Why don’t strokes ever cause super powers?

Weapons of Rehab

A stroke has no sense of honor, nor fairness. It can destroy every aspect of human dignity and leave behind a pulp of flesh. A stroke can wipe out speech, sight, hearing, touch, smell, mobility, cognitive thinking, and the list goes on. Never have I heard of a case of a stroke doing good, like giving heightened senses, or more strength. Strokes don’t even fix missing functions, like giving a blind person their sight, or a deaf person hearing. Quite frankly strokes suck.

After my stroke I was faced with the possibility that I could be incapable of independent living for months, years, or even the rest of my life. That didn’t happen. While I still can’t drive, nor safely move without some type of aid (wheelchair, walker, cane, etc.) I can get around on my own. I can eat as long as I’m mindful of what I’m doing, and see well enough to write, although I often have to use just one eye. My prognosis is great, with the expectation that almost all of my disabled functions will repair over the next few weeks and months.

It’s not easy, but I am fighting a winning battle. I’m fortunate because my stroke did not do more damage. I am frustrated by the fact that my brain seems to lack the capacity to correct my balance and vision issues. Cognitively I know exactly what needs to be done, but my brain has the ability to overrule logic and tell my body that I’m about to fall to the right, so lean right….I said correctly, my brain thinks I’m leaning right, but then insists on shifting more to the right. This irony must be fun for my Conservative friends, but to me it only shows how screwed up we become when we lack balance.

Vertigo has become a major issue in my recovery. The sense that the room is spinning varies from almost non-existent, to a strong rotational pull every time I move my head slightly. Walking becomes a drunken stagger when my vertigo kicks in, which makes my physical therapy sessions almost useless.

Still, everyday I am a bit closer to a full recovery and there are times when I feel almost normal. I have a great team of therapists who are working with me to get better…possibly to get me out of their hair. I’ll talk about living in Rehab next.