It has been awhile since I have posted and thought it would be a good time to do so. My stroke happened in May 2017 due to complications from cervical fusion surgery. I am mostly back to myself. If you asked my friends or husband they would tell you I am back completely. I know I still have residual problems some of which may pass and some I will just have to learn to live with. Most are minor annoyances, some had a larger impact on my life.

My Doctor started me on antidepressant meds that have worked wonderfully. I had gradually shut down after the stroke and no longer wanted to do my hobbies. I was very short with friends and really wasn't enjoying life like I should have. That has almost all gone away. I feel like I am waking up again. Things just seem brighter. I want to pursue my hobbies again. It is amazing, and I am very happy that this is being addressed.

My short term memory is still hit and miss. I find I search for words much more now than I did prior to the stroke. Some of this was probably due to the depression.

If I am by myself and working on my laptop, I am great. I may have to write more notes to myself, but I can still draw my creations in CAD before I build them. However, when I am in a group, I sometime find I am a bit slower than some. If a person rattles off a series of questions, I start to feel like I am drowning a bit. It is weird. Sometimes I just need more time to answer a question. It is not like I forgot the answer to their question, My brain just has trouble finding the path to where it is stored. I think this is very gradually getting better.

Physically, I still get dizzy spells. They do not last long but I never know when they are going to hit. Sometimes I will find I turn a little more than I planned when walking. Not much, just off setting. I have learned to reach out for support when this happens, This I think I may have to live with. I also notice when riding in a car as a passenger, sometimes I feel cars are coming much closer than they are. When this happens I tell myself that this is my brain's problem and the driver knows what they are doing, but I still cringe regularly when a car changes lanes ext to me. I think this is a depth perception issue.

I still have urge incontinence but I am seeing a Urologist and am making some headway in this as well.

Otherwise I am doing great. I have lost a lot of weight that I needed to, and I am starting to engage with all the things I used to love doing. I have a very supportive husband who is letting me reengage at the pace I want to.

So all in all I am very happy with my progress. Sorry to be so long winded.

Bill

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