Česky
An article about the importance of not giving up the fight is about Jana Lannen (40), who is rehabilitating in our hospital.
A young, beautiful, happy woman whose life is turned upside down from one day to the next. A former nurse, Jana married an Irishman, had two children and decided to go into business. She bought a little hotel in the mountains where she did everything. From manning the bar to catering to housekeeping. Plus, she took care of the household and the kids. They're now 13 and 11. They were six years younger when their mother had her stroke. So just really young. Her husband couldn't handle the crisis and left the family. Jana was left in charge of the children, with the help of an assistant, but most of all she had to pick herself up. The children were the biggest motivation.
I wanted to die
One night, she and her husband were sitting in front of the TV watching a movie. Suddenly she stopped seeing out of her left eye. "I only know it from stories. They say they pulled me off the balcony because I wanted to jump off it in pain," Jana recalls the moment that changed her life. At the district hospital, the doctor was sure that the young woman had a brain haemorrhage, so she quickly had her transferred to Hradec Králové. "There they operated on my head. And then my heart valve. That's where it all came from. To put it simply, my heart problems, which I didn't know about, resulted in a brain aneurysm that burst and I was sick," says Jana. "I had a lot on my mind. I had a bad flu several times in a row, but I kept working. I had a terrible headache, I went to the doctor, but he let me go, saying I had a severe migraine. At the time, no one, especially me, thought I might have heart problems at thirty-five. And it turned out to be a stumbling block."
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
After the stroke, Jana's left arm was essentially non-functional and she also had several surgeries on her left leg, which was so disabled that she couldn't stand on it. Her brain suffered as well. "I'm so glad I don't have the other part of it affected. That's where the speech centre is. And I love to talk. I've stopped taking antidepressants, I don't even take sleeping pills. I don't need them because as I get better, and therefore move more, I'm pleasantly tired and sleep well. The kids don't like it though, because when I took hypnotics, I passed out early and they had a nap. Now I scare them longer in the evening," Jana does not lose her perspective and humour. With a smile, she says that after the stroke she became very fond of colours. She says she does not shop according to a list, but according to what pleases her eye. But most importantly, with the help of occupational therapy, occupational therapy aids, rehabilitation workers, doctors and her own will, her health has improved so much that she is no longer dependent on others.
I'm fighting and I'm not giving up.
The worst thing for Jana is that she can't drive. She has impaired left-sided spatial vision and therefore cannot get behind the wheel even in an adapted car. She can't even get on and off the train by herself because the steps are too high.
"I depend on the help of others for many things, although I can wipe myself thanks to a special one-handed mop. I can do laundry and put clothes in the dryer. In occupational therapy, for example, I use different cutting boards that make it easier for me to do basic things like slice a roll, cut an onion or peel a potato with just one hand. These are all huge reliefs," says Jana, describing her life, which is complicated by her disabilities. At the same time, her children bring her great joy. "They are very self-sufficient, they go to school by themselves, my son plays basketball, my daughter goes to athletics. They are perfect, I don't have any worries with them and I will never give up for them, for the sake of being of any use to them," Jana cannot resist tears. Watching and listening to her, you realize that with a will, a positive attitude and a good background, nothing is as bad as it first seems.
Source: Marek Kučera, Blesk pro ženy
