I remember starting Rehab at a facility maybe 35 minutes from my home, and being
driven there by my daughter. At first I was very ill, but as time went by I improved some and because of this it helped me.
One day they had me throwing a medicine ball with another AVM patient, and
it was helpful, but I had lost weight in the hospital, and throwing that
ball threw me off kilter and I lost my balance and almost fell right on
my face. Caught myself on exercise equipment at the last second. I remember
teacher exclaiming as I nearly fell. She did not want me to fall and sue them!
While there they helped me with learning to use my new cane so as to
maximize it's help to me. Well, at home I got so that I did not use that
cane any more, and one evening we were going out to dinner, and I decided that
I did not need to use that cane again, and so I went without it, and I did
OK. Next day I also did not feel like I needed that cane in rehab, and so I did not. Well, teacher was angry with me for just leaving the cane home, and so I was asked to walk around the large facility building, and she followed me and watched
how I walked. I felt like I was back in the 5th grade at school! But she did
not ask me to use the cane again, so I did not and have not used it once in the last 13 years.
Also I remember having one class in cooking skills. Many cerebral bleed patients
wind up having to cook their own food, and they give us training if they think we
need it. I lived with my family, and I could already cook a bit if I had to,
including meat loaf from scratch, and so I cancelled that class. They didn't like
this very much, but I did it, and today I still live with my family, and when I
need to cook, I do that.
In time, rehab did help me overall a good bit, and I remember at the end
giving my favorite teacher a copy of an article I had written, before my
illness, in a magazine. Returning from my disaster was not easy but it
was possible, and in time it happened for me and I hope it will happen for you.