Can I tell you something

was what my 7 year daughter asked me this morning. To which I replied of course, bracing myself for what she could be about to tell me. "you are so beautiful" was her response. We sat for a while and she told me how well I am looking at the minute and yes the truth is I am feeling very well and I have had the odd occasion as of late when I have felt beautiful something that at quite a few points in my life since my stroke I didn't think would ever be achieveable. Now I'm not saying I'm "model beautiful" at all but to feel beautiful inside is a wonderful feeling.

On June 5th 2016 it will be two years since I had a massive hemorrhagic stroke that left me with a paralysed left side. I have learnt how to walk again, move my arm and hand again, tell the time amongst other things. Things I thought I would only have to learn once in my lifetime.

It is very strange to be at a point now where people are not constantly asking or checking if I am okay. This of course was what I wanted more than anything at one point but it has been strange to let it go. I can't speak for anybody else but my stroke recovery has felt like- one step at a time, grief for what you have lost, fight all you can, celebrate every achievement but grieve your one time stroke issues that you have conquered. Set yourself a new goal.... It really is a complicated business.

I still have left hand and foot parathesis but I don't let it stop me much. There are things I can't do but I prefer to try to concentrate on what I can do. My brain still has its funny moments but if I sleep well, eat well and all that good stuff I find I can manage to stay in control.

My biggest goals have always been and still are -

To complete a run to raise money for the stroke ward that looked after me so well.-  I'm not able to run as yet but I'm getting stronger. I am following a gym plan and throughout the month of May I am making it another goal to get into the gym twice a week every week.

Be fitter than I have ever been - eating well and exercising. Keeping my 80/20 lifestyle up.

and

to help others who have have suffered a stroke themselves. - When I started writing this blog it was with the intention of someday getting to the point of it helping somebody else as when I came out of hospital I like many others wanted to find success stories as as much as I wanted to believe I would get better I did not know if I ever would. I have enjoyed this little blog but it has become more of a personal diary as I have not had the strength in me to help others as was my original goal when I have still had such a major fight on my hands myself.

  I don't want to stop writing but I have decided by June 5th to start a new blog. With the purpose being to hopefully help others, give me a purpose and to give my brain regular work outs.

Thank you to my sisters for always reading my posts and to anybody else who happens to come across this.  Lots of love to you xxxx

London Wonderful London Part one

It would be so easy for me right now to just hide away from the world and plan things to do once I feel better. I do feel like I am hidden away in some ways because I can't work but I find myself going out more by myself and enjoying chatting to people, something that last year I didn't think I would ever be able to do. I still get a but lost if the conversation involves more than one person but hopefully that will get easier with time too.

I had an amazing time in London recently and am super proud of myself for going on this trip. 

We arrived at London Victoria coach station and made our way across the road and only a short distance away to Victoria Underground station, I managed the steps pretty well and after a straightforward journey on the District Line we soon arrived at our home for the next few days Aldgate East. I always get a bit nervous about finding places from the stations as they normally state head North, East, South or West up a certain street. It would make much more sense to me to label the pavements with the above as it doesn't make any sense in my head. We walked out onto Leman Street and followed the boys who seem to understand these matters more (to those who get confused like me, when you come out of the tube station you are told to head south which to me means head right down Leman Street)  and within a couple of minutes we came across Alfie Street

 and from here we could see the Premier inn 

I love Premier Inns and have stayed a few times in various ones in London and Bristol areas. We had arrived earlier than check in was due to start but would have been happy just to leave our suitcases there at this point but they gave us our room keys and even made a few rearrangements so that we could be fairly close together, in the two rooms that we had booked, The receptionist was lovely and took the time to have a little chat with us too, (my very first proper job was a Hotel Receptionist. I loved it and loved meeting new people and making them feel welcome. I also loved all the admin and organising that came with it.) Danny loved the fact that there were vending machines selling drinks, snacks snd some toiletries.

We very quickly dropped our cases in, freshened up a bit  and headed towards London Bridge. Again this was a simple tube journey on the District Line to Monument with no escalators. 

We didn't immediately see any sign of London Bridge but it wasn't far from the station. 

This here was the main reason for wanting to walk over London Bridge. What a lovely view of Tower Bridge. 

We also saw The Shard. Once over the other side we walked through Borough Market.

Smelling and looking at all the delicious food. I will definitely be back here one day with an empty belly and a purse full of cash. We then found ourselves walking past The Clink 

We didn't actually go into this Museum but have added this to our to do list because Cerys was very intrigued by this.

