Hello, my name is John, it’s been a while since I posted anything, I had my stroke in July 2017, I had a bleed on my brain, have learned to walk again with my walking pole, my left hand doesn’t work very well, especially as I was left handed before my stroke but I have adapted as best I can, and even managed to pass my driving assessment back in 2023, I need my steering device, it’s been so good for me driving again and getting my confidence back better, I have to really concentrate but I’m getting there, I like keeping busy as best I can and have my volunteering work in wood workshop, I used to make joinery, I’m better keeping busy, I don’t care for watching tv anymore does anyone else have that, I just thought I’d say hello. Kind regards John.
Well done John. That sounds excellent. 
Thank you Trisha2 i try my best and i keep cheerful and positive.
Hello John @John04 ,
Nice of you to pop by to say “Hello” 
It looks like you’re doing very well after your stroke back in July 2017 and living your life as best as you can is no bad thing.
Keeping busy is a great way to live and not watching TV is no bad thing either. I do watch the odd program on TV but prefer to listen to the radio or music from YouTube videos. Instead of watching TV, I like to read.
Anyway, nice to hear from you and wishing you all the best.
Peace & Love
& 
Thank you ManjiB for nice words, just like me, I prefer radio or you tube music, I just seem to have lost interest in tv since my stroke, but I guess that isn’t a bad thing, I just wondered if I wasn’t alone.
Hey John @John04
We are never alone
Take care.
Hi @John04
Nice to hear from you. Sounds like you’re doing well. I’m sure that driving again has been a real boost to your confidence and it’s great to hear about your volunteering, it’s always good to be able to get out of the house!
Anna
…and I’m starting to hate YouTube, which a friend loves and recommended. There are much better things to do ; listening to music leaves me in a much better mood, though it may require more concentration since it’s classical.
I lost all interest in tv for the first couple years post stroke. Now I can watch the odd program but still prefer my reading. It’s background noise to me when family are watching. Being retired I have to keep myself active, if I sat too long I’d seize up anyway, so don’t miss it all.
Glad to hear your recovery is going well 
@John04 Great to see your positive update. Sounds like you really are Living your life the best you can.
I’m with you re TV now. I find there’s too much going on trying to watch pictures, listen to the background music & what they’re saying and after a day at work my brain can’t cope with it.
I bet getting back to driving was a huge morale boost.
Well done to you. So good to read your positive story.
Best wishes
Ann
Thank you Ann, I do try as best I can, driving again has been so good for me and my confidence and I’m quite cheerful despite my stroke. Take care John
Good to hear you are living your life dutifully post stroke. I lost interest in television post stroke early on but regained satisfaction from it because history programmes seemed to settle my mind. Online videos are not for me but I do enjoy daily radio programmes, recently Brian Cox did a good session on Classic FM over Christmas for us non-religious folk and I enjoyed that. I still love reading despite invasive blurred and double vision with extra nystagmus thrown into the mix. I also love just watching a film on DVD, a prehistoric technology now, but nothing satisfies me more than putting one on and just being vacuumed into the world devised for the viewer. I find streaming overwhelming but I believe that is a usual cognitive challenge for anyone, the more choices you have, the harder it is to make a choice. More brain energy.
I have to add that I play vide games. A private passion that doesn’t feature much in many of my post stroke peer’s lives but I have occasionally come across a few, cough, cough, @Bobbi
Thank you for replying. I sometimes like the odd game on my iPad, helps my concentration, kind regards John
Get on John, 5 years after my brain bleed I managed to get back on a motorcycle. Day at a time my friend. I got left with CFS/ME after my SAH, it’s strange how our injuries can affect us differently depending on where the bleed was. My friend said that I was lucky the bleed wasn’t in my crotch, or else I’d be dead. 
. I get difficulty performing tasks if drained, and my motor skills/co ordination suffer. Has taken 5 years to adapt and I’m still doing it. Think it will be a life long process. Keep on keeping on brother. Take care and best wishes.
Thank you JokerBliss, for kind and supportive words, sorry I’m a little slow at reading posts, I shall keep on going and I’m happy I get along as best I can, kind regards John
Hi John, very interesting to read about your journey as I also had a bleed on the brain, you have given me an idea of time in recovery, when I have been wondering when I will ever walk again, drive again, gain some use of my left arm.
I had my stroke a year ago and have progressed to using a stick, as I am so determined and engage therapists and go to the gym, that I thought I would be walking by now, but this drop foot doesn’t like it.
A physio used the analogy that I had been claiming a mountain and now I am going up a hill, so keeping on at this level becoming the norm.
Lovely to hear from you and keep up the good work
Regards
Ann
Thank you Ann, I do hope your drop foot improves, my left hand doesn’t work very well, the best way I can describe, is my left hand contributes, I have grip there, but need my right hand to help close hand, I’ve learned to tie shoe laces and when I go to the gym and go upstairs, I can use my left hand to carry my walking pole upstairs, if I use right hand to close left hand, I need my right hand for handrails, I’ve learned everyone is different, I have an afo to help me walk better, but I’m okay without especially when I’m driving, good luck with everything Ann and keep going, your not alone. I’m always here, maybe slow, but I will listen, take care John
It was about 16/18 months after my stroke that I started driving again.
Driving is much different from walking. Have you tried sitting in the drivers seat and just reintroducing yourself to the peddles and switches. My physio advised doing that from the start as part of my rehab regime.
I too had drop foot, still does when fatigued but fine again once rested. But it never hindered my driving and use of the peddles. In other words, it only affected the mechanics for walking, not sitting using peddles. That tells me my drop foot is coming from the hip not the foot, which is also what physio thought too.
Aside from your drop foot, what else is holding you back from driving? Apart from official permissions that is. Any visual or cognitive issues for instance?
Lorraine
That’s great advice, thats what i did a little, then had a few lessons to help get used to adaptions and driving the assessment route, i had a driving instructor who used a car from rdac and they worked together. My assessment was in two parts. Firstly to see what my mobility and how my stroke affected me, then they got ne to have few lessons before i went back to rdac to finish assessment drive. Rdac are very helpful. I hope helpful. Kind regards John
Thank you John, time is the healer isn’t it? Thank you for your support
Keep smiling 