Cold and tired, but celebrating another breakthrough

Fuerteventura, one of the smallest of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain, has 364 days of sunshine per year and is a haven for naturists. Tamworth, in Staffordshire, doesn't and isn't.

It's not hard to see, therefore, why emigrating to Fuerteventura, or somewhere similarly hot and quiet, was a dream of mine even before December 16 2013. Since that awful day, it's become even more obvious that Britain's cold, grey, damp weather and this particular Warrior were not meant for each other.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a magazine column which was 800 words long and was almost wholly devoted to the joys of blood-thinning tablets. Nearly all stroke-survivors have to take these for life because they reduce the risk of further clots. They work (or at least they have worked for me so far) but they have one drastic side-effect; as well as thinning the blood, they also chill it. Imagine sticking your hand in the average domestic freezer, leaving it there until you could stand it no longer, then having to cope with your hands and feet feeling that cold for the rest of the day and night.

I had poor circulation before my stroke; since then, the feeling of cold in my hands and feet has got considerably worse. Of course, when you place this against the difficulties suffered by those survivors who are permanently paralysed in some way, it's something that I just have to live with (and invoke my Warrior spirit while doing so). But it's just another of those things that non-strokies can never understand about this condition - and heaven knows, there are plenty of those.

I mention this because the weather this week around Warrillow Towers has not been helpful. On Monday and Tuesday, I was so cold that I sat at home in a thick sweatshirt all day - IN THE FINAL WEEK OF JUNE, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE. Add in one of those horrible instances of fatigue which all strokies get - when I was barely able to raise the energy to get off the sofa for a couple of days - and the week has not been good.

But I'll KBO (work it out, lol), be thankful for the fact that I got up this morning, sit outside in the sun for a while after I've finished writing this and leave you by explaining the breakthrough in my therapy to which I referred last week.

Emily Smedley and I have spent our last couple of sessions working on my stroke-affected left foot; trying to get it to rest evenly on the floor, rather than the odd angle at which it has sat even before my stroke. This involves me resting on the couch with my left foot pressed hard up against the wall of the room while Emily does her worst with various muscles and nerves around my waist. It hurts, of course; it wouldn't be working if it didn't. But towards the end of our last session, I actually wanted to get outside and sprint down the corridor; not just run, but actually sprint in proper athletic fashion. And I did. And using proper technique, rather than holding my left hand clenched as I usually do. It was actually fun. And the exercises which Emily gave me to do, which involve getting into what American Football fans will recognise as a lineman's three-point stance (to strengthen my thigh and knee) have been equally good.

And they've had an effect. On several occasions this week, I've walked from Warrillow Towers to the supermarket over the road without even using my stick for balance and support. It's been a bit wobbly at times and yes, I do look a little bit tipsy if I stumble. But it's another achievement. I'm back at Emily's next Tuesday and I'm looking forward to doing some more serious running. It will help if the weather is sufficiently summer-like that we can get outside without feeling too cold, though....

Spreading my message through word and website

'You can have the most important message in the world to give people, but it's no good if no-one knows about you."

I'm not sure who to credit with that statement, it's probably an amalgam of several people I know but, of course, it's true. I can bang on all I like about stroke awareness and all the other causes that interest me but if no-one's listening or knows where to find me, I might as well talk to my bedroom wall.

So on Friday this week, I hauled myself on the train up to Manchester and gave a 30-minute presentation about naturism to a group of members from 4Networking, the business networking organisation I belong to. It's the third time I've been there, but the first time I've spoken about naturism. As always when I discuss the subject, there were lots of nodding heads and people agreeing with my assertions about the naturist lifestyle.

I'm not sure any of them will be joining naturist organisations any time soon, but it might just give them a different attitude if they hear about a nearby naturist beach while on holiday in Europe or further afield this summer.

And I made contact with plenty of people who were interested in what I do while wearing my 'Warrior' costume, so to speak. One was an insurance broker who totally agreed with my assertion that not enough people take out critical-illness cover which would pay out in the event of a stroke and not enough companies offer it. He also completely agreed with me that the traditional lifestyle of the self-employed person, working 80 hours a week with the phone and laptop never off, puts them on the quick road to a heart attack or a stroke or both. And they may not be as fortunate as I was in surviving the experience.

