My journey

After the stroke

In March 2025 I had an ischemic stroke which initially left me with left-sided paralysis. Recovery has been uneven and sometimes deeply frustrating, but movement, confidence and independence have continued to return.

The difficulty I did not expect

As movement returned, one of the strangest challenges was not simply weakness. I had lost some of the automatic sense of where my hand and fingers were, particularly when using a keyboard.

I used to type and play games without thinking about individual keys. WASD was muscle memory. During recovery I could intend to press one key and find that my finger had moved somewhere else. For example, I might expect my middle finger to move towards S, but it would go towards A instead.

Why I created Movement Lab

I found very few enjoyable browser-based activities aimed at rebuilding this mixture of dexterity, coordination, proprioception and keyboard confidence. Clinical exercises matter, but it can be difficult to stay motivated when every session feels like a test.

I wanted to build something honest about my own experience while also being useful to other people. Although my recovery began with my left hand after stroke, the exercises are intended to welcome anyone rebuilding upper-limb control on the left side, right side or both sides after a neurological condition, brain injury, surgery or injury.

Thinking of recovery as rebuilding a map

I began to think of practice as rebuilding a route between intention and movement. Each careful repetition helps reinforce the path I want my brain and hand to find again.

That does not mean every attempt is successful, or that progress happens in a straight line. Fatigue, concentration and confidence can change from one day to the next. Small improvements still count.

What I hope this becomes

This project is one part personal story, one part practical toolkit and one part reminder that recovery does not have to look dramatic to be real. My hope is that it becomes a welcoming place where movement practice feels engaging rather than like completing another exercise sheet.