Last Reviewed: April 2025

My stroke affected my left side. Immediately afterwards, I was unable to use my arm, or to walk. I needed to be taken to the toilet, even. I worked with hospital physiotherapists on my leg, and by the time I left hospital was able to take a few steps around my bed. No attention was paid to my arm, and as a result this is still a problem.

In almost ten years since the stroke, my walking has gradually improved, although my overall balance is still not good and I run out of steam quickly. Key effects are with my hand and foot, both of which are still paralysed. My foot also drops, which makes me prone to tripping. If I do fall over, I need lever myself up again using e.g. furniture. I haven’t the strength to get up on my own.

Vision

My stroke (and/or diabetes) also affected my eyesight. I have been told not to drive.

Fatigue

Fatigue sufferers might lose the entire day. It does not affect me that badly, so in that regard, I am lucky. However my walking range is extrenely limited, and I am lucky to be able to work from home.

There is little understanding of what fatigue entails, and people often equate it with “feeling tired”. Fatigue is feeling exhausted, just moving from one room to another. Feeling too exhausted to make a cup of tea. Both of these have happened to me.

Although my stamina must have improved, this feeling has never gone away. It is a constant feeling of breathlessness when moving around.

A “trick” I learned with fatigue was that I was able to stop, take a break, then continue walking. Over time, 10m became 20m, and so on. By taking the necessary breaks, I can aggregate to cover larger distances. Over time, the frequency of the breaks has decreased, and the time taken for each break has decreased.

Balance, however, is still an issue. I tend to stick to pavements and avoid walking cross-country.

Mental

Shortly after the stroke, I might find myself in tears at the silliest of things. I described this as jelly. It started off very mushy and gradually hardened and set. That process took a couple of years for me.

I suffered from anxiety, however, which did not affect me previously. At 5 years post-stroke, I journeyed to France alone, and the anxiety I suffered shockedeven me. I could see it happening, but could not do anything about it.

I’m improved since, and have travelled to France again. I can obviously manage the trip but there is still some anxiety.

Aphasia

A common effect of stroke is aphasia, difficulty with speech and communication. I talk about that in the blog, and have worked with people who suffer from aphasia.

I’m lucky because it has never been an obstacle for me – I notice a slight slowdown in my communication, but I am a very literate person so I’m confident that nobody else does.

Driving

These days, my driving license is no more than a handy form of ID.

Summary

I came home in a very fragile state, but I was still shy of fifty, so didn’t think there was any age-related reason that I couldn’t recover some functionality. And that’s how it has worked out. My walking is stronger. I even found a spark of movement in my hand, although my hand is not functional and I’ve given up on miracles.