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Life can change in an instant.
One moment you’re planning your workday or setting goals for the new year — the next, you’re facing a diagnosis you never saw coming: a stroke. Add in pre-existing conditions like type 2 diabetes or the relentless pace of modern life that often leads to burnout, and recovery can feel overwhelming.
But if you’re reading this, know this: there is a path forward.
Stroke, diabetes, and burnout are interconnected challenges, but they can also become unexpected catalysts for powerful personal transformation.
For many people, the warning signs were there — subtle at first, then growing louder over time:
When we live at full tilt for years, our bodies eventually demand our attention in ways we can no longer ignore. Stroke, diabetes, and burnout is not just a collection of separate issues — it’s often the result of a life stretched beyond its limits.
Surviving a stroke, managing diabetes, and recovering from burnout can feel like running three marathons at once.
It’s tempting to feel defeated. But for many, this moment becomes a wake-up call — not the end of the story, but the beginning of a profound new chapter.
Here’s what recovery often teaches survivors:
The real victory isn’t just recovering physically — it’s discovering a deeper, richer way of living.
Recovery is not about perfection.
It’s about making small, sustainable changes that align your mind, body, and spirit toward healing.
If you’re navigating life after stroke, managing diabetes, or climbing out of burnout, consider these small but powerful shifts:
If you’re facing the complex intersection of stroke, diabetes, and burnout, know that thousands of others are walking a similar path — and thriving.
Recovery isn’t just about getting back to where you were.
It’s about building a future that’s even stronger than your past.
Your wake-up call may be the very thing that leads you to the most meaningful chapter of your life.
Mike’s story of stroke, diabetes, and burnout shows how recovery, resilience, and emotional healing can lead to a stronger, healthier future.
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Highlights:
00:00 Introduction and Acknowledgements
02:47 Mike Maki’s Stroke Experience
10:01 Facing Diabetes: Managing the Unseen Battle
18:45 How Blood Sugar Spikes Shape Recovery Choices
24:51 When Work Can’t Wait: A Stroke Survivor’s Relapse Story
32:12 Surviving Business and Stroke Amid Chaos and Uncertainty
42:06 Faith, Gratitude, and Emotional Healing After Stroke
50:26 Small Food Changes, Big Health Impact
1:05:36 Forging a New Path: Mike’s Journey Through Stroke, Diabetes, and Recovery
Transcript:
Bill Gasiamis 0:00
Welcome everyone before we dive into today’s extraordinary conversation, I just want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of this incredible community. Your support, whether it’s through sharing the podcast, leaving a review or simply tuning in each week, makes a massive difference. Together, we’re creating a space where stroke survivors, caregivers and allies can feel seen, heard and inspired, as you may have heard in recent episodes.
Bill Gasiamis 0:28
Since 2015 I’ve been personally covering all the costs of producing the Recovery After Stroke Podcast to ensure stroke survivors, caregivers and their loved ones have free access to valuable resources. Last year, I opened up the opportunity for those who feel they’ve received value from the podcast to support it through Patreon. You can find it at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported the podcast in any way, your encouragement surely keeps me going.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03
A very special thank you to my most recent Patreon supporters, David and Luke, your generosity means the world to me and helps me ensure I can continue creating episodes that support stroke survivors everywhere. If you are unable to support financially, simply listening to the ads without skipping them goes a long way toward keeping the project alive. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who listens, supports and engages with the podcast in any capacity.
Bill Gasiamis 1:34
It means everything to me and helps me stay committed to reaching my goal of 1000 interviews and beyond before we get started. I’d also like to take a small moment to remind you about my book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. It has been a resource for many stroke survivors and their families, offering practical guidance and hope during challenging times. You can grab your copy on Amazon by searching my name, Bill Gasiamis, or by going to recoveryafterstroke.com/book.
Bill Gasiamis 2:09
Now I’m thrilled to introduce today’s guest, Mike Maki. Mike’s story is one of courage, reflection and transformation after experiencing a wake up stroke earlier this year, he shares his honest journey through recovery, learning to manage type two diabetes, navigating emotional impact of burnout and redefining what matters most in his life. His story will inspire anyone facing recovery after a stroke or a health scare. Let’s jump in. Mike Maki, welcome to the podcast.
Mike Maki 2:47
Thank you so much. I’ve been looking forward to it, and I really enjoy your videos that you’ve been producing, and I am just it’s been little over two months since I had my stroke, and it’s really been a tremendous help for me watching the videos that you put out.
Bill Gasiamis 3:06
I’m glad. Second of January this year, if I’m not wrong, correct?
Mike Maki 3:13
Yep, man, the first of January was like any other day, and I was expecting to go back to work on the second, get out of bed early and get started for the kind of it was a weird week, because it was the first was on a Wednesday, so Thursday was kind of back to work week for the short week. And, yeah, my whole little world got turned upside down that morning.
Bill Gasiamis 3:39
But what did you notice? What did it feel like?
Mike Maki 3:45
So the odd thing with, and I actually just saw my neurologist here this past Tuesday for a file, just a routine follow up, and he called it a wake up stroke, where he said that it probably happened during the night, when I was asleep. But the weirdest thing to me was my wife, normally, she worked, she goes for a walk with a friend a couple times a week, and she gets up crazy early, like 4:30am in the morning.
Bill Gasiamis 4:20
Wow, she’s one of those people.
Mike Maki 4:21
Yeah, she’s dedicated. I wish I had that, but she got up, and normally, what she does when she’s leaving, she just, you know, it’s still dark in our room, she went to usually gives me a kiss on the forehead, lets me know she’s leaving. And for some reason, and it’s never, ever happened before. It startled me so bad. I mean, I almost struck her, you know, just because it’s dark. I mean, it just so, I thought I was just having some kind of a dream, and she startled me. And then, so that was probably about 4:30am to 5am, my alarm went off at six, when I normally would get up.
Mike Maki 5:04
And I just was like, I’m going to snooze a little bit, which I sometimes do. I mean, I don’t want to make but and then probably 6:30am I’m like “Well, I gotta get up, let the dogs out, then I gotta get going about my day.” And I just, I felt off, and when I started to get out of bed, felt like my left arm, my left leg were severely asleep, like I slept funny. And I was thinking “Oh, you know, it’s just, it’s my limbs are asleep from I must have slept really strange.” Well, I took the first step, and it didn’t let up. And I knew something was wrong.
Mike Maki 5:45
Somehow I was able to make it to our kitchen, and I was debating, I’m like, my gut right away knew, I mean, was telling me it was a stroke, but I didn’t want to, like, in the sec, in that moment, except that’s probably what was happening to me. So I’m like, I don’t know. I’m like, so I decided I’d call, give my wife a call, because by now, she’d be on her way to work. I wanted to make sure that the hospital that was close by us was in our insurance network.
Mike Maki 6:17
Because I didn’t want to go somewhere that was going to cost a fortune, or, you know, and she’s like, I’m coming home right away, because she didn’t want me. I was going to drive to the hospital. And she got home, like, in 20 minutes. Hopefully she drove safely, but she got home super quick, and we decided, so we went right into the hospital, I think within like 30 minutes, they were giving me a CT scan, and soon as they had the CT scan, They admitted me, or said I was going to be admitted to the hospital.
Mike Maki 6:53
Spent a good part of the day in the emergency room while they’re trying to get a room ready. And it seemed as the day went on, the my condition, at least as far as my leg and my arm got worse, because by the end of I wasn’t even able to walk, or if I were in the hospital bed, I wasn’t even able to get out at that point.
Bill Gasiamis 7:17
Intense.
Mike Maki 7:19
Yeah, it was. It’s amazing how quickly your world can change. You know, just things can change in your everyday life.
Bill Gasiamis 7:27
But what was your previous medical history like? Is it just all good up until then? Or did you have some speed bumps along the way?
Mike Maki 7:37
Yeah, overall, it’s been good. You know, just like physical injuries, like rotator cuff, things like that. In hindsight, now that I look back, there’s a lot of like, things that I should have been doing, as far as, like, high blood pressure, and like, a lot of those little boxes they start rattling off, and you’re like “Oh yeah, I’ve got that. I’ve got that. I do have type two diabetes as well.” And, I mean, I have to admit before.
Mike Maki 8:09
I’ve always been what I consider healthy, like active and work can be a fairly physical job at times, you know, I was kind of gave myself some leeway and said “Well, this, you know, I’m always working, you know, physically hard, but I wasn’t really taking care of myself the way I really should have.” The doctor said it could have been some genetics, I’m sure. And you would, I’m sure you would know, as running a small business, there’s a lot of stress involved. That was some of my first things.
Mike Maki 8:40
Was one, I wasn’t so much worried about myself, but I was thinking, obviously my family, and then also I look at my team at work, their families are dependent on our company, providing their living as well. So I mean, I take that seriously. I’m sure most people do. If they’re running a small business, you really feel that weight on you like, I don’t want to let these people down.
Mike Maki 9:10
And to be honest, I kind of struggled a little bit first after the stroke, feeling like I let people down. More I felt more that way than I did. I let myself down, but, I did let myself down too by, you know, not taking care of some of the things that now in hindsight where definitely things that I could have had better control of.
Bill Gasiamis 9:35
Mike’s story is such a powerful reminder that even the toughest moments can spark real change. Let’s pause for a moment, and if you are finding value in conversations like this, here’s how you can help keep them going. Stories like Mike’s are exactly why I started this podcast to connect, inspire and offer hope to stroke survivors and their families. If you found value in these conversations. Love your support on Patreon.
Bill Gasiamis 10:01
By becoming a patreon at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke, you’ll not only help keep this podcast alive, but also join a community of people dedicated to recovery and growth. Every contribution makes a real difference. Now let’s dive back in with Mike as he shares more about rebuilding his strength, finding new strength after stroke, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
Bill Gasiamis 10:01
How much do you know about type two diabetes? I speak to a lot of stroke survivors who have type two diabetes, and they just sort of say it as if it’s something that’s happening to them that they really can’t do much about. So what do you know about it? How interested did you become in so understanding it? When you were told you have type two diabetes?
Mike Maki 10:51
Yeah, unfortunately, I’ve been or I’ve dealt with that for, like, probably six to eight, I want to say maybe it’s even eight years now, time just goes by so quickly. And there’s been times where I’ve managed it really well, and then there’s other times where you’re just like, you get tired of taking the medicine, some of the medicine that I was taking for it. And I don’t mean that this is just really an excuse now that I look bad, but it made me feel sick, and I’m like “Well, what am I doing to myself?” I take this medication. It makes me feel worse than the diabetes does.
Mike Maki 11:29
But it’s easy to, like, you said, you just kind of, like, say it as a word, and you don’t really, like, really dive into it. I wasn’t, like, closely monitoring my blood sugar like I should, my medication I hadn’t actually taken for a bit. I mean, I hate to admit it now, but it wasn’t because it did make me feel ill and sick, and I felt like the medicine was doing more harm to my body than what the disease was. But I’m sure wasn’t, but it was the easy way to justify it to yourself by saying, you know, you tell yourself that.
Mike Maki 12:06
But it just kind of, you know, taking it years of taking the medicine and feeling horrible after taking the medicine, that wears on a person as well. So, I mean, I know it’s a very short window now, but since the stroke, my wife, again, she’s been my rock, but she’s been a lot more aggressive about control, like making sure I control my diet. So that’s been a lot better. And I’ve, you know, they’ve got me on all kinds of medications now for the even more than prior to the stroke, and I’m taking aspirin as well.
Mike Maki 12:45
But like for controlling the my blood pressure and cholesterol and with the diabetes so far. And granted, it’s a very short window, but everything, this is probably the best time that you know, as far as my blood sugars and everything have been since I’ve even been diagnosed with the diabetes. I mean, one of the things that not to put a plug in, but I did get your book, and I really wanna you know as much as I hate that the stroke happened, and I would never wish that, you know, a stroke on your worst enemy.
Mike Maki 13:23
I really do feel. I want to make this an really important event in my life, and make it one of the best things that happened to me. I haven’t quite I kind of realized when I did get the book that I I’m still dealing with a little bit of reading, and then I get a little have some trouble, so it may take me a while to get through the book. But what I really enjoy.
Bill Gasiamis 13:51
Yeah, that’s good, I’m glad. You know type two diabetes is completely reversible, right?
Mike Maki 13:56
Yeah, I’ve watched a lot of that. So, I mean, I’d really like to, control what I can control as far as diet, and at least get it to that point where I could, and I’ve watched some other things, like taking some things that, you know, to supplement or get away from, because the idea of being on those heavy medications your whole life is that’s daunting. Especially if they don’t make you feel good.
