Adventure4life

Almost six months have passed since my stroke, and I had decided not to write about it anymore. Life is too important and looking forward is far better than looking back. I was extremely lucky with my recovery and I really do not want to be a moaner or a one conversation person- like Uncle Albert in ‘Only Fools and Horses’ – ‘During the War!’. I am therefore writing this hoping that soon I can concentrate on mountain adventures rather than hospital ones.

I am about to go into hospital for a TOE! as I have a PFO – OMG TLA overload. A PFO is a Patent Foramen Ovale, a shunting from the right to left side of my heart and this could well have been a contributing factor to my stroke and I am having a transoesophageal echo to assess how bad it is.

Then its’ decision time! Well, for those of you who know me, this has clearly been on my mind and I have spent a significant amount of time researching it. I have looked at every possible piece of evidence into the risks v benefits of having it done. I am still no clearer to a decision, that no one else can make.

I ask myself what would I recommend to other people?, what would I advise?………. for once I am going to see how it goes! I’m going to have my TOE, to assess my PFO, to check out the cause of my CVA because BION (believe it or not), I am going to play it by ear. The fact that I am writing this and understanding every medical abbreviation that every medical paper has thrown at me has made my day, my brain loves it…. it is happy and I need to keep it that way. Any decision I make will be in the best interest of my poor long suffering brain and that is good enough for me.

Again, the adventure has been in understanding what makes my brain tick? What makes it happy? And the answer is?

Life, family, enjoying every precious moment, learning again, not taking myself seriously, being healthy, laughing and mountains! (in no particular order)

 Journal of Stroke (Picture Credit – link to full article)