Episode 2: Chapter 4 - Sally Callie - Recovery from a stroke on the operating table  (Stroke) - The Olympics & the recovery lessons learned there.

In this second episode, we meet Sally Callie,  a triple Olympian, a world record holder and an U23 world champion in the sport of rowing, who's also a mother, a teacher and a stroke survivor. Following the birth of Sally's second child in 2011 she experienced a seizure and upon returning to hospital discovered that she had a blood vessel deep within her brain which was ready to rupture. Sally needed to undergo brain surgery to remove the blood vessel and though this was successful, she awoke from the surgery to find that she could not move half of her body.

In this chapter Sally describes the Olympics, some of her highlights, and also some of the things which she learned during this period which became beneficial during her recovery from stroke years down the line.

Transcripts and show notes are available for each episode on the podcast website: storiesofrecovery.buzzsprout.com

Shownotes:

• 01:00 - Sally talks about the Olympics and some of her highlights, such as excursions with the team mentor Laurie Lawrence, seeing Cathy Freeman win gold in Sydney and claiming a world record in Athens,
• 04:00 - Sally explains the non-ideal scenario leading into the Athens Olympics where both she and her team mate were injured in bike accidents and were unable to train normally. She reflects with hindsight that it was these obstacles which contributed to the world record they achieved there which they held for 5 years (they also held the Olympic Record won there for 17 years). It is a great example of the potential silver linings and opportunities which exist within adversary and obstacles,
• ^09:00 - Sally reflects on the learnings from her sporting career which became important within her recovery from stroke. She was taught by her coach that 'habits will determine your future' and they discussed 'the compound effect of habits'. That it is the thousands of mindless choices such as how you spend your morning, how you talk to yourself, who you speak with and spend time with, what you eat, what you choose to read, if you get 8 hours sleep etc. which 'add up and change the trajectory of your life'. She learnt to set and be strict with her habits and found this incredibly helpful in her recovery from stroke years later. Sally recommends making a checklist and ticking each item off each day: getting 8 hours of sleep, eating healthy and nutritious food, speaking positively and supportively to yourself, writing down three things that you are grateful for each day, and writing down the tiny 1% improvements,
• ^12:28 - Sally talks about her AWAP Journal - 'As many Wins As Possible'. She used this in her sporting career and again later recovering from stroke, each day pulling it out and writing down the 1%'s - something she'd achieved that day, or something that went well. She explains that at this level (elite sport), just as with recovery from stroke it is not about perfection and big improvements every day. It is about the 1%'s, the small gains forward (moving a toe or going to the toilet by herself) "It's the progress, not perfection",
• 14:00 - Sally sums up: Ensure you have good daily habits in place, try to find meaning in your current obstacles, and own your story - remembering the 'wabi sabi' bowl and to celebrate your imperfection.

^Sally's main tips