That Time I Had a Stroke. (Well Two….)
This is a book primarily about having a stroke and its aftermath. It is also a book about love, strength, resilience, grief, laughter, embarrassment, and sheer bloody mindedness. It is not a book about my entire life but will include anecdotes and stories from said life. It’s a memoir about that time I had a stroke.
If you are expecting one of those fabulously inspiring tales of survival against all odds where I get all my limbs torn off by wild animals whilst camping in the Brazilian jungle, only to recover and scale Mt. Everest with only a toothbrush, a rubber plunger and half a Twix, well I have to disappoint you. That would be silly. There was no Twix.
This is the tale of how I had an ischemic stroke and the journey of my recovery. When I was a teacher, pre-stroke, I became well-known and even infamous amongst my senior students for telling anecdotes and stories from my music performing or teaching career, in order to make a point or to add a context to something we were learning. It would also create a nice rapport with my students. They would often be humorous and as a result my students would better remember the lesson. These became affectionately known as “Stopps Stories” and in my last school, my students even kept a tally on the board. I think it was 114 by the time I left the school. They were cheeky buggers.
Andrew Stopps has over 25 years experience working as a teacher, a visiting lecturer and teacher mentor. He puts all this experience to use with resources to help others overcome adversity.
