Stronger than Stroke.

After a stroke, we desperately want answers. Will I recover? Will I walk again? Will I ever feel like myself?

Louise shares her own experience of going from complete right-sided hemiplegia to three and a half years of recovery, and why every stroke journey is different. She talks honestly about the power of repetition, rehabilitation, mindset and taking those tiny steps forward, even when progress feels impossible.

Because sometimes you don’t need to know exactly where recovery will take you. You just need to keep moving towards it. ❤️‍🩹

Stroke Fatigue: Why Am I So Exhausted?

Why can a simple day leave you completely drained after a stroke? In this episode, we explore the reality of stroke fatigue, why it can feel so different from ordinary tiredness, and why needing to rest doesn’t mean you’re lazy or giving up. 🧠❤️

New to Stroke? You’re Not Alone

A stroke can leave you frightened, overwhelmed and wondering what your future will look like. In this episode, we speak directly to anyone who is new to stroke and finding themselves in that unknown place. We talk about fear, recovery, setbacks, tiny victories and why you don’t have to have all the answers today. Your stroke may have changed your life, but it doesn’t define who you are. ❤️

What actually happens to your brain and nervous system after a stroke? 🧠 In this episode of Stronger Than Stroke, we explore neuroplasticity, movement, rehabilitation and the incredible ability of the nervous system to adapt and learn. Stroke can change the way our bodies communicate, but recovery isn’t always about what we can see. Sometimes, the smallest changes are signs that something bigger is happening beneath the surface.

Stroke can leave you feeling lonely in ways nobody prepares you for. It’s not just about being physically alone. It’s the feeling of losing parts of your old life, friendships changing, being misunderstood, and sometimes feeling completely alone even when people are right beside you.

In this episode, we talk honestly about the loneliness that can come after stroke, the invisible isolation, and the emotional weight of rebuilding your life when the world around you seems to have moved on.

Because recovery isn’t just about learning to walk, talk or move again. Sometimes, it’s about finding your way back to people, and back to yourself.

Maya talks about meeting other stroke survivors, sharing experiences, and remembering that every recovery is different. It’s about connection, not comparison.

Life after stroke can look very different from how it feels. The walking, talking and smiling might be visible, but the fatigue, brain fog, frustration, sensory overload and constant effort often aren’t.

In this episode, we talk about the invisible side of stroke recovery and why looking “okay” doesn’t always mean you feel okay.

Because surviving the stroke is only the beginning. ❤️

#StrongerThanStroke #StrokeRecovery #LifeAfterStroke #StrokeSurvivor #InvisibleDisability

In this episode of Stronger Than Stroke, we’re talking about something that can be frustrating, uncomfortable and sometimes frightening after a stroke: spasticity.

Muscles that feel tight, stiff, heavy or difficult to control can make everyday movements harder than they used to be. Your arm may feel like it doesn’t want to move, your leg may feel as though it’s pulling against you, or your muscles may suddenly tighten when you’re trying to walk, stretch or move.

But spasticity isn’t a sign that you’ve failed in your recovery — and it doesn’t mean you should simply accept that this is how your body will always be.

In this episode, we explore what spasticity is, why it can happen after a stroke, how it can affect movement and daily life, and some of the things that may help you manage it.

Most importantly, we talk about hope.

Stroke recovery isn’t always a straight line. Sometimes progress is incredibly slow, sometimes your body seems to take one step forward and two steps back, and sometimes you have to learn to recognise tiny changes that nobody else can see.

Your recovery is still your recovery.

You are not your spasticity.
You are not your limitations.
And your story doesn’t have an expiry date.

🎙️ Stronger Than Stroke — because surviving the stroke was only the beginning.

Three years after my stroke, I’m still recovering — and I want every stroke survivor to hear this: you are not on a timeline.

In this deeply personal episode of Stronger Than Stroke, I talk honestly about what recovery has really looked and felt like for me. From eight weeks in hospital, to limbs that felt like heavy concrete, to the strange feeling of them becoming like “two pieces of pasta” hanging from my body.

I talk about the fear of moving, the importance of working with your body, and why I believe we have to keep reminding our brains that we still need our affected limbs. Recovery isn’t about simply waiting for something to happen. It takes repetition, patience, effort and, sometimes, a healthy dose of stubbornness.

I also talk about grief — because losing aspects of the life you had before stroke is something we have to acknowledge. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to have terrible days. But I believe we also have to find our inner strength and learn to take some control over the thoughts that can spiral after stroke.

Three years on, I’m far from healed and far from “okay”. Some days my neurological fatigue is so overwhelming I can barely string a sentence together. And when that happens, I sleep — without guilt.

I also share why I started recording my own rehabilitation exercises and created GR8.SassySurvivors on Instagram. When I was in hospital, I desperately searched for real stories from other survivors. I couldn’t find enough. So I decided to become one of the people I had been looking for.

This episode is about recovery without promises or deadlines.

It’s about grieving, resting, working, believing — and being kind to yourself along the way.

Because you don’t know what tomorrow’s recovery might bring.

You worked once. You’ll work again.

And most importantly:

Your story isn’t finished.

How long are we expected to recover after a stroke?

Six months? One year? Three years?

And what happens when you’re still struggling long after everyone else seems to think you should be “better”?

In this episode of Stronger Than Stroke, we challenge the idea that stroke recovery has an expiry date. Because recovery isn’t a straight line, and it certainly doesn’t follow the same timetable for everyone.

We talk about the reality of living with the physical, emotional and invisible effects of stroke years later — the fatigue, frustration, loss of confidence, grief, setbacks and the constant question of, “Should I be further on by now?”

Three years, five years or ten years after a stroke, you are still a survivor. Your recovery is still your recovery.

Maybe the question shouldn’t be “Why aren’t you better yet?”

Maybe it should be:

“What do you need now?”

Because your recovery doesn’t come with an expiry date.

And neither does your hope.