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I can only assume that I’m not the only one who was a very independent person before they acquired their disability.  The brain injury which caused my disability and resulted in-my particular deficits may be different to others, but I feel like anyone who wasn’t born with theirs may very well relate though. 

Having been such a stubbornly independent person prior to my stroke, I struggled a LOT with suddenly having to rely on others so much to be able to get through the most basic of everyday tasks, like preparing a meal for myself to eat for instance. I absolutely hated to have to ask for help constantly (and still do); so, I had to find some ways of being able to get by on my own a bit better, in as many ways as possible. 

Food is one of my our most essential and frequently reoccurring daily needs, so how was I going to be able to get around my challenges of being able to prepare my own food, and therefore get a bit of my independence back again? Now I’d seen OT’s who kept telling me that if I put in the work then I’d be able to regain better use of my affected hand and arm, but in the meantime, I still needed a way to be able to help myself! 

I’d had a phone chat with the lovely helpful people at ILC, and they’d given me a few ideas, but at the time I still found it a bit problematic trying to navigate my way around their website to find what I needed and how to order it*. Funnily enough, my best mate who’d not been through this herself, was probably the most helpful person when it came to finding and buying the first couple of kitchen aids I got.  She’s a bit of a star when it comes to creative thinking, something I need to learn better still. Or maybe she’s just better at getting google to give her direct answers to questions asked of it! 

She helped me find my bread buttering board, and my chopping stabilising board too, and others on the aliexpress website.  Sometimes you have to be a bit creative with your wording for the search, for instance you might need to try different combinations of words to find the right product. One search term which is helpful to start with is mobility aid, disability mobility aid, one handed etc etc and you could add in kitchen or any other area you need an item in assistance for! 

Now I know I can find such helpful things there and elsewhere on the wonder that is the internet, and so cheap too, it’s my go to anytime I have a challenge in the kitchen.   My top tip is to not jump in and purchase from the first supplier you see when you do a search; there may be somewhere else you can get it cheaper.

While I’m not one for reading product reviews I find that being part of the online closed Facebook Chatterbox community helpful with learning about products to help regain some independence including my handy Rocker Garlic Crusher and Sugru which I used to repair all sorts of things as it's easy to use.   

I hope reading this helps you find some items which may provide you with a way to regain a bit more independence in the kitchen.  You may also like to read an article I wrote previously about the products I have purchased over the years to help me in the kitchen because as I’ve said before; “A girl still has to eat right?”