On Monday I normally post about history, and today we’re looking at some very recent history, five years ago, to be exact!
In May 2010 I had a stroke at my desk in work. It came out of the blue and turned my life upside down. It left my body paralysed down the right side, but luckily didn’t affect my mind. I was in hospital for seven and a half weeks, and sleeping downstairs in the living room until August, when I could finally climb the stairs.
The hours are long in hospital, especially as I suffered pain and muscle spasms which made it difficult to sleep, so I started writing poetry, laboriously, one letter at a time, on my mobile phone. To take more time, I punctuated it too! I had written poetry since I was a child, but only occasionally. Now, it poured out of me, 22 poems in all. I wrote verse, doggerel, and blank verse, whatever suited the topic.
I wrote about my stroke, my treatment, my faith, and totally random things like the rain outside my window. I needed to learn to write left-handed, so I copied them out into a notebook to get the practice and keep them safe. I gave copies to the nurses and the therapists.
The poems talk about suffering and patience, therapy and faith. When I came home, I typed them into my computer and formatted them into a booklet with a commentary, which I had printed. Many people have found them a comfort, an encouragement and an inspiration, so I have finally made them into an ebook.
It’s called My Stroke of Inspiration and it’s available on Amazon UK for £1.99 and Amazon US for $2.99. You will enjoy them if you like simple poetry, but if you are a stroke survivor or know someone who is, these poems will comfort, encourage and inspire you.
Even better, between Wednesday and Sunday (26-30 August) My Stroke of Inspiration will be FREE! I’d love for you to download it, read and leave a review.
And don’t forget, if you sign up to my mailing list you will get four free gifts, one of which is A Poetry Sampler.