GeorgeLesley

Cat, the site is www.saebo.com Look up the saeboflex. It looks complicated but it is not all that hard to put on, an it really works. Use it 45 minutes twice a day moving balls from one box to another. The biggest problem I had was getting it properly adjusted. The therapist I got it from didn't have a clue how to do it. Being a former car mechanic, once we got home I readjusted it myself with one hand and a bit of help from the wife. Any mechanical person can look at the thing and figure out what it is supposed to do. As the hand improves, some adjustment is needed anyway, so learning to do it yourselves is helpful. My testimonial used to be on the site, but they seem to have taken them down. I was not paid to write it, it was sincere. I spoke with the company president a few times, very nice people. I could not get the thumb adjusted right, he said they were working on that, he and his brother invented it. Since the thumb was not an major problem for me I did the best I could. It came back with the rest of the hand anyway. I see they now have some new products, but I am not familiar with them. Insurance covered mine.

Sandy, I suggest looking into the Saeboflex as well. No harm in doing more than one thing. In a bit over a week I went from "could not test" pinch strength between index finger and thumb to 20lb!

Ken I share your joy in being a working member of society again. A long load I am sure but it sounds like you are well on the way. Based upon my own experience I am sure you will continue to notice substansal improvement in the future. Good luck and thanks for the report!

I read all these stories with sorrow. I feel for those that have seemingly given up, or never really start on the long road of recovery. But I do not judge them in anyway. I have not walked in their shoes, only my own. I do not know the internal demons they face, only my own. One thing I do sincerely think is that having been basically happy with my life pre stroke and having a lifestyle I really love helped. It gave me something to work for that really motivated me. I told Lesley when I had my stroke that if I was a couch potato the stroke would not have affected me since I could still channel surf. But loving the active outdoor life and wanting to return to it is what drove me. I also play with and collect Erector sets (mechanical construction toys from the 1950's). Wanting to get back to that hobby also drove me. I remember starting with Lincoln Logs, then graduating to Tinker Toys, and now back to my beloved Erector Sets. After my stroke Lesley suggested we move to a city somewhere so I could be near more treatment. I knew that would be a fatal mistake. Being around the life I love was my intense motivation to get better. I would suggest maybe trying to think of something the stroke survivor used to love and see if that can be used as a motivator. Again I in no way am judging anyone, only offering suggestions based upon my own experiences.

Cat, a similar story during my recovery. In my quest to find something that might help, I came across a therapy called active release. The nearest provider was in nearby Canada, and since insurance would not cover it anyway, off I went. The results were great so I told another stroke survivor I had met online about it. His stroke was about four years prior to mine and he had given up hope of getting better. After learning of my improvement due to active release, he investigated it and discovered it was originated in the city he lives in! He started going to a local provider and sent me the most wonderful thank you letter. He now drives their motorhome again, and he and his wife are traveling the country, something he never thought could happen again. I guess the moral of the story is that if you never try anything, you will never get anywhere. If you try things, something might just help. It's like I tell people, if you don't have a line in the water you will never catch a fish. Have a line in the water and you just might.

Well I finally got the pics of our canoe trip in July along the US/Canadian border posted in an old album I created longer use. So the album title makes no sense but here they are. We are already planning at least two similar trips next year. Well Lesley is still in NZ, mum's birthday party is next week, so she is a flurry of activity. I have been out in the garden picking beans and snow peas, blanching them per Lesley's instructions and putting them in the freezer. That is about the extent of my gardening skills. To those that replied to my last entry, a heartfelt thanks. I will continue to post from time to time. To the oldtimers here now that you have seen the pictures of where I go and what I do in a canoe, you can see why it was so important for me to push myself to get back into it. To the newbies here, it took five years, but it was worth every bit of effort it took. I now have noticed that since my body has gotten stronger, exercises I couldn't do before I can now do. After a bit of time, keep trying the old exercises and motions you had given up on. It is so easy to fall into left (or right) side neglect. I am now forcing my left side to do what it should, and it is responding! I just paddled a canoe 30 miles and nearly every paddle stroke was on the left side! Just in the past year I have noticed much improvement. I noticed a similar jump in ability at about the two year point. It seems like trying to steer a car that is stopped. It is difficult. Get the car moving and steering gets easier. I think our bodies are the same. Get the little things going, and the rest will improve also. I remember the joy of seeing my first finger movement after my stroke. One night I fell asleep wiggling my big toe against the top sheet, because that bit of motion was just beginning to return! Anyway thanks to all again, I will continue to try and help anyway I can. To Jangelini, if you can get here to Minnesota I will get you into a canoe and all you have to do is sit there and enjoy! If that is not possible, Lesley and I are planning a trip to Washington DC (it looks like you are in MD), in the future. If you can line up a canoe, I'll make it go, you just sit there and look pretty! Eureka!! I just got the name of the album changed to what it should be. Ain't life good!