Bill Gasiamis 14:24
It’s hard, right? This is the thing people don’t realize. I mean being on the meds for the rest of your life to reduce your blood sugars is hard. Changing your diet is hard. Which one you prefer? Which hard is the better one. Now, changing your diet isn’t actually that hard, it’s just more of a mental game, right? Honestly, if somebody was and this is not medical advice, this is not nutritional advice, I am not qualified to give advice.
Bill Gasiamis 14:55
But from what I’ve seen online on some videos and interviews of people who are medically trained. It is simply by changing your diet, stopping to consume, sugars, alcohol, that type of stuff.
Bill Gasiamis 15:23
So decreasing your consumption. I’m talking about completely cutting out sodas, alcohol, beer, all that kind of stuff, and avoiding high carbohydrate foods like bread and wheat based breads and all that kind of stuff, and eating a heap of vegetables and protein, fish, meat, chicken, any animal protein that you can imagine, you are going to decrease the response that your body has to insulin and to sugar, and the reason that you’re that people are type two diabetic is because the pancreas isn’t working appropriately.
Bill Gasiamis 16:14
And it’s not able to do deliver the right amount of insulin to decrease the blood sugar and to send the blood sugar away from the blood into the muscles where it’s supposed to be used. So if you just ate a ton of vegetables and protein and then added a little bit of exercise into your routine, to get sugars out of your blood into your muscles, and then get it burnt, you could improve your diabetes out of sight, like dramatically, and eventually, by continuing that for a month or two, you would find that the need for the medication would decrease.
Bill Gasiamis 17:00
And then with your doctor’s advice and guidance, you could completely get off it. And then if you continue doing that, that’s going to help you heal your brain from the stroke. It’s going to help recovery, and it’s going to give space for the inflammation to go away and for the healing to kick in, it’s such an it’s one of the most reversible conditions out there.
Mike Maki 17:28
Yeah, and I definitely have seen a lot of videos like that. And I think, one of the things that have been really useful for me, I’ve gotten and I never had it before, but a continuous glucose monitor, and it’s really that’s super helpful to see, like, how the ebbs and flows of your body, like I’ve been eating really, really well. I mean, at least as good as I possibly have a very in the last two, you know, since the stroke.
Mike Maki 18:05
And it’s really interesting to see that even, I eat an egg and, like, I can see what it does to my body, where before, I would just check it two or three times a day. And you just literally if your life’s kind of, your glucose is a movie. I’ve just seen a snapshot of a picture with, but this can, you know, with now, looking at my phone, I can literally track it and see that’s been a very helpful tool. And I can, I think it’s going to be really a useful thing for learning, as far as you know what you’re, and how your body reacts to it.
Mike Maki 18:45
Because, like, a lot of things are very strange. Like, sometimes where my blood sugars will go, they go down at night. Like, can get really low at night, and then, like, four in the morning, they start going up and, I mean, I haven’t eat anything, you know, it’s like, it’s amazing how your body is, you know, fluctuating throughout the course of a day.
Bill Gasiamis 19:11
Yeah, it changes. It changes your understanding of what you’re doing. Has an impact. Like, when you have a beer, it has an impact. When you eat bread roll that has an impact. And then you can tell that if you’re doing something, all those high insulin spikes, blood sugar spikes are bigger part of all of those are bad for you. So the idea is to decrease the amount of them, to limit them, so that your body can deal with them every so often. But what we do, what the Standard American, Standard Australian diet, what we do is we wake up in the morning.
Bill Gasiamis 19:49
We have carbs. Bread spikes your blood sugar. You go and get a coffee on the way to work. It has two things of sugar in it spikes your blood sugar. There you get hungry about lunchtime, or you have a snack in between, you have a muesli bar or a chocolate bar or something like that spikes your blood sugar. You have lunch, you have bread, and all that kind of it spikes your blood sugar. And that is not how it’s supposed to be. Every meal shouldn’t be spiking a blood sugar, and we shouldn’t be eating as much as we are.
Bill Gasiamis 20:18
So it’s like, if you can learn from that glucose monitor, then you can go, you know, what is this worth? The negative impact on my body or not? I that’s how I kind of play the game in my head. Is this improving my recovery, or is it giving it a setback? I don’t want recovery setbacks, man, I’m dealing with enough stuff. I don’t want to deal with more. And I don’t want to be like you, I don’t want to be responsible for the next one like I don’t want to be the guy that causes that. Yeah, and that’s how I kind of get my head around my nutrition, and I started many years ago, though, Mike.
Bill Gasiamis 20:57
So I’m well and truly, what’s the word conditioned for asking myself the question and then making the right decision? Now it’s very important for people to know that, as well as all of the amazing things I do every so often, I’ve gotta go out and have a beer with a mate. One beer, right? Do you know? And I have to have a burger instead of the steak. I have to because I’m human, but I use those things as sometimes food, which used to be an all the time food.
Bill Gasiamis 21:36
And it’s just not, right? We’ve moved from stuff that’s once in a blue moon to all the time, and now we’re going to switch it around and go back to once in a blue moon, especially sweets and cakes and chocolate bars and all that kind of stuff.
Mike Maki 21:58
And it’s a slippery slope, because once your glucose spikes, you then your craving even more. It’s like you slowly start circling down the drain.
Bill Gasiamis 22:09
That’s it, it’s a cycle, for sure. So what happened with work we have, you been able to kind of get back and start steering the ship again. Where are you at with that?
Mike Maki 22:23
So it’s a challenge, and I’ve always again. I don’t know what your situation was before your stroke, but like a lot of small business owners, a typical week for me was probably 60 to 80 hours, easy, typically. I mean, there’s no my office is connected to our house, so I’m always looking at it, I know there’s work to be done. So since the stroke, it’s kind of been a weird thing, like, literally, four days after the stroke, I was working on my laptop trying to get billings done, which, in hindsight, was a, really a dumb idea, but I felt the pressure.
Mike Maki 22:59
I got it, you know, to get money coming in so I can pay everybody. I got to make sure we’re billing for the work that we’ve done. My team has been amazing, they’ve really have stepped up. You know, again, this is another example of this could be the best thing to happen to me, because it’s really open to my eyes. I knew they were capable, but I didn’t want to burden them with a lot of the things I was doing. So now I’ve realized that they can handle a lot more than maybe I was giving them prior.
Mike Maki 23:33
So that’s been good, but I’ve still I’ve just been trying to ease into it, and I make mistakes like today, I went to, I’ve been okay to drive, but it was supposed to be very limited. And today I had to meet one of my guys to help them swap out a piece of equipment on on a system. And I drove 45 minutes, which was, I got there and I felt car sick, and I felt like my brain was way over stimulated, and I was kind of worthless while I was at the job site, to be honest, and then had to drive back.
Mike Maki 24:14
And, you know, you’re kind of like, well, that was a lot different than those five minute drives that I’ve been doing. Like, you quickly learn that you really need, you need to respect those boundaries that you should have had, and I’m trying to be better with it, but I know with work, I still make mistakes, like I’ll end up spending a little bit more time trying to do a little some paperwork or a a billing thing, or that type of thing, but it’s been greatly reduced to me, if I had to put it, it’s less than four or five hours a week that I’ve been working compared to what it was before.
Bill Gasiamis 24:51
So I’ve done exactly what you said. So after the first bleed, I was in hospital for seven days, and then I was out and I was supposed to work for the next six weeks or do anything. But, you know, the bills need to be paid. Invoices need to be sent, the guys need to get the work done. So I get my dad, I wasn’t allowed to drive, so I get my dad to come and pick me up and take me down to site and check out the job and speak to the client, and I would have been the mess like I wouldn’t have been anything like that we used to seeing.
Bill Gasiamis 25:26
And I was completely zonked out and all over the place on meds and whatever. And it was really hard. But every job is crucial, right? Because the cash flow is such that if one job doesn’t get paid, then, then you gotta find the money somewhere, and you gotta pay people. And it’s a challenge, right? So anyway, we got through that, and then at the end of the six week period that I wasn’t supposed to be working, I was meant to go back to hospital for follow up, and a couple of days before the follow up, I went to work, they came and got me, some of my team came and got me.
Bill Gasiamis 26:09
We went to work, and I wasn’t working, but I was sitting down watching them work, just to be there. I don’t know why I went and they were working, and I started having another episode. The bleeding started again, and the room was spinning, and I couldn’t keep myself upright, and I had to slap my face to try and wake myself up, and all this weird stuff. I needed to throw up. And eventually, they drove me home, and when I got home, I told my wife to take me to the hospital. We passed the hospital on the way home as well, and then we went to the hospital, and they checked.
Bill Gasiamis 26:50
They checked me. It was bleeding again, and then I was admitted for another three days. And the first seven days, I had the laptop in my hospital bed, I was working from the hospital bed. I couldn’t believe what I was doing, but I had to do it, because that’s the type of be you can’t just pause it. Everything kind of fails after that, your long term clients wonder what happened, and all that type of thing. So we couldn’t just pause it, and then, after that second, bleed, then I was in a completely different world. I was, like, spaced out.
Bill Gasiamis 27:28
I couldn’t think, I couldn’t type an email, I couldn’t write, I couldn’t speak to people properly. I couldn’t begin and end sentences. It was really hard, terrible. Somehow, I have no idea, actually, how. I can’t recall how I found the courage, not the courage. I found the strength or the I don’t know, whatever it needed, I needed to find to just stumble across the line with all these things that we needed to get done and just keep it going as long as we could possibly keep it going. And then I had a good run for about a year and a half after the first year.
Bill Gasiamis 28:12
And then, it bled again, and then I went into surgery, and then I had to rehabilitate my left side, and then I was basically out of work. The company was getting some leads, some inquiries, but I couldn’t commit to anybody for anything, and I especially couldn’t put in the the hard yards. I couldn’t put the hours in, and I couldn’t do quoting properly because I couldn’t get the numbers right, it was a mess. The whole thing was a mess, and my income has been negatively impacted ever since.
Bill Gasiamis 28:47
It’s been a minimum of 10 years where I haven’t earned a decent income, and I couldn’t shift that in any way. Like, there’s no way to shift it because you’re unwell, your brain doesn’t work. You can’t physically be places, you can’t, you know you’re incapacitated, you’re not walking, I mean, but the mind the entire time, the minds are going, how can I be more productive? How can I get more money? How can I get more work done?
Bill Gasiamis 29:19
And it’s not possible, just physically not possible. It’s such a weird state to find yourself in that small business people just keep countries ticking along. Without them, there’d be nothing, you know.
Mike Maki 29:39
And I think most are, like, super dedicated to their business. I mean, obviously family is like, top, one of the very, very top things to me. But in a way, it becomes part of your family because you spend so much time at it and you’re always worried about it, so especially if it’s in your house. We have a off site location, but I still do most of the office work from my house.
Mike Maki 30:09
So it’s always, it’s always, it’s never gone. But I mean, we, I’m not sure how long you’ve been going, but this is our 27th year. It’s like, I’ve put every, you know, like it’s all I’ve known as an adult, keeping this going. We’ve been going for 20 years, but that break happened probably after about eight or nine years.
Bill Gasiamis 30:40
And then, you know, intermittently I’ve been working while I’ve been recovering through all the dramas. I had a three year break, a total break, where completely walked away. And that was from 2016 to 2019 and then I went back to work in 2019 and six months later, we were in the biggest, craziest lockdown the world has ever experienced. Here in Melbourne, we were locked down for the best part of two and a half years. We were locked down for the majority of the time.
Bill Gasiamis 31:17
That would be so hard, and we’re trying to run a business, and I don’t know what in that time, but we literally were at home for the majority of that time, so it’s okay. Do you run a business in that time? It was so strange, and that’s when I wrote the book. I wrote the book because I had time to write a book. That’s how much time I had on my hand. It was ridiculous.
Mike Maki 31:45
We were lucky because, during COVID, our line of work was kind of borderline considered essential. So I’m like, we’re just going with it. We just kept working. So we got lucky where a lot of, you know, like hospitality and things like that, everything was just completely stopped, but we were fortunate when it came to that.
Bill Gasiamis 32:12
We were essential. But it had to be, because it’s a property maintenance company, it had to be, you know, there’s a leak in my wall or something like that and then there had to be and there was so inconsistent. Some trades could work inside. Some couldn’t. In some months we were allowed to work inside. Some months we weren’t allowed to work inside. And the only way we could get work was we had to tell our clients.
