Sunday, June 24, 2012

Gimpy

I wish English had a better word than "weakness" to describe the movement on my affected side. If it was just weakness, I would have been done with the recovery process a long time ago. Like many stroke survivors, I have a constellation of problems, in varying degrees: weakness, spasticity, lack of sensation, confusion of sensation, lack of proprioception, neglect, pain, etc.

Every so often, I use the word "hemiparesis." But it means the almost same thing as weakness. And it has too many syllables.

Another fellow stroke survivor and blogger, Lori, uses the word "gimpy." The word is growing on me. I think it has just the right amount of vagueness to describe the general weirdness with my right side.

So here's a video, filmed on 4/29/2012, of me doing one of my daily tasks--putting away utensils--with my gimpy hand:


11 comments:

  1. Wow Grace, Light years ahead of me, or as Peter Levine mentions, repetitions ad nauseum.
    Dean

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never thought I would say this, but I'm lucky: my recovery is starting to go faster these days. As Peter Levine says, hemorrhagic strokes often have a different arc of recovery.

      Delete
  2. i was impressed that you can zip your coat two-handed, but this is amazing. As Dean said," Wow."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I must say, I never found the process of unloading a dishwasher so fascinating! And what a wonderful grin at the end of it--you really HAVE accomplished something!
    love, Dr Gradus

    ReplyDelete
  4. Way ahead of me, too. I can't let go so easily, nor pluck them from the container. I have to hand them to my left hand with my right. And not touching the part people put their mouths on ... forget about it! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That was a job well done, Grace! Again, well ahead of me as well, but definitely food for thought of something new to work on with my affected left hand! You make doing dishes look almost fun! The big grin topped it! It's still hard for me to get my arm to make those movements, to bend at the elbow or get my fingers to grasp & let go, but I think in time I'll get there! And I'll think of your video for encouragement! Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I did traditional OT for about a year, and then a 2-week course of CIMT (http://myhappystroke.blogspot.com/2011/03/modified-constraint-induced-movement.html. I just applied for more OT, and my insurance denied it :(

    But I got back some movement fairly early on. My biggest problem (I think) has always been my lack of proprioception and sensation. I'm getting some more proprioception in my leg/hip. Hopefully some of the arm proprio. is coming along soon, too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad it was helpful. Keep pushing along...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Grace,great job. I have similar problem too.There is one exercise that help me a lot -putting small peanuts to the cup -few times a day. It improved motion of my fingers a lot. Now, I got a typing learning program and practice using both hands on my laptop.Hood luck because we all need it :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, Grace - I started watching the video but I think I saw a knife in the basket and got scared bc I have a gimpy hand/side, too, (AVM rupture + stroke, 4.7.11 when I was 30) and knives give me the willies. I was like, What's she gonna do with the knife? Mommy used to threaten me with a large oven mitt after one of my OT's told her about constraint therapy. But I've practiced a lot and it's gotten better. It's an encouragement to see you doing a very practical thing with your weaker hand. Thank you! PS. I like how people have said you're happier post-stroke. I think I laugh more, and it's not PBA - so much of recovery is funny! You have to get over the gruesomeness, but on the balance, it's funny :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading.

      I should probably do constraint therapy--again. My hand is a tiny bit better, but I still forget to use it (and it's exhausting).

      Delete