Category Archives: Writing

Truly, I’ve been writing …

The story of my evolution post-stroke is taking shape, and has come alive in me. Hundreds of words have emerged; I’m adding to the manuscript, little by little, almost every day. The blog nudged me, though — it’s been feeling … Continue reading

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Neuroplasticity and lightbulbs

For the past year, I’ve been doing daily brain training exercises on my computer, with the intention of strengthening my undamaged neural pathways and developing new ones to compensate for those the stroke knocked out. I started with exercises (in … Continue reading

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Reconnecting

Everyday life and small energetic knocks and bumps have diverted me from my morning walking delights for a while now. My walks have been functional — to the shops, and to appointments, with only occasional ‘delight’ walks. And even then, … Continue reading

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Celebrating the first year of my new life

At 10am on Thursday 23 February 2012, life shunted me onto an unanticipated fork in the road. I knew straight away I was having a stroke — even though I spent the next twenty or thirty minutes resisting the knowing. … Continue reading

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Peace and beauty

Every morning, I sit at my table and write, freehand, a stream of consciousness spill. A morning page or so. There’s a bit going on at the moment — the first anniversary of my stroke is approaching, and on Wednesday, … Continue reading

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Walking with my umbrella

blessed rain drifting my spirit through bright fragrant dripping shades of green  

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The nature of recovery

A week or so ago, I was quietly celebrating a small but noticeable improvement in my stamina. Not that my capabilities had really improved much, but I was able to stretch the boundaries slightly and bounce back from deep exhaustion … Continue reading

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My inner poet is spreading her wings

I was walking home from the shops last week — a familiar outing these days — feeling buoyant, daring to think that there might have been a slight improvement in my stamina, when that now-familiar thing happened: someone/something put the … Continue reading

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Sheer delight

It’s almost a year since I last saw a large body of water — I cherish those memories of walking on Valla Beach at sunrise and sunset in January last year. So, feeling confident now about my capabilities and limitations, … Continue reading

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Making peace with what is

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reproduced a thought-provoking article by Frank Bruni, from the New York Times, who wrote about our obsession with the physical; with our body’s attractiveness, limitations and flaws, and the way we tend to define ourselves … Continue reading

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