On November 29th 2010 l would have been released from Riverview. 
Wow it has been almost 3 years now.
Since being released l have had a full recovery and l feel stronger then before having a stroke.
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Yesterday was the first time l drove by myself since getting my license back from August 10th. 
It felt so good. 

Today 3 years ago l arrived at riverview health center in the afternoon.I remember arriving to a room and before l could settle down a nurse came in.
She asked me if my situation felt surreal to me and l agreed with her. She basically discussed what l could expect  while l was there.

Looking back at my first day, it still feels like a dream. I'm always
thinking of my time l spent there. I do not take anything for granted.

On September 20th  l was traveling to my Grandma's farm and it is five hours away from where i live so that leaves me alot of time to think.
I came to realize that exactly 3 years ago  on this day, I woke up after suffering a stroke. And today i would be at the hospital and just starting my journey. Wow it has been along road of recovering but it has only made me stronger.
I do not have alot of problems after the stroke physically but l do have some mentally. The main thing is with short term memory. I'm constantly doing puzzles and alot of reading to help with remembering. I'm getting better at remembering.

Hello everyone,
On August 10, 2012. I had a road test at 3pm and I passed my test :)
I finally have my full driving license back. It is such a great feeling to be independent again. 

I have not blogged in awhile because l wanted to have more experience to tell everyone.


Since l have had suffered a stroke, they took my license to drive away. 
I was told that so when they came to the door to take it away. I wasn't surprised.


The staff told me that l would receive a letter in the mail telling me to go for a driver assessment. Well I waited for around 5 months and there was no letter. I phoned the place they said l would have to go and when l phoned they said l was not yet on the list(there is a very long waiting list.) 
Another7 months went bye and l got very impatient. I went online to a stroke support group near me and they told me that l should go ahead and phone the medical autopac, they gave me the number to phone.


I got in contact with them and they looked at my file and booked an assessment driver exam. 
The day finally arrived. They asked me a few health questions and then took me on a road test, unfortunately l did not pass.
I booked a second one but l did not pass again but this time l got a class 5a license which means l can drive but only with someone who has a full license as a passanger.

Okay , l just finished a lengthy post of my experience and l accidently closed the window without saving. uuugggghhhhh. I was about to save it when l deleted it by mistake. Oh well I will try my best to remember , please bare with me.


I was very excited to be released, l was so anxious the day of being discharged. It felt so weird packing all my stuff from my room and head down to the car. Before l left l said goodbye to the nurses and also too fellow patients that l became friends with. It was happy and sad moment.


When l got in the car to head home it was surreal. It felt good to be going home after being away for almost 4 months. 


When l arrived home, my kitty came meowing towards me and rubbing against me.
It was nice to be in the company of my family and for them not to have no visiting hours. 
I remember hating the time when they had to go when they had visit me in the hospital. I would walk with them to the elevators and watch them leave. l hated when those elevator doors closed. I would then turn around and head to my room. I would sit at the window and watch their car sometimes go by. 


I spent so many hours at that window and watching people go on with their daily routine.
I remember thinking how lucky those people where to be able to walk around and do what they pleased.
But now I was one of those people who go on in our daily lives. Sometimes taking small simple things for granted.

On Tuesday November 23, 2010. At 4pm l had a family meeting with all my team members (doctor, nurses and the therapist team .about my discharge that was coming up very soon.

They asked me if I thought that l needed to continue with physio or occupational thearpy? I told them "no" because currently my occupational therapist seen so much improvement since l first came in. and They had trouble finding things for me to do during my sessions that we started to play card games. The team agreed with me.

 Also there was a member of home care aid at the meeting and she asked if l would have trouble with bathing my self or with daily routine. I also responded with a no and told them "I did not need help but if l did my mom and sister lives with me and they could help me out and also they could help me prepare meals". 

Everyone agreed with what l said and they told me that l could be discharged as early as Monday on November 29th, 2010.

Me and my family where very happy with the outcome of the meeting.

Hi, sorry that l have not posted for awhile. Okay l left off at Halloween.
At 11am every weekday I had Occupational therapy. The first few weeks I remember my therapist would come up to my room to wake me up for the session and she would take me down to the physio/ occupational therapy department.
She would take me to a large table with other patients who where also from 4 east( the wing in the health facility that l resided in.)
She would give me some puzzles to do and other hand coordination to do.
In November l started to really improve with my coordination skills. I remember getting a little frustrated with myself when l was not able to do some easy tasks that l use to take for granted, for example tying up my shoelaces or putting on my socks but thanks to having therapy everyday l was able to do stuff that l took for granted.
The stronger l got the more things l was able to do again.


