Stroke victim?

Monthly coffee morning at Neurosupport today, very well attended these days and lots of interesting talk. Chris and I mooted my idea of a book about the users of the facility, a short piece and photo on each surviver of a neurological condition, collected into a slim, or hopefully not so slim, volume. We think that it will raise awareness of the (often invisible) disabilities, will help people understand things they may have prejudices about, or do not think about at all, and it could also be a useful resource for newly-diagnosed patients to see that they're not alone and that there is still a worthwhile life to be lived if they grasp it. The idea was well received and most of those present expressed a willingness to tell their story. Names and email addresses were collected before people left, and at that point we realised the difficulty of the project. Organising people with brain and spine conditions can be a little like herding cats; memory and concentration can be lacking, as I well know from experience, and those with history of stroke, MS, Parkinson's etc have difficulty writing clearly - I left the list with Chris to try to decipher.

Amidst the proceedings, Oscar the whippet spotted an empty chair and availed himself of it. Someone said "hey, that's only for people with brain damage". Another Scouse wit replied "he doesn't have brain damage but he has had a lot of strokes...!"

Before leaving I spent a fascinating and humbling hour taking pictures of four lovely young ladies and hearing their stories. You'd never guess by looking at them that they have to overcome such difficulties through brain tumours, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and the like, and done so positively and cheerfully too.

On the way home I got some new passport/driving licence photos taken, which were as usual grotesque. Nowadays the rules are no smile, hair off face, look straight ahead etc., much like a prisoner's mugshot. "I look totally miserable!" I bleated. The lady photographer said "that's how you're supposed to look". Ugh.

Next up was a visit to friend S, to see how she's bearing up after her accident last week, and to offer to take her out tomorrow. It does seem to have knocked the stuffing out of her somewhat, and it's clear she really needs to take things easy for some time. Quite overwhelmed now by a day of people's struggles - they make mine look trivial.

So much unpleasant stuff has been said about Baroness Thatcher who died today. All I can say is " De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est". I knew O-level Latin would come in useful one day.