HostAsha

Fred : thanks for uplifting blog. I know that same principle worked for me, more I did for myself & our family better I felt in surviving stroke. yes it was harder at first doing everything with just one hand, but ofcourse more I did faster & efficient I became. & I feel less of burden on my family. Asha

Dorothy : my husband and I are planning to come & walk in this event, so hope to see you there, I am already excited now Asha

Mary Jo : sounds like great plan, scattering his ashes to places he loved feels like right thing to do. hope you have great time visiting those places. Asha

best of luck lenny lol no pun intented lol Asha

hi Maddie: welcome to best online stroke support group & our small blog world, where you will notice by being active here you will find lot of friends & feel less alone in your post stroke journey. Stroke affects whole family. Every one in the family has to step out of their comfort zone & charter in unknown territory of life, but we all are living proof to let you know it does become better, yes first few years after stroke is difficult for every one, but that time just keep your head above water & have faith that these things will pass too, nothing lasts forever good times or bad times. hope to see you around more often here. Asha (42 year old survivor)

Leah : I am glad you came & updated us with your blog. great picture, you look good, you must be looker in your younger years for sure. I am so glad you had that long term policy it definitely creates less stress financially for sure. hope to catch u in our afternoon chats Asha

another AHA moment as I am getting older & getting comfortable in my all role playings of life. I know this for sure I am getting more mature in my motherhood & wifehood roles. I know just after stroke it used to make me very angry when doing my duties instead of saying thank yous I would get criticize for things which either went good or bad. Problem was if things went good then criticism won't bother me since I could just blow away it as kids oh what do they know, but would take it very personally & feel bad about my stupidity if it did not work out like I wanted then my thinking oh I m adult here should have known this or done this better. Anyway slowly I am realizing that I am doing my duties with right intentions behind it so criticism does not affect me as much. if it goes right then I m happy, & if it goes wrong then I learnt my lesson. I am so happy with this new mindset, it creates less unhappy moments & stress in my simple life now. I guess when you know better you do better. Just thought to write down this AHA moment of mine. Asha

Sue : welcome home, glad you had great time visiting your family & rekindling those relationships again. Asha

Sandy : I am glad I am survivor & not caregiver, taking care of someone & whole household is quite balancing act. I am just thankful & glad that I am able to chip in & help out in our household. Asha

Katrina : you need to accept the way your life is right now or you will never find happiness, and trust me no one likes to be around unhappy people. I strongly feel happiness is a choice & one can view same situation negatively. start writing things you are grateful for, I can't believe you will be so fixate on your left hand that you will not see what is still good in your life. your left hand does not define you though your attitude defines you as a person. I can't use my left hand either so I understand but you need to accept what is it is & stop ruining your present moment. Asha

Debbie : Every stroke is different & so is recovery though I will give you my story after I came home from hospital hubby was not comfortable living me alone so had hired full time caregiver, though her job was mainly to take care of our household & our young son, she cooked, cleaned & did my home exercises with me. It was good in the beginning since I was too depressed & would have done something stupid if there was no watch on me. but my problem was having her home I never felt need to get out of bed & take care of my son & my family. I just spent my days crying my eyes out & wishing I was dead & felt worthless. Though once I saw how it affected my then 7 year old son, I picked myself up & after getting rid of full time help once I started doing more for our family better I felt better about myself & my life. Asha

sandy : learnt trick of being organized is always finish the job at hand first, never leave dishes in sink, take care of it right away which includes bill payment at our house. if you do things right away, first is job is still small before it gets out of hand & becomes sink full of dishes & you forget to pay the bill & end up paying late fees. Asha

hi loralye : welcome to best online stroke support group. Stroke affects whole family, I suffered stroke at age 34 which left me paralyzed on my left side, I thought I will never find joy in living again. I hanged tightly on hubby's strength till I got my inner strength back. today after 9+ years on this post stroke journey I view my stroke as just speed bump in my life, it allowed me to slow down & enjoy scenery along the way. Asha

Sally : I agree with Fred 100%, that's what unconsciously I did & worked out well for me, my new normal has more joy & meaning in life today. hope & pray you find that joy soon. I also learned to take one day at a time without any expectations or attachments to results. just flow with life without resisting how life unfolds. Asha

sally: great news, keep on trying to do more things with that hand & it will become second nature Asha

Katrina : I pray you get answer to your troubles, though I also feel you should think only positive things & not think or worry about seizures, maybe thinking about it all the time is causing it? Asha

happy Anniversary & welcome to best online stroke support group. Asha

Veta : I am so happy & relieved that everything went well with your procedure, and kept eye on in years to come. Asha

compensation is key of happy survivor. glad you found trick to get job done. Asha

George : I love your attitude towards life, I feel the same way, I am thankful that my stroke woke me up from sleepwalking through life & enjoy every minute of it with my loved ones. Asha

Nancy : you will be in my thoughts & prayers. Sometimes we assume worst of people when reality might be something totally different. I am glad you got apology letter & found out true reason of neighbor not responding to door. hope you forgive. Asha

I am such a blessed person, surrounded by so much love & laughter that post stroke life also feels great. My mom used to tell me when I was young that even though I was accidental child I always got best in life, which includes great education & resources to do well. Even though got hand me down clothes & books I did well since I was surrounded by lot of love by family. I am most fortunate in my hubby & his side of family. My life partner was picked by my family. at that age my only requirement was that he must be more educated than me & financially independent, I am so lucky, not only he fulfilled that requirement, but also belonged to amazingly loving family who I love & adore & I got to spend more time with them after our marriage due to my visa issues. Boy when I was going through that waiting period in India with my in-laws it was so painful at that time. but now looking back it was one of the best period of my life. I had such a great time with all of them. I am closer to hubby's family in India more than he is since he is out of country for more than 2 decades. Anyways finally my brother-in-law & sister in-law visited us for few weeks & we had great time together, not only took them everywhere for sightseeing, but also had engagement party of my nephew who is doing his post graduation in US at our house. Engagement party was blast. looking at new lovebirds brings back so many joyful memories of youth I am still reminiscing those days.

Brandy I struggled with similar question why me for longest time till I realized every one has some kind of struggle in their life & God will provide me strength & right kind of people in our life to get through this lower phase of our life. just have faith in God & remember something good is going to come out of this experience, even though you can't see it right now. Just take one day at a time, happiness is state of mind & choice & does not depend on external circumstances. I am sure this experience in life is going to bring you two closer. Asha

Welcome home #2 vyonne, we missed you in our chats, glad you had great time with your family. I m glad your traveling went better than your worries. Asha

you are in my thoughts & prayers, please keep us updated. Asha