Bill Gasiamis 32:44
You have to send me an email that says you have an imminent leak, or you can see through the wall outside, or people can see inside your house through the wall, or something like that. I don’t come up with something that makes it possible for me if I get stopped, which they were randomly also stopping people and checking their paperwork. For God’s sake, can’t believe I’m even saying it still it triggers me, and I was giving them the instructions on the phone what to write in the email, and then I would have that email with me so we could go to work.
Bill Gasiamis 33:29
And the government paid people to stay at home. Employees were paid to stay at home under this particular money printing schemes, you know, where they could just get people to stay at home, and we, as a business, received over two years, our compensation was $10,000 a year, and that’s the most we could do, and that pretty much went to pay taxes and stuff like that. So it was kind of like, what the Aussies say, I don’t know, it’s maybe said overseas. Well, it’s like pissing in the ocean, like, it makes no difference.
Mike Maki 34:15
What’s the point? Wow, I think we were fortunate with Ken the way things worked out for us as far as work goes. But still was stressful, you know, you didn’t know, like, were we going to be shut down the next day or and like I said, you feel a real commitment to your people, and your customers.
Bill Gasiamis 34:43
So, what was the cause of the stroke? Was it an ischemic stroke? Was there a a clot that occurred somewhere? Do they know where it occurred, or do they just know where it ended up?
Mike Maki 34:56
Yep, I want to say it was ischemic, and it ended up in my hyperthalamus, and on Tuesday, when I saw the neurologist, he actually had a picture that he printed out for me, you know. And in my mind, I was thinking it would just be like a little p because they kept saying it was a small stroke, but if I had to scale it like, with the rest of it, like, look like, at the size of a quarter, you know, where was dead? He’s like “That’s where it’s white, right there. That’s dead.” And it was a blockage. When I did get, I did ask me if I was able to get the drug that they can give you right away, the PK, is it?
Bill Gasiamis 35:46
TPA.
Mike Maki 35:48
Yeah, and he said they didn’t because they couldn’t isolate when I actually had the stroke. It was, you know, could have been at 11 o’clock the prior evening, but, no, he’s optimistic. I’m still definitely have deficits on my left side. And the one thing that I think I struggle with more than the physical deficits is the fatigue, you know, because you get so tired.
Mike Maki 36:17
And I mean, if the way I try to describe it the best I can. But like, if, unless you have went through it, it’s hard to understand and kind of, like, are you crazy? Are you just making this up? Can you know, like, but, man, just the simplest task you can get so tired and that’s, that’s been a challenge, but that’s improving, I mean, it’s like anything. It’s like every day, try to get a little better each day.
Mike Maki 36:48
And think you do see those, it’s just so slight at times, the improvement, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees, type of thing, where, you know, I’ll say, I feel like I haven’t improved, and my wife like, you have you walk around the block. No, you couldn’t even walk, you know, a month ago. But it’s those little things you you don’t see every day when you’re going through it. That can be a challenge.
Bill Gasiamis 37:13
It takes some time you have to reflect, and then it’s good to ask people and get them to give you their feedback. I was going to counseling when my counselor told me, You’re talking much better this time. And I was like “Oh, okay” Because I’m conscious of when I missed words or forgot words, but the number of words I was missing and forgetting were less, and that was what she noticed, and she picked up on and told me about whereas I was focusing on what I was missing. So it is good to have people kind of track your recovery and then tell you how you’re going.
Bill Gasiamis 37:55
And it’s also good for you to what’s the word like, get some evidence for your own self as well. So record yourself or write something down and then check back on that in six months from now, and just give yourself the opportunity to actually prove to you that you are having wins. You know that you are getting better.
Mike Maki 38:20
Nope, that’s a great advice, because it is, like I said, it is just hard to see that new. And I think I’m naturally critical, you know, I’m always like “Oh my, my left hand drives me insane because it’s not doing what I want. I get so mad at you know.” And so, yeah, when you do make those improvements, it’s nice. You know, where at first, I couldn’t even move it, and now I’m trying things with my fingers or what have you. And I mean, a month ago, I wouldn’t even been able to do that. So it’s definitely making good progress, but it’s not as fast as you want.
Bill Gasiamis 39:00
But, yeah, patience is the most important word here, and also you gotta be kind to your limbs, actually kind like you gotta consider them. You know somebody who’s injured that you know that you wouldn’t be nasty to for them not being recovered enough yet, you’ve gotta really recruit your hand into your team and let it know that, hey, I know you’re doing your best. I’m going to be patient with you, and I’m going to rehabilitate you, and I’m going to allow you the time that you need to heal that’s really important than getting angry at it and frustrated with it.
Bill Gasiamis 39:43
Because that’s not going to that’s not going to get you an outcome that is going to do positive. It’s going to create the environment for less Neuroplasticity to happen. And what you want to do is you want to encourage Neuroplasticity. So positive vibes only is the only way to what’s the word to talk about your hand.
Mike Maki 40:06
Yeah, please.
Bill Gasiamis 40:09
I had a friend of mine had a stroke who said the nurse came into her the nurse came into her house. I think they were checking up on her, and they were just asking her “Okay, so how’s your bad hand today?”
Mike Maki 40:30
Yeah, I was teasing, like some people at the hospital, because we were like “You mean, my bad leg?” No, you’re affected.
Bill Gasiamis 40:39
Yeah, not your bad leg, your affected leg, right?
Mike Maki 40:43
It’s just, yeah.
Bill Gasiamis 40:45
It’s a completely different feeling when you say bad legs to affected leg, and it’s like “Okay” and she was so and she told her off, she said “Never refer to my hand as my bad hand. Always refer to it as my recovering hand.”
Mike Maki 41:02
Yeah, no, I think that’s great. There’s a lot of things in the world I think, like we, you know, like languages taken hijack me, use things and it’s kind of ridiculous. But in this case, I definitely agree with that. Where goes thinking of in the positive is so much better, you know, than thinking this is bad, or it’s not good, or whatever you’d refer to it.
Bill Gasiamis 41:31
Yeah, it changes your neuro chemistry, like it completely changes it.
Mike Maki 41:35
Yeah.
Bill Gasiamis 41:36
So that’s a really simple way to change it for the better is this, just pay attention to the words and how you refer to yourself. You know, a lot of people wouldn’t speak to their friends the way they speak to themselves, because, like you said, we can be harsh.
Mike Maki 41:53
Yeah, that internal voice that you have sometimes can have a bit of a negative vibe to it at least, at least for me, it can so try to try to improve that.
Bill Gasiamis 42:06
Yeah, so how has this impacted you, emotionally and psychologically? Like, where are you at with that part of the recovery? Because I know that some people have the physical part, and they kind of go “Oh, this is it. This is how I’m going to deal with it, and then I kind of miss, or skip the emotional part and the mental health part.” Where were you at with that, those two?
Mike Maki 42:30
You know, I feel pretty good at least as far as the emotional part of it, I’ve always been, I’m a Christian, and I’ve always, faith has always been an important thing to me, and I think my faith has grown quite a bit during this journey. As far as, like, Hey, I’m just like, putting my myself and God, you know, God’s hands, or what if other people might, into a higher power, instead of, it’s not going to be me. It’s going to be I’m working towards getting better, and whatever happens, I’m going to make the very best of it.
Mike Maki 43:08
This could have been way worse. When I spent the month in the hospital, and like the acute physical or the therapy, and there were people that had a way, way worse than what I did, you know, and then you realize, like I should be Thankful I still have the use, even at that point of my right side, which is my dominant side, it could have been, I don’t know if their whole body, but, it even been worse if would have been my dominant side, that would be much harder to deal with.
Mike Maki 43:45
So I think this has been a good, I don’t want to say humbling experience, but an experience where you kind of learn that there’s a lot of things that are in my control that I need to take care of, whether it’s my diet or what have you, but the things that are outside of my control, I need to be willing to accept it and make the best of it and try to just keep continuing to improve on it. If I’m able to.
Bill Gasiamis 44:15
Yeah, I like that. It’s like you’re taking responsibility for what’s your for you, what you’re able to influence. And for lack of a better word, you’re outsourcing the rest to a higher power, call it God, call it spirit, call it whatever you want. Doesn’t matter. And then what that does is allows you to have a little bit of faith in the people that you’re dealing with and how they’re supporting you, and the technology that’s available, and all the things that you’re going to need to continue rehabilitation.
Bill Gasiamis 44:49
And at the same time, you’re taking action to change behaviors, habits, things you’ve done that you didn’t realize, were working against you so that they’re no longer working against you. That’s pretty cool. That’s the best way to go about it. And then what that does is enabled you to mobilize in the areas that you can affect positively.
Mike Maki 45:19
Right, it’s definitely enlightening and eye opening when a life changing event happens to you, especially when it’s not planned. Again, I’ve had, like, rotator cuff, and you schedule that surgery, and you know, it’s coming up in a month, and this was, when it’s just out of the blue light that you realize there’s a lot of things outside of my control that I need to figure out to one accept it, but then how do I make How do I make it? The best of it as well.
Bill Gasiamis 45:56
Gratitude is a great way. What you said, the things that you realize you can be grateful for, and then there’ll be people whose dominant side was affected, and they might not have that same experience that you had, but they could still find things to be grateful for, you know for sure, and they could say that they’re grateful for something else that serves them, because gratitude sort of takes away the power of being, decreases your victim mentality.
Bill Gasiamis 46:32
It kind of softens that and allows you to see other things that are really important to see, that are worth seeing, that are necessary for you to notice, so that you know that not everything is working against you, even in the most dire times, not everything is working against you, some things are going in your favor, and understanding that helps to shift emotionally how that feels.
Mike Maki 47:01
Yeah, I’ve been so thankful for the support of my wife and family. My daughter is, she just graduated from college and is a nurse, so that, you know, that’s and she’s still living with us because she just graduated. That’s been a huge blessing. It’s like my son been able to help some, but he doesn’t live in the house anymore, but just the sacrifices and the things that they’ve done, you’re just that gratitude, and you’re just so thankful for and you just, I just hope and obviously, it’s not for everybody.
Mike Maki 47:38
But you just hope that whoever’s dealing with things, whether it’s stroke or some other that they have that support network that they need because it’s crucial, because it’s easy to fall into that a dark space, or want to have a pity party for yourself, because you know, like life’s throwing you all these curve balls, and I agree, you know you need to get that mindset set that where you’re really, you feel that no matter what the outcome, you’re going to make the best of it, and then I think, then you’re going to have a much better outcome at the in the end.
Bill Gasiamis 48:21
I just realized I wanted to ask you earlier about the glucose monitor. That continuous glucose monitor, what does it cost to have one of those?
Mike Maki 48:31
So, that was a bit of a battle. So I tried to get it years ago, and it was not allowed by our insurance. And it did take a while for me to it took, like, three weeks or something, after the doctor had recommended it in order for me to get it. And eventually our insurance did. So I know everyone’s insurance is different, but our out of pocket expense for three months was only was like $100 okay, that’s what the insurance supplementing it, to be honest, I probably, even if they wouldn’t have covered it.
Mike Maki 49:13
I probably for, let’s say it had been $500 or $600 I would have paid that, because I think it’s such a valuable tool, at least for me. I mean, I’ve been dealing with diabetes now for quite a lot, but it’s an eye opening as far as, like, what’s happening in your body. I used to just take my blood sugar in the morning at night. Well, that’s just such a small window of what’s happening. It’s just, it’s amazing, like, there’s tender I’ll eat, and it actually, my blood sugar actually drops.
Mike Maki 49:47
And you’re like “Why is that happening?” Or “Hey, physical therapy was really hard today, but it made a pretty big impact on my sugar level.” So you know that exercise is a big factor, and I’ve seen things like you were saying where, they’ll talk about even eating your food in a different order can make a big impact on your glucose levels, which, that was kind of news to me, and I’ve been at least, I thought it well, relatively informed as far as dealing with my diabetes, but so I haven’t.
Mike Maki 50:26
I’ve only had it a week, so it’s a short, very window, but I think I’ve even seen that a little, you know, you eat the proteins and things first and all of a sudden, one it helps make you feel satisfied or not as hungry. But then your body starts break, you know, breaking those down even before it would have even if you’re having very minimal carbs you eat those the very end, or what have you.
Bill Gasiamis 50:56
Yeah, the way that it gets metabolized slows down because the body’s busy metabolizing what first went into the stomach, and then it just shifts it so fiber, protein, carbs last and hopefully, after you’ve had your fiber and your protein, the amount of carb you eat is less as well, right? And those carbs, those fibers and the protein maybe have had a little bit of fat on it. So the fat, you know, sort of getting around that carb and decreasing its impact as well, because the fat will bind to the carbs and kind of make it a bit harder to digest.
