It is by coincidence that my first post back on social media after three months away was dated October 30, 2024 #WorldStrokeDay. But here I go again, taking the plunge back in and I am also sharing for the first time with a new community on Substack as well.
This picture is from Long Lake, Bridgton Maine, captured minutes before sunrise. It took me three mornings to talk myself into going in for a late October plunge but I finally did it on the last morning there (no, trust me, you don’t need to see videos of me waking up the loons on the lake or photos of my face coming up for air).
The entire weekend was a great mental reset with my wife and two very dear friends.
Diving in for a plunge was also a quicker brain reset than running another marathon or two.
This was the option I chose years back when I found my brain needing another reset. Not the best choice as it turned out for my joints, however. More on that in my upcoming new book.
In the process of not checking in on what everyone else is up to and silencing the constant phone alerts in my brain, I’ve found that I’ve now become desensitized and less interested and reliant on updates of what others are doing on social media and more connected with caring how others around me are feeling.
I’ve made this choice to reconnect for many reasons. One reason is over the last year, I’ve been writing again and hope to finish up final edits for the manuscript for my new book on stroke. Subscribe to my newsletter for book updates and early chapter releases.
I am still busy getting completed drafts over to the remaining individuals that have shared their stroke stories with me for their approval and inclusion in the book. While I am a complete unknown in the research world of stroke, so too are they, and yet collectively we #strokesurvivors have so much to offer to the stroke research community and I’ll be sharing many of their impactful stories as well as barriers we’ve faced trying to fight for more in recovery.
The book’s focus, which I originally planned to release last November, has changed over the past year. It will now be about the commonalities of the highs and lows of our plunge into stroke, as well as thanking our stroke heroes who supported recovery and advocacy for change. Finally, it is a story about prevention and how to perhaps avoid that first stroke. If you’ve had one, it can also provide a roadmap, the same one I used for rebuilding my brain’s resilience while trying to work around the currently broken stroke care pathway.
As I hand off this playbook of lessons learned, I mainly want to thank those close to me, and end my advocacy journey. More to come as I take this next plunge!
For now, If you reached out to me previously on Linkedin over the past few months, or want to DM me here on Substack, give me some time as I’m just getting used to the new format here and I might need some time to come back up for air but I’ll get back to you!
#WorldStrokeDay #KnowStroke #AdvocateForChange #ThinkBig #StrokeSurvivorVoices #LifeAfterStroke #LifeWithStroke #BreakingStigmas #GreaterThan Stroke #KnowStrokeBook #KnowingStroke