A few of you might remember last Autumn I posted a thread on BYOAC regarding a life-changing affliction I experienced; namely a severe stroke which unexpectedly happened the night before my 27th birthday.
Only 1 in 100,000 people under the age of 40 have a stroke and I was in relative good health; a keen basketball player, weight training enthusiast and never one to abuse drugs or alcohol. I have never smoked, rarely drink and all common contributors like cholesterol and blood pressure were fine. The stroke was a right-hemispheric cerebral infarction of the lesser vessels - which in layman's terms is a very small blood clot obstructing the smaller blood vessels in the brain. Although the clot was supposedly so small they had trouble identifying it (in fact it had already travelled away from they affected area by the time I had my MRI scan on arrival), the damage was immense, taking all movement and control from the left side of my body. When the movement did not return after 48 hours it was confirmed as a 'severe stroke' rather than a TIA mini-stroke.
I had a long journey back, includng 2 months in a wheelchair, over 8 months on a walking stick and am only recently gaining definable movement in my left arm and hand. During the last 2 months or so I have been pushing hard to recover as best I can and am now much better, just a small limp and some noticeable weakness and slow movement in my left arm, plus a little numbness in my left cheek immediately apparent.
The reason I'm posting here is because one of the things I found hard to adjust to , silly as it seems, was the fact I would be limited to what video games I could play in the future. I was always a big game fan and losing my favourite hobby was gutting. Luckily I persevered, spending time in the hospital finding games I could play with one hand on my laptop and devising control schemes to make it even easier. I found many games enjoyable like Tetris, Puzzle Fighter, Hyper Sports, some shooters etc. and on my return home my Wii was my best friend as many games could be played with one hand. Over time I developed my left hand with arcade games: a simple joystick much easier to get to grips with than a console d-pad, and eventually training more independant movement with my thumb and fingers with the nunchuk. Games like Wii sports and Wii fit helped me develop fine movement and get a little excercise in the safety of my own home, and my defining point came recently with the very physical 'Star Wars - Feel The Force', which requires some fine movements with much saber-swinging to beat. I eagerly awaited this game and am glad I have developed and recovered enough to be able to enjoy it.
All I'm trying to say is that I've had a very productive year, building Turnarcades up to new highs, moving house, finding some light after such a life-changing illness and it's all thanks to video games. I hope to inspire some people and thought I'd ask fellow gamers to cast a thought for those who can't fully appreciate this hobby we all share.
Sample some of my experience and challenge these games one-handed on a keyboard like I did, and always be grateful for the joy this hobby brings you!
Cheers,
Craig
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Topic: Videogames got me moving again! (Read 1778 times)
