When I reached the nursing home and met this person I was shocked and truly saddened. He was only one year younger than me and had a stroke around the same time as me, about two weeks earlier. Yet here was I, able to walk with an aid and continue with my recovery through rehab while he was still lying in bed completely helpless. His left hand and leg had shrunk so much that I could see the structure of his bones.

I walked to his bedside and held his hand gently. Then I began to tell him my story. I assured him that he could be like us. I also encouraged him to join us at NASAM Johor for the rehabilitation. He smiled and said he wanted to. His family said this was the first time he smiled in a long time. They thanked us for encouraging him. He promised to come to NASAM for assessment. I was so happy for being able to help someone take the first step to recovery after a stroke.

When I went to NASAM the day after he was supposed to come for assessment, I was saddened to hear he hadn’t shown up. The following day when I went to NASAM I heard he had passed away. I looked up towards the sky, tears flowing freely. I asked God why he wasn’t given an opportunity to come to NASAM and be allowed another chance at life, like me and my friends. It occurred to me then that it could have been me lying on the bed, doing nothing and wasting away as every day passed by. I could be dead or wheelchair dependent. I told myself then that I would continue to fight this disability and nothing was going to stop me from having a normal life.

My stroke on February 4, 2017, on the eighth day of Chinese New Year, was brought on by a haemorrhage in my right brain. At that time I was a broker in a pawn shop. Suddenly I couldn’t move the left side of my body. My friends rushed me to hospital and within two hours I was being treated for a stroke. I was lucky not to have to undergo any surgery.

Initially I thought it was the end of the road for me and I would be stuck in a wheelchair till my last breath. I went through the same ups and downs like every stroke survivor. At first I was psychologically unstable, hot tempered and even aggressive towards the hospital staff and my family.

After discharge I was very depressed and frustrated. I was angry because, although I was only 36, I was an invalid and stuck in a wheelchair. Every day I looked at the sky through a window by my bedside. Tears would flow as I recalled my super hectic life before stroke when I had good times with my friends.

Now I could not even pass motion on my own. Every time I saw the faces of my family having to help me I would get embarrassed and depressed. I tried listening to songs to calm myself but it didn’t work for me. My family tried their best to help.

They sent me for acupuncture. One week after my stroke, my brother found NASAM Johor through Facebook and made an appointment for me. I was so afraid at first because I didn’t know how I would be treated at NASAM. I was scared that the therapist would bully me.

At NASAM I was assessed by rehab therapist Jennie Law. I was really happy when she allowed me a chance to try walking with an aid at the end of our session. When I returned home I was excitedly looking forward to my second visit the next day.

This time therapist Ivan Tan, who was going to take me through a one-on-one session, discussed with me how he could help with my recovery. We sat down and talked about many things, including my life goals after stroke. He advised me not to use my aid – a walking stick – as he was concerned that I would come to depend on it for the rest of my life.

We also set long-term goals. I would first re-learn to walk, then run and eventually climb a mountain. When I made these goals I was not even able to stand properly. But I was given hope and able to see a life for myself.

At home I practised every exercise and instruction given by the therapist. On my third visit, I saw strokees preparing for the Stroke Games in KL. They looked so happy and pumped up. I told myself that one day I would be like them.

At the end of my first month I joined a group session. Initially it was very tiring, but I slowly managed to keep up with the pace. After the third month my therapist told me that I had improved a lot and started discussing a ‘going back to work plan’.

Like many other strokees, I too first came to NASAM in a wheelchair. The rate of my recovery was obvious and some members would ask me what kind of medicine I took to recover so fast. I would tell them that my recovery is due to all the sacrifices I have made to go through two hours of daily rehab at NASAM and exercising at home despite the chronic pain.

Everyone says that my hand is very strong. What they don’t know is that initially I could not even hold a small bottle of water. I started walking to NASAM three months after my stroke. Every day I covered a distance of 1.5km. At first I had to rely on a plastic bag to carry my water bottle. Now when I walk my left hand holds this bottle. Today, I am capable of walking 10km in a day. And in July, five months after my stroke, I started running over a stretch of 5km. I do this at least three times a week.

Everyone is scared of falling down. I too am afraid of this. But there is something I am more afraid of and that is going back to hospital because of another stroke. So I tell myself that I need to keep fit, stay healthy and stop giving excuses for being lazy. I want to remind stroke survivors that some strokees are not fortunate like us to come to NASAM. So please cherish every moment you spend recovering at NASAM and be committed to your rehab.

I was born on June 30, 1981. This year, my birthday is meaningful to me as it was my last day at rehab, at NASAM. I am now a UBER driver, volunteer at a nursing home and transport stroke survivors to and from NASAM. I am proud to be a Stroke Champion!

Remember this, when God closes one door he will open a new one for you. YES! There is life after stroke. It is all up to you!”

Source: Strokenews (Issue 3), October 2017, Inspiration, Pgs. 7 – 9.