or whispers a kind word
of encouragement.
Or attempts to understand
a lonely person,
extraordinary things
begin to happen
Loretta Girzatlis
"Brain Attack"
A stroke is a frightening experience for both
the person who has had a stroke and their
family. It involves a lot of immediate medical
treatment and sometimes months or years of
ongoing rehabilitation. It can be very confusing
trying to understand information about what has
happened as well as learning about the practical
steps needed to help the person make the best
possible recovery.
A stroke is a brain injury, or "Brain Attack"
A stroke happens when the blood supply to part
of the brain is suddenly cut off or reduced. The
brain needs the nutrients and oxygen the blood
carries, and without them brain cells can become
damaged or die.
Different parts of the brain control everything
we do, think and feel - things we take for
granted like being able to move, balance, speak,
understand, remember, see and hear. If the part
of the brain that controls any of these
activities is damaged, our ability to do them
will be affected.
A stroke
affects the body & the mind, and can cause one,
more or all of the
following:
Slurred speech or difficulty finding
words or understanding speech
Confusion or unsteadiness.
Paralysis or loss of muscle control,
usually on one side of the face and
body;
Difficulty with language - speaking,
understanding what people say,
Reading and writing
Blurred or double vision, or loss of
eyesight
Problems in thinking, memory,
concentration and alertness
Depression, anxiety, mood swings
Extreme tiredness
Rehabilitation is aimed at helping people regain
as much independence as possible, by
relearning skills they have lost, learning new
skills and finding ways to manage any permanent
disabilities
Why Strokes Affect Only One Side of the Body
Strokes usually
damage only one side of the brain. Because nerves in
the brain cross over to the other side of the body,
symptoms appear on the side of the body opposite the
damaged side of the brain.
Effects of stroke
The ability to explain the world and our place in it marks our
humanity.
Stroke or brain attack forever changes this
world-making ability.
The stroke patient's world, once understandable
and manageable, is changed into a confusing,
intimidating and hostile environment.
The skill of intellect, sensation, perception
and movement, which are perfected over the
course of a lifetime and which so describe our
humanity are the very abilities most affected by
stroke.
Stroke can rob people of the most basic methods
of interacting with the world.
Learn to Recognise the Symptoms
If you find
yourself suffering from any of the following,
please contact your Physician immediately. Not
all Strokes are sudden and incapacitating. The
sooner medical attention is received, the less
damage a Stroke will cause.
BLURRED VISION
SLURRED SPEECH
LOSS OF
SENSATION
ASSESS
WHETHER SOMEONE HAS
HAD A STROKE
Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as
it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.
Why you should listen to her:
One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a
brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She
watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory,
self-awareness ...
Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to
think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for
the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her
case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery
unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in
Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the
"Singin' Scientist."
"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside
out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have
in my entire academic career."
Please note that
information will be updated as regularly as
possible, either on this website or the
blog, so please return
often
In the
attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light,
and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness.
Gandhi
