Summer we are enjoying this week. I can do this. I survived a stroke so losing a few pounds is just another challenge among others I will have at some point. Nothing to sweat about. Small stuff indeed. Wish me luck Pat
  13. Hi Ladibluj I have kept a journal since my stroke 10 years ago. Your poem brought back many of the emotions I had in the first weeks and months. I hope to read more poems in the future. Your writing is very clear and human best, Pat
  14. St. Bruno, Quebec 25km south east of Montreal Pat
  15. Hi, I used to study piano. In fact, I was a music student at McGill University for 3 years way before my stroke but I loved to play piano after I stopped my french horn. The day i got home from the hospital I sat at my piano and prayed that it would all come back like before. My righ hand placed itself on the keyboard just like before but the left just hung at my side. I felt awful in that moment becaue my music was like therapy for me when i was ever unhappyI would compose New Age melodies as if I was on auto- pilot. Of course, i could play one-handed but it was just not satisfying without harmony. To make a long story short, I took art classes and learned to paint and sketch. This has enriched my life and made me find creativity in many other activities( cooking decorating gardening) I highly reccommend it for people who had manual hobbies before their stroke. best, Pat
  16. pprovost

    Bussin' it

    Wow Heather! You go Girl! I am 10 years post stroke I have not got on a real bus yet. I have taken the handicapped adapted transportation and lots of taxis but never a city bus. You are sounding more sure of yourself and that is great. Sounds like you have a good OT and PT Keep it up. you wil go a long way kiddo best, Pat
  17. :Clap-Hands: Well, I have survived the big procedure with much help from the strong medication they gave me The prep is way worse than the procedure and they even let me wear my shoes and AFO. They did remove a polyp which means that even if it is not cancer, I will be screened every year. Now that I know what to expect, this scares me much less than a mamogram. I am now motivated to take care of my nice clean colon by eating lots of fibre and water and exercising regularly. I will get the results of the biopsy in a month. The doctor was not overly concerned and neither am I. Getting old is for the birds. ''Am I getting wiser?''
  18. Never get old! I am not that old by it seems that one's fifties are a virtual minefield for nasty tests and procedures to detect cancer. My father's lucky early detection of a cancerous polyp puts me in a higher risk for colon cancer so now that I am over 50 I must be screened every 5 years. This involves a colonoscopy. So today is what I am told is the worse part of the procedure. I have to take two doses of Pavik-Salax this afternoon and this evening to clear the colon for tomorrow. i will park myself in my office which is close to the upstairs bathroom. I have made a good leek boullion ( Thanks for the recipe Mireille Guliano, author of French Women don't get Fat ) It is a rainy day so I won't take my walk outdoors anyways. Perhaps I will get a few chapters read for the Second Book Club selection. Then there is always Mahjong games on the computer which really waste time easily. I have to admit that I am a bit nervous about tomorrow. Will I be over the effects of the laxative and will I have control over my bowels until the procedue is finished? When one is paralysed on one side, it is not easy to have 100% control on anything and this freaks me out. Before my stroke I could run quickly and never had to rely on anyone for assistance. Now I am playing a tape over and over on how I will strategize worse case scenarios like attaching my hospital gown with one hand ( I will just have to ask for help on this one) Part of stroke survival is learning to clearly and assertively articulate one's needs. I used to be a natural introvert and even now giving commands in a louder voice is stressful. Delegation is a stretch but I suppose this does build character in the long run. Well, I need to start psyching myself up so I will write later on to report on how i am surviving the magic drink.
  19. pprovost

    Back pain

    My back still hurts but I do have an appointment this month with Izabella ( my doctor) I have a hunch that the pain is the sciatic nerve and that my limp may be irritating or pinching the nerve because I can feel pain around my hip and down my thigh. I have had many leg spasms due to a painful corn on my baby toe that I am working on healing with the help of my shoe maker who stretched my shoes to allow more space and less rubbing . I really hope we can find a solution. Since my stroke my shoe width has gone from AA to D. I am quickly becoming a duck out of water LOL :uhm:
  20. pprovost

    Is this a life?

