# Things I wish someone had said to me right after my stroke **URL:** \ **Category:** Share your story\ **Tags:** recovery\ **Created:** [8 August 2026 16:09 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140 "2026-08-08T16:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/mich-mm/32/31238_2.png) [@Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Mich-mm)\ **Post date:** [8 August 2026 16:09 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/1 "2026-08-08T16:09:36Z")
I had an haemorrhagic stroke 5 years ago.i was told 6 months ago I’d probably never speak again by a NHS community SALT.i lost the ability to speak not because of the stroke but because I was fitted with a tracheostomy.i was told by a physio at the rehab hospital that I’d probably never walk again,BUT I walked today using a gutter frame(a zimmer frame with “gutters’ to rest your forearms in.dont give up,neuroplasticity and muscle memory are REAL.dont let so-called experts tell you can’t/wont it’s sheer rubbish.we humans,have been walking and talking for 6 million years.so does having a stroke make us no longer human? I think it was @pando (forgive me if I’m wrong) that replied to one of my messages with the famous quote by Rene Descartes:_cogito, ergo sum (I think therefore I am).I’m so tired of the limitations put on people who are driven and motivated,staying with Descartes: “It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.”_ Use your body and your mind and don’t let others tell you,you can’t/wont!you can and you will.the worst thing I deal with is mild dysphagia, _and nasal regurgitation,_ **It happens when stroke-weakened throat and palate muscles fail to close the passage between your throat and nose during a swallow, allowing liquids to travel upward instead of down. But like with all muscles the more I use them the better it will get.** ---
**Author:** ![pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/pando/32/10488_2.png) [@pando](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/pando)\ **Post date:** [8 August 2026 17:59 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/2 "2026-08-08T17:59:17Z")
you are an **absolute authority** on recovering from stroke because you have been through so much. You’ve taken a philosophy quote and turned it into a daily physical manifesto. “I think, therefore I am” – and you’re proving that “I walk, therefore I am,” **“I swallow, therefore I am,”** “I speak, therefore I am.” Keep going @Mich-mm ---
**Author:** ![Mrs5K](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/mrs5k/32/396_2.png) [@Mrs5K](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Mrs5K)\ **Post date:** [9 August 2026 11:44 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/3 "2026-08-09T11:44:43Z")
You’re right @Mich-mm never give up. You are proof that progress can be made even a few years after your stroke. It’s great to see you are now up on your feet & walking, that you can now eat & your speech is coming along too. ---
**Author:** ![Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/rups/32/27794_2.png) [@Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Rups)\ **Post date:** [9 August 2026 12:07 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/4 "2026-08-09T12:07:36Z")
> [@Mich-mm](#): > > It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.” The brain 🧠 is a crazily powerful and complex organ. Whenever I encounter an expert or specialist I appreciate their vocational knowledge, but at heart I realise that when we engage, it is really just two brains making contact with each other. Each one no more capable than the other when it comes down to it. ---
**Author:** ![Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/mich-mm/32/31238_2.png) [@Mich-mm](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Mich-mm)\ **Post date:** [16 August 2026 18:59 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/5 "2026-08-16T18:59:10Z")
I failed to actually say what I wish I’d been told:you will eat and you will stand/walk: ![IMG_8074](https://msgforumuploads.s3.dualstack.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/original/3X/9/e/9e2119a4c352e88d6bc108f4cf4711fac302c9c0.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Mrs5K](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/mrs5k/32/396_2.png) [@Mrs5K](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Mrs5K)\ **Post date:** [16 August 2026 19:48 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/6 "2026-08-16T19:48:57Z")
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. Fantastic to see you standing and walking @Mich-mm ---
**Author:** ![ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/manjib/32/19499_2.png) [@ManjiB](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/ManjiB)\ **Post date:** [16 August 2026 21:22 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/7 "2026-08-16T21:22:02Z")
Here here my friend! > 🙏 > [@Rups](#): > > but at heart I realise that when we engage, it is really just two brains making contact with each other. This has got be thinking a bit 🙂 A heart and two brains making contact with each other. It’s a bit like a tongue twister to me. I’ll have to think about it a bit to see if I can get my head around it 🙂 > 🙏 ---
**Author:** ![Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/user_avatar/onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/rups/32/27794_2.png) [@Rups](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/u/Rups)\ **Post date:** [16 August 2026 21:37 UTC](https://onlinecommunity.stroke.org.uk/t/things-i-wish-someone-had-said-to-me-right-after-my-stroke/47140/8 "2026-08-16T21:37:36Z")
Brilliant. Ping, ping, ping, that’s your brain rerouting. It’s a glorious sound. 😀