From Hope to Healing


During Marc's time at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Ontario, following a massive stroke and brain bleed, a friend suggested I start a blog. I'd been making notes each day and updating his progress on Facebook but after some thought, I realized that this could be something that Marc could later read to follow his journey back to health.

I thought it might also serve to help someone else. If it can help even one other person to recognize the signs of a stroke or to help a family member understand what happens during this battle, then it was worth recording.

This is Marc's story. It begins with our hope for his survival and follows his healing journey.

For those of you new to blogs, you can find previous posts in the Blog Archive on the right side of the page. Each post has the date so you can easily follow along day by day. Just click the one you want to read. This story starts on Saturday, December 8, 2012.

(To see the earlier blog posts, click on "2012" in the Blog Archive section and it will open the posts from December)

Friday, January 25, 2013

Friday, January 25, 2013 - Starting to Exhale

Every day seems to bring more good news lately.  Not that I’m complaining.  Far from it.  These days I feel like I can finally exhale.  Until now I felt like I was mostly holding my breath. 
Just after midnight tonight will mark seven weeks post-stroke.  That was the night I took a deep breath and waited to see what would happen.  I was mentally prepared for the worst but hoped and prayed for the best. 
And as I let out my breath seven weeks later, I realize that the best is becoming a reality. 
I can see Marc’s physical improvement on a daily basis.  His physiotherapy is normally at 2:00, just as visiting hours are starting so I get to see what he is working on and experience those improvements for myself. 
His occupational therapy is usually earlier in the day so I only get sporadic updates about that part of his therapy.  Things had been a bit slower and bit more challenging in that area, from what I could understand. I really wasn’t sure what to expect as far as recovery. 
With his physiotherapy happening at the pool this morning, his OT session was moved to 2:00 this afternoon. His occupational therapist, Angela, had completed some testing with Marc this week and had her results.      
I held my breath. 
Angela gave us some very good news.  Marc had done very well in all areas of the test, far surpassing her expectations.  One week ago he most definitely would not have done that well.  She said there is still room for improvement and the deficits are to be expected but she believes that Marc will be able to meet more goals going forward. 
I exhaled. 
Maybe it’s just me, but I can really see Marc improving so much every day this past week.  It’s like things are starting to click.  It feels like he’s relearning at a rapid rate.
And I’m learning to breathe again. 

1 comment:

  1. I guess that's why there was a big gust of wind down here in Brampton. Goodness, the trees were practically at a 90 degree angle!

    Keep breathing, Sandy. If you hold it all in, we get a storm down here when you exhale!!

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