Possibly the quickest year ever… yet one that has brought so many challenges. I really can not believe the journey I have been on and the help I have received from so many sources. I can not thank them all enough.
I will not dwell on the past or say what if. I will however comment on the people I have met along the way.
A massive thank you:
To my family, who I would be nothing without. Thank you for showing me the way and always being there for me.
To the paramedic, the unnamed hero (because my brain was not up to remembering). He made me feel human, he recognised I was in there and he knew my background. He could see the fear and understanding in my eyes and my determination not to be carried out of the house.
To the porter, who took me to the stroke unit, all I can say is thank you for making me realise there was a world outside my head and other people were having bad days too.
To the nursing staff, thank you for your kindness and compassion. For your support and words of encouragement that I will always remember.
To the Consultant, who was always there, who treated me with such respect that I felt like I was the only person on the packed ward.
To the Stroke team, who helped me to walk and talk again, to the community team who showed me how to feel normal.
To the physio, who went on a run with me!! Don’t need to say anymore.
To the ward staff, who recognised that I needed fuel and a cuppa. You do not realise how any interaction helps with your recovery.
To all the people who have stopped and talked to me or those that have seen this crazy person walking in every weather with a smile on his face and umbrella on his back (You can’t control the weather).
To those people I encountered, who look at me in wonder ‘you walked from where’ with that slight puzzled expression of why, and those that took the time to listen to my answer.
There are so many and it fills me with overwhelming emotions.
I don’t think I have ever enjoyed just being as much as I have in the last year and taking time to explore the amazing world around me.
There are so many challenges still to overcome, so many places I want to go, so many adventures in the researching and planning stage. Its sometimes difficult to decide where to start. Finding time is also tricky, but that is one mistake I will not make again.
‘Two Roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.’ Robert Frost
Adventure4life 