After leaving the hospital on July 29th, 2022, I embarked on an intense journey of stroke rehabilitation.
I had agreed with my employer to gradually resume work starting at 20% from October 1st, then increasing to 50% from January 1st until the end of February 2023, and then to 75% until March 26th, 2023. I aim to be back to 100% by March 27th, 2023.
This flexibility helps me to get back on my feet without feeling I am in front of a mountain and find myself as the guy below…

In the meantime, I also had some exciting trips planned. We took a few days to visit friends in Britany and attended a friend’s wedding anniversary in Versailles and a Rotary weekend in Luxembourg. We also spent New Year’s in Vienna and enjoyed some great restaurants in France, Austria, and Belgium, highlighting the following:
France Versailles Gordon Ramsay au Trianon
France Paris Le George
Austria Vienna Steirereck
Belgium Eghezée L’Air du Temps
Belgium Baudour D’Eugenie a Emilie
Belgium Antwerp The Jane






















However, my primary focus was on my stroke rehab. I had scheduled rehab sessions twice a week, with each session lasting 90 minutes. During these sessions, I receive physiotherapy, ergo-therapy, speech therapy, and psychology treatment to help me recover from the stroke. In addition to the general rehab sessions, I also had specific physiotherapy twice a week for 30 minutes each.
This team is coherent and displaying all the right behaviours to make you improve and get back on your feet and with a smile.
I could highlight each professional one by one but they all do a great job with me and I already miss my speech therapist and my psychologist who helped me from July 2022 till end of January 2023.


I took a couple of days to visit The Hague to check how I could adapt to an office environment. I was pleased to discover that I could work comfortably in such a setting, which was a positive step in my recovery process.
Basically I started early morning around 07:15AM and I started to feel tired at 03:00PM them kicking my backside at $PM to go till 5PM plus.
The main challenge is to face all the brain stimulations as there is a lot of information in an open-space or a cantine, these places require lots of focus to be relevant/purposeful.
This is what drains the energy, the focus needed to operate is from far higher than the ones you need working from home hence I am really happy I could spend 2 days in a row working in office and hopefully more will come soon.

To ensure my overall health and safety, I underwent surgery to install a holter under my skin, which would monitor my heart rate and ensure that you did not have any heart issues.
That should help to detect if my heart dysfunctions and a surgery or new medication might be needed as this is the main next risk I have to mitigate.


Finally, as part of my gradual return to work, I got a new company car to help me commute to and from the office.



Overall, my stroke rehab journey is a challenging one, but I remain dedicated to my recovery and determined to return to my normal routine as soon as possible.
Thanks to all of you supporting me in this journey and making it possible.
Categories: AML
Serge,
I have been following your journey and this chapter I found to be most thoughtfully written. Sure, I know and appreciate what I call the “social” Serge, who gives good reviews of restaurants and dining experiences, but the way you analyzed and approached your recovery is of value for so many. It shows a balance of your determination while acknowledging the support you received from your medical team. I know that you will succeed, and I am most happy for you.
Sandra
Many thanks Sandra, I really appreciate your support