A STROKE(cerebrovascular accident (CVA)) is a loss of brain function(s), caused by a disturbance in the blood flow to the brain. This can be due to lack of blood supply(ischemia) caused by blockage for example arterial embolism or thrombosis, clot or an outflow of blood into brain tissue(hemorrhage). As a result of a stroke, the affected area of the brain is unable to function in the proper way, which might be manifest as:

1. the inability to move the limbs on the opposite side of the body from what was damaged by the stroke. For example, a person my lose control of his right arm and leg if he suffered a stroke to the left side of his brain.
2. the impairment of language ability., receptive or expressive aphasia, which means that a patient is unable to understand or formulate speech.
3. inability to see right or left side of the visual field
4. lack of coordination of muscle movements when cerebellum is affected
5. impairment of cranial nerves functions

The traditional definition of stroke by the World Health Organization is a “neurological deficit of cerebrovascular cause that persists beyond 24 hours or is interrupted by death within 24 hours”. This definition was supposed to reflect the reversibility of tissue damage and was devised for the purpose, with the time frame of  24 hours being chosen arbitrarily. The 24-hour limit divides stroke from TIA (Transient Ischaemic Attack)which is a related syndrome of stroke symptoms that resolve completely within 24 hours.  TIA is episode of neurologic dysfunction that could be considered as warning for an approaching stroke. Even if symptoms withdraw immediately, the patient should be carefully diagnosed and hospitalized. I have seen many situations when patients after 30 minutes episode of TIA (for example weakness on one side of the body, numbness or tingling) demand leaving hospital and the next day comes back with fully symptomatic, accomplished stroke. Stroke and TIA are both medical emergencies.

More than 80 % strokes are caused by ischemia, but there are hemorrhagic strokes, which are caused by the rupture of blood vessel(s).

Sometimes the ischemic stroke can convert into the hemorrhagic type.

Below you can see CT scans showing how it looks:

CT scan-ischemic stroke on the right side of the picture

CT scan- hemorrhagic stroke, you can see blood on the right side of the

picture

What causes stroke?

1. SMOKING!!!!

1. HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

1. HIGH BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVEL

1. HIGH BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL

1. NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

All of the causes mentioned above destroy your arteries and veins. Not only the brain, but your whole body is endangered – blood vessels are almost everywhere in your body! Brain, heart, kidneys, liver even reproductive organs. (When smoking male patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia complain about erection problems, it means that stroke or heart attack is very close!)

The bad news is… they are very common in countries of the Western World, all too-common. The good news is: IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU!! Smoking? Yes, I know, it looks like it is impossible to quit. “How will I survive the next day without a cigarette?” It is possible. Hundreds of thousands former heavy smokers are the living proofs. There are many blogs, websites that will help you to defeat the addiction and improve the quality and duration of your life.

Support of family and close friends is very important.

High blood pressure can be treated successfully.

High blood cholesterol level? Also can be treated with lipid-lowering drugs like statins or others.

High blood sugar level? Can be treated by diet, drugs or insulin injections.  Consult with your doctor.

Activity? Try to walk small distances, use stairs instead of the elevator, or ride your bike. There are loads of possibilities. But carefully at the beginning! People in their forties and older should be examined by a doctor before they start their adventure with physical activity. Avoid heavy alcohol consumption and drugs.

Are there any other causes of a stroke? Yes, but the rest is unfortunately not as easy to modify: older age, sex(male), race( African-Americans, Latino-Americans),

low economic status, genetic mutations which can cause hematologic, immunologic or cardiac disorders responsible for  strokes at young age.

Heart diseases like atrial fibrillation, valve diseases or heart septal defects can be treated by surgery or anticoagulation drugs.

I began working with EasterSeals as a camp counselor for one of their camps for people with physical disabilities. I suddenly became grateful for what I had previously been taking for granted. Sometimes stepping out of one’s comfort zone is can be good as it makes us appreciate what is around us most of our lives.

Although I still have gait issues with my left foot—I suponate, which is the opposite of pronating—I’m grateful that I still have use of my legs. There is so much that the majority of people in this world should be grateful for that we often take as a given, it is humbling.

“A grateful mind is a great mind, which eventually attracts to itself great things.” The book, The Secret, focuses on the law of attraction—that if a person is giving, he/she will be the recipient of what he needs.

Just like the aliens from Toy Story say, “You saved us. We are eternally grateful.” Thus we should be.

Here’s the URL: Please click here…

I realized that neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to restructure itself and make the connections faster than what they are right now. For instance, if someone sustains a brain injury as a result of a stroke or fall, he or she may experience a problem finding the right words. For example, the survivor may call a door an umbrella or vice-versa, or sometimes he cannot find the word at all. Experiencing this is called having aphasia.