On Monday, a video went on to my website at www.askthewarrior.com, courtesy of 4N member Matthew Riley of the Website Video Agency. With an eye on making sure that more people know about The Warrior it explains, briefly and succinctly, what I do and why I do it. If you have come to my blog from another direction, I'd be grateful if you'd take a look.

And on Sunday, myself and my therapist Emily Smedley were featured in a double-page spread in the Birmingham Sunday Mercury. I can't post a website link to it but there's a picture of it here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205958909644732&set=p.10205958909644732&type=1&theater.

Quite a week, then: and that was before Emily and I seemed on our way to a serious breakthrough in the walking/running stakes on Tuesday. What was it? I'll tell you next week......

Playing a small part in providing hope for stroke-survivors

As soon as I established that my stroke in December 2013 wasn't going to kill me or leave me permanently paralysed in any way, I began to start looking for ways in which I could help my fellow stroke survivors.

Hence this blog, hence my willingness to be a media volunteer for the Stroke Association, hence my involvement in charities such as Different Strokes and Headway.

I've also started to become involved in academic research into stroke; why it happens, how we can avoid those factors which cause it and how, with money becoming ever more scarce, we can help stroke survivors to rehabilitate themselves.

This has led me, with the encouragement of a fellow stroke-survivor and former teacher called Brin Helliwell, to become part of the Stroke Association's panel which adjudicates on the award of grants for research into stroke. The panel is mainly made up of medical academics, but also includes a number of stroke-survivors (slightly euphemistically called service-users....) who are there to give our take on proceedings. After all, the academics can award money for research until they are blue in the face but if it's not going to result in something which actually helps strokies, what's the point?

Hence, last Thursday, myself and Brin were in London at Stroke Association House for a meeting of the panel. Hundreds of thousands of pounds in grants were to be awarded; what was required of us all was to get the shortlist of eight proposals down to two which would definitely be funded and another two which may be funded if money can be found.

It was an exhausting six hours, spent in a hot and humid underground room on the very day when summer decided to come to central London, but it was hugely rewarding. As stroke-survivors/service-users, Brin and I were able to put some very pertinent points which the other members of the panel wouldn't have considered; as a journalist, I was able to steer them away from certain things which it would be only too easy for the Daily Express or Daily Mail to pounce on during a quiet news day.

By 4pm, several hundred thousand pounds worth of research funding had been allocated to projects which will run over the next three to four years and which could result in real benefit to those who live with stroke. My most memorable moment of the day came when Brin told the committee that "all that stroke-survivors, indeed all disabled people, want is some hope."

My hope is that through my work with this committee, I can play some small part in providing that.

There are more good people than bad in the world

As part of these words last week, I drew your attention to Natalie Hunter, the young mother-of-four who is the daughter of a friend of mine in the strokie community.

Natalie has just been diagnosed with bladder cancer and is blogging about her situation at http://thathunterwoman.blogspot.co.uk. She is doing so in the hope that 'if it helps one person who is going through what I'm going through, then it is worth it."

Almost as soon as I put my words to bed, her blog helped Nat in a totally unexpected way. Last Thursday night, as she waited for her first chemotherapy session after it was delayed 24 hours, the Hunter household was broken into; a Kindle and two wedding rings were among the items stolen.

News quickly circulated through the stroke-survivor community and via the blog. A fundraising exercise began in the hope of getting enough money together at least to replace the Kindle. That has now been done, local media in Nat's home town have been alerted to her situation, she has been interviewed widely - and the fundraising isn't done with yet.

The way people have rallied round to help has been wonderful; certain individuals should be very proud of the part they have played in this story. I know that friends of mine have seen Nat's blog as a result of reading about it here and the publicity I've given it on the business networking circuit. Thank you to everyone involved. I'll keep you updated with the situation.

As for me, it's been an interesting week. I gave a well-received talk about my stroke experience to a 4Networking lunch in Stafford on Monday, where I met someone who should be able to help me produce a good video for my website and my new YouTube channel.