In physio l was also making some big improvements. In the beginning  they would also have to come to me to wake me up for physio but after l while l was not as tired as l first was. And l was able to use the wheelchair and be able to go down to physio and occupational by myself. I felt scared a little but also very proud when they first told me that l  was allowed to go myself.
The ward l was in the nurse's encouraged patients who where in wheelchairs and who where able to still use there legs. To use there legs to push their wheelchairs forward or backwards, By doing this it makes the legs stronger to help with walking again. I was then able to start using a walker.


Once l started to make more progress in my recovery my family asked the doctor if l could go home for a weekend. The doctor told them that they would have to do a home inspection first to see if l was able to go. Since I was using a walker they just wanted to check to see if there where room for my walker to fit when l use the walker and the home was safe for me to move around and not be able to fall.


The morning of Wednesday November 10th 2010 was the day of the inspection. I was able to be at home for the first time since September. Even thou it was a very short time. l was so happy, but l had to go back to Riverview.


After the inspection the doctor told me that l could come home for the weekend. I was so overjoyed and l could not be more happier. So that weekend l went home. It felt so good but I knew it would be short lived. On Friday my family picked me up at 5pm. We went out to Applebee's restaurant to celebrate. On saturday l rested in bed and in the evening we rented a movie. Sunday came so quick. I was sad that the weekend was over but l knew l could come another weekend. My family drove me back to riverview at around 7pm.


The next day l felt so rejuvenated and I even felt stronger. Soon l was able to put the walker away and use just a cane l was also overjoyed because when l got back from the weekend in the morning the physio team came to evaluate me on my morning routine and told the nurse staff that l was now considered to be independent.


That mean't l no longer had to call for help when l had to use the bathroom ( this may seem like you may say "whocares", but when you are dependent on others it is a big deal. I will never ever take it for granted again!)

During the weeks of October, they seemed to drag on. One afternoon around 1pm, a lady came to see me. She introduced herself and told me she was the recreational leader on my ward. She asked me if l would like her to take me on a little tour of the hospital. before my physio started. At first l was not sure if l should go because l was still feeling a bit tired but l decided to go with her.


I'm glad l did. I learned that the place had a museum. It is a very small one, it is located in one of the main floor rooms. I enjoyed looking in the museum, since l'm a bit of a history buff :)


During my time at Riverview. l got to know this lady very well. And it made my time there seem to go by fast. She would post a calendar in every patient's room and it was an activity calendar. Usually every Tuesday at 7pm would be bingo night. one card was 5 cents.(I never would win, but l had fun.)
Every week other then Tuesday night would be different and also some Saturdays they would have live entertainment in the cafeteria.


On Halloween day l was finally able to get an evening pass. Since it was my first time to be away from the health center. l was under some restrictions. I was not allowed to leave the vehicle( I was still very weak in my legs) and l was only allowed to stay out for around 2 to 3 hours. So my family and l just drove around. while watching my niece who was 6 years old at the time, go door to door for Halloween. It went bye to quick, before l knew it l had to go back. l really did not want to but l knew l had too. So they dropped me off and l went back to my room.

My mom would always come and visit me. l really enjoyed having her there with me and she would spend most of the day with me. The only times when she was not able to make it was due to alot of snowfall or the weather was stormy.
In the morning l would have occupational therapy and my therapist was named Emily. I really enjoyed working with her. She made it enjoyable.


Most of the time l worked on my hands, especially my left hand. The left side was my weak side.


Occupational therapy is to help with everyday life, for example doing dishes or making a meal. Hand and eye coordination was my biggest problem area that she helped me with. I would work on puzzles, nuts and screws( it would be a board with all different sized holes and l would have to figure which screw would fit in each hole and then use my left hand to screw on the nut without using my right hand), I would also be given some tasks to do. I had to tie up some laces or button a shirt. Man l took all those things for granted. It was hard for me to do but after doing it a few weeks. l was so happy to accomplish those simple tasks.


