Stroke at 57. Our story of recovery.

Yep. It was bound to happen! I got some sort of crud last Wednesday and ran a low grade fever, was super sluggish and had various other symptoms for a few days. What felt the worst though, was not being able to adhere to our usual exercise, home therapy schedule (and golf cart cruising) that we are used to. We only missed one Ballard session, so that's good. Still, I felt very sad and guilty. But through it all M was so sweet and understanding. We laid around and watched an entire Amazon Prime Series ( The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. ..super cute, and tried Lost In Space ...but M called it dumb) We have not allowed ourselves to be couch potatoes so far since his stroke, so just chilling in front of the TV for a couple of days was kind of fun. I've been feeling a lot better the past two days, but now I just worry about him coming down with it. I'm hoping he still has those teacher germ fighters that he has relied on for 35 years. That's definitely why he has so much sick ...

Another great week of improvement with Michael's walking. He does better without the cane, so PT  is working on walking him during therapy. I walk with him more at home too. This morning I got up before him and when I went back to the bedroom, he was not in the bed but rather had gotten up and walked himself into the bathroom. So exciting (yet scary!) We went on a nice walk over the weekend. (M calls it our "hikes" since it's on trails) We covered almost one mile on this one! He did great. Today we tried the elliptical at the gym. M did awesome and did not lose balance at all. I had him use the non-moving handholds, he tried the moving arms and he handled it well. A great week! "Hiking" in our community The bridge on our hike Walking at Ballard On the elliptical

The coolest thing lately is Michael starting to regain his balance to the point that, with some guidance, he can walk without any assistance. Short distances and an uneven gait, but it's a start. On Saturday when the boys came over, M walked all the way down our hallway with just my hands near his body in case he wobbled. It's truly amazing and brings HUGE to smiles to whomever we show his "new trick." (don't tell physical therapist though... we are going rogue..but staying safe, of course) 😁 Also, he is speaking more clearly and unless he is tired I can mostly understand him completely. Others are beginning to do the same. His right eye has moments where it's strong, but mostly still stays in a  non-alignment position. Still hoping it straightens out, but it could still take awhile. Finally, I don't want to jinx it, but it appears his swallow is getting closer to becoming normal. I've been making his drinks with a lot less thickener and he isn...

Nothing much new this week, so I'll just post a few photos of M doing his thing. 💗 We walked 2/3 of a mile when wearing the red shirt and just a half mile with the blue. (mostly all uphill) He is now walking 1/3 of a mile in the pool. We are so lucky we moved when we did and have access to all of this. We love Four Seasons Beaumont!