Category: Recap
-
It Takes Two to …
I have been behind on providing updates on my upper extremities recovery (arm and hand). I started writing this entry over 2 years ago. There’s a lot to share and I wanted to provide as much information as I can with what I’ve learned so far. A lot of this is a recap from beginning…
-
Driving Update
After driving alone to and from therapy for a few months in my husband’s SUV, I felt I was ready for my independence and responsibility of becoming a car owner again. I think my husband also needed those few months to realize I was safe. Looking back, it was all in God’s perfect timing. “The…
-
What About Driving After a Stroke
On October 18, 2021, we made the decision to sell my car. I was incredibly heartbroken. Not because of the car but it was another reminder of what my stroke took from me. It was a symbol of my lost independence. I loved my car, it was little and fast like me. And now I…
-
Learning How to Walk (and it’s not cute like watching Bambi)
The first attempt I made to walking in the hospital was just a few days after being admitted in the hospital. This video was recorded June 29, 2021 – 5 days post stroke. It’s extremely hard for me to watch back. I actually remember some of the details of this day. The inpatient therapists from…
-
Living In a Pit
I’ve been living in a pit of despair for the last month and a half. I’ve lost 2 of my beloved pets, Peanut and Max. They were both 10 year old English Bulldogs. They both had problems. Peanut passed away from liver failure in February and Max had a tumor that had spread. He passed…
-
Despair 2
The thing about depression is that it’s not something you can just stop feeling or even explain why you’re feeling it. It’s not like you can say snap out of it, you have too much going for you that you shouldn’t be depressed. It’s a weight that you feel deep in your core that robs…
-
Christmas Eve meltdown
Christmas Eve was also my husband’s grandma’s birthday. Starting with Thanksgiving, we are on nonstop holiday gatherings and birthday celebrations. There are 10 birthdays of just family members, including mine, in December. I know birthdays are great celebrations but I was not really feeling like it this year. Not to mention tensions were high from…
-
My 1st Heart & Stoke 5k
How obedient are you? Do you trust God fully but also doubt His Plans? I’ll speak for myself. I’ve felt nudges but I don’t normally follow through with them. Mainly because I’m so wrapped up in what I want to do and I’m just too busy. Well guess what? I am pretty much sitting on…
-
8/3/2021 Outpatient Rehab
It was my first day in outpatient rehab. This is where stroke survivors go after completing inpatient rehab. However the rehab place I was going to was a inpatient facility. I just happened to be their only outpatient client. That had its own challenges. For instance, I didn’t have a rehab doctor and had to…
-
Home
7/23/2021 – Coming home was a bittersweet feeling. I was ecstatic to be home in my own surroundings, my dogs and my family. I looked around my house and I felt extreme anxiety. I really enjoyed our new home and I felt bad for my family having to take care of it while I was…
Stephanie Torres 