Because of the brain’s potential to “rewire” itself, after some period of time, the aphasia may lessen or disappear all together. Did you know that most people only use between two and five percent of their brain’s potential? So there’s a plethora of unused axons or connections between the more than 100 Billion (with a B) neurons or brain cells to form a new pathway for learning a new language or to form shapes from a folded piece of paper.

We can learn to play the piano with the best of them–as long as we can put in enough time… The brain is an amazing organ, and no computer or supercomputer has ever been, or will ever be, as powerful as the human brain. Whatever you put your mind to, you can accomplish. Just change your focus to be on your goal, and you will be amazed in no time! Good luck.

The remainder of this  post was taken verbatim from the WRCBtv.com website. I felt that it needed to be shared.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/15152392/thousands-of-chattanooga-children-losing-team-services-due-to-state-cuts?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6089640&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6089640

CHATTANOOGA (WRCB) — Chattanooga’s TEAM Center is set to close next month and the news has taken hundreds of families by surprise.

On Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Obama Administration Recommits to Enforcing and Protecting the Civil Rights of All

 July 26, 2011

On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. That landmark civil rights legislation reaffirmed the idea that all our citizens, regardless of disability, are entitled to the same privileges, pursuits, and opportunities as everyone else. As the Obama Administration marks that anniversary, there still remain many steps we must take together to ensure that the spirit and letter of that law are upheld.

“The promise of the ADA was that all Americans should have equal access and equal opportunity, including Americans with disabilities,” said President Obama. “The ADA was about independence and the freedom to make of our lives what we will. We celebrate that today, and we recommit ourselves to ending discrimination in all its forms.”

Since its enactment, the ADA has opened many doors and sought to level the playing field for employment of Americans with disabilities. Still, however, the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities remains high. Last year, President Obama signed an Executive Order to make the federal government a model employer for individuals with disabilities.

Today, following on other steps already taken, the Obama Administration announced new efforts that will continue to support increased employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and will also help make the government more open and accessible to all citizens. Specifically, the administration is working to release a draft comprehensive strategic plan to improve compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Section 508 requires that federal agencies’ electronic and information technology be accessible to people with disabilities, both inside and outside the government. Twelve years after this law was enacted, many technological barriers still exist, limiting the ability of persons with disabilities when they try to interact with the federal government, whether as an employee or as a citizen seeking information or services.

Making electronic and information technology, such as websites, 508 compliant will ensure that applicants have equal access to apply for job opportunities. 508 compliance also will promote increased retention, as federal employees will be able to successfully utilize the technology – whether it be computers, telephones, fax machines, websites and many other technological tools – necessary to perform their duties. Moreover, it will make the government more open and accessible as people with disabilities will be able to better access all the information the federal government has placed online.

 Reasonable Accommodations Mean Getting the Job Done 

Employees with disabilities may do a job differently—they may use adapted computers, screen reading software, large print materials or raised desks that can accommodate a wheelchair—but they get the job done like any other employee in their position.  They are not asking for special treatment or to be excused from performing the essential functions of their jobs.  But they do ask that they be given the tools or supports they need to perform these tasks competently.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed almost unanimously by both the House and the Senate in July 1990.  It provides civil rights protections to individuals with disability and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.   Title I of the ADA requires that employers make reasonable accommodations unless making those accommodations creates significant difficulty or expense.  Reasonable accommodations are changes to the workplace or the way things are customarily done; they are intended to allow qualified employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their jobs.

Why is the Americans with Disabilities Act Needed?

Cheri Hofmann, who has a significant hearing loss, had worked as a paralegal position for 13 years, collecting awards and superior performance reviews throughout her career.  Until her job duties changed in her 14^th year, she never needed any changes to her workplace or different equipment to perform her job well.  When her job duties in changed, however, she asked for a few, modest changes to her workplace.

“In my 14th year, my job had additional duties that required me to be able to assist clients while others were on break and to answer phones. I asked for a mirror to be placed where I could see the door opening when clients came in, a head set for the telephone with amplification, and to re-position my desk to also have a better view of the front door. They refused the mirror, saying it would be a distraction to the other paralegals; they said to reposition my desk would cause the entire area to have to be changed; and they said they ordered a head set, but it never came. Instead they gave me a phone with a volume control but it was not effective.”

None of these changes cost more than $30, but without them, Cheri was unable to do her job and was eventually forced to leave.

Cheri’s difficulties with her employer took place before the ADA too effect. Under Title I of the ADA now, however, employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants or employees with disabilities unless to do so would result in an undue burden.   Reasonable accommodations are changes to the workplace, modifications in workplace policies, or provision of assistive technology that allow a qualified employee with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job.

What are Reasonable Accommodations?

