I regularly joke about having not just people in my corner , because they wouldn’t fit, but having a whole squad of people stood behind me. I want to take some time to acknowledge them as we stand at 2+ years since the stroke; some long termers, some relatively new; all people I like and respect, I sometimes refer to them in posts but always with a pseudonym e.g X1 (there’s not an X1, this keeps it easy for me to refer to them while not naming them)

J – my soft tissue therapist, we’re about 18 months in at this point and I adore J . We just chat for an hour and I get a very good massage, it helps free up tightness in my affected side and keep the movements when I cant. I love our sessions and expect if I stopped using their services we’d become friends.

s2 – private physio, all round good person.Were about 8 months so far. They got some immediate change and had a plan within seconds of meeting me ; I love to see a brain working a fast, that’s S2 who seamlessly picked me up when my nhs care ended “we’re busy, you can afford private care. Bye”. You know when you naturally gel with someone and it’s immediate; that’s how I feel with S2, we talk outside of sessions too which is nice because I can bounce ideas off them when they come in my head, I have a lot of these too.

A2 – was a Neuro psychologist.. They have taught me how to start regaining the emotional stability I lost due to the stroke; I had a regular safe space with compassionate and intelligent ear which was hugely valuable in itself; I understand this service is very rare to access but I love I had them on the team.We finished our sessions a bit unexpectedly and I miss them .

HRHL – who, one day, might get a whole lot more coverage on here ; , but not yet, it’s someone who is guiding me through unfamiliar waters with a kindness, reassurance and knowledge I very much require