As Wonderwoman has a magic bracelet and lasso, Catwoman her whip, retractable claws and climbing pitons, and Supergirl her Kryptonian standard abilities we Stroke Warriors have our own beginning and training just like all super heroes. We have our own armors and we train hard to become the Warriors that we are today.
People will look at me now and they will never know the hardship I've been through to stay alive and to keep going. When they see me standing and walking they don't know how many braces I have to use to help me learn how to stand without falling and learn how to walk again.
It's not easy to be a Stroke Warrior! It takes a lot of patience, resilience and perseverance. Like super heroes we train and we use different armors. What are our armors and how did they helped me become the Warrior and the Fighter that I am today? Well let me introduce you to them.
MY BEST FRIEND MY CANE
My stroke left me paralyzed on one side of my body so I was not able to move my left leg and left arm. I was in a wheelchair for awhile. Then after 30 days in Rehabilitation center I learn to stand up and take a step forward. Slowly I learn to walk at home using my cane. I used my cane for 1 year. It became my best friend and my sense of security. It helped with my balance and boost of confidence when I practiced walking outside. It was hard and scary the first time I tried to walk without my cane but my therapist told me she's confident that I am ready to walk without it. It took me awhile to adjust walking without it. I would have anxiety attack because I was so scared of falling. My therapists said I'm ready and the brain is ready. and it's time to show the brain how to do it. After lots of scary moments and lots of practices I was able to walk without my cane but I still keep it in the car even 3 years later just in case I am going to need my best friend.
AFO Ankle Foot Orthosis
This kind of brace is usually made of plastic. It provides correction ,support or protection to a part of the body especially lower limb.
I had mine custom-built and my insurance paid for it. Learning how to walk again was the hardest thing I had to fight after my stroke. It was baby step for me. I had to relearn it like when I was a baby trying to take her step one leg at a time.
Wearing my AFO was a big help to support my weak leg. It's like a brace that keeps you leg strong and your knee from collapsing. I wear it during therapy all the time. I only wear it at home when I have to stand for a long period of time and also when I go out for a long walk with my husband.
How I see it helping is that it tricks the brain. With the AFO the leg is supported and it keeps my knee from bending and keeps me from falling so the brain thinks it's the good leg so it has the confidence to use it to take steps and walk. The more you practice taking steps the more the brain remembers how to do it. That's how I begin to learn how to walk a little longer and a little stronger.
ARM SLING
After my stroke I wasn't able to move my left arm. I have no use of it and can't move it. So my therapist told me to keep it safe and not to break it. It's very easy to break your affected arm because it can't feel anything and can't do anything. So I have to use an arm sling to protect my shoulder from subluxation or a partial dislocation of the shoulder joint. It also helped with my shoulder pain due to my affected arm not moving so it will just hang lifeless pulling everything down and giving me shoulder and neck pain which is common for stroke survivors who are suffering from partial paralysis in the arm.
ARM BRACE
This is my first stabilizing arm brace that my occupational therapist made for me. It's one of the gadgets that helps protect my wrist from subluxation. I wear it every night when I go to sleep so I don't accidentally break my wrist without knowing it. It's the number one goal to keep the shoulder, arm and wrist safe and not broken until the brain is ready to move it.
WRIST BRACE/SPLINT
Aside from trying to protect the affected shoulder, wrist and arm from subluxation I also used braces and splint to relieved pain of my affected arm. Pain occurs due to non-movement of my affected arm. The pain in my shoulder was the worst of all. That's why aside from braces, it's important to continue physical and occupational therapy for as long as you can so your therapists can help you with exercises that will help gain movements in your paralyzed arm.
It took me a long time but when my arm started moving the pain slowly subsided especially my shoulder pain.
I went through various braces for the arm, wrist, shoulder and neck for couple of years. I stopped using them after 2 years when my leg and arm were starting to move more and became a little stronger.
MY OTHER BEST FRIEND FOR 3 YEARS NOW MY AIR WALKER EXERCISE MACHINE
It's nothing fancy but I love it. It's simple but I like it because I can stop it whenever I want it to stop. I'm scared of getting the automatic because I am scared that it won't stop and I would fall down and get hurt.
This exercise machine had been my partner for 3 years. And I say it is my secret weapon! It was hard at first because when I got it 6 months after my stroke I was just learning to stand and walk and my stroke leg was not strong yet and balance was not good. It took courage to hopped on it for the first time.
What I like about it is that it works with helping improve my balance, increase leg strength and movement in my stroke arm. It's a simple thing that I can turn on using my own body and strength. Can you imagine the struggle of trying to start it when you have no or little strength at all? Well, that's beginning of becoming a Stroke Warrior!
MY SHOWER BUDDY
My shower chair had been a useful armor in the beginning of my recovery. When you don't have the strength to stand for a long period of time it's your super armor in the shower. Even after I was comfortable to stand to take a shower I still keep it there just in case. One year later I said thank you and good bye to my shower buddy but I still kept a little shower chair beside me all the time. Just like my cane I kept them near me just in case!
BLOOD SUGAR AND BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING EQUIPMENT
Many stroke survivors don't know the cause of their stroke. But unfortunately I know what caused mine. I never had problem with my blood sugar before my stroke. I have known about high blood pressure in my family history so I am expecting that I am prone to it in anyway. So when I had a stroke 3 years ago my doctors told me it was caused by high blood sugar ,high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was surprised because I thought I was healthy. I never get sick. When everybody in my family my husband and children get sick I am always the one who's standing strong and taking care of them all. Now, after my stroke I have to monitor my blood sugar and blood pressure daily. By doing so I am getting ahead of the game I supposed because I will know when to go to ER before it's too late and have another stroke!
MY LIFELINE MY SPECIAL POWER TO STAY ALIVE I GUESS!MY MEDICATIONS
I never took medications before. That's the thing with stroke it does not matter if you are healthy or not. It can happen to anybody.
Now at 55 years old, stroke changes everything. When you think you are healthy and then just like that you wake up from your sleep not able to talk and move, then you finally realized you are having a stroke and in an instant your life changed.
As you can see for the first time in my 55 years of living now I have to take medications to help prevent me from having another stroke. My special weapon plus healthy diet and exercise to help me continue life being a Warrior in my own way.
So it's not easy to be a Stroke Warrior. You don't become one without going through hard training and difficult times. There will be times that you feel like giving up. But try to push through all the negative feeling and emotions because they will pass. Instead learn to appreciate the struggles .Don't let stroke break you. Keep digging into your inner strength and BELIEVE that we don't go through trials just to say hey I made it but sometimes God uses us to help others. That's what a WARRIOR is all about. Being able to help others by sharing our stories to inspire other stroke survivors and raise awareness to help others understand the risk of stroke and hopefully saving others from having a stroke.
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