Bill Gasiamis 51:36
Even that helps. So, yeah, the order of your food is so important. If you ate the bread first, then it would spike your blood sugar right, and then the fiber and the protein wouldn’t have such a great impact on reducing that blood sugar spike. It’s fascinating when you learn and when you sort of start seeing things than later, what I’ll do is it’ll train you to go, I’m going to, I’m feeling a bit snackish. I’m going to go and get a overripe banana on on the bench.
Bill Gasiamis 52:17
Well, that override banana is going to have a different response to the just not green banana, the banana that has just moved beyond being green, they’re going to it’s a completely different meal, right? And that’s what it’ll train you to do, to know where you’re at, and what you can and what you should avoid, and what order to have it, and how much of it to have, because quantity matters as well. So well for sure half a banana is going to be way better than two bananas.
Bill Gasiamis 52:48
And that means, if you have half a banana, that means you don’t have to miss out on it if you really love it. And there’s somebody who has type two diabetes, you can go, I’ll have half a banana with some nuts or some peanut butter or something like that, and it completely changes the profile of it, as opposed to having two full bananas with nothing else.
Mike Maki 53:12
Right, exactly.
Bill Gasiamis 53:14
Yeah, what would you say has been the hardest thing about stroke? Mike.
Mike Maki 53:19
Well, I would say, for at least for me, is been dealing with the fatigue because it just, it comes out, you know, relatively out of nowhere. I mean, it’s still usually associated with doing something, but just doing some, sometimes very, very simple task, and getting so tired and having to take a break that’s been, it’s kind of been hard, because I’m used to again, you know, I want to be a doer, like, if we need to get something done at work, I want to roll up my sleeves and do it, and it’s hard to take a step back from some of those things.
Mike Maki 54:06
So, I would say that’s probably been the hardest, you know, there’s still some of the physical things have been difficult, but those are things, at least, you see a little bit more progress, and you’re overcome, somewhat, overcoming them. It’s hard to say, where you’ll end up, you know, again, I always struggle with that word normal.
Mike Maki 54:30
Like, you know, where I’ll ever get back normal, whatever that is, right, like, so I just want to get as far as I possibly can, you know, get back to whatever the normal becomes, it will be the new norm, or whatever. But, yeah, I would say it’s been the fatigue.
Bill Gasiamis 54:52
Do you notice a pattern in the fatigue? Do you notice there’s certain days, times that it gets worse? Was better, or is it just all over the place?
Mike Maki 55:02
It seems like it’s been all over the place, and it is usually associated with some task, whether it’s physical or a mental task, or, you know, even just doing like the occupational therapy, even if it was something that wasn’t physical, but we were, you know, filling out questionnaires or doing some memory things. You know, next thing you know, you’re like, get home and you’re like, I think I need to take, like, a 15 minute nap. I’m just shot like or nothing.
Bill Gasiamis 55:35
That’s good. That’s good that you’re doing that. Do you ever notice your fatigue getting worse after a meal?
Mike Maki 55:43
I haven’t noticed that, but I guess, I mean, it may have happened, but, I mean maybe too because we tried to walk, you know, try to walk some, you know, he said that after the dinner meal. And I actually have been really, I mean, my diet’s been very strict since so egg would, yeah. I mean, it’s amazing.
Bill Gasiamis 56:08
The walking after dinner actually also is a massive boost to decreasing, right? That insulin, that blood sugar spike after dinner, it’s a massive, makes a massive difference, that’s good.
Mike Maki 56:23
So it hopefully can keep increasing the distance that I’m going. And it’s kind of like life as all these ironies, we literally, we’d had a dog. I mean, we’ve always had two dogs, but I, one of my favorite things is to pheasant hunt. And it’s more just getting out with the dog. And I just love, you know, loving it, being out with friends. So the dog, one of the dogs that we had, had that we recently put down, he had gotten gun shy, so I hadn’t been able to hunt with him for like, six years. Like, I mean, because they’re more of a pet than they are hunting dog for us.
Mike Maki 57:03
Because so that was hard. So I went six years, and we finally found a place. This summer, we got a puppy, you know, I was going to be hunting with, my expectations were going to be hunting going to start over fresh with the new dog, now with the stroke, it’s kind of like, well, hopefully that still ends up being the case.
Mike Maki 57:26
So that’s kind of been the little carrot that’s been a good driver for me to like, if I’m doing a few reps with my physical therapy and I want to quit, it’s kind of like, well, do you really want to get back out there with the dog, you know, and train this puppy that we just got that’s gonna, hopefully live a long time and so, yeah, but it’s a funny how things like that happen.
Bill Gasiamis 57:49
Yeah, and you’re currently using a cane, aren’t you?
Mike Maki 57:52
Yeah, so, hospital was all walker, then I went to quad cane when I came home, and now they move me to like a walking stick, like you might use if you were hiking. I really like that a lot. That’s worked out really good for me so and normally, when I’m around in the house, I don’t even use that. I just kind of surf the pieces of furniture. If I lose my balance a little, but it’s getting better, but I would certainly not go anywhere walking without the walking stick at this point.
Bill Gasiamis 58:30
Well, that’s good. It’s good that you’re transitioned from the other stuff to the walking stick, and hopefully, stages without the walking stick, that’d be amazing. What would you say has been the biggest lesson, like, what has stroke taught you?
Mike Maki 58:53
You know, I mean, we’ve talked about a little bit, but I probably go back to that, the idea of control, what you can control and accept what’s out of your hands, and I’m not quite it, make the best of it.
Bill Gasiamis 59:13
That’s a pretty good thing to learn. Yeah, implement that.
Mike Maki 59:18
Because I feel like pre or prior to the stroke, it was more if I felt like something was out of my hands, I was just gonna try to bowl, you know, bully, whatever the task was, and just power through it. Where now I, I feel like, in hindsight, you just it makes you more accepting. And I don’t want to make it sound like you just give in no, but you just need to be more forgiving to things that are out of your hands and to yourself really.
Bill Gasiamis 59:52
Yeah, absolutely. You know what’s been really cool lately, I’ve been contacted by people who have, had this stroke recently, very recently, which means that they must be including you, doing searches for support after stroke, and finding the podcast and finding it really early in their recovery. And that is amazing, because it’s not something that I had, you know, I didn’t have, right. It’s about stroke recovery.
Mike Maki 1:00:24
You know, I’m sorry that you didn’t have. I mean, I’ve been grateful for I just, I can get caught watching them, and, you know, I’m really looking forward to digging into the book. So my goal is to try to, like, I think the first day I read like, 50 pages in my mind was just like, all messed up. So I’m like “Nope, I gotta break this down. Give myself five or 10 pages.” I’m just going to try to ease into it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:00:50
And that’s more than enough. Yeah, I was going to ask you so like, why was it necessary for you to come onto the podcast?
Mike Maki 1:01:03
I, you know, you’ve interviewed so many wonderful people, and they’ve helped me so much. I didn’t know that my story could really help people, because, you know, I don’t know, but I also wanted it to like, if it did help one person, I also wanted to try to contribute a little to your work, because I really appreciate what you’re doing, you know. And you need content, and whether or not you might have a video that’s a dud, maybe I’m the dud, but at least we gotta work through it a little bit, you know.
Mike Maki 1:02:01
So I really appreciate that.
Mike Maki 1:01:41
That was my hope that in some way, maybe some strange way, someone could, associate with my you know, it’s a relatively short journey at this point compared to what when you look at what you’ve gone through and all the things that have happened over the years. I know I’m early into this, but if I could even help one help one person, it’s worth it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:02:06
It definitely does help, because I get people responding every single day, telling me so every day, and they respond to the weirdest episodes, or to the one I never expected, or the one I did years ago, or, and it’s unpredictable because we’re all so different, and we all have things that we relate to each other about, and other things we don’t relate to each other about, yeah, all of a sudden.
Bill Gasiamis 1:02:34
What happens is somebody goes “Oh, man, that’s me.” That you know, somebody might come across this and go “Oh, that’s my diabetes journey.” Or “Oh, I didn’t know that about diabetes, or I didn’t know about a glucose monitor.” The jewels that they pick up are unexpected. Don’t realize what people pick up that is important. You think it’s a passing comment, but it’s like “Oh, no, that really resonates.” So, yeah, they all help. Let me tell you, I had this thing in my mind that kind of said, like, I think I want to do 1000 interviews.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03:10
We’re at, we’re not at 350 yet, and I’m not sure how long that’ll take, but that’s a big job, like 1000 stroke survivor interviews, and then I’m thinking, if I get to 1000 then the job’s done, like there’ll be ample bits of information in there that anyone can stumble across forever on YouTube. And just find it and go “Oh man, I need to hear that episode.” Or that’s the guy that resonated with me, or I’m like that, etc. So yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you for reaching out and doing that. That’s I just wanted to get a sense of what it was about.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03:51
Because the last question I wanted to ask you was, what do you want to tell other people that might be listening to this, and I’m not sure, just, you know, want to hear some wisdom about what you’ve learned about stroke. You know what I mean? Like, do you have some something that you want to just say to people, impart on people, or just lay on people’s just so that they can think about.
Mike Maki 1:04:24
You know, it might be kind of simplistic, and that’s kind of just my nature is sometimes simple as better, but I think a little bit about, you know, realize that you’re not the first one going through this, and that, you know, they’ll even, unfortunately, be more to go through it, and that you can learn from other people, and that this isn’t the end, it’s in a new, in a funny kind of way, a new beginning, and that a lot of it’s going to be what you make of it. And use, you know, what other people have been through to learn from.
Mike Maki 1:05:07
And again, that’s why I love your podcast so much, because it, you know, even if someone’s had a different type of stroke or what it you can learn, you really can learn a lot from their journey. And sometimes it’s a lot easier, I live in Minnesota, where the, you know, we can get a fair amount of snow. It’s a lot easier walking in the steps of somebody else through two feet of snow than trying to blaze a trail yourself through the snow.
Mike Maki 1:05:36
So you can kind of piggyback on what other people have been through. It’s not going to be exactly the same, but you can craft that into what your personal journey is, and try to figure out how you can make the best of it. So I don’t know if that’s real words of wisdom, but that’s the way I look at it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:05:57
I love that analogy about the snow. I certainly appreciate what that means. I don’t get out to the snow much, but I know exactly what you mean when you say that. And yeah, the person that’s taken those first steps through the snow is definitely creating an easier path forward for the next person. And right, that’s a great gift. That’s an amazing thing.
Mike Maki 1:06:22
Yeah, and that’s what you’ve done a lot with the podcast. You know, there’s a lot of other really good content out on whether it’s YouTube or books or so.
Bill Gasiamis 1:06:34
I’m stunned at the amount of people that want to help. I didn’t realize that I would be able to get 350 people to come on my podcast. At the beginning, I had to find out where they were and search for them and then ask them. And I wasn’t sure that people would say yes when I asked them, but my God, hardly nobody said no. And now I don’t ask people ask me, because they find me instead of me looking for them. And it’s just, it’s a relief, it’s so much easier. Thanks so much for joining me on the podcast. I really appreciate our chat and best best of luck on the ongoing recovery.
Mike Maki 1:07:15
No, I really appreciate that, and thank you so much for having me. It’s really an honor for me, because, like I said, you really are doing a lot of great things.
Bill Gasiamis 1:07:24
Well, that brings us to the end of this inspiring episode with Mike, from facing a sudden wake up stroke to taking responsibility for his health, managing his type two diabetes and reshaping his life after burnout, Mike’s story is a powerful reminder of the strength we all have within us. If today’s conversation resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment, like and subscribe on YouTube, if you’re listening on Spotify or iTunes, a five star rating or review would be amazing. It really helps others discover the podcast and join our growing community.
Bill Gasiamis 1:08:03
Remember to check out my book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. It’s available on Amazon by searching my name, Bill Gasiamis, or by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And if you’d like to support me or the podcast directly, head to patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. Thank you for being here and for making this podcast part of your recovery journey. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Intro 1:08:31
Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals, opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience, and we do not necessarily share the same opinion, nor do we recommend any treatment protocol. Discussed all content on this website and any linked blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.
Intro 1:09:00
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Intro 1:09:25
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Intro 1:09:52
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The post From Stroke to Strength: Mike’s Journey Through Diabetes and Burnout appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.
301 episodes
Life can change in an instant.
