Purpose Statement: Stroke Awareness and Survivor Reality

A 34-year-old woman possessing a blog for which she has not written in over a year should know better than to create another and think she will be disciplined enough to maintain it regularly, but she resides in the deluded reality that this one will be different because she has a greater passion for the topic for which a less exhausted audience, hopefully, exists, but realistically, its unlikely, but oh well, sometimes, reality sucks, and we have to forge on overlooking its limitations in hope of something better, and that's the summation of  my new blog's content.  I'm going to get real honest about my life after stroke in hope of providing a useful resource to the stroke survivor and her caregivers as she attempts to forge past the suckiness of the reality in which she finds herself because it is possible and definitely necessary, but in reality, nearly impossible on one's own. My help and only hope in this journey has been the God of the Bible through Jesus Christ, so yes, I am a Christian, but I do not intend to evangelize you so much as to share with you some insider's wisdom that my faith has allowed me to gather along the way, so maybe, you can garner some of its benefits whether you embrace Christianity or not.  I am not apologetic about my faith, but I am sensitive to the reality that not everyone shares it and, I believe that is each individual's God-given perrogative, so basically, who am I to attempt to overrule what God has set in place by forcing my faith down your throat, but in reality, if you continue reading my writing, you're going to hear about it because its woven firmly into everything that I am and do, so consider yourself forewarned!  Anyway, the reality is that my faith has afforded me this amazing, almost super-natural joy, peace, and contentment despite what should've been a devastating, disabling life event.   My stroke was, in reality, physically and mentally disabling, but the even greater reality is that it can be overcome by one's attitude, now, I admit, I believe that my ability to maintain the attitude I do in the face of my post-stroke reality would be impossible without the presence of Jesus Christ in my life, but I will share the insider's tidbits of wisdom that I've gleaned from him, so you can attempt to achieve the same attitude on your own, but I highly suspect, in reality, you will find it impossible, so I will also provide access to information as to how one might acquire the presence of Jesus Christ her own life, just in case, one might find herself desiring it.  My pessimism concerning one's ability to conjure up this attitude of one's own will is birthed from my knowledge of my own humanity and the assumption that I'm typical, but maybe, I'm just a turd, and you are better than that and can go it alone, but if you can not there is no shame in that reality because, I believe, its the standard condition of all humanity, so anyway, stay-tuned for posts, videos, and hopefully, helpful tidbits on surviving stroke and its residual disabilities.  The reality is that no stroke is truly alike, so my experience may differ from yours in many ways, so I plan to interview other survivors with differing residual disabilities than I possess to accommodate for as many stroke survivors as possible.  My personal experience is mainly physical and emotional disability post-stroke, and this is where it starts to get real as I violate my own right's to privacy as guaranteed by HIPPA, but then again, HIPPA says, as long as its me sharing, its okay.  My stroke was an ischemic MCA(middle cerebral artery-location of clot) that obliterated nearly the entire right hemisphere of my brain, so yes, you're reading the writings of a woman who is, quite literally, out of her right mind!  P.S.   That's my favorite stroke joke, but stay tuned because there's more to come!  Initially, I was totally reliant on a wheel chair for mobility, followed by a hemi-walker, a four-point cane, a single-point, and finally, independent with a major hitch in my giddy-up and occasional use of single point for unknown terrain or long distances.  My completely paralyzed left arm rehabilitated some shoulder and elbow movement, but rehabilitation failed to travel further south in my upper extremity, so I remain a one-armed wonder, although I do manage to use it in some functional endeavors thanks to Botox therapy, which relieves most of the severe nuero-muscular spasticity in my effected arm, so unbelievably, Botox has a use for something other than cosmetic purposes, in fact, Botox was originally utilized to treat neuromuscular anomalies, which most commonly occur as facial tics leading to the discovery that it can also relax unwanted wrinkles, and the rest is history.  Botox, in the quantities it is necessary to inject into my body to produce the desired effects, has one very embarrassing side for a young, in my case,or old recipient effect: urinary incontinence, so to  temporarily and partially (3 months) eliminate one disability, I abandon the typical, pretty, lace panties common to women of my age (34) in favor of the protection of Depends Sillouette's absorbent briefs, just in case, I have an embarrassing Botox-related issue in a public setting, although I also take an oral medication named Toviaz that provides some relief for this unfortunate side effect of Botox, my wonder toxin, but it comes with its own annoying side effect, dry mouth.  I pop it because I'm willing to deal with dry mouth to maintain the same status for my britches, but it more effectively gives me dry mouth than cure my pee problem, and I mean, so dry your tongue starts sticking to your teeth and talking is nearly impossible, dry mouth, and my one good hand is rarely free from carrying a beverage, dry mouth, but even though its a trade off, I still prefer all the help I can get to maintain the illusion of urinary continence!  I also rely on Zoloft, a well-known antidepressant, to stabilize my stroke addled emotions because without it, I would be completely incapable of functioning in society.  Off my Zoloft, thanks to the brain damage I sustained from my stroke, I have PBA(PsuedoBulbar Affect), meaning the psuedobulbar region of my brain, which regulates one's emotions is totally fried.  Obviously, living with stroke renders one a virtual circus performer as she balances all the disabling conditions with there treatments side effects in an attempt  to function successfully in society, but its possible and makes for some interesting and amusing/humiliating stories that I plan to fully disclose in the name of increased stroke awareness