Giving Voice to Stroke Survivors part 3

Previous note Part 1 and Part 2🔽

Stroke Salon and Support Network

Stroke Salon and Support Network
In this vein, the certified stroke nurses at the hospital where I was treated are now planning to open a stroke salon where stroke patients can gather casually and consult with medical personnel on a regular basis.

If realized, it will be the first of Kochi Prefecture.
This would be the first of its kind in Kochi Prefecture, and I couldn't be happier.

And at the end of last year, Mr. Fukamiya, CEO of a company called The Elements, heard my story and wrote an article about it on the occasion of his visit to Tokyo.
The Elements is a forward-thinking company that interviews people with disabilities and other minorities in Japanese society, and then connects them to media and technology in order to spread their voices and solve problems.
This company has agreed to listen to us stroke survivors and work with us to build the foundation for a support network in the future. I am looking forward to the future more and more and have more energy to live.

The Elements

What is Inclusive Hub?

If you compare Japan to a "village of 100 people", there are 26 elderly people and 7 people with disabilities. There are many things that were inspired by the elimination of the inconvenience of such people in the past and made the whole world convenient, such as telephones, typewriters, remote controls, etc. In the same way, I want to create something new from the "aging disability society" that Japan faces ahead of the world.

Toward that goal, they are developing media that expands the imagination of inconvenience, meetups where people actually get to know each other, and community that thinks together.

The website The Elements is an inclusive hub.

Finally

My country is materially rich, but many people suffer if they don't do something, if they don't work hard, if they are not recognized. Many people cannot say help.
I have voiced my desire to help. As a result of my opening my heart and taking action, many people helped me.

From the hospital's point of view, once a patient is discharged from the hospital, the patient's presence disappears. By raising a banner saying, "I am in trouble with this," and showing my presence as a patient, everyone understood me.
I want all stroke survivors around the world to know my story.

And I want to help each other beyond words with our anxieties. I want to offer encouragement.

The people who helped me in my recovery were not only Japanese, but Americans, Australians, and people from all over the world.

A place where you can be yourself.
How wonderful it would be to have such a gentle place and support.

It is not easy to accept the changes that come with illness. So I want to help each other as people who are alive.
Since I have come back to life, I want to spend the rest of my time cherishing the "now" so that I can live my life to help you.

最後に

日本は物質的には豊かだが、何かをしないと、頑張らないと認められないと苦しんでいる人が多い。
助けてと言えない人が多いように思う。
私は「助けて」と声をあげた。
自分が心を開き行動した結果、多くの人が助けてくれた。
病院からすれば退院すると患者の存在は消える。
「こんなことで困っている」と旗を上げ、患者の存在を示し発信することでみなさん理解してくれた。

私は世界中にいる脳卒中サバイバーのみなさんに私のストーリーを知ってほしい。
そして私たちの不安を言葉を超えて助け合いたい。互いに勇気づけ合う存在でありたい。

私の回復を手助けしてくれた人達は、日本人だけではない、アメリカ人、オーストラリア人と国を超えていろんな人が助けてくれた。

自分のままでいられる場所
そんな優しい場所やサポートがあればどんなに素敵だろう…

病気になりその変化を受け入れることは容易い事ではない。だから生きてる人同士で助け合いたい。
あなたがその変化を受け入れ、プライドを持って胸張って生きれるように、私は再び生きる力を得たのだから、残りの時間は「今」を大事に、あなたの力になれるように生きていきたい。

生きているのだから私のストーリーはまだまだ
続くぜよ…