sauternes1

Stroke Survivor - male
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Everything posted by sauternes1

  1. Happy Anniversary sauternes1!

  2. Happy Anniversary sauternes1!

  3. sauternes1

    Good news

    Hello Pam I'm doing pretty well. I'm left with left side weakness. But I'm a really good compensator, which makes it hard in OT to target the muscles that do not work. So more about me. I'm now 28, single (and not giving up or upset about it), I'm half way through my PhD. I have a dog and a cat. The dog was great to get me out and walking. I've got more stamina and leg strength now. I'm originally from France, It is my 6th year in the US. I had to leave a message on my parent's answering machine back in Paris when I had to go to the hospital. So besides for a few friends, I'm dealing with all this mess on my own, and not doing too bad at all. I'm really excited, I'm going to Paris for christmas in a month for 3 weeks. I haven't had vacations in a year. I've got all the papers for Kali (the dog) and Azabel (the cat) ready. I need to check that Kali still fits in her carrier. Each time, the USDA beagle loves me because it smells nice around me (no drugs sir, just a dog and a cat) so now the USDA man always takes his beagle aways from us because: "leave them alone (the pets), they just had a long flight and are cranky (specially the cat)". Anyways, I can't say much more now, my timer went off and I need to take my stuff out of the centrifuge.
  4. sauternes1

    Virginie Sjoelund

    I stroked in July 2003, at the end of my first year of grad school. I had a huge headache on Sunday and on Wednesday, my left arm was still asleep, when I decided I might need to see the doctor. I remember thinking that if my arm didn't wake up after two nights, then I should do something since once it had already been asleep. I was 25 and never thought I might have a stroke. Luckily, it was a minor one. Because I was so fit before, I never noticed that my leg and arm didn't have strength left, I was compensating with the right side, so it was a shock for me when the doctor could just push my limbs down, like I was not trying to resist. They found out I had a hole in between my atrias (most common reason for young people to have strokes). It was closed January 2004. I spent a lot of time in PT to regain strength. I was told that everything would be back in 6 months. This did not happen. At first my memory was terrible. I was ranked at the 10th percentile at my first test, which isn't the best way to get a PhD. Luckily that has come back to nearly normal. I went horse riding, which really improved my balance and back/leg strength (I can saddle the horse alone now and get on it without help). Now, I have pain in the left shoulder, the muscles are not holding my joint together correctly, so the head of the bone gets out of the shoulder. I'm back in PT to try and get a little bit more strength. I was really lucky that the stroke wasn't any worse. I always try to find a good side in everything, and the good thing about my stroke is that I am less shy and less inhibited. It is actually quite interesting to see how my personality has changed in some ways. I'm less high strung, things happen and I go along with them instead of fighting them and getting upset about it. It makes my life in the lab so much easier.