Survival Journeys

The cerebellum contains 80 percent of our neurons. Its job seems to be to make things better. We talked with neuroscientist Jeremy Schmahmann about how stroke affects the “little brain.”

Check out these exercises for stroke survivors to help with everything from balance & walking to fine motor skills, complete with video instructions.

Dental care is a conglomeration of fine-motor skills, so stroke can have an impact on a survivors’ teeth and gums, and that in turn can increase stroke risk.

Sometimes stroke survivors appear to be in denial about some effects of their stroke. But what if their refusal to recognize a deficit isn’t denial, or any other psychological response? Anosognosia refers to a person’s lack of awareness of their own deficits. It can happen in people with stroke.

A year or two out from therapy, survivors may feel progress has stopped or that they’ve lost some of their rehab gains. That would be a good time to get some more therapy. For survivors on Medicare, it is part of their benefits.

A stroke can be a life-changing event that often includes overcoming physical, cognitive or speech barriers. Making the decision to return to work, despite those barriers, as well as the process of finding the right job, is unique for each survivor.

As I approach the eighth anniversary of being in private practice, I think about how it all came about and how if I hadn’t had a massive hemorrhagic stroke, I might not have been so bold as to open my own business.

Starting in the ’70s, the disability rights movement learned an important lesson from the civil rights movement and got organized. Their goals were the elimination of attitudinal, communication, transportation, policy and physical barriers so as to integrate people with disabilities into society.

For many younger survivors, going back to work is often the measure for recovery. Here's some excellent guidance if you're working toward getting back into the workplace.

My journey started on September 8, 1995 at 5:30 p.m. I was 47. I got up from my chair and said I did not feel good and then collapsed onto the floor.