#stroke recovery

[midnight-soulless-system]

Hot take, but everyone should be taught the symptoms and signs of a stroke. This should be a mandatory lesson in school.

Anyone could have a stroke, at any time, including you, the person reading this! If you were having a stroke wouldn't you want someone to be able to quickly identify it and get you help before it got really bad? Brain damage is fucking serious, and yet it's the butt of so many jokes and ehat most people know about it is the "burnt toast smell" which can be caused by many things.

So, as someone who has forced my mother to let me do her annual stroke test assessment to make sure she still knoes the stroke signs and everything, here are some things you can do to try and determine if someone is having a stroke. (Yes I passed the test everytime I did it and my mother would watch it with me)

Has their face drooped? Ask them to smile wide and if one or both sides of their face are drooping, they may be having a stroke. Call 911 or whatever emergency services

After this, ask them if you can touch their arms and legs to see if they can feel it. If they do not say yes or some affirmative DO NOT TOUCH THEM. Consent isn't just for sex, and this person is most likely going through a very traumatic sscenario. If they say yes, have them close their eyes and tell you which body part and or side you are touching them on. Let the 911 operator know your findings, and if they say no move on to the next step.

Test their speech. Have them say "I want my mother/mama" Can they say "a cactus is prickly"? If their speech is slurred then this is a sign of a stroke. Tell the 911 operator how severe the slurring is.

Have them try to raise their arms and legs. Let the operator know if they can or cannot raise any of their limbs, or if they have any difficulty.

Finally, ask them what year it is, what day it is, who's the president, where they are, etc. If they answer any of these questions wrong (especially if it seems like a really random answer) let the operator know.

Hopefully this helps someone. And please, for the love of fuck, treat stroke patients and survivors and people with brain damage like normal fucking people. Don't baby them and shit, and treat then like how you'd treat anyone else.

[this-is-anti-brain-injury]

I've seen a few more specific this-is blogs under the @this-is-ableism umbrella so I decided to make one for brain injuries & brain damage as it's something very close to my heart and people often excuse this type of ableism, even in supposed disability-friendly spaces

Flag used in pfp and banner is this one by @emberhoards

How to use this blog:

[PT: How to use this blog:]

Click on my username

Click on the envelope symbol, or click my username a second time and click 'Inbox'

If you'd like your account to be anonymous, select 'Ask Anonymously' (note that you won't be notified if I respond to an anonymous ask, so follow the blog and check back later!)

Send in an experience that you or someone you know has had with mistreatment because of a brain injury and/or brain damage OR You could send in a question, some positivity, or different kind of message which I'll tag differently

Mod Info:

[PT: Mod info:]

My name is Atticus (any pronouns) and I'm a stroke survivor in my late 20s - I was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury in my youth and then experienced further damage to my brain due to my stroke, doubling up over here haha

I've faced a lot of problems with my symptoms of other conditions being doubted, being denied access to care, not being listened to, and being assumed to be incapable because of brain damage and I'm passionate about making this type of thing more known

Other ableism-based blogs I recommend include: - @this-is-accessibility - @this-is-anti-id / @this-is-anti-idd (intellectual disabilities / intellectual developmental disorders) - @this-is-saneism (mental health and disorders) - @this-is-infantilization - @this-is-cluster-b-saneism - @this-is-anti-bpd - @this-is-depressiomisia (depression) - @this-is-agorableism (the behaviours of disabled people in public) - @this-is-audism (deaf/Deaf/hoh/hearing loss/auditory processing disorder)

and I'll add in @thisis-suicidism and @thisisparamisia because their stuff is also very meaningful to me in particular

[spacefoxy-irl]

big news

jen's stroke recovery journey

this feels so silly but today i managed togo to the bathroom almost all by myself with no help. pants are still hard cause i got only one functionsl arm and i cant stedy myself when i'm fiddling with my pants. but i was able to stand sterdily.

my pt has really helped me a ton. practising going backwards and sideways has made me more agile and steady on my feet.

my main mode of transportation is still wheelchair.but we'll see where i can go. i do remember saying, the first day in hospital that i will walk again. i can walk, as long as there is something for me to hold onto for balance. i might never run , jump or dance againor be able to stand for long periods of timebut hréy, as lonng as i can function in my own space i'm happy.