In the afternoon l would usually have a nap because l knew l would need my energy for physiotherapy. My Therapist for the first few weeks would have to come and wake me up and take me down for therapy. my therapist where Kristy and Donna, They where very nice and caring to me and l felt like friends :)
They worked on my balance and strengthing my muscles and there goal was to help me to walk again.

They would sometimes have me sit on a chair and attach a chair cycle ( above picture is what it looked like.) And would try to continually cycle for 15minutes. They started off slowly on me to get me use to exercising. My first few sessions where not an hour long but usually only a half an hour or 40 minutes.


I was always tired after physio and would have to relax and have a nap or just lay down.


In the evening my mom usually would leave around 6pm. So l would work on alot of word search puzzles. I did not have a tv for about  a month in a half. My sister lend her tv to me. She won it at a social. My sister also lent me her clock radio. I often listened to a local christian station called chvn. I was listening to it one day and heard a song that l could relate to, it is called "blink" by the group Revive.
 

Every morning that I was at Riverview l would have bloodwork done. The plebotomist ( a person who draws blood from a person in the hospital for the laboratory.) I had blood drawn everyday since they put me on a blood thinner called Warfarin. To this day I have to have blood test done every week to see how my blood levels are.


 The next weekend was Thanksgiving and my family asked if l could have a weekend pass to go home for the holiday. We did not have high hopes since l was not even there for a week. So when we where later told no it was way to early to have a weekend pass, we where not disappointed. 


On Thanksgiving day my family came to Riverview to celebrate with me. We had dinner at the cafeteria on the main floor. I remember ordering a stir fry and they also had some pumpkin pie's so we order it too.
After we finished we all went to my room to play a few games. We had a blast because we where all together.


One thing l will always remember is that l will never ever forget how it feels to depend on someone else to help you to go to the washroom. What l had to do is squeeze the grey ball that was near my bed and when l squeezed it. It would go ding a ling ding a ling and soon a nurse would come and help me out.
l remember feeling like l was full and l would squeeze the ball and l could not wait for a nurse and have an accident. Which l could not help. After having a stroke. It is very common to have bladder trouble.


 I remembered in November on one of the weekends my Grandma and Aunt came to visit and so did my mom, sister and niece which everyone where going to go to the cafeteria and my grandma stayed in the hallway to wait for me while the nurse helped me to go to the washroom. I could not wait and had an accident. The nurses when they came in l could here them saying " geez we just cleaned her and have to clean her up again." and then they where shouting at me about why can't l hold in my pee and not to have an accident. I cried out ( because of the stroke l had, l had a hard time to control my emotions.) and said " I can't help it" over and over.


Well my Grandma could hear this from the hallway and she got very furious over this. She use to be a head nurse at her hospital in Swan River, Manitoba and knows that you should never ever treat any patient like that. When the nurse's where leaving my room. She blocked the nurses and was reaming them out of what she just heard. 


We got to the cafeteria and the rest of my family knew something was upsetting me and my grandma told them what just happened and my grandma  and my sister went to go to the nursing station and they where steaming mad about the way the nurses had just treated me.
After that the two nurses that did this to me, never acted that way again. l'm sure they got into deep trouble about the way the treated their patients. I'm sure l was not the only one.

October 5th, October 2010.
I woke up with a nurse knocking on my door and coming into my room calling my name.
I felt still very tired but l got up and washed myself with the help of a nurse.

I was wheeled into the dining room for breakfast. Breakfast usually consist of oatmeal or wheat germ ( I did not like this one), a bun,scrambled eggs or fried. It was bland because l could not have salt or butter. 0% milk, juice or coffee.

After the meal l went to my room and l took a nap until 11am. My occupational therapist came to get me and to show me where to go for occupational therapy and where physio took place.

I sat at a table with 3 or 4 people. The therapist then gave me a few test to do. So they could see what l would need help in and they would work with me to strengthen my reflex and to strengthen my muscles.
After she did this, she gave me some puzzles to do. It was a very short session because l was very fatigued. She brought me back up to my room so l could rest before noon.

