Good Wednesday morning, Everyone! Now that I’ve got these exercises down pat on the tailwind, I stepped it up another notch last night. I increased the range of motion on both end stops and I increased the speed of the metronome again. To my surprise, I increased the repetitions, as well!
As I mentioned in a prior post, I sure have come a long way! When I first had my massive bleeding stroke, I could not tolerate ANY kind of movement in my left arm/hand. Now I am doing tailwind exercises that I never dreamed possible. My stroke caused something called subluxation in my left shoulder, and because of that I was in extreme pain. I chose to finally ignore the pain, and I am now able to do these once unimaginable exercises. In fact, I have discovered that stroke recovery, itself, is actually a choice! Every day I choose to continue to fight and win this battle over my body’s refusal to cooperate easily. The tailwind reminds me that I will not only win, but CONQUER this stroke! Looking back, I realize that I already have conquered it. When I was first released from the hospital, I was in an arm sling for the subluxation, and I was in a wheelchair because I could not walk, so I’d say I HAVE conquered the stroke already! I walk everywhere now, including Walt Disneyworld & Universal studios, and I no longer wear the arm sling. I also am driving my new little car everywhere. My left arm’s refusal to work (YET) is the only thing preventing me from saying that I made a full recovery.
Sincerely, Shary
