3 tips to get the most out of your stroke recovery

My stroke-situation is a tricky one, to say the least. 

It happened in February 2019, in our third year of living in Tokyo as expats. 

Following my surgery, it became abundantly clear that I would need speech, physio and occupational therapy. 

So, from my hospital room, Johan and I began the search for solutions. 

Neither of us having any experience with stroke or with stroke survivors, we had to start from ground zero. We had been told, by the doctors and from asking friends, that the rehabilitation centre was the only way to go. 

And Johan agreed.

Even in my reduced state, I knew that this wasn’t an option for me. That being said, had I been clued in to these complicated elements of managing my recovery, the result might have been different.

Here are my 3 self-advocating-tips to put you in the driver’s seat throughout your recovery. 

You have to manage your therapists 

Sounds easy, right? 

As a business woman, who is used to hiring, managing and, if it all goes terribly wrong, firing members of her team, I still find this incredibly difficult. 

For starters, how do you go about finding therapists that suit your specific needs? And, are all therapists equal? When he or she says that they are stroke specialists, does it mean much more than they’ve studied it at school? How do you find out?

In my diminished capacity, I was not capable of managing the simple task of hiring. So, I got that totally wrong more than a few times. 

I'll always remember a physiotherapist that I eventually had to fire. He knew no boundaries and, presumptuously, spoke directly to my doctors without my consent. He was a shameless know-it-all without having the substance to back it up. 

Managing my therapists has gotten slightly easier with time. 

Make sure that you ask these 5 questions any time you meet with a therapist for the first time. 

You have to make a daily schedule (and stick to it)

In order to set the stage for your recovery, it is of ultimate importance that you take ownership.

Even in my fog, I knew that I didn’t want a cookie-cutter approach to my rehabilitation. It’s not in my genes. So, before I left the hospital, I created a daily schedule and followed it to a T, until it was obsolete. And then, I created a new one. And followed that one.  

There are several ways to craft a schedule. Mine was 30 minute increments and it included elements such as rest times, times for therapy and for my family, as well as down time.  

However you slice it, it must be able to grow with you and you have to be liable.

You have to track your progress

The only therapist I have had consistently is Seth, my speech therapist. He was with me when the only word I could say was ‘one’ and he’s with me now, as I write this blog.

He knows where I started and, in time, what I hope to accomplish. However, in the early days, my occupational therapists and physiotherapists changed more times than I can count. So, what am I left with? I am left with only a snapshot in time. 

Those early days are lost to me. I could not walk unaided, but where was the point that I began to walk by myself? To go up the stairs? To run? 

It is so important that you log your status, pain points and your wishes each week. Here you can find a printable status log to hand to your therapists each week.

I’ve shared with you the key points that I wish I would have known myself when I was first ‘let-go’ in to this big, wide world of recovery. 

In order to truly embrace it, I have had to learn (sometimes the hard way!) to advocate for me.

Here’s to you, your recovery and for self-advocating throughout.