Renewing my Commitment to Rehab for Stroke Awareness Month

The last time I was in a formal physical or occupational therapy program after my stroke was in February of 2020, right before the pandemic. I was feeling plateaued at that point so when the pandemic hit and I couldn't go into therapy anymore, I started turning to at-home exercises to work on my hand.

But as life went on, other areas of focus emerged, and my therapy fell by the wayside. I switched jobs, I moved twice, and I started traveling again. So it's actually been five years since I last went into therapy. May is Stroke Awareness Month, and at the end of this month is my 8-year stroke anniversary, so it is fitting that I am now spending this month renewing my commitment to rehab and improving hand function. I am spending this month in Columbus ,Ohio, doing an intensive three week-long boot camp to improve my upper extremity dexterity and fine motor skills with NeuroAnimation. 

NeuroAnimation has just opened their brand new Stroke Recovery Center in New Albany, Ohio, and I was invited here to take part in the three week program and hopefully make some functional gains.  And I can tell you, while I am only now one week into this program, I have already noticed significant improvement in the overall looseness of my hand and my ability to open up my fingers. 

One thing I still don't have very well since the stroke is individuation of my digits, so I am working on being able to individually extend each of my fingers. The NeuroAnimation program is unique - I’ve truly never seen anything else like this. For the program I spend 2 hours in the theater playing games that engage my left arm and hand, and I spend an hour doing consolidation activities to put those movements I am learning into functional tasks. In my case, since I am left-handed and want to get my hand back, I am drawing and sculpting with clay everyday. I am drawing and sculpting the same octopus every time I am at the center, and believe it or not both my drawings and sculptures are looking better each day! 

My octopus depiction is improving after just one week so I can't wait to see what happens at the end of three! It is so encouraging to see real progress eight years after stroke - proof that our brains always have the capacity to grow and rewire. I am encouraged and more motivated than ever to make the most of the rest of my time here and beyond to continue improving my dominant affected hand. Onward!