Tuesday, of course, was 'Get beaten to death by therapist Emily' day. Only this time was different; as Mrs Warrior was on holiday from work, she was able to come with me. Not to hold my hand; oh no, Emily strictly forbade that (lol) but to see for herself what goes on.

What went on, in fact, was very positive. Emily is concentrating now on my left foot and how to get heel and sole to sit evenly on the ground. They haven't done this for many years, if ever, but the stroke made it even more pronounced. Yet more intense working deep into the muscles seems to be helping and I was pleased to say that I walked quite quickly, one could even say ran, down the corridor outside Emily's room at the end of the session; the proof is here: http://tinyurl.com/o4vfks4 

As a result of that (and I freely admit I wouldn't have done it without Mrs Warrior's 'encouragement') I attempted on Tuesday evening to walk around our local Aldi (other discount supermarkets are available, lol) without my stick. It wasn't pretty, I staggered a bit at times, but it was another achievement. Another victory for 'there is no such word as can't'. And a good end to a week which confirmed my faith in human nature. 

Keeping the glass (at least) half-full

Well, I know someone other than me reads these musings because the first thing the Mayor of Tamworth asked me when we met last Thursday evening was whether I’d managed to find a pair of posh shoes. 

Of course, I did and you can see me wearing them as I collected my “Be Tamworth’ badge, thanks to a series of photographs which are on the Mayor’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. 

It was a wonderful occasion and as I’m sure always happens at these events, I came away feeling that all the other recipients were far more deserving of recognition than me. They included my old Tamworth Herald colleague Paul Barber, who has been photographing Tamworth for over 35 years, James Brown of Gold Standard Security, a tireless worker for young people and Ellie Fielding, co-ordinator of Tamworth Breastfeeding Support, among plenty of others and all those who have received awards since the scheme began last June. 

This post was going to be exclusively about last Thursday’s event until something far more important came to my attention. I’ve made a lot of new friends in the strokie community since December 16 2013 and one of the best is the magnificently-named Paula Minx Andersen. Paula cares for her husband Henning, whose stroke seems to have been far more debilitating than mine. She seems to be constantly on the go (as most carers are, of course) but always seems to have that essential ‘glass half-full’ attitude to life. She has recently been snowed under, not just with caring for Henning but also for two ailing and elderly parents. 

All that would seem enough to challenge anyone but over last weekend, she brought to my attention a new blog written by her daughter. Natalie Hunter is a young mother with four children, including 19-month-old twin boys. In the last few days, Natalie has found out that she has bladder cancer. Tomorrow (Thursday May 28), she starts chemotherapy.

She could curl up in a ball and quit on life. Instead, she is writing a blog called Cancer, Me and Them which can be found at thathunterwoman.blogspot.com. Unsurprisingly, it’s a gruelling read but I’d urge you all to take a look and support Nat. She’s doing it, as she said to me, because if it helps one person who is going through what she’s going through, then it is worth it. Which is exactly the reasoning behind my own blog. 

I’ve ‘chatted’ this week with plenty of strokies who I feel are worse off than me. And that was before I’d heard of Natalie. Have a read of her blog; think of her and her four young children when you swear at the train manager because the 5.39 is ten minutes late. Adopt that ‘glass half-full’ approach to life. Be thankful you got up this morning and everything was working normally.

Honestly, it’s the only approach to life. 

A surprise in the morning mail

When I was made redundant from what Mrs Warrior still insists on calling 'a proper job' in December 2010 and set up my own freelance journalism business, I decided that I would start to get involved in things locally.

I was no longer working every evening and I needed to raise my profile, I needed to get to know people who might want press releases written, website copy written, books written - anything which would enable me to make money out of my writing skills.

So I started getting involved in committees, joining groups, getting out there and meeting people. It was good for my business for me to know as many people as possible and it was good for me to meet people and get a feel for what was happening in my town.

In hindsight, of course, I may have done too much. Going out 2-3 nights a week to committee meetings on top of the stress of my freelance job may well have contributed to my health problems and I have now reined in some of my activities (too late, obviously!). I am no longer involved on a regular basis with the local CAMRA branch although I'm still a member. I resigned from the board of Destination Tamworth Findabiz at the end of last year. I stood down as group leader of the Tamworth branch of 4Networking (www.4networking.biz) at the same time although I'm still on the leadership team.

