I have climbed a mountain

I have climbed a mountain. For someone like me who has survived a stroke, this has meant stepping from “stroke victim”, climbing to “stroke survivor”, and, finally, reaching the summit at “stroke warrior”.  My life post-stroke has been an adventurous journey. I have had to shed my victimhood, say goodbye to my doctors, therapists, and…

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Before and after my stroke

Alon Kaplan, founder of AlonTree Company, before and after his stroke.

Before I had the stroke, I cleaned, gardened, cooked, and did the laundry. I played with my daughters, nursed them back to health when they were sick, took them to school in the morning, and picked them up from school in the afternoon.  I was the “assistant director” for my daughters; always at my daughters’…

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And, I wept

A wheelchair similar to the one Alon was in while at CarePartners.

This memory poem is about my stay at CarePartners, a rehabilitation center, after suffering the consequences of a stroke. I penned this poem a few years later.

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My sweet spot

The sweet spot is directly under the big toe.

My tango teachers, Eric and Cassie, taught me to understand the subtle “sense” of kinesthesia. Kinesthesia is the sense that detects bodily position, weight, or movement of the muscles, tendons, and joints. This is what happens when my brain gets feedback about the way my body is moving and the way my dance partner’s body…

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I had a very bad setback

Alon struggled with a setback in stroke recovery while traveling. I had a very bad set back on January 2, 2017 in New York City. My middle daughter and I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  We walked through every room at the museum, some even twice. The killer was the stairs. My affected…

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I feel like a 14 year old wearing high heels

I feel like a 14 year old sashaying over grass in her high heels. I’m trying something different today; wearing sandals without my ankle brace. I’m walking around my home as I do the dishes, climb the stairs, stand up from my office chair, and hop up on my bed. While walking outside, my foot collapsed…

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What is a “plateau” of your stroke recovery?

“At six months out from a stroke, you don’t expect to see any further recovery.” “Oftentimes there is rapid recovery during the first three months, but then progress slows down. This eventually leads to a dreaded ‘plateau’ in recovery after about six months.” “Plateau” is an expression frequently used in relation to decisions to discharge…

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