This was my reason for wanting to visit this part of London. It's not just any old pub but an historical pub. I had pictured myself sitting in the beer garden looking at St a Pauls Catherdral with my glass of wine. 

 Tick :) It felt as good as I had imagined these past few weeks.

Honestly I'm not obsessed with Premier Inns but Premier Inn Southwark is near by this pub so I would love to try that one out next time I am in a London. I fell in love with this area and could quite happily just spend a few days around these small parts. 

We headed back the same way that we had came (spot The Gherkin :) ) 

Danny tried some Egyptian food while the others tried some Hot Dogs 

We then made our way on the District line yet again to Westminister for Cerys to see Big Ben- which was the main reason why she wanted to visit London. We ended up getting separated by here which led to me not swiping my Oyster Card because Ceri was looking after it for me. From that moment on I got a bit braver and kept my Oyster card in my pocket. I would bring a small over the shoulder bag to accompany a backpack next time but you live and learn. I managed to sort out a refund for my mistake on my Oyster card luckily whilst I was there. 

We then walked around to Buckingham Palace 

Then headed down The Mall in search of a Bella Italia as we had a voucher for 25 percent off food there. We went to The Strand. My battery on my phone was low at this point so I have no photos of this. We had the Pane Bella  to start with the Balsamic vinegar and olive oil, I wish you didn't have to choose between this and the Mascarpone and Spinach dip as I enjoy both equally, I followed with the Cannelloni Ricotta which was nice but not something that I would be that excited to try again.

We had then come to the end of a very eventful and jam packed day one and headed back to Aldgate East from Enbankment all ready for our beds. 

Day Two 

I was up pretty early this morning and unpacked our case before we headed for breakfast. We were greeted by such lovely staff who could not have done enough for you.  They offer a wonderful choice of food that would cater for almost Any tastes. 

I really enjoyed my breakfast there each day. Myself, Mum and Cerys had booked to go to Madam Tussards this particular day, our slot was 11:15 to 11:30 so we made our way to Baker Street after breakfast.  A simple tube journey on The Hammersmith and City Line with no escalators and we were had arrived. 

I shall have to abandon this London diary here for now as I started writing it on my phone and knew how to get photos on here very easily but I am now writing on a Chromebook- Thanks so much Claire :) I'm still learning how to use it. My brain is slower than it used to be but I shall get there and I will come back to write London part two when I feel like I can and keep this updated as I miss it but a change such as a swap of a technological device is such a big deal to me and my now brain right now. 

Pack up your troubles

This time last week I was in the very hot and sunny  London. It has taken me a week to start to feel like I am now back in my reality. 

I had spent a long time looking forward to this trip and at least  two weeks before planning each day and each tube journey/ walk etc, I must admit I almost enjoyed the looking forward as much as the actual trip. 

I love packing and started putting bits together for our trip many weeks before it. I would have loved to have bought new clothes to go but that didn't end up happening. I had planned to travel as light as possible while trying to be covered by any possible weather. My plan was to bring three dresses that would all be okay to wear either bare legged or with tights and that could be worn on their own or with cardigans. When it actually came to trying my dresses on though I had nothing that would cover all weathers so I resorted to my usual trousers with either vest tops, short sleeve tops and cardigans. I didn't want to carry anything that I would not get use of but I ended up having to bring "just in case" items. Cerys was easier as she has dresses and playsuits that can be worn on their own if the weather is nice or can look just as nice with leggings and cardigans if need be. Although I did make a mistake of packing a dress that no longer fits her. I had not noticed how much she has grown. That dress fitted her perfectly at Easter which does not seen so long ago. 

Normally I struggle with the dilemma of what shoes to bring but having a dodgy foot means I only feel totally safe in one pair of shoes so I obviously wore them and had no need to pack any more. Cerys wore her trainers and I packed her sandals just in case she wanted to wear them but she only wore her trainers as they are sensible but still look nice and matched all of her outfits. 

I have bought a backpack and it is just what I wanted. I saw a photo of this on Primarks Instagram a few weeks before I could actually go in and have a look around one. I saw another similar one as I walked in and grabbed it as was not sure if this would still be avaliable, I was so happy when I saw it by the rest of the bags. It cost ten pounds, looks and feels perfect for me. I couldn't stop staring at once I had got it home but did feel that it needed a keyring so I had planned to look for one in London. Very strangely though Cerys had gone for a day out in Tenby with Nanny Lawrence and had bought me back a Purple Heart keyring with a J on it. Perfect. It means so much that she chose it for me. 

