HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS TO RECOVER AFTER A STROKE

What neuroplasticity, purposeful practice and faith taught me after a bilateral cerebellar stroke

By Rosemary Chng

Written with research and editorial assistance from ChatGPT

20 September 2026

In June 2024, I suffered ischemic strokes on both sides of my cerebellum, close to the brainstem and medulla. At first I felt extremely weak, tired, disjointed and depressed. Today, people often tell me they cannot believe I am a stroke survivor because I have recovered so well.

My recovery did not come from one single thing. Emergency and hospital care mattered. Rehabilitation mattered. What I already knew about health and behaviour change mattered. Most of all, my faith gave me the strength to keep going when progress felt slow. This is the story of how those pieces came together.

What neuroplasticity means

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change, adapt and learn. Imagine the brain as a huge network of roads. When a stroke damages some of those roads, the brain may be able to strengthen other routes, build new connections and find different ways to carry out a task. That process is one reason recovery after stroke is possible.[1,2]

Neuroplasticity does not mean that every damaged brain cell grows back, and it does not promise a complete recovery. Every stroke is different. But it does mean that the brain is not fixed or helpless after injury. What we repeatedly practise—safely and with guidance—can help the brain relearn.

What happened when I had my stroke

My illness began on 4 June 2024 with violent vomiting and feeling terribly unwell. I was admitted to hospital on 8 June with diabetic ketoacidosis, a blood glucose reading of 28 mmol/L, dangerously high blood pressure and very high cholesterol. An MRI on 14 June showed bilateral cerebellar ischemic strokes. I spent 18 days in hospital.

An ischemic stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. Without enough oxygen, brain cells in that area can be injured or die. In my case, the strokes affected both sides of the cerebellum. The cerebellum helps with balance, coordination, timing, eye movements and smooth, accurate movement. It also has links to thinking and emotion.[3,4] That helps explain why I felt physically unsteady and mentally disjointed—and why the experience affected my mood as well as my movement.

The advice that changed how I approached recovery

A physiotherapist who came to see me in hospital told me something I have never forgotten: I needed to start working towards normal movement and normal thinking as soon as it was safe, because if I did not use those abilities, they could become harder to regain in the long run.

That message gave me urgency and purpose. Even when I felt very weak, exhausted, disconnected and depressed, I did the exercises. I practised standing, balancing, walking and the ordinary movements that make up daily life. Repetition can help strengthen the brain pathways needed for a task; rehabilitation research supports meaningful, task-specific practice as an important part of recovery.[5,6]

I also learned that working hard does not mean ignoring safety or pushing until the body is overwhelmed. Very early, intensive activity is not right for everyone, especially soon after a stroke.[7] The right pace should be decided with the medical and rehabilitation team. For me, the important thing was to keep trying, within the limits I was given, and to return to the work again and again.

My Duke training helped me become my own best student

Before my stroke, I had trained with Duke Integrative Medicine to become a health coach. That education taught me to look at the whole person—not only a diagnosis, but also habits, emotions, purpose, support, environment and the small choices we make each day.

When I became the patient, I had to use that training on myself. I became my own best student. I set goals, paid attention to what my body was telling me, celebrated small improvements and kept returning to the actions that supported my recovery. Knowledge helped me understand why the exercises mattered. It turned repetition from a chore into part of rebuilding my life.

I often say that knowledge is king. But knowledge becomes powerful only when we put it into action. My health-coach training did not replace my doctors or physiotherapists. It helped me take an active role, ask better questions and stay committed to the plan. I believe this helped me recover faster, although that is my personal experience rather than proof that the same training would produce the same result for everyone.

Faith kept me going

My medical report tells me how serious the situation was. Medicine helps me understand what happened in my brain, and neuroplasticity helps explain how the brain can adapt. But in my heart, I believe God saved me and carried me through my recovery.

My faith gave me hope on days when I felt frightened, tired or low. It helped me see the people who cared for me, the knowledge I had been given and every opportunity to practise as part of God’s provision. I prayed, I worked, and I kept believing that my life still had purpose.

I do not believe that someone who has lasting disability lacks effort or faith. Stroke can affect people in very different ways, and some injuries are more severe than others. Faith is not a guarantee of a particular medical outcome. For me, it was the source of courage that helped me face each day and continue doing what I could.

How far I have come

Recovery was made up of many small steps. Eventually I took my first independent steps. By May and June 2026, while travelling in Europe, I was sometimes walking about 10,000 steps a day. Today I usually walk around 5,000 steps a day. When people meet me now, many cannot believe I have had a stroke.

I can sense the difference in myself too—in my movement, my thinking, my confidence and my ability to communicate. Recovery can continue well beyond the first weeks and months, although the pace and amount of improvement vary for every person.[6,8] Progress is not always a straight line, and rest is part of recovery too.

The hopeful lesson I want to share

A stroke can change life in an instant, but the brain still has an ability to learn. Small, repeated efforts can matter. A movement that feels impossible today may become easier with safe practice. A person may need professional rehabilitation, patience, rest, medical follow-up and encouragement from others—but there can still be room for hope.

My story is not a promise that everyone will recover in the same way. It is a reminder not to underestimate the brain, the value of rehabilitation, the power of useful knowledge or the strength that faith can provide.

Medicine helped me survive. Rehabilitation helped me rebuild. Knowledge helped me participate. Faith helped me keep going. Through it all, I believe God carried me.

A note for readers

This article shares my personal experience and general educational information. It is not medical advice. Anyone with possible stroke symptoms should seek emergency care immediately. Stroke rehabilitation should be individualised and guided by qualified healthcare professionals.

Sources and further reading

1. Murphy TH, Corbett D. Plasticity during stroke recovery: from synapse to behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2009;10:861–872. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2735

2. Cramer SC, Sur M, Dobkin BH, et al. Harnessing neuroplasticity for clinical applications. Brain. 2011;134:1591–1609. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awr039

3. Edlow JA, Newman-Toker DE, Savitz SI. Diagnosis and initial management of cerebellar infarction. The Lancet Neurology. 2008;7:951–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70216-3

4. Schmahmann JD, Sherman JC. The cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome. Brain. 1998;121:561–579. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/121.4.561

5. Kleim JA, Jones TA. Principles of experience-dependent neural plasticity: implications for rehabilitation after brain damage. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2008;51:S225–S239. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2008/018)

6. Winstein CJ, Stein J, Arena R, et al. Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery. Stroke. 2016;47:e98–e169. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0000000000000098

7. AVERT Trial Collaboration Group. Efficacy and safety of very early mobilisation within 24 hours of stroke onset. The Lancet. 2015;386:46–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60690-0

8. Dromerick AW, Geed S, Barth J, et al. Critical Period After Stroke Study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021;118:e2026676118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2026676118