Almost as soon as I became cognizant my husband, who studied counseling, and my friend, who is a counselor both started to tell me that my brain would need to form new pathways so I could be able to walk again.  At the time I really didn’t understand what they were saying. I had been in an ICU bed for a few days – that I could not remember – and now they were saying that I couldn’t walk. This became apparent when I moved to a regular room and could not walk to the bathroom — we will not discuss why I didn’t need to go to the bathroom in the ICU. 

This was all very sudden for me.  In my mind I had vertigo and woke up in ICU several days later, having had brain surgery.  The thought that I would not fully recover never crossed my mind.  It was suggested that I might need a walker, but I rejected that idea. Getting to the bathroom was my goal and I accomplished getting there on my own in a week, even if “on my own” included relying on the wall. 

Physical therapy started very slowly in my room.  I would walk to the window and do some exercises with the PT specialist and I would often sit in between exercises.  Once my PT was moved to the PT room I needed a wheelchair to take me there. I had PT daily when in the hospital and sometimes I would try to do exercises in my room, although I was very tired most of the time. 

If I had been in the States I most likely would have been put in a hospital specifically for rehab and had to stay there.  Since I was in Istanbul their view on rehab was a bit more lax. My neurologist doctor and nurse friends understood this and worked to try to get me to stay longer at the hospital.  They were understandably upset when I was sent home, but not me, I was so happy. I was allowed to do PT at a closer hospital and she worked with me 3 days a week. On my off days I had a PT friend who gave me workouts and she came over once a week to encourage me. 

In Istanbul OT and SP are not readily available, especially in English.  I did have a speech therapy friend who evaluated me and said that I was mostly fine.  I say mostly because I am not sure how I would have done on her test before my surgery and because my thinking was slightly altered immediately after the surgery and for some time after that.  Thankfully this was not an issue for me, although I met someone who did have some need for an OT after her stroke and she ended up teaching herself to improve because of her lack of insurance coverage. 

I did 30 sessions at the physical therapist plus my own workouts.  A lot of what I did at the beginning was strengthening and then some balance.  When I first started going to the hospital for PT I needed to use the wheelchair.  The elevators were slow and eventually I decided I could walk the two flights of stairs to get there.  I definitely needed to use the wheelchair when I first started though, it was only because of PT that I improved enough to be able to walk stairs. 

I entered an outpatient OT/SP/PT rehab center in America about 10 months after my surgery.  I did this to assess my current level of rehab and to acquire new exercises in all three disciplines.  It was helpful some, but as it was so long after the surgery it was not as helpful as it could have been within the first 3 months, which is when the doctors told me was the most beneficial time to learn.  It did make me thankful for the level of care I received in Istanbul, I feel like it was sufficient care.

Currently I can walk in a straight line as long as I keep my head straight ahead.  I have some trouble with corners or even walking straight if I have to look around at something.  I enjoy walks and therefore we have not stopped walking. I have run a few times but generally I avoid running as it makes my head move too much and that can cause me to feel poorly for a couple of days, mostly just in need of much rest.