Ep 110 -- Falling in Love with the Process (Part 1)

At 85, stroke survivor Bill Torres works out every day, feeds the ducks, and helps other survivors along the way. He has fallen in love with the process of getting better. This week, we hear Bill’s story.

Bill Torres had a stroke at 71. Fourteen years later, he’s recovered and at age 85 spends his days feeding the ducks, hitting the speed bag, working out, and helping stroke survivors around the country navigate their own process of stroke recovery.

This episode is a little different. Bill just started telling stories and sharing his wisdom and who am I to get in the way of that with pre-prepared interview questions. I just wanted to hear more. So this episode highlights the core things that Bill and I talked about.

I hope you find Bill as fascinating as I do.

Bio

Bill Torres grew up in San Diego, where he now lives.

His career took him to places as varied as Long Island, NY; Jakarta, Indonesia; and a school in Venezuela. He taught English, sold franchises, brought Arby’s to large parts of the Pacific Northwest, and brought racquetball to the US.

Bill survived a stroke at age 71 and now, at age 85, helps other stroke survivors along on their own journey of recovery.

Bill is the subject of the new book, Falling in Love with the Process, by Dr. Patricia Geist Martin and Sarah Parsloe.

He feeds the ducks every day.

Bill’s story

Hack of the Week

Bill recommends old-school hair curlers as great tools for dealing with hand tone and spasticity. Combined with exercise, they help folks straighten out their finger and keep their hand open. If you’ve got some laying around, give them a try. Or ask Bill. He probably has a few in his car.

Links

Bill’s website	http://billtorres.net
Bill’s video	https://youtu.be/GhhBjOvYfnk
Call Bill	619-694-9595
Peter Levine’s Stronger After Stroke Blog	http://recoverfromstroke.blogspot.com/
Tony Gwynn on Wikipedia	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Gwynn
Falling in Love with the Process	https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/falling-love-process-cultivating-resilience-health-crisis-stroke-survivors-story
Falling in Love with the Process on Amazon	https://www.amazon.com/Falling-Love-Process-Cultivating-Resilience/dp/1524989894/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=falling+in+love+with+the+process&qid=1600308306&sr=8-1

Where do we go from here?

• Check out Bill’s video above or visit http://BillTorres.net to learn more and connect directly with Bill.
• Look for Episode 111 after September 23 to hear authors Drs. Patricia Geist-Martin and Sarah Parsloe share their story of working with Bill.
• Fall in love with your own process of recovery
• Don’t get best…get better

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast