Safe to cruise after a massive stroke?

[Capt.Jack]

I had a stroke in1998. I brought myself out of it within 3 years. Now it’s 22 years and I do still drive a boat every chance I get. We got rid of my last sailboat about 5 years ago. But I live close enough to the St. John’s river that we still boat. I would love to go from here to Chattanooga by boat and feel that even at 83 I plan to go if at all possible.

[PineyWoodsPete]

My wife and I are both 80 - her, post both hip replacements, and me with a knee and fairly recent complex multi-level lumbar spinal stenosis surgery, with impaired balance that's slowly improving, but good strength all-round. Several years we gave up sailing due to the physical challenges. Our criteria for a 30'ish power boat was first, ease of boarding and getting about the boat fore and aft with solid railings all 'round., and ease of entry to the cabin/helm. No companionway ladder, quoth the Admiril!

We ended up with the Greenline 33, with its dock-level boarding gate and 1" SS tubing railings. But I'm wondering how, with a severly impaired left arm and leg, one could make the transfer safely alone. Lean over and grab the handhold with right hand, but then, unless the left leg can support body weight without buckling, how can you safely step across, or onto the threshold? And this assumes that the boat is tied tightly against dock, and sprung tightly fore-aft. Then you've got the six docklines to deal with. I can do this myself, but with the usual surge and wind off the stbd bow, I have to be quick about it to board, get to the helm, and get out with engine running and thrusters on if needed.

[web51]

Thank you one and all for the comments. As a group, you raised a few issues and made some great suggestions. A few of my thoughts follow.
Safety - Two points. First, some mentioned potentially harming others. My new car is for sale. Zipping around town or at higher speeds on state highways is not safe. Note that Arizona does not require retesting drivers after strokes. Does your state? Ever wonder who’s driving those big RV’s? Hmmm. On the water, my current thought is to zip around in a pocket cruiser at a head-rattling six or seven knots. Maybe attach a kill switch to my britches. Some combination of devices could make all pretty safe.

Second, the risk of a personal fall or whatever is acceptable. As a lifelong athlete, bumps, bruises and hard knocks are expected in my life. Nothing new. What is not acceptable is vegetating in an adult playpen, watching reruns and waiting to die. Not my style.

Life expectancy. How long will I last before joining my wife at the bottom of the Salish Sea? (Her wish. Cremation came first!) Who among us knows our termination date? What I do expect, even demand is my full and robust lifestyle to resume and continue for as long as is reasonably possible. That includes time with friends and family in the great outdoors, not in an adult home or tied to a dock. Sunrises and sunsets, stars at night, a nice rainstorm are all experiences I want to share.

I’ll stop now. This is becoming too long. Thank you all again

[Rob_P]

Originally Posted by web51

Thank you one and all for the comments. As a group, you raised a few issues and made some great suggestions. A few of my thoughts follow.
Safety - Two points. First, some mentioned potentially harming others. My new car is for sale. Zipping around town or at higher speeds on state highways is not safe. Note that Arizona does not require retesting drivers after strokes. Does your state? Ever wonder who’s driving those big RV’s? Hmmm. On the water, my current thought is to zip around in a pocket cruiser at a head-rattling six or seven knots. Maybe attach a kill switch to my britches. Some combination of devices could make all pretty safe.

Second, the risk of a personal fall or whatever is acceptable. As a lifelong athlete, bumps, bruises and hard knocks are expected in my life. Nothing new. What is not acceptable is vegetating in an adult playpen, watching reruns and waiting to die. Not my style.

Life expectancy. How long will I last before joining my wife at the bottom of the Salish Sea? (Her wish. Cremation came first!) Who among us knows our termination date? What I do expect, even demand is my full and robust lifestyle to resume and continue for as long as is reasonably possible. That includes time with friends and family in the great outdoors, not in an adult home or tied to a dock. Sunrises and sunsets, stars at night, a nice rainstorm are all experiences I want to share.

I’ll stop now. This is becoming too long. Thank you all again

The first issue here is that if you're not stable on your feet, then the motion from the boat is going to toss you overboard at some point. Even if you have someone on board with you, that only means that you have a chance of surviving the MOB, not that you're "safe" on board.

The second issue is that the rule is: "One hand for you, one hand for the boat". I don't see you being able to do that under any circumstances. Thus #1 returns with a vengeance since with only 1 strong arm, you're not going to be able to help assist your rescuer(s) with your own MOB recovery.

This isn't easy to say, and it happens to everyone, but at some point you have to face reality. If you really, really, REALLY want to be on the water on occasion, then move someplace on the northern east coast and take a ride on the local ferry. Other than that, a live aboard or pocket cruiser is out of the question.

[AKA-None]

One item to consider is the effect one a boating partner should something drastic happen. And yes it could happen anywhere but on a boat or off grid in an rv they would have time to think about you.
Not sure if I’m getting my point across but something to consider

On the other hand you may be fine for the next 30 years, who knows

[eric12]

I likewise had a massive stroke onboard our liveaboard dream liveaboard motorsailer. I have some recovery, but the reality of sailing again is not possible for me. I don't have the mobility or strength on the left side of my body. The most important part of all this is that I would not be able to react in an emergency and be responsible for the safety of my wife and or crew.
Our sailboat is up for sale and we have since purchased a power boat.
This was never our plan but life threw us a curve.
A year delay in moving to Mazatlan Mexico.
We are water people, the dream is still alive in a different type boat. Keyword here is boat. The hell with the purests, living the dream.

[Wolfy]

Web 51, I am 67 and have owned my 72ft Frers Steel Hulled Ketch for 11 years, 9 of which I have sailed her single handed throughout the Caribbean including a couple of ocean crossings to West Coast Scotland.
A few months after my last return to home port in Lousiana a couple of years ago I suffered a stroke which luckily only affected my speech (to the joy of all of my friends!).
I am now on Eliquis (blood thinner) and must remain on this medication for the rest of my life.
Physically I'm just fine and can still climb masts etc. However I was informed by medical professionals that the chances of another Stroke is there even with the medication.
So, for the last 2 years I go down to the boat on a daily basis and perform the normal maintenance duties to ensure that she's ready to depart.....but, she will probably just remain tied up as my concerns of the possibility of a 68 ton Sailboat smashing into some thing or someone else or having rescue personnel risk their life's in attempting to save someone who shouldn't be out there in the first place...just stops me from throwing the lines off and heading out.
Taking someone else out to help wouldn't be fair on them....how could they relax and enjoy the cruise by keeping one eye on me all the time. ??
I could always do a Donald Crowhust I suppose..;-).

[eric12]

likewise had a massive stroke onboard our liveaboard dream liveaboard motorsailer. I have some recovery, but the reality of sailing again is not possible for me. I don't have the mobility or strength on the left side of my body. The most important part of all this is that I would not be able to react in an emergency and be responsible for the safety of my wife and or crew.
Our sailboat is up for sale and we have since purchased a power boat.
This was never our plan but life threw us a curve.
A year delay in moving to Mazatlan Mexico.
We are water people, the dream is still alive in a different type boat. Keyword here is boat. The hell with the purests, living the dream.

[ToddNash]

Originally Posted by Clivevon

"can I safely operate a live-aboard pocket cruiser?" Getting back ... on the water is of utmost importance." "Doable or folly?"

Sorry for your troubles. Can you operate a boat? Sounds to me like Yes. Safely? No, of course not (assuming you are alone?). But we are well past that now, aren't we? Sounds to me like living your life the way you want to is paramount - & why not.

The risk to others? Assuming you are not operating a high speed power cruiser but just moving at displacement speeds or sailing, I think the risk to others is pretty minimal. Except to the rescue people of course- but you know that already.

Buy a boat. Live aboard in a marina near your grandchildren. Try getting out to sea for day trips or weekends with a capable crew onboard. See how you get on. Take it from there. Best of luck to you.

=============================
This is spot on. No one gets out of here alive. Try to be as safe as possible. Take a helper along at first. Go on short cruises. You will soon know your limitations. You could get years of exciting experiences. Or maybe two or three embarassing and costly flubbed trips. But, you'll know and we've all watched enough TV.

[pbmaise]

My primary concern would be how you safely get onto the vessel from a dinghy and how you manage to get the dinghy on board. Along those lines, how you get onto the vessel if you fall into the water is an equal concern.

One option you might consider is enjoy sailing in a place like the Philippines where you can easily afford two crew members to assist at all times. I can make recommendations if you PM me.

[merrydolphin]

Absolutely no offense meant to you. I lost my wife to Alzheimers 4 yrs ago now. (Remarried 2 yrs ago). This is why I am such a strong advocate ot going early. Screw making money. Go young. We quit our carriers when I was 44. Am now 76. Do I have the money that my colleagues now have? No. Do I care? No. I am living quite well enough and folks, you can’t take it with you.

Now, to answer your question. Yes, a suggestion to go cruise in a easy to handle power boat sounds like a great idea. I have done that too after my wife couldn’t handle the sailing lifestyle. And yes, when I did my Scuba Instructor training, there was a man that only had one arm. He did amazingly well in this very physically demanding endeavor. Passed with flying colors......BUT!. He was younger and very fit. Was born that way and had incredibly learned from infancy how to compensate. You are in a very different place. Don’t get too macho. Use common sense and go for it. (Assuming your DR isn’t freaking out.). Probably the most sensible and enjoyable way will be with a simpler 28-32 ft powerboat. We had an Eagle 32 tug style cruiser that we lived aboard and cruised from NC to FL and Bahamas, then up to Cape Cod and back down to FL then NC. Over a 3.5 yr period while full time living aboard. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And you will find that power boats do have as much or more comfort and Amenities than a size notch or two up of sailboat.

[eric12]

likewise had a massive stroke onboard our liveaboard dream liveaboard motorsailer. I have some recovery, but the reality of sailing again is not possible for me. I don't have the mobility or strength on the left side of my body. The most important part of all this is that I would not be able to react in an emergency and be responsible for the safety of my wife and or crew.
Our sailboat is up for sale and we have since purchased a power boat.
This was never our plan but life threw us a curve.
A year delay in moving to Mazatlan Mexico.
We are water people, the dream is still alive in a different type boat. Keyword here is boat. The hell with the purests, living the dream.

[Tillikum]

At this point in your journey it sounds like your first project should be improving your overall health. It is hard to believe the extent to which proper nutrition, hydration and exercise can improve overall health and fitness, not to mention longevity.

We cannot be optimally healthy on foods that contain a quarter to a third of the nutrients they should, nor is it easy to recover from a major illness on such.

We get busy running around in our lives and forget too often that our primary residence needs upkeep. Sufficient to say that the human body has extraordinary powers of recuperation if properly maintained, and while 69 is late, it is not too late.

There are plenty of studies demonstrating the importance of diet and nutrition, such as the famous "China Study", for those who need studies in addition to logic, common sense, and what is demonstrable in the world around us. A few moments googling shows studies mentioning the role of nutritional supplements in stroke prevention and recovery. For example.

Being an intelligent consumer of health care means recognizing and understanding the limitations of "orthodox" and "alternative" medicine, and the transitional nature of those terms, and educating ourselves enough to pick and choose what we believe is best, hopefully with the assistance of diagnosticians from both spheres. Of course the quality of practitioners of varies widely, just like mechanics or teachers.

All this is more effort than many people want to make, but with the access to information we have now, it's never been easier. There's no point asking your doctor about nutrition, most have no training in it. "Eat a balanced diet" is the standard answer. I've read it was the official position of the AMA until the late 1970s that nutrition has no connection to health. How scientific is that?

Best of luck to you and others in similar situations.

Given the difficulties of recovery, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" seems to be particularly true where strokes are concerned. Fair warning for the rest of us?

[darylat8750]

It sounds like you would have fun and be safe on a small diesel powerboat on the intracoastal waterway. Limit yourself to moving the boat only in nice weather. The likelihood of putting others at risk in a small displacement boat at 5 or 6 knots is very low. You would certainly not put rescue personal at risk. You are not expecting to go off shore. Medical help is reasonably available in most parts of the Great Loop. All of us as we age have to make adjustments to accomplish physical things that were easy in the past. I'm in my 70s and don't have the balance or grip strength I had in the past. I've put a few extra hand holds on my boat for safety. Power anchor winch with all chain rode. Yes it is heavier than rope but it is very reliable to deploy and retrieve. And EASY. Use brain instead of brawn. I moved to a trawler from sail a number of years ago. Way easier! And I still get to watch the osprey feed their young and smell the water.

Only you can decide how much you can do and how much risk you are willing to take. And how much boredom you are willing to accept.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[mikecambrai]

I think that the first question to answer is medical. What are the possibilities of another stroke? What would you need to do to avoid one?
If there is any chance that the risk of another event is low, then you have to go for it.
There are so many disabled people today sailing in modified boats that it is possible to sail with most disabilities.
A motor trawler yacht like the Grand Banks comes to mind. There you have space to walk around using a stick if you need. Displacement craft tend to not act fast when mooring up so you usually have more time with heavy vessels be they sail or power. A motor sailor trawler type with high gunwales like the Grand Banks?
What about one of those Gibson houseboats?
The key must be to not give up and even if you do not move the boat you can be in the environment with other like-minded individuals as on this forum.
Some 50 years ago we had a member of our club who had a small tug, probably 30ft. He had only arms above the elbows and a club foot in a special boot. Very intellectual and he painted in water color too.
He could bring his tug alongside a buoy, jump on and tie a line onto the ring and then get back on his tug. There was nothing that he could not seem to do and liked standing at the bar chatting over a drink. He was just like any other Boatsman and I was always in awe of what he could do. He even drove a small van!
Live the dream. The trial period is over - go for the life now that you have been looking forward to do for years.
Living on a boat in a friendly Marina beats living in a square box.