Jessica Thåström #strokeart2014

I suffered a stroke at 16, brought on by contraceptive pills. It caused all disabilities associated with stroke, except aphasia, such as; hemiparesis, sensory disturbances, visual field loss, chronic fatigue, attention disorder and Neglect. I lost insterest in life, became suicidal and could not see a future. I suffered from depression and PTSD due to the time I spent in the hospital. It took six years to find my way back to my art, and found my own techinques and motifs. My art is stroke related; how it feels to live with the effects of stroke, to literally feel like half a body and how it feels to live with this fatigue. I will never recover fully, but I have found quality of life through art and writing my biography. I will soon be 23 years old and I have gone from being a shy and timid girl – STROKE – to being hateful and depressed with no visions for the future, to speaking publicly about my experiences and finding my own voice. I feel as though I was meant to suffer all the effects except for aphasia; I was born to speak. To tell of the flipside of stroke.