A reasonable accommodation is any change to the work environment or to the way that things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.  Rene Cummins, Executive Director of a Center for Independent Living in North Carolina, has low vision who relies on assistive technology every day. She uses a screen reader to read computer text and a scanner to scan print materials into the computer where they can be read back to her.  Christinne Rudd has cerebral palsy and walks with a cane.  Her employer in Florida provided a printer in her office so that she doesn’t have to go to the main printer to retrieve letters and other documents.  Her employer has also offered to provide a scooter, if necessary, when there are employee outings and reimburses her for cab fare for her local travel on company business.

Patricia Valladares is an outreach worker for a social services agency in Tennessee.  Patricia is blind and uses JAWS software that reads computer text, and the Open Book program that scans in printed material and reads it back so she can read read and save printed documents.  She also asks that handouts for conferences and trainings be given to her on CDs.

John Hobgood is a social worker in Texas who recived a traumatic brain injury in a motor vehicle accident. As the result of his head injury, John has difficulty paying attention, so he uses a daytimer to keep his schedule and relies on the Outlook calendar computer software to remind him of appointments. Reading is difficult, so John uses free screen reader software from Readplease.com.  Individuals with traumatic head injury often have difficulty concentrating at the end of the day.  When his agency moved to a 4-day week of 10 hour days, John and another co-worker asked for a modified schedule in which they would remain on the 5-day week.  Their requests were granted, and the two come into work on the 5th day, lock the door, answer phones, and catch up with their paperwork.

John Duplessis, a social worker in Alabama who became legally blind as an adult,  relies on a tape recorder that is “glued to my side for dictating notes and recording conversations that I need to remember.” He uses Zoom Text software to enlarge text on his computer screen and uses its speech function to read aloud what is on the screen. John also has talking Caller I.D. on his landline and cell phones to announce the name and number of incoming calls. In addition, he uses glasses with magnification to read printed documents and to write. Even so, he notes wryly, “I don’t write quickly and my penmanship is not very good.”

Not all effective accommodations need to be provided by the employer. Many people with disabilities can use “off the shelf” assistive technology to meet their personal needs. For example, Eric Dupre who has a learning disability thrives in his fast-paced, unpredictable job as a news photojournalist. To keep himself on track, Eric carries “a small pad with me each day to write down my schedule and use an electronic pocket reminder for assignments that may be projected in the future. I use a GPS to assist me to find locations where I have to be. I purchased my own accommodations for under $100.”

Although many people with disabilities can perform all their job duties without an accommodation of any sort, others encounter workplace barriers that hinder or prevent them from performing competently on the job.  By mandating reasonable accommodations and changes to the work environment as long as they do not create an undue burden, Title I of the ADA make it possible for qualified employees with disabilities to demonstrate their competence and ability to perform on the job.

ACCESSIBLE BUSINESSES WELCOME EVERYONE

For most people, their major concern when running errands and shopping is whether they can fit it all they need to do into the time available.  For people with disabilities, however, particularly for those with physical disabilities, their major concern is whether they can get into the stores or buildings in the first place and, once in, whether they have access to the goods and services they need.

Stores, theaters and other buildings were not intended to shut out people with disabilities—but the built environment has been highly effective in denying access to people who have limited use of hands or legs.  A single step, a one-inch threshold, a heavy door, or a round doorknob can make entry into a building difficult, if not impassible.  And once someone with a mobility impairment has struggled to get inside, cluttered aisles or objects blocking call buttons on elevators can significantly impede their ability to do what it is that they came inside to do, whether that is to buy a new shirt or visit a physician’s office.

Dylan

“For the most part, the bigger retail stores—like Walmart, Kohls, TJ Maxx—have plenty of room for me to get around,” says Dylan Brown of Nashville, TN.  “But I still run into problems with the amount of items they try to put into the very small stores in malls and strip malls. Overstocking in the small stores means that I can’t get through the aisles, so I just don’t go in.”

Dylan has quadriplegia as the result of an automobile accident in 2002 and uses a powered chair.  He drives an adapted van and can usually get around Nashville and do what he wants to do except when it comes to some places that are unclear on the concept of accessibility:

“There’s a newly renovated, posh bar in town.  It has access into the bar and the restrooms are accessible.  But there is not one seat in the place where I would be eye-level with my peers.  Even the booths have a step up.  I went out to the smoking patio but that was built up also, with wood high-rise seating all around the edge. There was no way I could have a drink and be at eye level with my friends. I couldn’t even put my drink down without reaching up to the table.  It’s like they went out of their way to make it inaccessible.

