Feeling Different

We all feel different. We don’t conform. We are too tall, too short, our hair is too thin. Or, conversely, we are so attractive that it brings the wrong kind of attention. And few people look further than what’s on the outside. 

Given that ordinary people have these kinds of problems, what’s a stroke victim to do? 

Well, you can’t wish it away. Wouldn’t that be nice! If you’ve made a full recovery, you can just keep quiet about it. Oh, in the past, my head exploded, but there’s really nothing to worry about. I made a complete recovery, didn’t I? 

The best thing to do, IMHO, is to be forthright about having had a stroke (or an accident, heart attack, whatever), and to then shut up about it. Just go on as if nothing ever happened to you. Be your best self, no matter what.

If you act like it’s no big deal, others will think it’s no big deal. And you know what? You may even find yourself believing that, too! 

So make an omelet, settle in to some great music, and don’t treat the stroke like it’s nothing, but don’t treat it like a horrible experience, either. It was, no doubt about it. But just as you don’t want to hear endless stories about somebody’s chicken pox experience, few people want to hear endless stories about your stroke. 

When you meet someone else who’s had a stroke, all bets are off. The two of you will want to gab for hours about that exact moment when you knew you were having a stroke, and all the minutiae that followed. I even wrote a book about it, Along Came A Stroke. .  

But you don’t have to relive that horror over and over again. No one actually wants to hear it. Least of all you.