Overcoming my own challenges –
The rest of the story
Now time would tell what deficits and complications I would have to deal with. Within 36 hours of the thrombectomy I started to regain the use of my left leg, left arm and speech. Five days after the event, I was discharged with only minor deficit to left hand grip strength, minor impediment with use of the letter “s” on certain words, and brain fog, along with a significant loss of appetite and the beginning of depression despite an excellent prognosis.
I was 58 years old at the time, very active including CrossFit, weightlifting, running, and cycling throughout the week. I am married with a daughter and work for a pharmaceutical company. This sudden stroke created a level of stress, but my faith in Jesus Christ and staying physically active helped to reduce my stress. My diet was relatively clean, no major risk factors (no A-Fib, hypertension, heart disorders, blood clotting disorders, non-smoker, and only an occasional drinker of alcohol). I have had a loop recorder implanted in my chest since November 2019 with zero incidence of A-fib or any other abnormality. The cause of this massive blood clot and ensuing stroke remains a mystery.
Two weeks after my stroke I was slowly increasing my food intake (I had lost 11 pounds on my trimmed frame in this time span) and back to CrossFit and weightlifting. I had lost significant strength and cardio while dealing with immense post-stroke fatigue but was making good progress. In the ensuing months I had other significant life events that negatively impacted my health and mental wellbeing, including the sudden death of our 21 year old daughter. Covid would create another challenge as we entered a lock-down phase with gyms closed and limited social interactions. In June 2020 I contracted Lyme disease after a backpacking trip on the A.T. and the following August I contracted Covid.
I took it upon myself to do my part to get better physically, emotionally, and mentally. Despite gyms being closed, I have had a love affair with doing workouts outside using sandbags, sleds, pullup bar, body weight movements, running, cycling and just walking. By the Fall of 2020, I had regained about 8 pounds of what I had lost, in part because I wanted to make sure I was adding to my weight with a focus on lean muscle versus just fat. My cardio was back to normal, and I was back to doing CrossFit at nearly pre-stroke levels. During all this time, I maintained contact with family, friends and my church family. My social connections provided support, encouragement, maintaining healthy eating habits, physical activity, learning new things, and taking time to properly recover were all beneficial to my healing.
Today I am 62, doing all the things I did before and discovering new things to do. For example, in Florida we do not have mountains, yet I was able to incorporate into my overall fitness plan training for two out of state Century cycling rides each with over 10K in elevation changes and complete them in 2022.
Why share my story? Because we all have stories of challenges and setbacks, things that we don’t foresee, things that can knock us down a peg or two in life. Yet it is my firm belief that one can overcome the challenges life presents whether it’s improving fitness or beginning for the first time a program for fitness, weight challenges, nutritional challenges, unhealthy behavior/lifestyle, stress/mental health, and finding purpose.
For me it’s all the above – with God first and foremost as the reason for where I am today. And to Him I give all the glory.