This gives me zero hope at all. His fantastic physical shape allowed him to survive the stroke and probably contributed to his outlier recovery. Only 10% fully recover. Are you as physically fit as him when you have your stroke?
Sprint king Johnson spreads message of hope to stroke survivors
US
sprint champion Michael Johnson said he hoped to inspire fellow
sufferers as he declared himself fully recovered from a stroke that
paralysed him down one side last year.
Johnson
told AFP he was now "back to normal" after the stroke in September
which left the former 200m and 400m world-record holder unable to walk.
The
51-year-old said the "Olympic mindset" that took him to four Games
golds had aided his recovery, while his years of charity work helped put
his plight in perspective.
"Fortunately
I was able to sort of get back into my Olympic mindset and really set
my mind to the challenge of getting up and walking again and getting
back the mobility that I previously had," he told AFP in Hong Kong.
"I
was fortunate to have an athletic background that allowed me to really
be able to commit the type of focus that it takes to do that work every
day, and the patience as well to suffer through those minute, marginal
improvements.
"I'm
fortunate to be back to normal now and just to spread the message to
other people about... how to get yourself back to quality of life after
an event like that."
- 'A stroke makes you re-evaluate' -
Since
hanging up his boots after winning 400m gold at the 2000 Sydney
Olympics, Johnson has been an ambassador for Laureus Sport for Good, a
charity funding junior sports development programs for underprivileged
communities.
The
sprinter said the nearly two decades of philanthropic work had allowed
him to come to terms with having a stroke, and take the gruelling months
of rehabilitation in stride.
"It's
sort of cliche to say that some sort of event like a stroke makes you
re-evaluate. I think about the work that I've been privileged to do in
the 17 years since I retired up until I had my stroke, that's rewarding
enough," he said.
"I
recognise the privilege that I have to be able to do that work and the
impact that we're making all along, and the sort of satisfaction I had
with life leading up to the stroke that allowed me to not be as affected
by the stroke."
Johnson is in Hong Kong for this week's rugby sevens tournament, which has adopted Laureus as its official charity partner.
With
four fixtures left in this year's series, the US Eagles are leading the
standings for the first time and eyeing the prospect of a maiden
victory in the flagship Hong Kong tournament, after a surge of funding
for the sport back home following its Olympics debut at Rio 2016.
"It's
really been gaining a lot of awareness over the last several years,
certainly being an Olympic sport in 2016 was fantastic to see," Johnson
said. "It's very exciting. It's very quick, which I like.
"Rugby
has never been a really big sport in America but I think that with the
Sevens, it really has started to pick up. We're seeing more young kids
picking it up and it's really exciting to see."
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson said he was fully recovered after suffering a stroke in September
Michael Johnson, visiting Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Sevens, said interest in rugby was growing in the United States
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