It's just a THRILLER!!

Helen's blog today includes this lovely photo of her grand-

daughter Odele who lives in Ohio. This email is from earlier this year, hence the reference to January.

clippy mat :-)

Hi All:
Just a bit of stuff to bring you up to date as to what's happening with moi.

I recently saw a stroke counsellor cos I was very depressed & having a bad time getting my act together after Christmas, January is a very depressing month I feel. She felt that John and I were cooped up together too much and needed to get out more so she told me about this group which gets together on Fridays from six to eight at the East End pool, Byker. It's called Different Strokes but anyone with a disability is made welcome.

I was initially very apprehensive about going to this stroke club cos I'm not very good at communal stuff (too free thinking, bolshie & individual!!!) but they seemed a very pleasant, if disorganised, bunch and made John & I very welcome when we sat down, although this was a little weird too.

We sat down together and a number of the group got up to come over to talk.

As they were all stroke survivors they all had various levels of disability and approaching us en masse as it were, they closely resembled the limping Zombies in Michael Jackson's Thriller video, which was a little unnerving to say the least!!!

Each one had the same opening gambit too i.e. "When was your stroke? Was it bleed or clot? I had mine x years ago." Then went on to describe their various ailments/disabilities.

Good to see how others have coped and adapted to surviving stroke & disability in general. We were introduced to a lovely blind woman, a nurse who gives alternative therapy treatments, so I'm booked in for an aromatherapy massage, hot stones treatment & a reflexology session and its all free!! Its also available free to all carers too!

We were shown around the wonderfully equipped gym area, which we have anytime free access to. Tuesdays 11.00-12.00 Different Strokes have sole use of the pool, where the water is all one level with a flat bottom, no slope, so no deep end if they want to deepen or alter the water depth. It's done by either raising/lowering the whole floor of the pool!! I don't have to attempt getting into a cozzie either cos most people wear shorts/t-shirts. That's always a bonus.

It's good to have an outlet, somewhere different to go and to meet others in the same situation I suppose.

Much love,Helen
xxxxx