Life goes on even after a Stroke

Using my Stroke as a Life Tool

Years ago I would have been the first to tell you that the best stroke was one that you didn’t wake up from. Harsh I know but through my own experience I’ve changed my opinion on the subject.

I’m nearly at the 5 month post stroke mark and physically I feel fine but I’ve noticed how many of the “little” things in my life have changed. My own acceptance of my current limitations coupled with a healthy positive attitude has allowed me to achieve a level of personal growth that prior to the stroke would have taken years.

I make many more mistakes in everyday life than I used to. I believe this is because I don’t have the same ability to multitask that I did prior to the stroke and I lack the focus I used to have for the minutiae which is something that I used to be “known” for.

Over the course of time since I had my stroke I have learned some very valuable life lessons. Life it temporary and should be embraced.

First and foremost I do not take anything for granted. It’s all a gift. Waking up in the morning, smelling a flower, petting my dog or doing something small for my husband that makes him smile. All of these are gifts that I appreciate. I am learning to love each day as if it were my last and be thankful for each new day that I wake up in.

Like a book title I once read but was unable to embrace at the time, Don’t sweat the small stuff, it’s all small stuff. I actually find myself working at not allowing the little problems in life to bother me. This is very important in my life because I can’t afford to have another blood pressure crisis. Allowing every little bump in life to get to me was not conducive to my long term recovery.

Letting go of life’s baggage is another piece of the puzzle in my own path forward. I realized that many of the things that weighed heavily in my life were things from my past, my life’s baggage. Since I can’t go back and change those things there’s really no need to lug them around with me day after day.

A major part of my life philosophy has been to seek the good in everything. This has been magnified since my stroke. Prior to my stroke I was able to find a positive in each negative experience, but the time table has shortened. I don’t struggle with it like I used to. I embrace each of life’s experiences and I accept that personal growth sometimes comes from unlikely sources.

While I am still a bit of a worry wart, I also have found that I worry less about things these days. Worry tends to bog me down and put me in a mindset that is not beneficial to my continued progress either physically or mentally. If I can change something that worries me I do. If I can’t change it, I find a way to work around it or just simply let it go.

Clearly my stroke has been the conduit for many positive changes in my life over the last 5 months. In spite of the new limitations I face on a daily basis I’ve been able to continue my own personal growth which has actually been accelerated since the stroke. There’s nothing like a brush with death to change ones perspective on life.