“I felt so uncomfortable. I know I’m in a chair but I’m always around active people, and you get going and you just forget.  Then, when you get to a place that is so blatantly inaccessible, the term crippled comes back in.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed nearly unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990, mandates that places that offer their goods and services to the public must be accessible to people with a variety of disabilities.  Effective January 26, 1992, all places of business have been required to make their goods and services available to and useable by people with disabilities to the extent that it is readily achievable (e.g., that changes can be accomplished without much difficulty or expense).  Furthermore, all new construction and renovations to existing buildings must be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities to the fullest extent possible.

Lack of access is more than an inconvenience for people with disabilities; for many, accessible stores, professional offices, theaters, libraries, state and local government offices and medical facilities can mean the difference between a life of independence and full immersion in the community and one of dependence and restrictive living situations.

Living Independence for Everyone (LIFE) of Mississippi, the statewide Center for Independence (CIL) in Mississippi, believes so strongly in promoting independence for people with disabilities that the CIL uses Americorps volunteers to do community access surveys to ensure that people leaving nursing homes or other congregate facilities will be able to move about effectively within the community. The Americorps members in Project LINC focus on those places that individuals with disabilities were most likely to want to use.  When doing a Project LINC site survey, the Americorps volunteers introduce themselves to the places they want to survey, provide information about the ADA and explain that their purpose is to make places more accessible for people with disabilities, not to report anyone for failure to comply with the ADA.  They then ask permission to conduct the survey and to return at a later date for a follow-up visit.

Desmeon

Desmeon Thomas, of Jackson, Mississippi, was both an Americorps volunteer doing the surveys and a beneficiary of increased access in his immediate community.  Desmeon sustained a spinal cord injury in 2002 when he was 19 years old.  He approached the LIFE Center for assistance in learning how to live with a disability.  When he learned about Americorps and Project LINC, he signed up as an Americorps volunteer, receiving a stipend for his work on the project and becoming eligible for $4000 year for his two years of service to put toward his education.

As Desmeon explains, “we would survey places that are just around the corner from where someone moving into a community would be living.  That means places like corner stores, dollar stores—we surveyed a lot of dollar stores; that’s where we can afford to shop!—fast food restaurants and grocery stores.

“I’m quadriplegic, so I need a lot of help with everything.  I use a power chair so I can get around on my own, but I’m not the lightest person in the world, and my parents are getting older.  I didn’t want to have to go into a nursing home but I knew I couldn’t stay with my parents much longer either.  So I looked for a way to live on my own. LIFE hooked me up with the Medicaid Waiver* program that pays for personal attendants to help me 8 hours a day, 7 days a week.  I use them for four hours in the morning to get me up and dressed and ready for the day, for four hours at night to get me ready for bed.

“Now I rent my own house, drive a Dodge Caravan and can do most of my own shopping.  Grocery stores have been great!  I can get around easily, and they always send someone to help me if I ask.  My power chair helps raise me up so I can usually reach things on the shelves.  If not, the grocery store clerks help me.

“And the other places I need to go are also pretty accessible, thanks to the survey work we did.  Well, sometimes I need to go into a side or back entrance to some places…and the movie theater near me only has accessible seats right in the very front row, which is too close to the screen and makes it hard to watch without getting a stiff neck.  But for the most part I can get where I need and want to go.”

*The Medicaid Waiver: Section 1915 (c) of the Social Security Act enables states to request a waiver of applicable federal Medicaid requirements to provide enhanced community support services to those Medicaid beneficiaries who would otherwise require institutional care.

Coup and Contrecoup results in damaging the brain in many various places. The damage is spread throughout the brain, and therefore the survivor sometimes has a phenomenal memory but a low anger threshold. Or it could be that the survivor has the ability to manage a large number of people in a business setting but has a difficult time walking across a room.

When the survivor or other people see themselves as a non-injured person, a disservice is being done both to the survivor and to those people who are doing the comparison. Success for all of us, and especially for the survivor, should be in relation to where we’ve come from.

We have all been told that we’ll find someone who is smarter, faster, funnier, or wittier than ourselves as we grew up, however we sometimes forget that truism. This is no more relevant than it is for the survivor. Personally, after a few months post TBI, I thought I was the worst case that ever had come through the doors at Baptist Neuro Rehab. And to beat that, I thought I had recovered better than anyone ever had.

Some 20 years later, I realize that I’m not alone. Many people come into the hospital with injuries much worse than my own. And often they leave having recovered more fully than I did.

The point to this post is that no matter how good or bad you feel, the only person you should be comparing yourself to is YOU yesterday. I’m battling depression with a good deal of success, but I have to remind myself that if I am better than I was yesterday, then it’s a good day.

I recently realized that what I consider to be “normal” is most people’s “depressed,” and even when I’m having what I consider to be a good day, most people would be considered “depressed.”

Then it came to me: What would I have to do to be 10percent happier today than I was yesterday? I realized I didn’t have to be twice or three times happier, just 10 percent. And if I’m 10 percent happier today than yesterday, I am truly a success!