Made Out of Titanium (Well… At Least Part of My Skull Is)

In this reflection, I talk about discovering another unexpected chapter in my healing story — an ischemic stroke I didn’t even know I had until last month.

It was terrifying to learn about something I had already lived through without understanding it at the time. I felt the symptoms. I experienced the confusion, the fear, the disconnect — but I believed it was all part of the brain abscess. Something still didn’t make sense. There was a missing puzzle piece.

This was it.

I share what it feels like to find out, long after the fact, that I am also a stroke survivor — and how naming it brought clarity, grief, validation, and a deeper understanding of my body and brain.

This episode is about:
• Living through medical trauma without full answers
• Finding truth after confusion
• Humor as survival (yes… Dumbo energy)
• Learning that I am not just one diagnosis — I am many things, and I am still here

This reflection is part of my commitment to bringing awareness to stroke symptoms, brain injury, and the quiet realities survivors carry — especially when those experiences go unseen or unnamed.

If you’ve ever felt like something didn’t add up in your body or your story — this one is for you.

ischemic stroke
stroke survivor story
brain injury recovery
medical trauma awareness
brain abscess recovery
stroke symptoms
invisible illness
neuro recovery journey
healing after stroke
patient advocacy

#StrokeSurvivor
#IschemicStroke
#BrainInjuryAwareness
#MedicalTrauma
#HealingOutLoud
#PatientVoice
#NeuroRecovery
#DisabilityAwareness
#SurvivorStory
#50FirstReflections 🐦‍🔥