One moment you’re planning your workday or setting goals for the new year — the next, you’re facing a diagnosis you never saw coming: a stroke. Add in pre-existing conditions like type 2 diabetes or the relentless pace of modern life that often leads to burnout, and recovery can feel overwhelming.
But if you’re reading this, know this: there is a path forward.
Stroke, diabetes, and burnout are interconnected challenges, but they can also become unexpected catalysts for powerful personal transformation.
For many people, the warning signs were there — subtle at first, then growing louder over time:
When we live at full tilt for years, our bodies eventually demand our attention in ways we can no longer ignore. Stroke, diabetes, and burnout is not just a collection of separate issues — it’s often the result of a life stretched beyond its limits.
Surviving a stroke, managing diabetes, and recovering from burnout can feel like running three marathons at once.
It’s tempting to feel defeated. But for many, this moment becomes a wake-up call — not the end of the story, but the beginning of a profound new chapter.
Here’s what recovery often teaches survivors:
The real victory isn’t just recovering physically — it’s discovering a deeper, richer way of living.
Recovery is not about perfection.
It’s about making small, sustainable changes that align your mind, body, and spirit toward healing.
If you’re navigating life after stroke, managing diabetes, or climbing out of burnout, consider these small but powerful shifts:
If you’re facing the complex intersection of stroke, diabetes, and burnout, know that thousands of others are walking a similar path — and thriving.
Recovery isn’t just about getting back to where you were.
It’s about building a future that’s even stronger than your past.
Your wake-up call may be the very thing that leads you to the most meaningful chapter of your life.
Mike’s story of stroke, diabetes, and burnout shows how recovery, resilience, and emotional healing can lead to a stronger, healthier future.
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Highlights:
00:00 Introduction and Acknowledgements
02:47 Mike Maki’s Stroke Experience
10:01 Facing Diabetes: Managing the Unseen Battle
18:45 How Blood Sugar Spikes Shape Recovery Choices
24:51 When Work Can’t Wait: A Stroke Survivor’s Relapse Story
32:12 Surviving Business and Stroke Amid Chaos and Uncertainty
42:06 Faith, Gratitude, and Emotional Healing After Stroke
50:26 Small Food Changes, Big Health Impact
1:05:36 Forging a New Path: Mike’s Journey Through Stroke, Diabetes, and Recovery
Transcript:
Bill Gasiamis 0:00
Welcome everyone before we dive into today’s extraordinary conversation, I just want to take a moment to thank you for being a part of this incredible community. Your support, whether it’s through sharing the podcast, leaving a review or simply tuning in each week, makes a massive difference. Together, we’re creating a space where stroke survivors, caregivers and allies can feel seen, heard and inspired, as you may have heard in recent episodes.
Bill Gasiamis 0:28
Since 2015 I’ve been personally covering all the costs of producing the Recovery After Stroke Podcast to ensure stroke survivors, caregivers and their loved ones have free access to valuable resources. Last year, I opened up the opportunity for those who feel they’ve received value from the podcast to support it through Patreon. You can find it at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has supported the podcast in any way, your encouragement surely keeps me going.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03
A very special thank you to my most recent Patreon supporters, David and Luke, your generosity means the world to me and helps me ensure I can continue creating episodes that support stroke survivors everywhere. If you are unable to support financially, simply listening to the ads without skipping them goes a long way toward keeping the project alive. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who listens, supports and engages with the podcast in any capacity.
Bill Gasiamis 1:34
It means everything to me and helps me stay committed to reaching my goal of 1000 interviews and beyond before we get started. I’d also like to take a small moment to remind you about my book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. It has been a resource for many stroke survivors and their families, offering practical guidance and hope during challenging times. You can grab your copy on Amazon by searching my name, Bill Gasiamis, or by going to recoveryafterstroke.com/book.
Bill Gasiamis 2:09
Now I’m thrilled to introduce today’s guest, Mike Maki. Mike’s story is one of courage, reflection and transformation after experiencing a wake up stroke earlier this year, he shares his honest journey through recovery, learning to manage type two diabetes, navigating emotional impact of burnout and redefining what matters most in his life. His story will inspire anyone facing recovery after a stroke or a health scare. Let’s jump in. Mike Maki, welcome to the podcast.
Mike Maki 2:47
Thank you so much. I’ve been looking forward to it, and I really enjoy your videos that you’ve been producing, and I am just it’s been little over two months since I had my stroke, and it’s really been a tremendous help for me watching the videos that you put out.
Bill Gasiamis 3:06
I’m glad. Second of January this year, if I’m not wrong, correct?
Mike Maki 3:13
Yep, man, the first of January was like any other day, and I was expecting to go back to work on the second, get out of bed early and get started for the kind of it was a weird week, because it was the first was on a Wednesday, so Thursday was kind of back to work week for the short week. And, yeah, my whole little world got turned upside down that morning.
Bill Gasiamis 3:39
But what did you notice? What did it feel like?
Mike Maki 3:45
So the odd thing with, and I actually just saw my neurologist here this past Tuesday for a file, just a routine follow up, and he called it a wake up stroke, where he said that it probably happened during the night, when I was asleep. But the weirdest thing to me was my wife, normally, she worked, she goes for a walk with a friend a couple times a week, and she gets up crazy early, like 4:30am in the morning.
Bill Gasiamis 4:20
Wow, she’s one of those people.
Mike Maki 4:21
Yeah, she’s dedicated. I wish I had that, but she got up, and normally, what she does when she’s leaving, she just, you know, it’s still dark in our room, she went to usually gives me a kiss on the forehead, lets me know she’s leaving. And for some reason, and it’s never, ever happened before. It startled me so bad. I mean, I almost struck her, you know, just because it’s dark. I mean, it just so, I thought I was just having some kind of a dream, and she startled me. And then, so that was probably about 4:30am to 5am, my alarm went off at six, when I normally would get up.
Mike Maki 5:04
And I just was like, I’m going to snooze a little bit, which I sometimes do. I mean, I don’t want to make but and then probably 6:30am I’m like “Well, I gotta get up, let the dogs out, then I gotta get going about my day.” And I just, I felt off, and when I started to get out of bed, felt like my left arm, my left leg were severely asleep, like I slept funny. And I was thinking “Oh, you know, it’s just, it’s my limbs are asleep from I must have slept really strange.” Well, I took the first step, and it didn’t let up. And I knew something was wrong.
Mike Maki 5:45
Somehow I was able to make it to our kitchen, and I was debating, I’m like, my gut right away knew, I mean, was telling me it was a stroke, but I didn’t want to, like, in the sec, in that moment, except that’s probably what was happening to me. So I’m like, I don’t know. I’m like, so I decided I’d call, give my wife a call, because by now, she’d be on her way to work. I wanted to make sure that the hospital that was close by us was in our insurance network.
Mike Maki 6:17
Because I didn’t want to go somewhere that was going to cost a fortune, or, you know, and she’s like, I’m coming home right away, because she didn’t want me. I was going to drive to the hospital. And she got home, like, in 20 minutes. Hopefully she drove safely, but she got home super quick, and we decided, so we went right into the hospital, I think within like 30 minutes, they were giving me a CT scan, and soon as they had the CT scan, They admitted me, or said I was going to be admitted to the hospital.
Mike Maki 6:53
Spent a good part of the day in the emergency room while they’re trying to get a room ready. And it seemed as the day went on, the my condition, at least as far as my leg and my arm got worse, because by the end of I wasn’t even able to walk, or if I were in the hospital bed, I wasn’t even able to get out at that point.
Bill Gasiamis 7:17
Intense.
Mike Maki 7:19
Yeah, it was. It’s amazing how quickly your world can change. You know, just things can change in your everyday life.
Bill Gasiamis 7:27
But what was your previous medical history like? Is it just all good up until then? Or did you have some speed bumps along the way?
Mike Maki 7:37
Yeah, overall, it’s been good. You know, just like physical injuries, like rotator cuff, things like that. In hindsight, now that I look back, there’s a lot of like, things that I should have been doing, as far as, like, high blood pressure, and like, a lot of those little boxes they start rattling off, and you’re like “Oh yeah, I’ve got that. I’ve got that. I do have type two diabetes as well.” And, I mean, I have to admit before.
Mike Maki 8:09
I’ve always been what I consider healthy, like active and work can be a fairly physical job at times, you know, I was kind of gave myself some leeway and said “Well, this, you know, I’m always working, you know, physically hard, but I wasn’t really taking care of myself the way I really should have.” The doctor said it could have been some genetics, I’m sure. And you would, I’m sure you would know, as running a small business, there’s a lot of stress involved. That was some of my first things.
Mike Maki 8:40
Was one, I wasn’t so much worried about myself, but I was thinking, obviously my family, and then also I look at my team at work, their families are dependent on our company, providing their living as well. So I mean, I take that seriously. I’m sure most people do. If they’re running a small business, you really feel that weight on you like, I don’t want to let these people down.
Mike Maki 9:10
And to be honest, I kind of struggled a little bit first after the stroke, feeling like I let people down. More I felt more that way than I did. I let myself down, but, I did let myself down too by, you know, not taking care of some of the things that now in hindsight where definitely things that I could have had better control of.
Bill Gasiamis 9:35
Mike’s story is such a powerful reminder that even the toughest moments can spark real change. Let’s pause for a moment, and if you are finding value in conversations like this, here’s how you can help keep them going. Stories like Mike’s are exactly why I started this podcast to connect, inspire and offer hope to stroke survivors and their families. If you found value in these conversations. Love your support on Patreon.
Bill Gasiamis 10:01
By becoming a patreon at patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke, you’ll not only help keep this podcast alive, but also join a community of people dedicated to recovery and growth. Every contribution makes a real difference. Now let’s dive back in with Mike as he shares more about rebuilding his strength, finding new strength after stroke, and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
Bill Gasiamis 10:01
How much do you know about type two diabetes? I speak to a lot of stroke survivors who have type two diabetes, and they just sort of say it as if it’s something that’s happening to them that they really can’t do much about. So what do you know about it? How interested did you become in so understanding it? When you were told you have type two diabetes?
Mike Maki 10:51
Yeah, unfortunately, I’ve been or I’ve dealt with that for, like, probably six to eight, I want to say maybe it’s even eight years now, time just goes by so quickly. And there’s been times where I’ve managed it really well, and then there’s other times where you’re just like, you get tired of taking the medicine, some of the medicine that I was taking for it. And I don’t mean that this is just really an excuse now that I look bad, but it made me feel sick, and I’m like “Well, what am I doing to myself?” I take this medication. It makes me feel worse than the diabetes does.
Mike Maki 11:29
But it’s easy to, like, you said, you just kind of, like, say it as a word, and you don’t really, like, really dive into it. I wasn’t, like, closely monitoring my blood sugar like I should, my medication I hadn’t actually taken for a bit. I mean, I hate to admit it now, but it wasn’t because it did make me feel ill and sick, and I felt like the medicine was doing more harm to my body than what the disease was. But I’m sure wasn’t, but it was the easy way to justify it to yourself by saying, you know, you tell yourself that.
Mike Maki 12:06
But it just kind of, you know, taking it years of taking the medicine and feeling horrible after taking the medicine, that wears on a person as well. So, I mean, I know it’s a very short window now, but since the stroke, my wife, again, she’s been my rock, but she’s been a lot more aggressive about control, like making sure I control my diet. So that’s been a lot better. And I’ve, you know, they’ve got me on all kinds of medications now for the even more than prior to the stroke, and I’m taking aspirin as well.
Mike Maki 12:45
But like for controlling the my blood pressure and cholesterol and with the diabetes so far. And granted, it’s a very short window, but everything, this is probably the best time that you know, as far as my blood sugars and everything have been since I’ve even been diagnosed with the diabetes. I mean, one of the things that not to put a plug in, but I did get your book, and I really wanna you know as much as I hate that the stroke happened, and I would never wish that, you know, a stroke on your worst enemy.
Mike Maki 13:23
I really do feel. I want to make this an really important event in my life, and make it one of the best things that happened to me. I haven’t quite I kind of realized when I did get the book that I I’m still dealing with a little bit of reading, and then I get a little have some trouble, so it may take me a while to get through the book. But what I really enjoy.
Bill Gasiamis 13:51
Yeah, that’s good, I’m glad. You know type two diabetes is completely reversible, right?
Mike Maki 13:56
Yeah, I’ve watched a lot of that. So, I mean, I’d really like to, control what I can control as far as diet, and at least get it to that point where I could, and I’ve watched some other things, like taking some things that, you know, to supplement or get away from, because the idea of being on those heavy medications your whole life is that’s daunting. Especially if they don’t make you feel good.
