In February 2012, Bill Gasiamis was a normal Aussie bloke, husband and Father, running his own successful property maintenance company when he suffered his first haemorraghic stroke.
He was beginning to recover and get his life back then the second stroke came along, then the third which meant he had to make the difficult decision at age 40 to have brain surgery to find and stop the slow bleed into his brain that could not heal on its own.
If that was not enough to deal with, it was discovered that he had a thyroid condition that after another surgery, would render him hypothyroid and searching yet again for a way to help himself get his brain, body function and energy back.
It also left him in the difficult position of trying to work out if the symptoms of brain fog, low energy and lack of focus he was feeling, was part of the recovery from brain surgery and stroke or the symptoms of being hypothyroid.
In order to prepare for his brain surgery, Bill made a conscious decision to do an audit of his life in every way possible, from his attitude, relationships, diet and personality and began taking action to change his life.
This helped him create stronger, more connected relationships with his wife, children, family and friends and changed him in ways that he didn’t think were possible.
Using strategies he discovered through trial and error, he was able to complement his medical treatment and surprise his doctors and occupational therapists with the speed of his recovery.
As a result, Bill made permanent changes to his lifestyle that made him happier and healthier than ever before and enables him to cope with the lingering affects of multiple strokes, brain surgery and hypothyroidism.
You cannot help but be inspired by Bill and how he has chosen to re-create himself in the face of so many physical and emotional challenges, from waking to not know his own name or recognise his wife to educating himself and choosing to help and inspire other stroke survivors and medical professionals.
Have a listen to episode 8 here or find the podcast at iTunes/Apple podcasts, on Spotify, Google or ask Alexa to play the Emotional Autoimmunity podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, I would love it if you could leave a review to help more people find it.
Note that there is a little sound glitch part way through but it is over very quickly.
If you know anyone who has experienced a stroke, please, pass this podcast along to them.
Bill is the founder and host of the recovery after stroke podcast and works to empower stroke survivors to recover faster and build a new, more inspired and healthier life.
Find out more about Bill, his podcast and the work he does at his website here: http://recoveryafterstroke.com/
Episode 7: Interview with Eileen Laird. Medication, flares, failure and gratitude.