Stroke Survivor of the Month - July 2003

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David Demm
Croton-on-Hudson, NY

I stayed in the hospital for about 5 days and they released me, I came home, then went back in as a physical therapy patient for 6 weeks. Physically I was very strong. I don’t know what they were expecting, but the doctors were amazed at how I could use my good leg and I did have some strength in my left leg. They did a lot of transferring -- I was in the wheelchair to the bed and back to the wheelchair a lot, but always with many people around. They didn’t want me to try it alone. Before I left they found a full leg brace from my hip down to my toes that they strapped on my leg and with that assist I was able to hobble around and walk the length of the hospital corridor. I had a hemi-walker. They tied me up with a band that held me and then coming back I used the handrail.

About the third week I was in the hospital some friends came to the house and renovated the basement of our house, which is a ground level apartment. They were able to increase the size of the doors to accommodate the size of my wheelchair and put a ramp coming out of the back deck down into the house. They put grab bars around the bed and in the bathroom. They renovated the bathroom so that they took the shower stall out and made it like a European bathroom where the shower takes over the whole floor but it drains out into a center drain. And with that I was able to get around. I had some mobility and very shortly after that I was able to move out of the wheelchair and I was able to negotiate around the apartment without that.

The first four or five weeks I had a physical and occupational therapist come in once a week plus a visiting nurse and then we on our own had some other people start to come in the house to help. We saw a very small but steady improvement. It was enough to keep us going and we just didn’t want to live in the situation that I had. We wanted to improve.

My wife has totally become my care giver and it’s been amazing how much time has to be put into it, from getting up earlier in the morning to help me get dressed and washed and shaved and prepare meals and get herself dressed and to work. Luckily she works close to the house so she’s able to come home at lunch time many days of the week to get my lunch and mail and so forth.

One day a week we have a housekeeper who makes my meal so my wife doesn’t have to come home at lunch time. It’s a tough thing and in many ways it’s tougher on her than it is on me. Although I do have my life. I’m fortunate to have my business that I’m able to operate from home and that keeps me in touch with the outside world. I’ve continued physical therapy once a week and go to the hospital as an out-patient 2 hours a week. I’ve started going to the gym 1 hour a week and I’ve been doing pool therapy for 6 months.

But my greatest fortune was going to a neurology lecture where I met Hazella. The lecture itself was very boring and I didn’t come away with an uplifted feeling at all. However, I was impressed with Hazella’s enthusiasm and positive spirit. When she started working with me as a personal fitness trainer I immediately knew we were fortunate to have found her. She’s quite an inspiration because she herself is a model of what can be done to overcome stroke deficiencies. I know that she’s been there and truly understands where I’ve been and what I’m going through. She recognizes little improvements that people who haven’t had the experience of stroke don’t detect. She’s very encouraging and gives me what I need to keep trying. With her help I’m getting there."