Bill Gasiamis 14:24
It’s hard, right? This is the thing people don’t realize. I mean being on the meds for the rest of your life to reduce your blood sugars is hard. Changing your diet is hard. Which one you prefer? Which hard is the better one. Now, changing your diet isn’t actually that hard, it’s just more of a mental game, right? Honestly, if somebody was and this is not medical advice, this is not nutritional advice, I am not qualified to give advice.
Bill Gasiamis 14:55
But from what I’ve seen online on some videos and interviews of people who are medically trained. It is simply by changing your diet, stopping to consume, sugars, alcohol, that type of stuff.
Bill Gasiamis 15:23
So decreasing your consumption. I’m talking about completely cutting out sodas, alcohol, beer, all that kind of stuff, and avoiding high carbohydrate foods like bread and wheat based breads and all that kind of stuff, and eating a heap of vegetables and protein, fish, meat, chicken, any animal protein that you can imagine, you are going to decrease the response that your body has to insulin and to sugar, and the reason that you’re that people are type two diabetic is because the pancreas isn’t working appropriately.
Bill Gasiamis 16:14
And it’s not able to do deliver the right amount of insulin to decrease the blood sugar and to send the blood sugar away from the blood into the muscles where it’s supposed to be used. So if you just ate a ton of vegetables and protein and then added a little bit of exercise into your routine, to get sugars out of your blood into your muscles, and then get it burnt, you could improve your diabetes out of sight, like dramatically, and eventually, by continuing that for a month or two, you would find that the need for the medication would decrease.
Bill Gasiamis 17:00
And then with your doctor’s advice and guidance, you could completely get off it. And then if you continue doing that, that’s going to help you heal your brain from the stroke. It’s going to help recovery, and it’s going to give space for the inflammation to go away and for the healing to kick in, it’s such an it’s one of the most reversible conditions out there.
Mike Maki 17:28
Yeah, and I definitely have seen a lot of videos like that. And I think, one of the things that have been really useful for me, I’ve gotten and I never had it before, but a continuous glucose monitor, and it’s really that’s super helpful to see, like, how the ebbs and flows of your body, like I’ve been eating really, really well. I mean, at least as good as I possibly have a very in the last two, you know, since the stroke.
Mike Maki 18:05
And it’s really interesting to see that even, I eat an egg and, like, I can see what it does to my body, where before, I would just check it two or three times a day. And you just literally if your life’s kind of, your glucose is a movie. I’ve just seen a snapshot of a picture with, but this can, you know, with now, looking at my phone, I can literally track it and see that’s been a very helpful tool. And I can, I think it’s going to be really a useful thing for learning, as far as you know what you’re, and how your body reacts to it.
Mike Maki 18:45
Because, like, a lot of things are very strange. Like, sometimes where my blood sugars will go, they go down at night. Like, can get really low at night, and then, like, four in the morning, they start going up and, I mean, I haven’t eat anything, you know, it’s like, it’s amazing how your body is, you know, fluctuating throughout the course of a day.
Bill Gasiamis 19:11
Yeah, it changes. It changes your understanding of what you’re doing. Has an impact. Like, when you have a beer, it has an impact. When you eat bread roll that has an impact. And then you can tell that if you’re doing something, all those high insulin spikes, blood sugar spikes are bigger part of all of those are bad for you. So the idea is to decrease the amount of them, to limit them, so that your body can deal with them every so often. But what we do, what the Standard American, Standard Australian diet, what we do is we wake up in the morning.
Bill Gasiamis 19:49
We have carbs. Bread spikes your blood sugar. You go and get a coffee on the way to work. It has two things of sugar in it spikes your blood sugar. There you get hungry about lunchtime, or you have a snack in between, you have a muesli bar or a chocolate bar or something like that spikes your blood sugar. You have lunch, you have bread, and all that kind of it spikes your blood sugar. And that is not how it’s supposed to be. Every meal shouldn’t be spiking a blood sugar, and we shouldn’t be eating as much as we are.
Bill Gasiamis 20:18
So it’s like, if you can learn from that glucose monitor, then you can go, you know, what is this worth? The negative impact on my body or not? I that’s how I kind of play the game in my head. Is this improving my recovery, or is it giving it a setback? I don’t want recovery setbacks, man, I’m dealing with enough stuff. I don’t want to deal with more. And I don’t want to be like you, I don’t want to be responsible for the next one like I don’t want to be the guy that causes that. Yeah, and that’s how I kind of get my head around my nutrition, and I started many years ago, though, Mike.
Bill Gasiamis 20:57
So I’m well and truly, what’s the word conditioned for asking myself the question and then making the right decision? Now it’s very important for people to know that, as well as all of the amazing things I do every so often, I’ve gotta go out and have a beer with a mate. One beer, right? Do you know? And I have to have a burger instead of the steak. I have to because I’m human, but I use those things as sometimes food, which used to be an all the time food.
Bill Gasiamis 21:36
And it’s just not, right? We’ve moved from stuff that’s once in a blue moon to all the time, and now we’re going to switch it around and go back to once in a blue moon, especially sweets and cakes and chocolate bars and all that kind of stuff.
Mike Maki 21:58
And it’s a slippery slope, because once your glucose spikes, you then your craving even more. It’s like you slowly start circling down the drain.
Bill Gasiamis 22:09
That’s it, it’s a cycle, for sure. So what happened with work we have, you been able to kind of get back and start steering the ship again. Where are you at with that?
Mike Maki 22:23
So it’s a challenge, and I’ve always again. I don’t know what your situation was before your stroke, but like a lot of small business owners, a typical week for me was probably 60 to 80 hours, easy, typically. I mean, there’s no my office is connected to our house, so I’m always looking at it, I know there’s work to be done. So since the stroke, it’s kind of been a weird thing, like, literally, four days after the stroke, I was working on my laptop trying to get billings done, which, in hindsight, was a, really a dumb idea, but I felt the pressure.
Mike Maki 22:59
I got it, you know, to get money coming in so I can pay everybody. I got to make sure we’re billing for the work that we’ve done. My team has been amazing, they’ve really have stepped up. You know, again, this is another example of this could be the best thing to happen to me, because it’s really open to my eyes. I knew they were capable, but I didn’t want to burden them with a lot of the things I was doing. So now I’ve realized that they can handle a lot more than maybe I was giving them prior.
Mike Maki 23:33
So that’s been good, but I’ve still I’ve just been trying to ease into it, and I make mistakes like today, I went to, I’ve been okay to drive, but it was supposed to be very limited. And today I had to meet one of my guys to help them swap out a piece of equipment on on a system. And I drove 45 minutes, which was, I got there and I felt car sick, and I felt like my brain was way over stimulated, and I was kind of worthless while I was at the job site, to be honest, and then had to drive back.
Mike Maki 24:14
And, you know, you’re kind of like, well, that was a lot different than those five minute drives that I’ve been doing. Like, you quickly learn that you really need, you need to respect those boundaries that you should have had, and I’m trying to be better with it, but I know with work, I still make mistakes, like I’ll end up spending a little bit more time trying to do a little some paperwork or a a billing thing, or that type of thing, but it’s been greatly reduced to me, if I had to put it, it’s less than four or five hours a week that I’ve been working compared to what it was before.
Bill Gasiamis 24:51
So I’ve done exactly what you said. So after the first bleed, I was in hospital for seven days, and then I was out and I was supposed to work for the next six weeks or do anything. But, you know, the bills need to be paid. Invoices need to be sent, the guys need to get the work done. So I get my dad, I wasn’t allowed to drive, so I get my dad to come and pick me up and take me down to site and check out the job and speak to the client, and I would have been the mess like I wouldn’t have been anything like that we used to seeing.
Bill Gasiamis 25:26
And I was completely zonked out and all over the place on meds and whatever. And it was really hard. But every job is crucial, right? Because the cash flow is such that if one job doesn’t get paid, then, then you gotta find the money somewhere, and you gotta pay people. And it’s a challenge, right? So anyway, we got through that, and then at the end of the six week period that I wasn’t supposed to be working, I was meant to go back to hospital for follow up, and a couple of days before the follow up, I went to work, they came and got me, some of my team came and got me.
Bill Gasiamis 26:09
We went to work, and I wasn’t working, but I was sitting down watching them work, just to be there. I don’t know why I went and they were working, and I started having another episode. The bleeding started again, and the room was spinning, and I couldn’t keep myself upright, and I had to slap my face to try and wake myself up, and all this weird stuff. I needed to throw up. And eventually, they drove me home, and when I got home, I told my wife to take me to the hospital. We passed the hospital on the way home as well, and then we went to the hospital, and they checked.
Bill Gasiamis 26:50
They checked me. It was bleeding again, and then I was admitted for another three days. And the first seven days, I had the laptop in my hospital bed, I was working from the hospital bed. I couldn’t believe what I was doing, but I had to do it, because that’s the type of be you can’t just pause it. Everything kind of fails after that, your long term clients wonder what happened, and all that type of thing. So we couldn’t just pause it, and then, after that second, bleed, then I was in a completely different world. I was, like, spaced out.
Bill Gasiamis 27:28
I couldn’t think, I couldn’t type an email, I couldn’t write, I couldn’t speak to people properly. I couldn’t begin and end sentences. It was really hard, terrible. Somehow, I have no idea, actually, how. I can’t recall how I found the courage, not the courage. I found the strength or the I don’t know, whatever it needed, I needed to find to just stumble across the line with all these things that we needed to get done and just keep it going as long as we could possibly keep it going. And then I had a good run for about a year and a half after the first year.
Bill Gasiamis 28:12
And then, it bled again, and then I went into surgery, and then I had to rehabilitate my left side, and then I was basically out of work. The company was getting some leads, some inquiries, but I couldn’t commit to anybody for anything, and I especially couldn’t put in the the hard yards. I couldn’t put the hours in, and I couldn’t do quoting properly because I couldn’t get the numbers right, it was a mess. The whole thing was a mess, and my income has been negatively impacted ever since.
Bill Gasiamis 28:47
It’s been a minimum of 10 years where I haven’t earned a decent income, and I couldn’t shift that in any way. Like, there’s no way to shift it because you’re unwell, your brain doesn’t work. You can’t physically be places, you can’t, you know you’re incapacitated, you’re not walking, I mean, but the mind the entire time, the minds are going, how can I be more productive? How can I get more money? How can I get more work done?
Bill Gasiamis 29:19
And it’s not possible, just physically not possible. It’s such a weird state to find yourself in that small business people just keep countries ticking along. Without them, there’d be nothing, you know.
Mike Maki 29:39
And I think most are, like, super dedicated to their business. I mean, obviously family is like, top, one of the very, very top things to me. But in a way, it becomes part of your family because you spend so much time at it and you’re always worried about it, so especially if it’s in your house. We have a off site location, but I still do most of the office work from my house.
Mike Maki 30:09
So it’s always, it’s always, it’s never gone. But I mean, we, I’m not sure how long you’ve been going, but this is our 27th year. It’s like, I’ve put every, you know, like it’s all I’ve known as an adult, keeping this going. We’ve been going for 20 years, but that break happened probably after about eight or nine years.
Bill Gasiamis 30:40
And then, you know, intermittently I’ve been working while I’ve been recovering through all the dramas. I had a three year break, a total break, where completely walked away. And that was from 2016 to 2019 and then I went back to work in 2019 and six months later, we were in the biggest, craziest lockdown the world has ever experienced. Here in Melbourne, we were locked down for the best part of two and a half years. We were locked down for the majority of the time.
Bill Gasiamis 31:17
That would be so hard, and we’re trying to run a business, and I don’t know what in that time, but we literally were at home for the majority of that time, so it’s okay. Do you run a business in that time? It was so strange, and that’s when I wrote the book. I wrote the book because I had time to write a book. That’s how much time I had on my hand. It was ridiculous.
Mike Maki 31:45
We were lucky because, during COVID, our line of work was kind of borderline considered essential. So I’m like, we’re just going with it. We just kept working. So we got lucky where a lot of, you know, like hospitality and things like that, everything was just completely stopped, but we were fortunate when it came to that.
Bill Gasiamis 32:12
We were essential. But it had to be, because it’s a property maintenance company, it had to be, you know, there’s a leak in my wall or something like that and then there had to be and there was so inconsistent. Some trades could work inside. Some couldn’t. In some months we were allowed to work inside. Some months we weren’t allowed to work inside. And the only way we could get work was we had to tell our clients.
