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Submitted by Sharad Kumar 2 on 16 January 2019
A man in a black t-shirt and blue yoga pants sitting in padmasana or lotus pose

Sharad Tekalkote, 44, had no idea what was happening to him when he got a severe haemorrhagic stroke. It left him paralysed on his right side and completely took away his ability to speak. Here, he recounts his traumatic story and perseverance to get back to normal.

That Thursday morning lacked the usual workday frenzy as my boss was on holiday. I left home at 10 am for the Expo Centre at Whitefield in Bengaluru to visit some dignitaries. My boss called me at 12:30 pm and I spoke to him for half an hour. I decided to go around the stalls when I realized I was unable to talk. It was a helpless kind of speechlessness. The phone kept ringing; my wife Archana’s number kept flashing on the screen and I kept disconnecting her calls. I made my way to the next kiosk and requested a gentleman, using gestures, to help me call my wife. He offered me water and urged me to relax. But by now, I was frantic. It was as if words were tripping on my tongue but staying there – frozen.

I have seldom fallen sick. What was happening to me? Why couldn’t I speak? Was my throat sore? Was something wrong with my vocal chords, my voice box?

Cherished my fitness

I have always been a ‘fitness freak’. I have been exercising regularly, swimming at least 20 laps four times in a week, going to the gym at least 3 times in a week and running 3 km daily. And weekends have always been devoted to martial arts. I am black belt in karate, Ninjutsu, Tai Chi, Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa and Yang-Sheng Dao.

When my speechlessness continued for some more time and no amount of water or clearing my throat helped, I began to panic. I just couldn’t speak. In desperation I took a bus from south Bengaluru to the hospital, which was in east Bengaluru some 30 km away. Somehow I reached the hospital.

Black Thursday

There, when I gained consciousness, I found myself in the ICU. Tests revealed that I had suffered a severe haemorrhagic stroke. I didn’t realise that while my brain bled furiously I took a bus to the hospital. If I had hurried or even called the ambulance, I would have reached in time. Due to the delay, I was paralysed on my right side and was unable to speak. I was in a state of shock. I couldn’t believe what had happened to me.

That day in 2012 was a Black Thursday for me. I was devastated..

Post the stroke, I underwent craniotomy and was able to walk slowly. But I was not able to speak for the first 3 years. For eight months, I struggled to call out to Archana (my wife) and Dev (my son). For most conversations, I used to nod my head, that’s it. Before the stroke, I used to be the life of the party, had a successful sales career and was recently appointed as a COO in an education company. But now all that I was doing was shaking my head.

No reason to live

There were days when I thought of committing suicide. I used to feel so depressed and helpless. The only thought that would light my face was that of my eight year old son, Dev. Every time I thought of taking away my life, the thought of my son held me back. How could I leave behind such a negative, damaging legacy for him? How could I not become strong for him?

Two years after the surgery, I made myself capable of walking 5 km every day, even though with a little limp. I could even swim 20 laps nonstop, although swimming is limited to breaststroke and twice a week.

Now I wake up 5 am. I meditate for half an hour and got for a brisk walk for an hour. I go the gym twice a week for weight lifts. My speech is still affected. I speak slowly. I can do everything now, but I cannot run and I cannot write. I miss those two things the most. I feel helpless.

The biggest fear I had to battle was my loss of speech. My living is based on my talking, I was a sales guy, my biggest fear was that I never could speak again. I work as a marketing professional in Bangalore. I exercise, I am an extrovert, a voracious reader and an outstanding speaker.

Check out Sharad's video interview here  

My good fortune

In the course of my recovery I met several stroke afflicted individuals who were more of stroke victims than stroke survivors. Hence I realized my good fortune and the intense need for the stroke affected individual and his caretakers, to have access to a support group catering to their individual needs at different times in their recovery period with its own unique set of challenges in recovery.

Acknowledging what has happened, and accepting how life has changed is an important step in the recovery process and meeting well rehabilitated stroke survivors can help with this. Counselling services aim to encourage the stroke survivor and his caretakers to talk about their thoughts and feelings and help them to come to terms with what has happened to them. With proper guidance of the counsellor, they will have the opportunity to look at how the stroke has affected their life and discover ways of moving forward. Having the space to talk things through at their own pace can be very helpful. They will gain a clearer picture of what lies ahead and help them feel more in control of life by working out and trying to find solutions to problems.

Reaching out to others

The experiences of surviving a stroke inclined me to write a book “An Incredible Journey from Stroke to Recovery” and start a website  to help stroke survivors in India. I wanted to start a website, primarily because of 3 reasons –

  1. The lack of a website that caters to a stroke survivor
  2. To capture every stroke survivor story in India
  3. And, to teach them that perseverance, courage, and motivation can do wonders for their recovery.

I thank the medical fraternity for the treatment - initial and continuing follow up, which helped me physically survive a major life threatening stroke. Thereafter I was fortunate to be referred to other paramedical professionals and the strong support I had from my family, for regaining my physical strength, communication and psychological stability and finally regaining my self-confidence to function independently in the mainstream of life.

Read: A Stroke Survivor's Mantra To Live A Full Life

You can get a copy of my book on Amazon. Just click on the book cover.

 

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