    Heather, Your post reminded me of a conversation I had with my sister while I was still in the rehab hospital. I am five years older than her and I suppose I was a bit over the hill compared to her friends. We were not as close as I would have liked so after my stroke I didn't force a renaissance of our sisterhood. The conversation took place at a time when I was very upset at knowing my situation and how everything would be different. I found myself crying on the phone and she tried her best to comfort me. This leap of faith actually broke down a wall that had existed since we were teens. I felt like the younger sister needing support from the older sister. I think that this role exchange has lessened the competitive attitude that grew out of our age difference. If your sister was a little frightened you might open a dialogue about that with her sometime soon. She needs to know that this is a normal part of stroke recovery and that if you ever feel depressed or sad for long stretches which interveres with your daily activities, you will consult your doctor and have yourself evaluated for post stroke depression. A stiff upper lip does nothing to help this affliction and my life improved 100 % after I got treated. That black cloud no longer sucks my vitality and I can choose to live happily. best, Pat
  21. Hi there, I got my cleaning lady way back when I was working because I was burning the candle at both ends and after 2 burn-outs I chose to relax on the weekends. I was fortunate to have someone in our church family who diud houses for a living so I never worried about allowing a stranger in my stuff. I was grateful to already have her when I had my stroke. I was just one detail I didn't have to deal with along with installing grab bars in the bathtub etc. Allison is really a great housekeeper and the house smells so good after she has cleaned. She uses basic cleaning products and most are environmentally friendly. She is extremely patient with our vacuum cleaner which gets tempermental at times. You won't regret it and forget the guilt about helping especially if you are paying for it. I am usually out when she comes so this is not a problem for me. best, Pat
  22. This week I am feeling about 100 years old. I don't know what I have done to cause my back to feel like I have been through boot-camp for the Cirque de Soleil I know a guy in my town who turned 100 and is more fit than me. Makes me think about my strong genetic pool. My family are long livers many have lasted into their 90's. If I am creaking around like this for the next 40 years I will need to take up bungy jumping by the time I am 97 to offset the mental illness Ii wil have most likely developed by then. Ever since my stroke I have been focused on the future. I suppose having stroked at a young age is the cause of my preoccupation with the years ahead. I am into planning our retirement. Carl is 56 and could possibly retire at age 60. Voluntary Simplicity seems to be the way to go. Getting on this bandwagon has made me more aware of what I consume that brings very little pleasure into my life. I have started going to the library for my books instead of buying them online. We live in Quebec and because only 10% of the Population are English speaking, 90% of the books are in french. Canada's library situation is in dyer straits and funding is extremely sparce at best. Needless to say My french vocabulary has improved since I have been a regular visitor to our municipal library. I am becoming aware of sustainability as well and have been musing various uses for styrofoam, one of the few things we cannont throw into the recycling bin. Perhaps I can use it instead of pebbles into my plant containers instead of gravel to ensure proper drainage. We have had so much rain this summer that my potted herbs have been floating in the pots. All this constructive thinking has made my back pain less bothersome so I will finish the grocery list I was making before getting distracted on the StrokeNetwork message board :yadayada:
  23. pprovost

    back in nyc!

    Wow Rich, Reading of your experience is like being in Disneyworld. I am 9 years post stroke but the emotions of the first months after my stroke come back to mind and I imagine how I would have jumped at a chance to reverse my disabilities. This is going to completely change your life Rich. I wasn't given TPA at the time of my stroke and for months I fantasized about suing but as time passed I cooled down and evaluated the benefit to me of a big fight with a hospital who I believe did the best they could. In the end I couldn't even think of how much the stroke has cost me other than future earnings. I have let that go and I am doing fine with the insurance benefits I am receiving. The world is far from perfect as am I. I really applaud you on your courage to attempt this treatment. I am sure many stroke survivors will be helped now that you have broken the ice.
  24. Last night we had a reminder of january 1998 ( when Quebec experienced the storm of the century) The power went out during a big Thunderstorm and we had no power from 9 pm until 2:30 this afternoon. We thought that after the bgig storm in '98 we were prepared to face anything. We had no power for 2-3 weeks and temps were below zero F for several days. last night we had only one flashlight that worked, no extra batteries for portable radios. We got off easy this time ; our neighbours won't have the power back until tomorrow because the storm broke a large branch on a huge tree and it has fallen on the wires. Until that has been fixed they won't get power. I felt very fidgety todayt being out of touch with the internet. Could I have a problem? I just finished my library book that i have been engrossed in for the past two weeks The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a great read and I will miss it until i can find a new page turner. Tomorrow my agenda is clear. I have some mail to take care of as well as my usual correspondance. I can hear Carl, heaving out the stuff from the fridge that we don't want to eat after a power failure in 80+ weather. This weekend we will do a big load at5 the market. I love the summer produce that is fresh and well treated. I feel healthier just looking at it.