Cerys is quite notorious for not wanting to carry her backpacks, we had gone for a day out recently and she had moaned so much about it that I ended up carrying it. She wanted to carry my bag around though so I decided to buy her a more "grown up" bag. 

Partly for her and partly for myself as I didn't want her moaning about carrying it around London. She chose a bag "called Kangol" :) she loved the blue and purple colours and the suede bottom. In fact now she has decided that she would like this to be her school bag. 

I bought a folding walking stick that I can carry with me just incase I feel a bit unsteady or tiredness kicks in. I am normally the one being told to "keep your bag shut and look after your purse and phone" and I must admit my reaction would be "everything is going to be fine, no worries" etc but I felt a bit anxious about this, this time around, I think it's because I have so much more to think about these days for instance carrying a bag while walking. I packed my Oyster card in a inside pocket of the bag and packed my purse and important things in a make up bag and tried to pack plasters, my tablets, body spray in another make up bag. I tried to keep it organised and as easy to access as I could while making it as safe and secure as I could. 

I bought a new notebook (which is looking a bit battered after London) and planned days out and how we could get there. I still had my escalator dramas and noticed that if you use the TFL journey planner for London it does give you an option to tick a box to search for underground stations that avoid escalators.  I of course didn't do a strict plan but wanted to feel as safe as I could so needed to plan what I could. We had some food vouchers so had an idea of where to eat each night and an idea of all the things that we wanted to do. I would normally do this sort of thing but would use a computer. I enjoyed using a notebook and stickers though and will definitely use this method again. 

Then all that was left to do was go and have fun in London :) 

Brain shake up

I wouldn't describe myself as brain damaged but last June my brain was in fact damaged. I have been working so very hard to not let this define the rest of my life. I'm doing pretty well, I have a foot and a hand that no longer work properly but I'm still working on them both and still hopeful that one day they will improve the same way that the rest of my left side of the body has, I get by generally but Sometimes my body and brain likes to give me little reminders that I'm not better yet. 

It was my sister Claire's birthday on 4th August, it landed on the week that we were having our holiday in Pembs. Unfortunately somebody forgot to order the sunshine so our plans for the day were changed. It was all fine though and we decided to have a family day at Mums house. 

Rebecca had asked Mum to help her get flowers for her Mum. So sweet! :) 

It was all going so well until I accidentally forgot that I'm not just a normal person that doesn't need to concentrate on walking etc and went to ask Cerys something. I attempted to get down mums three steps without thinking, lost my footing and landed on my nose. I can only assume that my left side was just not strong enough to hold me after my fall.  After my nose finally stopped bleeding(sorry about your new floor mum ;)) I could feel how swollen my nose and eye was, it was so painful and I spent the next few days taking painkillers and had a lovely black eye. Although my daughter did say it looked the same colour as my make up. I do love a smokey purple eye but I prefer the pain free kind. I did spend the next few days hidden behind sunglasses as it felt too sore to try to cover up with make up. It even felt sore with sunglasses resting on my swollen nose but I preferred to be hidden from the world. Mum had a grab rail installed by her steps when I moved into her house after my hospital discharge. I have been extra careful on the steps ever since my fall.  I am determined not to let it dent my confidence but I would be lying if I said that it did not upset me. 

Hope you had a lovely birthday Claire, I didn't mean to try and steal your limelight ;) 

I have always loved watching Rugby Union. One of my goals having come out of hospital was to watch Wales play live. Ceri and Lexy had tickets for a test match between Wales and Ireland although they did warn that the seats were quite high up.  I must admit that this is something that would have worried me pre-stroke too but I was very nervous as we had her to see a show in Cardiff in high up seats  the night before I had my celebral angiogram, I was so nervous and it did spoil the show a bit for me. 

As we approached the stadium I got that old familiar anxious feeling- not about the actual game but about my height issues. As we started climbing up more and more steps, I  just wanted to cry. Huge thanks to Ceri for literally holding my hand the whole way up.we had arrived at our seats only to face another obstacle, passing people to get to our seats. Thanks so much to my mum and Ceri for holding me along this very narrow path. You made me feel as safe as I could have felt. I was so relieved to make it to the seat and that I was able to look down and actually enjoy the rugby. Luckily as well as sitting by my mum I sat by a lovely girl who I shared a little moment with regarding the fact that we were indeed both welsh even though we were both wearing white tops and would both be cheering for the same team. I loved every minute once there, just a shame that it was not a better game for Wales with a better score. Ireland were the better players that particular day though and I got to see Wales play rugby at the Milennuim Stadium. I have only ever seen wales play in Cardiff Arms Park  many years ago with my Dad. I hope to go back and take Cerys but it would need to be on a lower level. 