[nelclectic]

Throwback to my first self-portrait after having a Stroke! :)

On 2/6/26, I celebrated 2 1/2 years of my Stroke Recovery.

I get very emotional whenever I talk about what it felt like to suddenly lose connection with my Dominant Hand and Vision. I take immense pride in my Recovery, especially having had to relearn EVERYTHING all over again.

Muscle Memory can last just a few moments, so I’m very happy that I figured out that my love for Art and Creativity are so deeply ingrained into my brain and body, that not even a stroke can stop me from reconnecting with myself.

I’m extremely proud of the work that I do and have been doing. I’m very proud to be an Artist, and always have been. 🩷

[audreyrosepromise28]

It's going to be okay, but it's going to be different

[thequeenofthepirates]

So my really kickass neighbor, who is a drummer and used to be a professional roadie for bands like Deep Purple back in the day, had a heart attack and then a stroke last year. I was devastated when I stopped hearing his music from downstairs.

Recently he started up with music again and he's started posting his recovery journey on YouTube. I think it would mean a whole lot to him and to me especially if y'all went and gave his videos a watch and tunes a listen.

Groove Therapy stroke recovery journal

Stroke recovery using my love of music and drums and drumming to promote healing neuroplasticity. former road crew member.. with a lifetime

Sean has been there for me more times than I can count, and our little neighborhood family is doing its best to be here for him now. Hopefully y'all will follow along in his recovery with us.

[megthemariner]

bone deep - m.v.e

[scumgristle]

the last 5 days.

Not sure if anyone noticed the lack of daily posting sprees around these parts, but the real world has interceeded.

On Tuesday, my mother went in for a scheduled surgery to clear out her carotid artery, which was 90 something percent blocked. Well, they cleared it a little too well, 'cause a rush of blood went right to her brain, causing her to have a stroke (the very thing this procedure was meant to halt).

from Wednesday to Friday, she showed gradual improvement in her ability to speak, walk, and swallow. Then early Friday evening, she got hit with breathing problems. At first, she emphatically refused the insertion of breathing tube, or indeed any further medicinal assistance, opting to instead be "made comfortable" (which hit my ears as a benign variation of assisted suicide).

I rushed home from work to find my brother screaming at my dad over the phone, insisting that my parents listen to the doctors and put the tube in. My uncle (mom's brother) then screamed at my brother and I to "do something".

I could only raid my dad's liquor cooler and try to erase the night.

That was Friday. Yesterday (Saturday) was spent in fog of internalized rage on my part. My dad went to see my mom, still in the ICU... and somehow doing better (!). They got her an oxygen tank, and she's showing improvement with regards to breathing on her own. I was even able to talk with her (2x) yesterday, and although groggy, she is speaking in full sentences, and her personality and gallows humor have remained in tact.

Now it's Sunday. Dad's waiting to see if Mom will be getting her own room, where we can visit her without the crowding stressors of an intensive care unit. After that, either she comes home or we hook her up in a nearby rehabilitation facility. It's that whole "one day at a time" gimmick.

Our Mom's side of the family is furious with us for reasons that don't quite click with me, but everyone deals how they deal. I myself put a hole in the wall and exploded with vile words that I 100% didn't mean and will likely never forgive myself for saying.. even if I have been forgiven by them (which I have).

Since 2007, my mother has been through it. Her heart issues began around that time, right after I graduated college. The primary reason I stayed put in this area was because I wanted to remain as close as possible should the inevitable occur.

In the spring of 2012, she had a triple bypass. In the fall of that same year, she had a heart attack. She came back from that.

In 2024, even though she is 3x vaccinated, she got hit with a breakthrough case of Covid, hospitalizing her for two weeks. She bounced back from that.

So far, it seems like she might be bouncing back from this as well... she is the most resilient woman I've ever seen... but I have to face that she's about to turn 79 years old, and i'm 43, and it might be practical and healthy to remain on guard here.

All I can hope for is that I'm once again worrying over nothing... building up anxiety to experience the dopamine rush of relief.

I will keep whoever's here updated when I know more.

Until then... please be kind. She's still with us.