Transcription:
Bill Gasiamis 0:00
Good day everybody. It is Bill from recoveryafterstroke.com. Today, the eighth of June is my birthday. 47 years young, thank you very much. And I am just so grateful to have made it another year and got to 47. Because at 37, as most people watching this would know, I had a stroke.
Bill Gasiamis 0:26
So not only did I have one, I had two and then a little while later I had a third one I had a brain surgery. So everything else after that has been a blessing. I had to overcome a lot of shit like most stroke survivors do.
Bill Gasiamis 0:33
So I’m just so grateful. And let me tell you, I mean hard lockdown here in Melbourne, Victoria, we’ve had six and a half million people shut down and put into hard lockdown for the last two weeks because of the Coronavirus situation.
Bill Gasiamis 0:57
And that means that I can’t get together with my extended family and celebrate like we normally would. And I can’t get together with my father in law who is also born on June the 8th, but many many years before me and he’s I believe 82 or 83 years old.
Bill Gasiamis 1:15
So we missed out on being able to celebrate and have that get together like we normally did, which has become a tradition over the last 25 or 26 years that I’ve known my father in law.
Bill Gasiamis 1:26
So anyhow, we’re finding unique ways to get together and catch up thankfully for technology and for the amazing times that we live in. And the love hasn’t stopped coming in, let me tell you, I’ve been inundated by messages, phone calls back to back from so many people, and I so much appreciate it and love hearing from everybody all the warm wishes.
Bill Gasiamis 1:53
It is just such an amazing thing. I’m very grateful I have my family around me, my wife, my two sons. And I can’t be happier about that. My parents are nearby and my brother called and my nieces and my nephews and my friends from all over the world.
Bill Gasiamis 2:14
And I’m bragging here on Instagram so that I can get some birthday love in this feed as well. And I know I’m gonna get it as soon as you lovely people listen to this post. And I wanted to know, is there any other Geminis out there any other Multiple Personality Geminis out there.
Bill Gasiamis 2:35
I’d love to know who you are and see whether or not you guys can relate to the Multiple Personality thing, although I don’t think it’s really true. But anyhow. So Isn’t it fantastic that I’ve been able to get 10 years beyond the stroke.
Bill Gasiamis 2:55
And I’ve been able to overcome a lot of the challenges. times were really hard at the beginning. They are still not smooth sailing all the time. But they are easier than they were and I’m living my passion and doing my life’s work.
Bill Gasiamis 3:13
And I just want to give people the opportunity to understand that there is a silver lining. At some point, you’ll notice what it is you will see it if you just allow it, the possibility of it to be true. I want to give you guys hope I want to give you guys encouragement. And I want to encourage you to dream, the impossible dream and just go for it.
Bill Gasiamis 3:36
I mean, we’re only here for a short time, we might as well make it a good time. And we might as well make it the time that we want it to be. So just believe and forget about all the naysayers and all the people that don’t think it’s possible if you’re feeling down in the dumps a little depressed and a little bit worried.
Bill Gasiamis 3:59
There is 145 or more episodes of stroke survivors on my podcast that are doing it tough, that I’ve done it tough, that have had serious health issues who shouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for modern medicine, which we all probably wouldn’t be here there wouldn’t be a recovery after stroke podcast.
Bill Gasiamis 4:17
And as a result of that, what I do with that podcast is I make it so that I share stories of people who are still moving forward, even though they are struggling and doing it tough, so check it out. recoveryafterstroke.com. It’s completely free. You can also say the videos live on youtube or you can download a transcript.
Bill Gasiamis 4:37
So that’s it. That’s what today is about. It’s about me offering hope. And it’s about me painting a picture of 10 years down the track. You can really actually get there and you can make it. Yes, you have to live differently. Yes, you’re going to go through tough times.
Bill Gasiamis 4:53
It’s going to be difficult. You might have mobility issues and spasticity issues. Yes, all of that stuff will still be there. But that doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze in some really good years. And it doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze in some really good times great experiences, new learnings, you can squeeze in whatever you want, you just have to focus on that and go for it.
Bill Gasiamis 5:16
It’s like a ship a ship points, it’s, I think it’s the bow the front part of the ship in that direction. And then it goes for that currents, waves, the wind will try and push it off direction, off course. But if that front of the ship is pointed in the correct direction, the ship will have eventually reach its destination.
Bill Gasiamis 5:39
And from time to time, it might even take some water on board, it may even have some other dramatic issues. But the point of the messages is just keep focusing in the direction you want to go and put your time into solutions, rather than putting your time into all the problems that you could possibly have.
Bill Gasiamis 5:59
Because let’s face it, your creative head can come up with unlimited number of problems. And we want to forget about those we just want to go and focus on the solutions. So I am 47 years young today. And I am really grateful to have got here, I think I’ve been given a second chance, I’m going to do the most with my second chance that I can.
Bill Gasiamis 6:24
And I want to wish you all well. And I hope to be able to do my thing, the way that I’ve been doing it to support you and guide you and give you hope. And I hope that this is my one request from you.
Bill Gasiamis 6:44
For my birthday, why don’t you do me the honor of going across and giving the recoveryafterstrokepodcast on iTunes, a five star review, or wherever else you might download or listen to those episodes, give it a five star review.
Bill Gasiamis 7:02
That’ll be my one birthday wish that I’ll just share with you. Don’t tell anybody else that I said that. And that would really make my day. Now, if in the event you don’t do that, that’s not going to change anything. I don’t mind either way. But thank you so much for supporting me.
Bill Gasiamis 7:22
Thank you so much for listening to my podcast interacting with me and helping me with my recovery. I appreciate you as well. And I appreciate everything that you have done and the way that you have interacted and the way that you have made my journey feel less lonely Bill from recoveryafterstroke.com signing off. Thank you
