Happy New Year, Beautiful People!
2022 has hands down been the most challenging year of my life, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually. As I think back to December 31, 2021, I was still in shock from the stroke, restricted to the ground floor of my house because I couldn’t climb stairs. I had to sit to shower and needed help dressing myself. My hand was showing glimmerings of life, but my arm and hand were still mostly lifeless. As of today, 31 December 2022, I am back at the gym, exercising major muscle groups. I can play my flute with both hands, albeit slowly. Sensory overload is lessening to where I can function in most environments now without freaking out.
It is a considerable journey back from stroke; I don’t think people realise how common it is at any age. It is not just an old age event. Be aware of what you are putting in your body, exercise, learn a musical instrument and meditate. These are all things you can do to prevent stroke or mitigate the effects if you have one.
Now I have been through that event, I have learnt so much, about myself, about the brain and body, about recovering and about the strength of human will. I have read stories about people making remarkable recoveries from accidents or medical emergencies and how their sheer strength of will got them through. Now I can attest to that. I was told my arm would never recover or move again. I was told that recovery diminishes after the first three months after a stroke. If I had accepted that, I would be a very different person today. We are much stronger than we think or are told.
So what does my 2023 have in store? Regular exercise and eating clean foods. I will have a mosaic career now. I am a music moderator of the Ministry of Education and a visiting lecturer and marker for Victoria University. I am a Life Coach at andrewstopps.com and a teacher mentor at theteachingpractice.nz. I will continue to create music teaching resources and publish my memoir, “In One Stroke”.
My husband Sean has been beyond amazing with his support, encouragement, and love.
Finally, I wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to all for your kind words on here, visits, coffees, lunches and support. You will never know how much it lifted me out of dark moments. I think you’ve all earned some good karma this year.
As always, my eternal love and gratitude to you all for being there for Sean and me. Your reading and responding to my posts encourage me more than anything.
Andrew 2.0 xxx