The World is Really Crazy.

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I suffered a massive stroke around a year and 3 months ago. It destroyed 2 percent of my brain cells and knocked around another 20 percent off line. Most people who suffer this level of damage do not recover well, IF EVER.

But I have been working hard from the get go to restore myself. I have made some progress, but after the first 3 months it has slowed down to a STALL.

For the first year, my body went into a sleep mode. I slept around 11 hours per day. My brain was like a clock. But now I have entered another phase. I am getting less sleep per night and I have started playing video games. YES, VIDEO GAMES. This is crazy. (After my stroke, I lost knowledge of around 99 percent of my words. I also lost my ability to read. Words broke apart and became an entirely different alphabet system - one I could not read.) It is almost like my brain says "THIS IS THE PATH BACK".

I began playing a video game called SKYRIM, The Elder Scroll V. This is a very complex game that I have played a few times FROM BEGINNING TO END. But now my mind is damaged, my brain is damaged.

In Skyrim, the game is very complex and it takes several months to get to the end. Generally I need to reach a level over 100 for the final battle. But my mind has changed and become altered.

I am currently at level 47 and have progressed well beyond where I have ever been before. I have progressed to obtain all three levels of BEND WILL in my Shouts. I didn't even know that existed before. I know 13 types of Shouts, and three of these are at level 3. I never even came close to this before. And I have 4 Black Books.

My mind has changed. It is almost like becoming a version of SUPERMAN in the world of Skyrim.

Wow. So sorry you had a stroke and so much damage. But that is so fascinating how it affected your game playing. Keep us posted on how it all progresses.

Your writing seems good. Perhaps the stroke resulted in new pathways that have more of a visual basis than a linguistic one.

After the last burnout thingie I could not even play any video games but slowly after about six months I started on my nephews Nintendo Switch. I then bought my own Switch and my hand to eye co-ordination improved and I spent about a year and a half just playing it until one day I stopped.
The racing car game I played got me back to using my hands again.

I don't need it now though. I am ok again.

The areas of Reading and Writing are positioned in different parts of the brain. I never lost my ability to write. Only my ability to read. After my stroke, the letters in words broke apart and became an entirely different alphabet system. I COULD NO LONGER READ. Not even one word. Within a day or two, I struggled very hard to get my brain working again. I spent 20 minutes staring at a three letter word. Trying to figure out what it said. It took me that long to figure out what the word said. I think it would be a lot easier a task if somehow I broke the barrier by using the same alphabet letters, they train children to use. Many of the letter styles used today are beautiful but they are also very confusing. But eventually after 20 minutes of effort, I was able to break the wall and get my ability to read back. Granted I am still slow in my reading ability. My writing is fine. It is just my reading that was damaged.

After my stroke, they placed me on a lot of medicine. I was given directions on when to take each. I took good notes. But the problem was that I could not read what I had written. It took me 6 months to finally figure out that I was taking one of my meds at the wrong time of day.

The other part of the problem was that I lost TWO abilities. I lost my ability to read, right after my stroke. But the other part was that I lost my knowledge of words. I lost around 99 percent of my words and the only ones that survived were the ones that I rarely if ever use. All the simple, common and everyday words went away. It is almost impossible to carry on a conversation when you lose your words.

At least that is what I hope is going on. I am in a strange world of retraining my brain, the 2 percent that was destroyed by the stroke.

Humans are some of the strangest creatures that ever existed. Multiple brains that combine together to provide various levels of thinking in one being.

I noticed that you had disappeared from WP for almost a year, so I assumed something had happened to you health wise. I am sorry for your stroke and loss of certain skills. Playing video games might be the key to waking dormant parts of your brain that you can use to heal other parts. The neural network can be reshaped with the right effort. It may not give you back everything, but it might give you back some that you lost.

Thanks for the advice. At least that is the direction that I am going.

The computer video game called Skyrim is huge. It typically takes around 5 or 6 months of continuous playing to get to the end. Generally I am at level around 120 when this happens. The game exist in a distant world. Most of the game is played in a country called Skyrim. Think of this country as the United States. But off to one side is another country called Solstheim. Think of this country as England.

There are thousands of different types of creatures that occupy this world and this world is always at war. It is a world from the ancient distant past. The game begins as I and several others are being lead away to be executed. The old fashion way where they take a large axe and cut off my head. I do not know why they are trying to kill me. It is all some kind of mistake. But the AXE is coming down.

But I survive and the game begins.

At the current part of the game, I am fighting DRAGONS. All dragons died off many years ago, but for some unknown reason, they are returning back to life. Dragons are very difficult to kill and the particular dragon I am fighting is an Ancient Dragon. These dragons are several times the size of a normal dragon. They are a killing machine. I am hiding under the cover of some large trees. But there is no escape. If I come out of hiding I AM DEAD. If I try an sneak out I AM DEAD. There is no way out. Maybe if I learned how to use a bow I might stand a chance. But this is an option in the world of WHAT IF's. So after being killed a dozen times, replaying the options one by one, I try the last option available to me. My character is one of the few characters that has developed the ability to SHOUT. My screams go beyond humans. They are magical. I have perfected several of my shouts. One of these is called BEND WILL. And I have expanded this shout to the highest level which is suppose to affect even dragons.

So I step out from hiding and await the dragon. It flies in and lines up for the kill blast of flames. He roars his flames and I shout. Then something very strange happens. My voice alters his mind for awhile and he lands and I command its will.

What do you do with a dragon, especially a large killing machine type dragon? I climb up on the head of the dragon and fly to the northern reaches of Solstheim where no humans live and after awhile I land the dragon and flee for my life. At this point I have repeated this tactic several times successfully. It is my only pathway of remaining alive in a WORLD FILLED WITH CHAOS.

It may seem strange but I have cleaned up much of the destructive forces at play in Solstheim and have moved back to spending more time in Skyrim. The world is finding a little peace.

Sorry to hear about your stroke. Glad to hear you've had some recovery and good luck with the video games.

Wow. That's a really incredible story. I'm glad you're recovering. I think my dyslexic daughter can sympathize with how you felt while staring at that word.
Skyrim sounds like a really neat game, too.

I hope you keep getting better.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. There are many mysteries in life and I just seem to be stumbling through them.

Yep....you certainly are a resourceful person, to say the least.

Maybe I should try Skyrim.

Sorry to hear about your stroke, but the information about your recovery is fascinating.

It is a really great game.