As my Mum told me just do your best.
So, what have I done post hospital not a great deal going on for about 18 months, what I had to deal with first was how will the world see me post stroke basically most wouldn’t give two hoots, but how will I see it.
I had to learn to be in public again after nearly 9 months in hospital you do get the feeling of being institutionalised it’s a hard habit to get out of but once again as my mum said just do your best so We did. After speaking to our Jason, he put us in touch with the MS therapy centre in Swansea and what a lifeline Shelly Christine and all the team were So when I was pushed in my wheelchair into the rehabilitation unit in 2012/13 I still had no confidence and not a lot of stamina in my legs good one or bad one. But over the next few years that changed due to their support and help. While there in their helpful community my social confidence got healthier. But while I was there I continued to look for and strive to improve even more as mum said ‘just doing my best’. So, I did I found out about a fellow stroke survivor by the name of Tom Balchin who after his stroke also looked for ways of improving (must have met my mum) and he created ARNI which is a rehabilitation for neurological injury. I read his book then phoned Tom and asked where my nearest trainer was. I didn’t like his reply which was Chester a little bit of a trek of a morning so that dream had to go on the back burner I even offered to pay to have somebody in our area to be trained as an ARNI trainer but they sadly turned me down.
My desire to improve must always be my reason to continue that improvement must always be emotional mental and physical too.
So where am I in 2019 physically so much better due to my continued work at the gym with my ARNI trainers we are now called Neurological Rehabilitation Wales aka NRW much easier to say which I am one of the directors and I now continue to help other stroke and brain injury survivors that need that continued rehabilitation
Emotionally I’m good too in the last few years both Angela and myself have both lost our mums who were a great encouragement on our lives but who even from the grave continue to love and support us.
Mentally our award-winning stroke group NPTSG has been a great support filling in the gap of friends and family that sadly go by the wayside post stroke for whatever reason that may be.
I tried not to make this just a list of things I’ve done I hope it hasn’t come across like that I always feel that our role as stroke survivors is to inspire and encourage other stroke survivors to continue their lives in the best way they can, as my Mum said ‘JUST DO YOUR BEST’. Good old mums they always know best.
My name is John Murphy and at 51 my life is not over yet I’m just taking Tiny Steps every day with all my fellow survivors