Bill Gasiamis 32:44
You have to send me an email that says you have an imminent leak, or you can see through the wall outside, or people can see inside your house through the wall, or something like that. I don’t come up with something that makes it possible for me if I get stopped, which they were randomly also stopping people and checking their paperwork. For God’s sake, can’t believe I’m even saying it still it triggers me, and I was giving them the instructions on the phone what to write in the email, and then I would have that email with me so we could go to work.
Bill Gasiamis 33:29
And the government paid people to stay at home. Employees were paid to stay at home under this particular money printing schemes, you know, where they could just get people to stay at home, and we, as a business, received over two years, our compensation was $10,000 a year, and that’s the most we could do, and that pretty much went to pay taxes and stuff like that. So it was kind of like, what the Aussies say, I don’t know, it’s maybe said overseas. Well, it’s like pissing in the ocean, like, it makes no difference.
Mike Maki 34:15
What’s the point? Wow, I think we were fortunate with Ken the way things worked out for us as far as work goes. But still was stressful, you know, you didn’t know, like, were we going to be shut down the next day or and like I said, you feel a real commitment to your people, and your customers.
Bill Gasiamis 34:43
So, what was the cause of the stroke? Was it an ischemic stroke? Was there a a clot that occurred somewhere? Do they know where it occurred, or do they just know where it ended up?
Mike Maki 34:56
Yep, I want to say it was ischemic, and it ended up in my hyperthalamus, and on Tuesday, when I saw the neurologist, he actually had a picture that he printed out for me, you know. And in my mind, I was thinking it would just be like a little p because they kept saying it was a small stroke, but if I had to scale it like, with the rest of it, like, look like, at the size of a quarter, you know, where was dead? He’s like “That’s where it’s white, right there. That’s dead.” And it was a blockage. When I did get, I did ask me if I was able to get the drug that they can give you right away, the PK, is it?
Bill Gasiamis 35:46
TPA.
Mike Maki 35:48
Yeah, and he said they didn’t because they couldn’t isolate when I actually had the stroke. It was, you know, could have been at 11 o’clock the prior evening, but, no, he’s optimistic. I’m still definitely have deficits on my left side. And the one thing that I think I struggle with more than the physical deficits is the fatigue, you know, because you get so tired.
Mike Maki 36:17
And I mean, if the way I try to describe it the best I can. But like, if, unless you have went through it, it’s hard to understand and kind of, like, are you crazy? Are you just making this up? Can you know, like, but, man, just the simplest task you can get so tired and that’s, that’s been a challenge, but that’s improving, I mean, it’s like anything. It’s like every day, try to get a little better each day.
Mike Maki 36:48
And think you do see those, it’s just so slight at times, the improvement, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees, type of thing, where, you know, I’ll say, I feel like I haven’t improved, and my wife like, you have you walk around the block. No, you couldn’t even walk, you know, a month ago. But it’s those little things you you don’t see every day when you’re going through it. That can be a challenge.
Bill Gasiamis 37:13
It takes some time you have to reflect, and then it’s good to ask people and get them to give you their feedback. I was going to counseling when my counselor told me, You’re talking much better this time. And I was like “Oh, okay” Because I’m conscious of when I missed words or forgot words, but the number of words I was missing and forgetting were less, and that was what she noticed, and she picked up on and told me about whereas I was focusing on what I was missing. So it is good to have people kind of track your recovery and then tell you how you’re going.
Bill Gasiamis 37:55
And it’s also good for you to what’s the word like, get some evidence for your own self as well. So record yourself or write something down and then check back on that in six months from now, and just give yourself the opportunity to actually prove to you that you are having wins. You know that you are getting better.
Mike Maki 38:20
Nope, that’s a great advice, because it is, like I said, it is just hard to see that new. And I think I’m naturally critical, you know, I’m always like “Oh my, my left hand drives me insane because it’s not doing what I want. I get so mad at you know.” And so, yeah, when you do make those improvements, it’s nice. You know, where at first, I couldn’t even move it, and now I’m trying things with my fingers or what have you. And I mean, a month ago, I wouldn’t even been able to do that. So it’s definitely making good progress, but it’s not as fast as you want.
Bill Gasiamis 39:00
But, yeah, patience is the most important word here, and also you gotta be kind to your limbs, actually kind like you gotta consider them. You know somebody who’s injured that you know that you wouldn’t be nasty to for them not being recovered enough yet, you’ve gotta really recruit your hand into your team and let it know that, hey, I know you’re doing your best. I’m going to be patient with you, and I’m going to rehabilitate you, and I’m going to allow you the time that you need to heal that’s really important than getting angry at it and frustrated with it.
Bill Gasiamis 39:43
Because that’s not going to that’s not going to get you an outcome that is going to do positive. It’s going to create the environment for less Neuroplasticity to happen. And what you want to do is you want to encourage Neuroplasticity. So positive vibes only is the only way to what’s the word to talk about your hand.
Mike Maki 40:06
Yeah, please.
Bill Gasiamis 40:09
I had a friend of mine had a stroke who said the nurse came into her the nurse came into her house. I think they were checking up on her, and they were just asking her “Okay, so how’s your bad hand today?”
Mike Maki 40:30
Yeah, I was teasing, like some people at the hospital, because we were like “You mean, my bad leg?” No, you’re affected.
Bill Gasiamis 40:39
Yeah, not your bad leg, your affected leg, right?
Mike Maki 40:43
It’s just, yeah.
Bill Gasiamis 40:45
It’s a completely different feeling when you say bad legs to affected leg, and it’s like “Okay” and she was so and she told her off, she said “Never refer to my hand as my bad hand. Always refer to it as my recovering hand.”
Mike Maki 41:02
Yeah, no, I think that’s great. There’s a lot of things in the world I think, like we, you know, like languages taken hijack me, use things and it’s kind of ridiculous. But in this case, I definitely agree with that. Where goes thinking of in the positive is so much better, you know, than thinking this is bad, or it’s not good, or whatever you’d refer to it.
Bill Gasiamis 41:31
Yeah, it changes your neuro chemistry, like it completely changes it.
Mike Maki 41:35
Yeah.
Bill Gasiamis 41:36
So that’s a really simple way to change it for the better is this, just pay attention to the words and how you refer to yourself. You know, a lot of people wouldn’t speak to their friends the way they speak to themselves, because, like you said, we can be harsh.
Mike Maki 41:53
Yeah, that internal voice that you have sometimes can have a bit of a negative vibe to it at least, at least for me, it can so try to try to improve that.
Bill Gasiamis 42:06
Yeah, so how has this impacted you, emotionally and psychologically? Like, where are you at with that part of the recovery? Because I know that some people have the physical part, and they kind of go “Oh, this is it. This is how I’m going to deal with it, and then I kind of miss, or skip the emotional part and the mental health part.” Where were you at with that, those two?
Mike Maki 42:30
You know, I feel pretty good at least as far as the emotional part of it, I’ve always been, I’m a Christian, and I’ve always, faith has always been an important thing to me, and I think my faith has grown quite a bit during this journey. As far as, like, Hey, I’m just like, putting my myself and God, you know, God’s hands, or what if other people might, into a higher power, instead of, it’s not going to be me. It’s going to be I’m working towards getting better, and whatever happens, I’m going to make the very best of it.
Mike Maki 43:08
This could have been way worse. When I spent the month in the hospital, and like the acute physical or the therapy, and there were people that had a way, way worse than what I did, you know, and then you realize, like I should be Thankful I still have the use, even at that point of my right side, which is my dominant side, it could have been, I don’t know if their whole body, but, it even been worse if would have been my dominant side, that would be much harder to deal with.
Mike Maki 43:45
So I think this has been a good, I don’t want to say humbling experience, but an experience where you kind of learn that there’s a lot of things that are in my control that I need to take care of, whether it’s my diet or what have you, but the things that are outside of my control, I need to be willing to accept it and make the best of it and try to just keep continuing to improve on it. If I’m able to.
Bill Gasiamis 44:15
Yeah, I like that. It’s like you’re taking responsibility for what’s your for you, what you’re able to influence. And for lack of a better word, you’re outsourcing the rest to a higher power, call it God, call it spirit, call it whatever you want. Doesn’t matter. And then what that does is allows you to have a little bit of faith in the people that you’re dealing with and how they’re supporting you, and the technology that’s available, and all the things that you’re going to need to continue rehabilitation.
Bill Gasiamis 44:49
And at the same time, you’re taking action to change behaviors, habits, things you’ve done that you didn’t realize, were working against you so that they’re no longer working against you. That’s pretty cool. That’s the best way to go about it. And then what that does is enabled you to mobilize in the areas that you can affect positively.
Mike Maki 45:19
Right, it’s definitely enlightening and eye opening when a life changing event happens to you, especially when it’s not planned. Again, I’ve had, like, rotator cuff, and you schedule that surgery, and you know, it’s coming up in a month, and this was, when it’s just out of the blue light that you realize there’s a lot of things outside of my control that I need to figure out to one accept it, but then how do I make How do I make it? The best of it as well.
Bill Gasiamis 45:56
Gratitude is a great way. What you said, the things that you realize you can be grateful for, and then there’ll be people whose dominant side was affected, and they might not have that same experience that you had, but they could still find things to be grateful for, you know for sure, and they could say that they’re grateful for something else that serves them, because gratitude sort of takes away the power of being, decreases your victim mentality.
Bill Gasiamis 46:32
It kind of softens that and allows you to see other things that are really important to see, that are worth seeing, that are necessary for you to notice, so that you know that not everything is working against you, even in the most dire times, not everything is working against you, some things are going in your favor, and understanding that helps to shift emotionally how that feels.
Mike Maki 47:01
Yeah, I’ve been so thankful for the support of my wife and family. My daughter is, she just graduated from college and is a nurse, so that, you know, that’s and she’s still living with us because she just graduated. That’s been a huge blessing. It’s like my son been able to help some, but he doesn’t live in the house anymore, but just the sacrifices and the things that they’ve done, you’re just that gratitude, and you’re just so thankful for and you just, I just hope and obviously, it’s not for everybody.
Mike Maki 47:38
But you just hope that whoever’s dealing with things, whether it’s stroke or some other that they have that support network that they need because it’s crucial, because it’s easy to fall into that a dark space, or want to have a pity party for yourself, because you know, like life’s throwing you all these curve balls, and I agree, you know you need to get that mindset set that where you’re really, you feel that no matter what the outcome, you’re going to make the best of it, and then I think, then you’re going to have a much better outcome at the in the end.
Bill Gasiamis 48:21
I just realized I wanted to ask you earlier about the glucose monitor. That continuous glucose monitor, what does it cost to have one of those?
Mike Maki 48:31
So, that was a bit of a battle. So I tried to get it years ago, and it was not allowed by our insurance. And it did take a while for me to it took, like, three weeks or something, after the doctor had recommended it in order for me to get it. And eventually our insurance did. So I know everyone’s insurance is different, but our out of pocket expense for three months was only was like $100 okay, that’s what the insurance supplementing it, to be honest, I probably, even if they wouldn’t have covered it.
Mike Maki 49:13
I probably for, let’s say it had been $500 or $600 I would have paid that, because I think it’s such a valuable tool, at least for me. I mean, I’ve been dealing with diabetes now for quite a lot, but it’s an eye opening as far as, like, what’s happening in your body. I used to just take my blood sugar in the morning at night. Well, that’s just such a small window of what’s happening. It’s just, it’s amazing, like, there’s tender I’ll eat, and it actually, my blood sugar actually drops.
Mike Maki 49:47
And you’re like “Why is that happening?” Or “Hey, physical therapy was really hard today, but it made a pretty big impact on my sugar level.” So you know that exercise is a big factor, and I’ve seen things like you were saying where, they’ll talk about even eating your food in a different order can make a big impact on your glucose levels, which, that was kind of news to me, and I’ve been at least, I thought it well, relatively informed as far as dealing with my diabetes, but so I haven’t.
Mike Maki 50:26
I’ve only had it a week, so it’s a short, very window, but I think I’ve even seen that a little, you know, you eat the proteins and things first and all of a sudden, one it helps make you feel satisfied or not as hungry. But then your body starts break, you know, breaking those down even before it would have even if you’re having very minimal carbs you eat those the very end, or what have you.
Bill Gasiamis 50:56
Yeah, the way that it gets metabolized slows down because the body’s busy metabolizing what first went into the stomach, and then it just shifts it so fiber, protein, carbs last and hopefully, after you’ve had your fiber and your protein, the amount of carb you eat is less as well, right? And those carbs, those fibers and the protein maybe have had a little bit of fat on it. So the fat, you know, sort of getting around that carb and decreasing its impact as well, because the fat will bind to the carbs and kind of make it a bit harder to digest.
