Personal Experience
Personal Experiences (Edited 11/20) of Mr. Ganesh from South India
36 months ago, I had a severe stroke. And was hospitalized for 8 days. From the day I returned home, my life has been a bed of roses.
What I did was simple: I had a strict Ayurveda diet and went for 2x45 minutes’ walk, hand exercises (after the initial therapy of 2 years, it is GITA that I write) and an easy to do yoga.
Today after 36 months, I say …that Stroke is mind-body exercise and Western medicine would well advised to learn from Ayurveda/Yoga and life-style changes.
I who was a very negative person before and had a 360 degree turn; thanks to my Stroke.
We are interested in your personal experience with stroke and aphasia. Please share it with us by sending it to subhash.bhatnagar@mu.edu
Narration by Mrs. Charlene Degroot, a stroke survivor’s wife.
The Darkness of Stroke
We never asked or wished for a stroke to affect our lives, nor did we plan to spend hours of every day grappling with the impact of one. Yet, in an instant, our lives were completely changed on the day that my otherwise healthy husband had a stroke. It left him unable to speak, comprehend, read and write. Once we emerged from the initial confusion, helplessness quickly set in as we tried to figure out the basics: Where do you begin? Who do you turn to? How do you rebuild your life? And where do you find the support and information necessary to deal with so many routine tasks?
From afar, one may think they can empathize and understand what it is like to go through such a frustrating experience. But until you have the experience in your family and are forced to live with the consequences 24/7, you cannot fully understand the pain and suffering that comprises your new life.
Despite the difficulties, we have been truly blessed by the wonderful and caring people in our life who chose to walk alongside us and help us morve forward. As we reflect on the past years since the stroke, we are grateful to all those that were part of our journey. Whether a phone call, visit, card, text, an invitation to meet and of course the many prayers – we sincerely appreciate it all.
My husband is "my hero"! He continues to study hard each day, maintains a high level of motivation, and endures my "boot camp therapy" willingly and without a fuss. Thankfully, he is progressing with the help of the therapies he is receiving.
Every day is a new journey, and we ask God to "help us do the journey well".
