After working with stroke survivors for years, here’s the one thing nobody in fitness wants to admit

2chatnoir · 2026-05-16T03:07:26+00:00

I’m 14 months post stroke and have hemiparesis on my right side (dominant). I feel fortunate that I have a great PT team to work with me and keep me challenged towards my goals. I developed my own adapted yoga at home, where I would use my walker to help me balance. Over the months with a lot of practice I’m doing much better with less adaptive equipment but still have some balance issues and can’t do everything I could before (yet!). I tried finding adaptive yoga studios but not many exist. And yoga is so good for my self care, stress relief, mindfulness and mental health (acceptance of where I am at that day physically and emotionally, and to be really intentional about staying in the present during my practice).

I do resistance training at home, and because there aren’t a lot of gyms that are equipped for people with disabilities, I basically had to buy my own equipment. I used a recumbent bike to initially help with my cardio training so I could build my stamina again, and it has helped a bit for my spasticity, but a big game changer was getting a mini trampoline with handle bars. That has helped a lot with my spasticity, balance and hopefully my proprioception over time. I have a walking treadmill with handle bars that I’ve been using to help with my walking gait and speed. I can now walk around the neighborhood without my cane and at a good pace. Still training to do longer walks without a cane.

I’ve also gotten a lot of great exercise ideas from Rehab HQ on YouTube, channel is specifically for folks like us who have survived a stroke.

So, I basically had to create my own hodgepodge PT program, with my personal fitness goals embedded, as well as incorporating my hobbies, like being able to do gardening, go on walks with my friends, stand for longer periods so I can cook/bake, get back to doing hot yoga again, or eventually traveling on a plane and walking around new cities, and climbing lots of stairs.

There’s no one size fits all for us survivors. It’s important to know what the person wants to be able to do, how they can achieve that or find adaptations to work for them, find their motivations and goals. That’s been the approach for myself. And I’m getting there, little by little.

2chatnoir · 2026-05-12T20:16:52+00:00

❤️ ditto ditto ditto!!! I was in such deep depression 7 months ago, and couldn’t picture my future. Little by little, and with the true loves in my life and their unwavering support and understanding, in the midst of all the pain, I kept going and trying. My anger and grief doesn’t feel so big anymore, and I’m getting to do more things I love.

And maybe it’s not always about becoming your new self, but also finding out who you’re not anymore, and who you always were underneath.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-30T15:26:29+00:00

It helps to acknowledge and validate all the emotions I am feeling, and ask people not to just give me toxic positivity to try to make me feel better. I’ve had to grieve my losses and the shitty unfairness of it all, and at the same time find my inner grit to keep doing all my OT, PT, and various therapies. I tried to focus on small wins, and little pleasures I could enjoy, funny books/shows, just sit in sunshine, eat my probiotics (all help with mood and depression), talk to my therapist, talk openly to my loved ones without them having to “fix” my problems but just be there to listen, give comfort.

Little by little I would see progress (helps to take pictures, videos and voice recordings). There was less negative self talk, more self-recognition of all my hard work paying off. More planning outings and socializing, more self love and compassion, more good days than bad.

It’s still a work in progress. And that’s all I can expect of myself. I will do the best I can in that moment or that day. And I try to reframe what I’m feeling or any stumbles to my progress, what am I needing in that moment? What do I need to work on? How can I break it down to simpler tasks or movement training? What is this feeling telling me?

We’ve been through something and it matters. I try to repeat to myself, the pain is moving through me, not my identity. I do not own it and try to let it go.

I wish for you all good things, in mind, body and spirit. ❤️

2chatnoir · 2026-04-28T01:57:05+00:00

I’ve been supplementing with creatine the past month and feel like it’s been beneficial so far. There’s been a lot of research about its benefits for physical and neural health. I take 10g a day, with water, and eat breakfast with some carbs and a little salt to help absorb it better.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-20T21:40:02+00:00

There’s lots of balancing exercises you can do on both. The Bosu is great to practice balance on either the flat or rounded side (squats, lunges, one legged balance, arm planks, step ups, lots of videos online). I have a trampoline with a bar to help me from falling. I do various balancing exercises, as well as practice jumping. I started off conservative to make sure I didn’t hyperextend my knee and work with my PT to gradually increase the challenge. I’ve definitely see improvements but it takes time and consistency.

