Um, Hi?
I've never really done this before, so I don't know if this text is going to go up onto the web, or get emailed somewhere, or quite what is going to happen.
What I do know is that I hope this will be a useful sort of place for West Australia Young Stroke Survivors to communicate - for Tanya, myself or whoever else to advertise future meetings, and for an update of sorts about the crazy schemes we're hatching. I'm likely still going to email out details of what's on and things, at least for a while.
I would like to take this opportunity to make a big noise about people getting in contact with me if they're interested in being involved with the group, or know someone else who might be. When I say 'Young' that's not to suggest we have a chronological age restriction or anything. We are just a group of people ranging from late teens-ish to early forties-ish who come together to talk about dealing with things like regaining independence, going back to work or study, having relationships, and learning or relearning parenting skills.
I guess you could say we're after people who are young in heart and mind, and interested in not giving up, and getting out there and trying something new now and then. Basically we work on becoming a happy, functional, active member of society after having battled a stroke, and won.
There are about a dozen Young Stroke Survivors in Perth that I know of, many of whom have expressed an interest in coming to hang out one day, even if they're not quite ready yet. They say it takes around 2 years to 'recover' from stroke, although improvements continue over time. It certainly took me a good 2 years before I was ready to talk to people properly, and it's absolutely no help to try and push yourself before you're comfortable (unless you're being a piker) Having said that, though, it can be extremely beneficial to have a quick chat with someone else who's been where you are, just to give you a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel.
Have a think about it anyway, and if you're up for it, email me at
hotbutteredtoast@hotmail.com, or phone the West Australian Stroke Foundation for more general info.
Cheers,
Kate.
