Now and Then

What it was like before the stroke and what it is like now are completely and 100% different. For anyone who didn’t know me before the stroke. I’d like to paint a picture.

I married my high school sweetheart. But the pressures of the stroke made that collapse. (I’ll get to that another day.) I attended University right out of high school and later on, college. I was very active in high school sports. Sports are what I enjoyed and kept me interested in school. I played field hockey, volleyball, soccer, badminton. I always played a sport. My real passion was volleyball and I would play at every opportunity I got. I even played in some recreational leagues outside my small town. At UWO I played varsity field hockey and house league volleyball.

In order to stay in shape and prepare my body for the gruelling practices, I started to run. I became addicted and a bit obsessive compulsive. I would fit a run every day, even if that meant an early start. It became such a part of me I was using it as an escape from the bad happenings in my life. If school or work was stressful a good run enabled me time to think of how to prioritize my worries and come up with solutions. In the past I would have went for a run to ease the stress of the stroke. That now is not possible. I now workout as religiously as before, except not at the same activities and not for the same reasons. What drives me now when I am feeling tired is rehabilitation.

A mystery still exists as to the cause. I was a VERY active person. I like to keep busy. It was complete boredom being bed ridden and movements limited. I don’t smoke. I drink causally, maybe the odd glass of wine or mixed drink. More often than not my drink of choice was and is water.

My interests were sports and now I spend more time in different activities. I have taken up more stationary pursuits like sewing, Yoga, and Pilates and I have considered spinning. That just touches on the changes not to mention a walk with the dog at any given moment. Life is not worse just different.