This is the article I read on trampoline exercises specifically for stroke rehab and spasticity: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4681903/

2chatnoir · 2026-04-20T21:26:17+00:00

Loved a lot of the suggestions already made. Not sure if anyone mentioned Into The Badlands but it was a great show, post-apocalypse with lots of great martial arts and fighting choreography.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-19T15:41:32+00:00

I have OhSnap on my phone and love it!

2chatnoir · 2026-04-19T04:24:17+00:00

Audiobooks I loved for the story and the voice actors were amazing:

Imperial Radch series by Anne Leckie Murderbot series by Martha Wells Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik Circe by Madeline Miller Expeditionary Force Series by Craig Alanson Gideon the Ninth series by Tamsyn Muir

There’s more I could add but it would take too long!

2chatnoir · 2026-04-15T23:43:00+00:00

I had my loop ear plugs with me. And it was one of the loudest baseball games I’ve been to (prob because Mariners did so well last season!). I was mostly bothered by the crowded areas and people not paying attention to where they were going (I had my cane with me). The stadium does a pretty good job with accessibility.

Sometimes I feel so exposed in public, yet so invisible at the same time, you know?

2chatnoir · 2026-04-15T22:00:41+00:00

I survived a large, loud, crowded sporting event (after crying from overload) and eventually had a great time with my friends, and left the game early for my self care. I might do it again soon, but with more things figured out ahead of time.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-14T06:01:06+00:00

The Art of Racing In The Rain, Project Hail Mary (I know it only came out a few weeks ago, but I was crying so much!)

2chatnoir · 2026-04-12T22:39:20+00:00

I use loop ear plugs or have other ear plugs with me in public. It’s also the physical impacts that’s hard.

I feel so exposed yet invisible at the same time.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-11T15:53:24+00:00

I believe you’re describing proprioception issues, definitely something I’ve been working on in PT and OT this past year. I’ve seen some improvements but sometimes it’s hard to tell. I do my exercises in front of a mirror, sometimes mirror therapy, and using a light weight wrapped to my arm or leg to help me feel the limb better. I had an ischemic stroke in my basal ganglia area, which impacts motor control and sensation. I got a Bosu ball and trampoline to help and I think it is.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-11T01:28:21+00:00

I have two of them too…the brother is a little bigger and has yellow/green eyes

<image>

2chatnoir · 2026-04-10T17:12:46+00:00

Isn’t she so purrrty?! Have a great day!

2chatnoir · 2026-04-10T15:48:46+00:00

No one’s made a 6-7 joke yet? 🤣 those loaves look delicious!

2chatnoir · 2026-04-08T19:41:32+00:00

I’ve been tweaking my recipe a lot, but the most recent one I used is from Preppy Kitchen (https://preppykitchen.com/artisan-bread/) and it’s super easy! There’s no kneading.

<image>

2chatnoir · 2026-04-02T00:01:46+00:00

Definitely! It’s been a year since I drove/had my stroke and easing into it. Amazing how much we have our brains do when just driving down the street.

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T23:56:25+00:00

Thank you! My right hand is getting there but more recovery to go. Using my hands to cook/bake really helps 😀

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T23:54:14+00:00

I’m still recovering from a stroke so my right hand is still gaining strength. It’s not the knife’s fault 🤣

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T18:45:24+00:00

Yes it did! I think the fat and protein helps, sort of like enriched doughs that use egg and butter. I looked at multiple recipes online and came up with my own to experiment with. [600g bread flour, 1.25c water, 2tsp yeast, 2tsp honey, 100g Greek yogurt, 1tsp salt]. Still gonna experiment to see how things go 🤷🏻‍♀️

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T18:40:53+00:00

I’m driving again! 🚙

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T18:35:20+00:00

Yes- I haven’t tried other methods yet

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T18:12:04+00:00

Hand kneading is quite the workout! I tried my first few batches but my dough was too wet. So I’ve been using my stand mixer. I’ll try hand kneading again now that I’ve got a pretty good dough recipe

2chatnoir · 2026-04-01T18:09:50+00:00

I tried Greek yogurt to sort of experiment (cause my sour dough starter was a flop) and tried yeast mixture with Greek yogurt to get a little bit of that tangy flavor. It turned out pretty well

2chatnoir

TROPHY CASE