But all that high-profile activity has meant that lots of people in Tamworth know me (although some think I still work for the Tamworth Herald, which I left in 1990). It's meant that lots of people have been watching out for myself and Mrs W since my stroke and keep saying encouraging words.

Yet I still had a surprise when the post came last Friday morning and I opened a letter which turned out to be from the Mayor of Tamworth, inviting me to a civic reception at the Town Hall tomorrow night (May 21). The invitation is part of the Mayor's Be Tamworth scheme, rewarding citizens who go that extra mile for the town. The letter said the invitation was 'in recognition of the support you have given Tamworth and its people over many years."

It's a cliche in these situations for the person involved to say that they don't do it for the public recognition and I genuinely don't. I do it/did it to keep myself busy and because I enjoy being involved in things.

It does mean that I have to go into town this afternoon and look for a new pair of posh shoes, though.....

Spreading the word about stroke awareness

I was sitting in the sun outside a pub in Tamworth on Monday afternoon, having a drink with a former colleague who I hadn't seen for a couple of years, when my phone rang unexpectedly. The call was from a producer at BBC Radio WM in Birmingham.

Regular readers will recall that I appeared on WM in March when I was interviewed on the Graham Torrington Show. I'm not giving any secrets away if I tell you that was a pre-recorded interview done a couple of weeks in advance at a time of my choosing. This time, they wanted me to appear live by phone on the Adrian Goldberg breakfast show the following morning. It was Stroke Awareness Day and they wanted me to talk about my experience.

I don't tend to be at my best in the early morning, having worked evening shifts for 17 years, but this was another chance to publicise the cause of stroke education. "I'll do it, but can we make it as late as possible?" I said. We agreed that they would ring me at 8.35am and I set about telling friends to set their alarms for the following morning.

Late on Monday evening, the BBC rang back to ask how flexible the timing could be? I've dealt with the BBC, nationally and locally, many times and I know nothing is set in stone so I said I could be 'fairly flexible." So I set my alarm for 6am and was just about coherent by the time my phone buzzed at 6.17 the following morning with a message from the producer asking if 7.20am was OK. I said it was and you can hear the results for 30 days from May 12 at http:bbc.in/1HenY2c. My interview starts about 15 minutes into the broadcast.

Having got that done and got Mrs Warrior off to work, I attempted to get a quick power-nap before heading to Derby for another pummelling by my therapist Emily Smedley, who I've mentioned here many times previously. It wasn't my regular Tuesday to visit her but the Derby Telegraph are publishing a feature about our efforts on May 23 and wanted some more pictures.

Feeling a little bit under the weather after my early start, I caught the 11.03am train from Tamworth to Derby - which goes through an area which has a notoriously poor phone signal. It was fortunate, then, that the train was in a good reception area when I took a call from a London number which I didn't recognise. In fact, it was someone from the press department of the Stroke Association, who have my details on file as a media volunteer. Sky News had been in touch with them, looking to interview a male stroke survivor of about my age - could I help?

I explained I was on my way to Derby and couldn't be back at Warrior Towers before 3.45 at the earliest, even if the trains were on time. Would that work?

Sky needed the item for their 5pm bulletin. I thought it was going to be unrealistic but after a series of phone calls between myself, the SA and Sky, it was agreed that a reporter and cameraman would meet me at Warrior Towers at 3.45pm - and I mustn't be late.

Thankfully, the train schedules worked as they should for once and I made it home. As the scene of my stroke is just a few minutes' walk away, Sky got some excellent pictures and the story ran throughout their news bulletins on the evening. It had been a thoroughly tiring day (never mind what Emily had done to me!) but I felt it had done a lot to improve stroke education.

When the Sky reporter and her cameraman were sitting in the kitchen at Warrior Towers, it almost felt as if I was back in the world of journalism again. That's unrealistic because of my health, but what I'm about now is making people more aware about stroke. If my tiring day did just the slightest to further that cause, it was worth it. You can see (but, unfortunately, not hear) the Sky piece on Emily's YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/F4VPP0xM8g8