I love food but since having a stroke my tastes have changed and I'm still learning what flavours I really like. Yesterday, I had a packet of onion ring crisps and I felt like I was eating chemicals, I presume that was the articial flavourings etc but that is yet another thing to add to my list of things that I long enjoy anymore. 

This, however was gorgeous

We ate in Henry's, Cardiff, it was lovely. I had the hallomi burger. If I remember correctly it was peppers which had been cooked beautifully with a lovely flavouring, hallomi and hummus all served in a seeded roll along with fries and mayonnaise. I am going to try and recreate this at home once I am back from London. 

I had to pop into the doctors earlier this week to pick up a new prescription and sick note. When I came out of hospital I couldn't have even attempted to try and sort this out myself. Every time I have gone lately something seems to have gone wrong but they were both there waiting for me. I walked to the chemist to put my prescription in when I realised that I couldn't tear my prescription off to hand it in. Before frustration kicked in too badly luckily a lady behind the counter noticed and didn't cause too much attention to the fact that I was stuggling, she just sorted it all out for me. I am very grateful. 

I don't know if it us a hard thing for people to talk about but if I mention "my brain" a lot of people can't seem to deal with it. For instance I may mention how I like something now that I didn't before and they may say oh that's because you are getting older and your interests change etc. This may be partly true but I think it's a combination of my brain having a bit of a shake up and the fact that I have been forced to slow down so it had allowed me to notice and appreciate life more. 

I have had some good times lately without any dramas too but I shall talk about them another time as another thing about my brain- it needs lots of rests and one is due now. 

A little more conversation please

This flower was given to me by a very good friend when I was in hospital, it gave me so much joy and started so many conversations with passing strangers. 

Over the past few days  I have got stopped twice by people that I do know but have not seen for years. I was greeted with a "it's Jo isn't it?, lovely to see you, what are you doing with yourself these days?" 

It's strange to think how much a job/career can defy us. I really don't like saying I'm not well enough to work right now. It's a good thing that I physically look well but I feel it also makes it harder to explain my current situation.  When I have to explain that I have had a stroke, the first thing I see is  the look of surprise on peoples faces. Almost as if they think it could be a very distasteful joke.

If you know me well or take a particular good look at me there are signs of my stroke still there but to a passing stranger I look like a normal 37 year old. I am

not complaining, this is because I have chosen to fight it and not let it defy me but it gets so awkward. 

I was delighted with the way each conversation went though as thought I  must be starting to look a bit more approachable again. I think spending the last year having to concentrate on walking, avoiding any obstacles like fellow human beings passing me, trying to filter noises all around me etc has not  made myself look particularly friendly or that I want a to engage in a conversation with anybody. 

They will probably never know what a boost those conversations gave me but I shall thank them here anyway.  Hopefully there are many more chatty conversations to come in the near future. 

A pretty good blog?

Thank you You Tube you have been like a friend to me through this whole recovery time. I can get some advice, ideas of how to organise, cook, do my make up and get ideas for what to wear along with watching old sitcoms if I should feel the need. Many people do vlogs which I love. Lately I have noticed a few videos coming up in my subscription box about advice on starting a blog. I originally started writing as when I first came out of hospital I was searching for success stories from other young stroke survivors so I thought if I share my story it may provide a bit of inspiration for somebody else. I didn't know if it would be something that I would enjoy or want to continue doing for too long (and being the type of person who previously would tend to get bored of things after a short while) so I did not want to draw to much attention to it just in case I did in fact give up  but I wrote my first post in November 2014 and am currently finding myself wanting to write on here more and more. It is not a big secret but I have not sent too many people this way and I don't actually know if it is of interest to anybody  or even if it is enjoyable to read. It is helping me though and is fast becoming a favourite hobby of mine and does feel like a dear friend to me. 

