I am not a joiner of things nor a dweller on a past, whatever the past might be. A friend of mine had surgery for breast cancer. She was offered support groups to join, etc. and turned them all down. “It happened to me. So be it.” I feel the same way.
However, I am writing about stroke – I guess “dwelling on it” – for a couple of reasons.
If I can educate people about the warning signs, therapy, etc. then it has been worth it.
Also, stroke is an ongoing event. It changes what you can and cannot do, it affects everyday. So writing about it is as much the present as the past.
Groups can be very helpful. Being alone with a catastrophic event makes it much harder for some, and a group can alleviate that. What to do – the nuts and bolts – can sometimes be gotten in groups that cannot be found in other ways. Each person has to decide for him or her self.
