Andrew Stopps call stroke "The Gentle Assassin." Like many (but not all) of us, Andrew found it remarkable that stroke did not hurt. That's often the case with an ischemic stroke. Mine didn't hurt either, and I found it remarkable at the time. It was a profoundly interesting experience. Lack of pain doesn't mean lack of impact though. Andrew found his music career suddenly upended and his mosaic career suddenly suspended as his husband rushed him to the hospital. He lost (for now) the ability to play the clarinet. He discovered unexpected laughter and tears. And it redirected his life. Andrew and I talk all about his encounter with the Gentle Assassin in this week's conversation. If you don't see the audio player below, click here to visit the original blog post.   Click here for a machine-generated transcript Who is Andrew Stopps? Andrew Stopps has taught music for over 20 years in Australia, UK and New Zealand. His teaching experience ranges from a woodwind instrumental teacher and band director in rural South Australia to Head of Music at the Australian International Performing Arts High School in Sydney. In 2009 he moved to New Zealand and in 2012 he was a finalist for the NEITA Excellence in Teaching Award. He is the founder of the Wellington City Concert Band, NZ Youth Symphonic Winds and the Wellington Band and Orchestra Festival. He is also the founder of the Hoa Project that provides support and mentoring to music teachers around New Zealand. He has been a composer and arranger since high school and his works are performed by ensembles around the world. He has travelled to Washington DC for the World Premiere of my work “Welcome to Aotearoa” for concert band in 2019. This year his “Middle Earth Suite” is to be world premiered in Melbourne, Florida.  In November 2021 he experienced a mini stroke immediately followed by a massive stroke. He has made a 98% recovery using music therapy, brain plasticity, and with the support of his husband.  He continues to compose and is currently writing his book "In One Stroke". You can connect and chat with Andrew at andrewstopps.com "I am Andrew Stopps." Before going to the hospital, while struggling with language and dexterity, and while his brain was dying, Andrew still had one thing to do. He needed to declare his identity. He needed to write "I am Andrew Stopps," before heading out the door. Our personality, individuality, and human existence is dependent on our brain. In the middle of a brain attack, like stroke or brain tumor, all of those things are at risk. Many survivors have to reckon with the idea that they will never be the way they were; this experience has made them a different person. Dr. Debra Meyerson explored this whole question in her book, "Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke."* I spoke with Debra and her husband about the topic and her book in 2019. You can listen to that discussion here. Diaphragm and Core When we talk about left or right side weakness after stroke we're not just talking about arms and legs. The same weakness can affect our core muscles -- the ones in our chest and abdomen. Weakness there can make it harder to sit up, leverage those muscles to make a big effort, impact our breathing or even hinder digestion and elimination. The diaphragm is the main muscle that controls breathing. When it moves smoothly in one way, we inhale. When it moves properly in the other way, we exhale. When stroke weakens it, things get screwey. Most of us never think about our diaphragms. Andrew is different. Because he's a musician with a career playing an instrument that relies heavily on breath control, he was already intimately familiar with the functioning of his diaphragm and how it behaved differently after stroke. It resulted in unusual laughter, among other things. Because he was familiar with it, he