The first bit of advice seems to be to make your blog look pretty. I am computer less and I shall be honest in saying I do not really know what this blog looks like. I am still not sure that even if I did have a computer right now that I would even understand how to play around with the layout anyway. This was of no interest to me before but it has got me thinking- one of my next projects will be to make this blog more presentable and be something that I can be very proud of as everything in my life should be the best it can be, pretty and functional. 

When inspiration strikes

I think I have finally got to a point in my life where I feel like I have actually lived through a lot of inspirational quotes. I see some and think to myself yes that is what I think everyday but how do you get yourself to the point without going through something awful first?

Life is too short not to -- this is something a lot of us will frequently say. I have always said it but don't feel like I practised it so well. Now I find myself saying it all the time but I truly believe it and I am actually doing the things that I was once too afraid to do because life is too short to worry about what other people think. The fact is most decent people aren't worrying about what you are wearing/ doing but yesterday I did read somebody made a comment online about women being too big to wear short skirts. Perhaps it was said in jest and was a little private joke that he had going on with somebody else. I quickly came off this site as I really wanted to say have you not thought that maybe that lady is trying her best to be brave and one bad comment may mean she will never want to show her legs again or worse still, leave the house again. 

I have not wore shorts for years, not because I hate my legs in fact although not the best legs in the world they are probably one of my better features. I suffer from dry itchy skin and never wanted anybody to see it. In the previous weeks building up to what could possibly be our summer, I have been applying this to my affected areas four times a day. 

It is looking so much better and although not perfect, I can cope with not perfect much better than ever.  I have been wearing my shorts and if anybody should make a comment I shall just tell them "life is too short not to wear shorts if I want too, I am very proud of my legs especially my left leg as it forgot how to walk at one point in my life but here it is walking again. Why would I be ashamed of that? 

This is good too for getting you to feel a bit more summer ready. It is easy to use and just gives a slight sun kissed feel to the skin without having to worry too much about precise application. I did shave my legs and exfoliate with a body scrub first. Shaving my right leg is the hardest for me as my left hand is very weak (I get so upset when people tell me I am not using my left hand enough because if I do something like shave my legs my left hand doesn't want to be bothered again for a little while. You can almost feel it falling asleep. I use my left hand all I can but I must remember that it gets too tired to do everything that my right hand does) 

Love the people who treat you right

The people who messaged me straight after my stroke is significantly more than those who still play a active part in my life now. I am so grateful to these people and so grateful to be given the chance to see who really is there for me in my life.  I shall certainly keep these people close and will always be there for them should they ever need me. 

Everything happens for a reason 

I wish it hadn't happened to me but it has and from this I have decided that something good has to come from it. I am on a journey to make my life the best life it can be, life can not get much better than that. As time goes on and I improve I really do want to help others who have been through similar to myself but I think in order to do that well I need to concentrate on healing myself first. I am pretty sure though that somewhere in the grand scheme of things that having a stroke was some part of a greater plan. I am still very much at the begining of this journey. 

If you get a chance, take it

Obviously within reason I am very much trying to be a yes person. I am sensible enough to realise my limits but I also enjoy to push myself too. I am trying my teach my daughter to do the same as although I may not be mentioning her specifically in all this she is very much in this journey with me too. 

I really would like to get this printed and framed in our house as I think it sums up me and daughter perfectly. In fact, I sat down with her last night telling her this. I promised myself I would never be a pushy mum but it is very hard to get the right balance of encouragement and not pushiness. I watched her swimming yesterday in her school gala. At bedtime I asked her did she think she tried her best at it? Of course her first answer was yes but we talked more and it eventually came out that she felt that she could have done better.  I told her how at my exercise class earlier that day that although I am aiming for something that has not been achieved yet I felt so proud of myself that I knew that I could have not done any better. She went off to school this morning telling me that we both must try our best today. :) 

Nobody said life would be easy

So true, it's not easy so just make the best of it! I think I spent too much of my life constantly waiting for the moment that life would be perfect. The fact is you can have perfect moments so treasure those with all your heart, it's never going to be all perfect. 

Make the most of it and enjoy every moment that you can :) 

Making it easier

The main reason that I don't like rainy days is the fact that I do not like having to wear a coat. 

There has been various reasons over the years as to why I do not like to wear them but at the moment it is because I really struggle with buttons and zips. 

As a child, I loved those days in the playground when we were told we did not have to wear our coats. I remember shouting "freedom" as I probably skipped or ran around.  Then as a teenager/ young adult I detested trying coats on as I always had to buy huge sizes as they never used to fit me very well on the chest area- this is still a problem. 

