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Stroke
Survivor of the Month
- September/October Helaine says (in her husband’s words): “I had a brain attack, a stroke, my brain cells are damaged, I will never be the same, I am only 51 years old. Part of my body is paralyzed, my face and limbs are disfigured, my muscles are atrophied, my organs are out of control - there are constant embarrassments and indignities. I can’t move, I can’t talk, I could die. My foot flops over from the ankle down – it just hangs, my toes are painfully curled, my shoulder joint is subluxed (the bone is not in the joint), my arm just hangs, it hurts all of the time, it no longer works. My limbs are numb, so is the side of my face from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, it hurts, it is numb to the touch. The sharp pain is neurological, it is constant every hour every day of the week – there is no relief, pain pills make me dopey and sleepy. I want to be “alive” again, I’ll learn to live with it, what else can I do? My knee hyper-extends (it goes backwards) when I stand, my hips and spine are out of alignment, they are not in the joint properly - it hurts! Legs don’t work, I can’t stand without a brace, I need a cane, I need a walker – but a walker needs both hands to grip and I only have one hand that works, I am confined to a wheel chair for any distance.
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