NOW WHAT

It took a few days to settle into Toronto Rehab, since it was a new environment. Nevertheless, I started my rehab program immediately; I first met with an occupational therapist, who did an initial assessment, and then met with a physiotherapist, with whom I established my goals for the duration of my inpatient stay.

Between rehab sessions, I had a lot of spare time so I started to reflect about my life; what I wanted to do and how I wanted to move forward. I started to search more about strokes on my cell phone just so that I could have a better understanding of what they are. As I browsed through social media sites, I started searching for stroke survivors and stroke recovery. From this, I came across a few stroke survivors on Instagram. I started following them and got inspired to start an account about my story in the hopes of inspiring and motivating other stroke survivors.

The stroke survivors I follow are:

 STROKE RECOVERY

STROKE OF INSPIRATION

RUNNING FROM STROKE

PRAYERS 4 JUSTIN

My main goal while I was an inpatient at Toronto Rehab was to get back on my feet and walk out on the day of my discharge, which I was able to do. When I started walking, I had to wear a helmet because my bone flap was still out. Initially, I also needed someone to support me as I walked, but with practice and concentration I was eventually able to walk on my own without any aid. After I was discharged, I decided that my goal was not to go back to where I was before the stroke but to come out better than that, hence my newly coined term, “Saj in progress”.

On the road to recovery, I do not want to solely stick to the traditional forms of treatment; I also want to explore some natural medicines. Soon after the stroke, I started undergoing acupuncture to complement the therapy I was already receiving, which helped with pain management and spasticity. Now, I will be going to India for the month of February where I will be trying Ayurvedic treatment. When in India, I will be posting throughout my trip on Instagram. On your road to recovery, leave no stone unturned and explore all your options.