Tag: daily routines

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From Cold Mornings to Warm Reflections: Navigating Life After a Brain Stroke

Written November 16, 2024

Hello Dear Readers,

It was one of the days that I felt like I just wanted to stay in bed. Ever since I got my brain stroke, I cannot stand cold at all. Before I had my brain stroke, I had a much higher heartbeat and blood pressure, and I always felt hot. We used to live in Canada; my wife complained because I would open our bedroom window while sleeping. Ever since I can remember, my wife has kept her temperature around 65F or 18C during the winter. So our house would always be cool in the winter. I was hot all the time. Now, I feel cold.

I had difficulty forcing myself from bed this morning. I initially woke 45 minutes before my alarm. During the summer months, I would start my run early. But it’s so chilly. I hesitated. I crawled back to bed after using the restroom and fell back asleep. When my alarm sounded, I turned it off and snuggled back under the warm covers, staying awake but in bed and warm for a half hour. Despite the early morning, my wife was already out of bed a few hours before me. She wakes up much earlier every day.

Eventually, I forced myself to throw back the blankets and start my day. When I woke up, my wife was already done running, studying Geman, and writing something in the notebook in the dining room. She has more things to do in her morning routine, as she will create the menu for the upcoming week and create a grocery list. Somehow, we bought four limes that became bad after ten days, which she was upset about. She does not like wasting food ingredients since we should be able to control that with proper planning. Also, she thinks it is sinful to waste food. I know she lists why we wasted the food on the lists.  Then, she would write about how to avoid such an event again. The year is almost over, but we don’t have one page of wasted food. 

Observing my wife also made me question whether I had wasted time today. I’ve been delaying my run in my office, allowing it to warm up further, but I think I’ve wasted enough time now and will start my run shortly. I still need to do weekly house vacuuming chores and clean leaves outside. 

Later, I talked to my wife about this morning, and she said she would put on the space heater before she goes running going forward. She also understands that my body condition is different. I hope it will work better. 

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Balancing Act – Running, Baking, and Staying on Schedule

Written 7/21/2024

Hello Dear Readers,

I generally refrain from writing on Sundays because I skipped documenting my journal post-10k run yesterday. The fatigue was overwhelming, rendering me unable to muster the creativity needed for writing. My kidney issues exacerbate this exhaustion, making me feel unusually drained. The guilt from yesterday’s inactivity still lingers. Hence, today’s journal entry attempts to compensate for that brief lapse.

Yesterday marked a deviation from summer’s relentless heat, and I felt a surge of happiness completing my 10k run amidst slightly cooler conditions. I’ve been tweaking my routine recently, having observed that running early in the morning can be beneficial during the hot months.

Adjusting my schedule, however, tends to disrupt my biological rhythm. I’ve started my days earlier than usual, hitting the pavement right after waking up. Although my body still resists this new timetable, I’m optimistic it will adapt.

Reflecting on my post-run exhaustion, it might be due to not running such a distance in a while; my body was probably caught off guard. I can’t shake off the feeling that I used yesterday’s achievement as an excuse to neglect my other responsibilities.

On a brighter note, today involves some baking. We bought puff pastry sheets yesterday and plan to create small pockets filled with various jams my wife has prepared. We’ve made these before with decent success and decided it’s worth doing again.

Our culinary agenda today also includes making pizza. It makes sense to let the puff pastry sheets warm to room temperature now so I can assemble and bake them simultaneously with the pizza, minimizing the time our oven warms the kitchen.

I plan to save some of these pastries for snacking while mowing the lawn next week. While it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate the completion of a challenging task, I must ensure it doesn’t sideline my other projects.

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Mastering Shower Routines After a Stroke to regain Independence

Written 6/17/2024

Hello Dear Readers,

One of the abilities I lost after my stroke was taking a shower by myself. It is ironic, but taking a shower is one of the private activities I enjoy a lot. For the first several months, I had my wife help me take a shower. I always wanted to regain the ability to shower, so I determined to train myself.

It took longer than I would have liked. When you get severe brain trauma, you will forget how to move your limbs. You suddenly feel like you are in a body that I have no control over. I had to be patient about it; it would be dangerous if I started to take my shower without being in control of my ability to move. Slowly, I started to regain mobility.

When I tried to take a shower, I noticed that some of my overcalculated versions of impulsive tendencies due to stroke started to creep into many of my behaviors. In other words, some of these behaviors suddenly overwrite my activities. I need to remember to do some clearing. I quickly realized that I have to be systematic with my activities to control my impulsive tendencies. 

How can I overcome this challenge? I decided to use exactly the same method to control my other impulsive tendencies. I used a method very similar to how I trained myself to remember to do many things. I do a series of rituals in the shower. I must remember normal things are not normal for me.

When I realized and contemplated what I thought was normal, I gained the habit of anticipating what would happen throughout the day and deciding how I wished to respond. Believe me, when you don’t have your body’s normal movement, there are many anticipated events. I think about it a lot while I am showering. 

Some people may say it is a mental simulation. My wife will say disaster or risk management, and I say that is my normal life. In some ways, my reaction was still impulsive when an anticipated event occurred, but it was at least one more in line with how I had previously decided was preferable. There were also times when my planned response was different from what I should have wished to do. Yet, I find myself with the planned response taking the place of the impulsive reaction.

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Navigating the Challenges of Recovery and Daily Routines

Written 5/31

Hello Dear Readers,

Today, I lagged behind my usual routine due to an unexpected oversleep. Let me share how my day got off to a slower start. Exhaustion took hold of me last night, a remnant from hours spent mowing the lawn. It’s a taxing endeavor, especially when grappling with a compromised kidney function. Fatigue becomes a constant, unwelcome companion when your kidneys aren’t functioning optimally.

In my journey to recovery post-brainstroke, I’ve committed to regular exercise to boost my overall activity levels. This has indeed infused more energy into my days. Nevertheless, there are occasions when, despite a whole night’s rest, I feel unusually drained. Last night was such an instance. I went to bed on time, expecting sufficient sleep to recharge me.

I was awakened by my alarm this morning, ready to start the day. However, as I was about to rise, my wife initiated her post-run shower. My morning routine invariably begins with a bathroom visit, so I opted to wait for her to finish. Unfortunately, the coziness of my bed proved too seductive, and I drifted back to sleep.

This very scenario is why my occupational therapist has been adamant about the importance of maintaining a robust schedule and regular physical activity to strengthen my body’s endurance. It’s crucial for managing my health, particularly with my renal challenges.

Understanding the toll that kidney issues can take on energy levels, my wife is occasionally inclined to let me sleep a bit longer. To circumvent future disruptions, I plan to ask her to notify me when she’s done with her shower. Fortunately, today’s agenda is relatively relaxed, so this minor hiccup in my schedule should be manageable.

Moving forward, it’s clear that balancing my health needs with daily responsibilities will require some adjustments. It’s a manageable challenge that involves better communication and a little more planning. After all, maintaining a steady pace in life’s race can sometimes mean being flexible and adaptive to the unexpected.