Bill Gasiamis 51:36
Even that helps. So, yeah, the order of your food is so important. If you ate the bread first, then it would spike your blood sugar right, and then the fiber and the protein wouldn’t have such a great impact on reducing that blood sugar spike. It’s fascinating when you learn and when you sort of start seeing things than later, what I’ll do is it’ll train you to go, I’m going to, I’m feeling a bit snackish. I’m going to go and get a overripe banana on on the bench.
Bill Gasiamis 52:17
Well, that override banana is going to have a different response to the just not green banana, the banana that has just moved beyond being green, they’re going to it’s a completely different meal, right? And that’s what it’ll train you to do, to know where you’re at, and what you can and what you should avoid, and what order to have it, and how much of it to have, because quantity matters as well. So well for sure half a banana is going to be way better than two bananas.
Bill Gasiamis 52:48
And that means, if you have half a banana, that means you don’t have to miss out on it if you really love it. And there’s somebody who has type two diabetes, you can go, I’ll have half a banana with some nuts or some peanut butter or something like that, and it completely changes the profile of it, as opposed to having two full bananas with nothing else.
Mike Maki 53:12
Right, exactly.
Bill Gasiamis 53:14
Yeah, what would you say has been the hardest thing about stroke? Mike.
Mike Maki 53:19
Well, I would say, for at least for me, is been dealing with the fatigue because it just, it comes out, you know, relatively out of nowhere. I mean, it’s still usually associated with doing something, but just doing some, sometimes very, very simple task, and getting so tired and having to take a break that’s been, it’s kind of been hard, because I’m used to again, you know, I want to be a doer, like, if we need to get something done at work, I want to roll up my sleeves and do it, and it’s hard to take a step back from some of those things.
Mike Maki 54:06
So, I would say that’s probably been the hardest, you know, there’s still some of the physical things have been difficult, but those are things, at least, you see a little bit more progress, and you’re overcome, somewhat, overcoming them. It’s hard to say, where you’ll end up, you know, again, I always struggle with that word normal.
Mike Maki 54:30
Like, you know, where I’ll ever get back normal, whatever that is, right, like, so I just want to get as far as I possibly can, you know, get back to whatever the normal becomes, it will be the new norm, or whatever. But, yeah, I would say it’s been the fatigue.
Bill Gasiamis 54:52
Do you notice a pattern in the fatigue? Do you notice there’s certain days, times that it gets worse? Was better, or is it just all over the place?
Mike Maki 55:02
It seems like it’s been all over the place, and it is usually associated with some task, whether it’s physical or a mental task, or, you know, even just doing like the occupational therapy, even if it was something that wasn’t physical, but we were, you know, filling out questionnaires or doing some memory things. You know, next thing you know, you’re like, get home and you’re like, I think I need to take, like, a 15 minute nap. I’m just shot like or nothing.
Bill Gasiamis 55:35
That’s good. That’s good that you’re doing that. Do you ever notice your fatigue getting worse after a meal?
Mike Maki 55:43
I haven’t noticed that, but I guess, I mean, it may have happened, but, I mean maybe too because we tried to walk, you know, try to walk some, you know, he said that after the dinner meal. And I actually have been really, I mean, my diet’s been very strict since so egg would, yeah. I mean, it’s amazing.
Bill Gasiamis 56:08
The walking after dinner actually also is a massive boost to decreasing, right? That insulin, that blood sugar spike after dinner, it’s a massive, makes a massive difference, that’s good.
Mike Maki 56:23
So it hopefully can keep increasing the distance that I’m going. And it’s kind of like life as all these ironies, we literally, we’d had a dog. I mean, we’ve always had two dogs, but I, one of my favorite things is to pheasant hunt. And it’s more just getting out with the dog. And I just love, you know, loving it, being out with friends. So the dog, one of the dogs that we had, had that we recently put down, he had gotten gun shy, so I hadn’t been able to hunt with him for like, six years. Like, I mean, because they’re more of a pet than they are hunting dog for us.
Mike Maki 57:03
Because so that was hard. So I went six years, and we finally found a place. This summer, we got a puppy, you know, I was going to be hunting with, my expectations were going to be hunting going to start over fresh with the new dog, now with the stroke, it’s kind of like, well, hopefully that still ends up being the case.
Mike Maki 57:26
So that’s kind of been the little carrot that’s been a good driver for me to like, if I’m doing a few reps with my physical therapy and I want to quit, it’s kind of like, well, do you really want to get back out there with the dog, you know, and train this puppy that we just got that’s gonna, hopefully live a long time and so, yeah, but it’s a funny how things like that happen.
Bill Gasiamis 57:49
Yeah, and you’re currently using a cane, aren’t you?
Mike Maki 57:52
Yeah, so, hospital was all walker, then I went to quad cane when I came home, and now they move me to like a walking stick, like you might use if you were hiking. I really like that a lot. That’s worked out really good for me so and normally, when I’m around in the house, I don’t even use that. I just kind of surf the pieces of furniture. If I lose my balance a little, but it’s getting better, but I would certainly not go anywhere walking without the walking stick at this point.
Bill Gasiamis 58:30
Well, that’s good. It’s good that you’re transitioned from the other stuff to the walking stick, and hopefully, stages without the walking stick, that’d be amazing. What would you say has been the biggest lesson, like, what has stroke taught you?
Mike Maki 58:53
You know, I mean, we’ve talked about a little bit, but I probably go back to that, the idea of control, what you can control and accept what’s out of your hands, and I’m not quite it, make the best of it.
Bill Gasiamis 59:13
That’s a pretty good thing to learn. Yeah, implement that.
Mike Maki 59:18
Because I feel like pre or prior to the stroke, it was more if I felt like something was out of my hands, I was just gonna try to bowl, you know, bully, whatever the task was, and just power through it. Where now I, I feel like, in hindsight, you just it makes you more accepting. And I don’t want to make it sound like you just give in no, but you just need to be more forgiving to things that are out of your hands and to yourself really.
Bill Gasiamis 59:52
Yeah, absolutely. You know what’s been really cool lately, I’ve been contacted by people who have, had this stroke recently, very recently, which means that they must be including you, doing searches for support after stroke, and finding the podcast and finding it really early in their recovery. And that is amazing, because it’s not something that I had, you know, I didn’t have, right. It’s about stroke recovery.
Mike Maki 1:00:24
You know, I’m sorry that you didn’t have. I mean, I’ve been grateful for I just, I can get caught watching them, and, you know, I’m really looking forward to digging into the book. So my goal is to try to, like, I think the first day I read like, 50 pages in my mind was just like, all messed up. So I’m like “Nope, I gotta break this down. Give myself five or 10 pages.” I’m just going to try to ease into it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:00:50
And that’s more than enough. Yeah, I was going to ask you so like, why was it necessary for you to come onto the podcast?
Mike Maki 1:01:03
I, you know, you’ve interviewed so many wonderful people, and they’ve helped me so much. I didn’t know that my story could really help people, because, you know, I don’t know, but I also wanted it to like, if it did help one person, I also wanted to try to contribute a little to your work, because I really appreciate what you’re doing, you know. And you need content, and whether or not you might have a video that’s a dud, maybe I’m the dud, but at least we gotta work through it a little bit, you know.
Mike Maki 1:02:01
So I really appreciate that.
Mike Maki 1:01:41
That was my hope that in some way, maybe some strange way, someone could, associate with my you know, it’s a relatively short journey at this point compared to what when you look at what you’ve gone through and all the things that have happened over the years. I know I’m early into this, but if I could even help one help one person, it’s worth it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:02:06
It definitely does help, because I get people responding every single day, telling me so every day, and they respond to the weirdest episodes, or to the one I never expected, or the one I did years ago, or, and it’s unpredictable because we’re all so different, and we all have things that we relate to each other about, and other things we don’t relate to each other about, yeah, all of a sudden.
Bill Gasiamis 1:02:34
What happens is somebody goes “Oh, man, that’s me.” That you know, somebody might come across this and go “Oh, that’s my diabetes journey.” Or “Oh, I didn’t know that about diabetes, or I didn’t know about a glucose monitor.” The jewels that they pick up are unexpected. Don’t realize what people pick up that is important. You think it’s a passing comment, but it’s like “Oh, no, that really resonates.” So, yeah, they all help. Let me tell you, I had this thing in my mind that kind of said, like, I think I want to do 1000 interviews.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03:10
We’re at, we’re not at 350 yet, and I’m not sure how long that’ll take, but that’s a big job, like 1000 stroke survivor interviews, and then I’m thinking, if I get to 1000 then the job’s done, like there’ll be ample bits of information in there that anyone can stumble across forever on YouTube. And just find it and go “Oh man, I need to hear that episode.” Or that’s the guy that resonated with me, or I’m like that, etc. So yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you for reaching out and doing that. That’s I just wanted to get a sense of what it was about.
Bill Gasiamis 1:03:51
Because the last question I wanted to ask you was, what do you want to tell other people that might be listening to this, and I’m not sure, just, you know, want to hear some wisdom about what you’ve learned about stroke. You know what I mean? Like, do you have some something that you want to just say to people, impart on people, or just lay on people’s just so that they can think about.
Mike Maki 1:04:24
You know, it might be kind of simplistic, and that’s kind of just my nature is sometimes simple as better, but I think a little bit about, you know, realize that you’re not the first one going through this, and that, you know, they’ll even, unfortunately, be more to go through it, and that you can learn from other people, and that this isn’t the end, it’s in a new, in a funny kind of way, a new beginning, and that a lot of it’s going to be what you make of it. And use, you know, what other people have been through to learn from.
Mike Maki 1:05:07
And again, that’s why I love your podcast so much, because it, you know, even if someone’s had a different type of stroke or what it you can learn, you really can learn a lot from their journey. And sometimes it’s a lot easier, I live in Minnesota, where the, you know, we can get a fair amount of snow. It’s a lot easier walking in the steps of somebody else through two feet of snow than trying to blaze a trail yourself through the snow.
Mike Maki 1:05:36
So you can kind of piggyback on what other people have been through. It’s not going to be exactly the same, but you can craft that into what your personal journey is, and try to figure out how you can make the best of it. So I don’t know if that’s real words of wisdom, but that’s the way I look at it.
Bill Gasiamis 1:05:57
I love that analogy about the snow. I certainly appreciate what that means. I don’t get out to the snow much, but I know exactly what you mean when you say that. And yeah, the person that’s taken those first steps through the snow is definitely creating an easier path forward for the next person. And right, that’s a great gift. That’s an amazing thing.
Mike Maki 1:06:22
Yeah, and that’s what you’ve done a lot with the podcast. You know, there’s a lot of other really good content out on whether it’s YouTube or books or so.
Bill Gasiamis 1:06:34
I’m stunned at the amount of people that want to help. I didn’t realize that I would be able to get 350 people to come on my podcast. At the beginning, I had to find out where they were and search for them and then ask them. And I wasn’t sure that people would say yes when I asked them, but my God, hardly nobody said no. And now I don’t ask people ask me, because they find me instead of me looking for them. And it’s just, it’s a relief, it’s so much easier. Thanks so much for joining me on the podcast. I really appreciate our chat and best best of luck on the ongoing recovery.
Mike Maki 1:07:15
No, I really appreciate that, and thank you so much for having me. It’s really an honor for me, because, like I said, you really are doing a lot of great things.
Bill Gasiamis 1:07:24
Well, that brings us to the end of this inspiring episode with Mike, from facing a sudden wake up stroke to taking responsibility for his health, managing his type two diabetes and reshaping his life after burnout, Mike’s story is a powerful reminder of the strength we all have within us. If today’s conversation resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment, like and subscribe on YouTube, if you’re listening on Spotify or iTunes, a five star rating or review would be amazing. It really helps others discover the podcast and join our growing community.
Bill Gasiamis 1:08:03
Remember to check out my book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. It’s available on Amazon by searching my name, Bill Gasiamis, or by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And if you’d like to support me or the podcast directly, head to patreon.com/recoveryafterstroke. Thank you for being here and for making this podcast part of your recovery journey. I’ll see you in the next episode.
Intro 1:08:31
Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals, opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience, and we do not necessarily share the same opinion, nor do we recommend any treatment protocol. Discussed all content on this website and any linked blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.
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The post From Stroke to Strength: Mike’s Journey Through Diabetes and Burnout appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.
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