At noon time a nurse came and got me for lunch time. I usually had either a cold sandwich with no flavor ( the food was mostly bland for me, because of the stroke alot of fat and sodium was caught out of my diet, because what taste good is usually bad for you, :) right.) I also would get soup for lunch and dinner, it was almost always beef barley. To this day I hate beef barley,lol

After lunch l was so tired still so I laid down. A nurse told me that the reason l was so tired was because of the trauma that happened to my brain,. At 2pm my physiotherapists came to my room to help me down to physio. I was so tired I was barely able to do anything. They just did some balance test to see where I was at and they took me back to my room because they told me l looked tired. As soon as l got to my room l napped till dinner time.

After dinner my family came to visit for awhile and as soon as they went, l laid down for the night.

On October 4, 2010. I arrived at Riverview around 1pm. I was in room 408 on the 4th floor east. I remember thinking to myself that it was a nice room but I was nervous. I sat on my bed, when someone knocked on my door. It was a nurse whose name is Cindy and she informed me that l was at a rehabilitating center for stroke survivors and everybody in this ward was also a stroke survivor. 


She told me about the routine that I was expected to follow and what to expect. The routine for me was:
- everyone gets up around 8 am and a nurse on duty would come in to help with getting dressed and also to clean up and to get refreshed( brushing my teeth and combing my hair and washing my face.) Everyone was to eat at the main dining room for each and every meal. Unless you where feeling sick or if you had a visitor with you who could assist you if you needed help to eat. The reason for this, it helps to eat with others and to get to know the other patients, it helped  to socialise. I did not like what l heard since l was not use to eating in a designated area, l was also use to the nurses bring the food tray to me. 
However l was very determined to get better and l would do anything.
After she put on a identification bracelet on my arm, she left the room to get a wheelchair for me since l could not walk.   


She told me my schedule would be as follow: 
8am wake up time
9 am Breakfast
11 am to noon I had Occupational therapy.
noon Lunch
2 pm to 3pm Physio therapy
5 pm Dinner


It was almost time for dinner, so we headed to the dinning room. 


I was very nervous. She placed me at a table with 2 other patients and gave me a bib and then she left. The nurse's gave us our food trays. l remember sitting there and could not believe l was actually there, l still felt l was dreaming. 


My meal l can't recall but l usually received some broccoli or corn, mashed potatoes with no butter or l would get rice. hot water for tea or coffee, 0% milk  and water. Sometimes l would get either pudding or applesauce for desert.

After my meal a nurse took me back to my room and my mom, my sister and her daughter  where there. It really helped to have family their for me.


They stayed for a few hours. l loved how riverview had no set time for visitor's. They could come and go as they pleased as long as they where not noisy.


That was my first day there and l knew l had to get up early the next morning, so l went to bed as soon as my visitors left. So l would feel refreshed.

Hello to everyone who is reading this :)
I had a mild stroke in September 2010 at the age of 32. I suffered a mild stroke while l was sleeping. I woke up one day disorient and unable to walk. I was very confused.
I was taken to the er at my local hospital. I do not remember a whole lot. Personally l thought l was dreaming the whole time and I was sleeping most of the time.


 Some of my experience in the hospital was not very good at all. I well speak of two of them that l can remember and later my family confirmed to me that it really did happen.


First experience was with the head nurse of the er, she was mean to me. I was going to sit on my bed( at the time she did not know l had a stroke but she knew l suffer from rheumatoid arthritis and my balance was not good) I misjudged the distance( later l found out it was not in a bed but a gurney) and l fell off the bed and fell onto the floor. She sternly told me to get up and for the nurses who where going to help me. not to help me :( I was screaming in pain, that my knees where killing me and l could not move my left leg much ( later we found out why!!!) Finally she let the staff help me. What a witch.


My second experience where with two of the nurses. They where going to bathe me and they told me that l smelt bad and should always put deodorant under my arms, I had a stroke give me a break!!!


I almost forgot to mention this one other er doctor, who saw me still in the er after 3 days and told my mom what was l doing there. I should go home. My mom was furious at that doctor and told him that l could not walk.


It took them a few days until i had an MRI done and diagnosed me with having a mild stoke of my right cerebral side of the brain. I was then transferred out of the er and into the stroke ward on the 4th floor.


I was happy to get out of the er and into a private room. A few times a day l was taken into the hall way to have some physio done to help me to walk. The only reason l did not like it is because they would not tell me of a schedule and would often come when l would be having visitors.


After a few days in that ward a guy came that was a representative from a stroke facility called Riverview health center. He told me that i was a very good candidate to go there. The next day there was an opening and off I went.