Today, after not having to wear a coat for a while I really struggled with the zip although I must confess that my arm no longer hurts when I actually put the coat on! Yay. 

Hurry back sunshine. 

This is a drawer in my bedroom, I have a few drawers and cupboards like this, full of things I love but I can not use at the moment. A few days before I left hospital they got me to go to the hospital shop to purchase a magazine. This was so terrifying. I was using a stick with my right hand which was my good side, I didn't know what to do with the stick when I needed my right hand to do something. I remember knocking the stick over and threw my money all over the floor that day but they wanted to show me how different my life was now. I didn't even attempt to take a handbag out with me for a few months after I came out of hospital and relied on my mum to carry my money around for me and for paying for me. As time has gone on, I of course attempted this more and more myself. I found it so hard to start with but I have got to say now I am doing it without a second thought. I have adapted by only using a cross the shoulder bag. 

I use this clutch bag as my purse and keep as fewer cards as possible in this card wallet. I also keep my keys on a lanyard so that I can find them easily plus it is somuch easier being able to hang them around my neck when leaving or arriving back at the house when carrying bags etc. It is working very well for me right now but one day I hope to get back to using my handbags and wallets I have stored away. I always keep my pill box with me. I bought this when I first came out of hospital as it was so hard to actually get any tablets out of the packaging so I would find it easier to do a weeks worth at a time. It is something that I have carried on with although I do find it easier to actually get the tablets out  now but I am used to doing it this way and love routine. My diary and a pen needs to be kept with me too. I really want to get a monthly and weekly view diary planner but as for now I am using a notebook for each month which I keep at home then use a weekly diary which fits in my bag nicely, I would like to invest my time and money into a lovely planner and decorate it pretty but I want to make sure that this is something that I will continue to want to do and love to do first. 

When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked?

Everywhere I turned a couple of days ago "stroke" was being mentioned and in particular the fact that it is happening more and more to people of the ages 40 to 50. I am not a medical expert but I did have a stroke at the age of 36. The main concern throughout seems to be that we (by we I shall have to skip a few years and pretend I am 40) all have a high risk of a stroke unless we are mega healthy teetotallers. What struck me is the fact that I know many people who are less healthy than myself 

So why me?

I have never been a person for the what ifs of life. I had a stroke, I can't change what has happened. I have had to deal with it and get on with my recovery. 

Let's talk for a moment about pre stroke me, I was not the healthiest person ever but I was and am a non smoker, I did enjoy a drink of the alcoholic kind, beer or wine rather than spirits, I have been a vegetarian for twenty plus years and although I did not attend a gym or play sport regularly, I did used to walk a lot in my daily routine of getting my daughter to child care and school and to bus stops to get me to and from work. Also having a child keeps you active. I watch many a parent do the fastest sprint they have ever ran in their life chasing their escapee child.  If I was previously a teetotal fitness freak  would it have prevented my stroke? Maybe, but not all of us are that person. Obviously it is a fact that more strokes are happening to people younger and younger and I am so glad that the news and social media are giving this the coverage it deserves. 

Blood Pressure

As a stroke survivor, I would urge all people of any age to get their blood pressure checked regularly, I have high blood pressure which I am now on medication for and must admit in hindsight I wish I had kept a closer eye on this. Unfortunately I have been diagnosed with hereditary hypertension. My blood pressure is now under control with medication. For my own peace of mind I have cut down on salt in my diet, I have lost weight since my stroke through exercise and healthy eating. I must admit though that this has happened without me thinking of myself as being on a "diet" 

If you are reading this, do you know what your blood pressure is? If not, please get it checked. 

I think checking of blood pressure should readily be available to everybody especially with it becoming increasingly difficult to even get a doctors appointment. If we need to tackle people of working age then blood pressure checks should be something that can maybe be carried out in a lunch break for example. 

I have no experience as yet of working after a stroke as I was doing a job that I will call a "get by" job. I did have every intention of studying accounts in the September but I have to admit that my post stroke self does not want to do that! I would really like to do beauty and make up or languages when I am ready to. Medical professionals when talking about my recovery speak in years rather than months or weeks. I don't know, I have exceeded all expectations so far but mentally things are still tough. I do remember when I was extremely poorly in the acute stroke unit one of the nurses, I do not know which one as it is a very blurry memory, asked me what I used to do before I got ill? I thought to myself I am not done yet! Who knows where life will take me but I do know that it can only get better.