The Impact of a Stroke
Hello, I am JT, a student of occupational therapy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. I have been asked to do some talking about a topic from my Neural Aspects class. I chose to do cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or more commonly referred to as a stroke. I took some time to think about what I wanted to talk about due to the numerous neurological topics that we cover. This one stood out to me for a couple of reasons. The first one is I have two grandparents, one from my side and the other from my wife's side of the family, who have experienced a stroke. The other reason is that I have heard of this condition my entire life. I mean I would think that you could ask anyone you know if they have heard of stroke and the answer would be of course. However, have you ever thought about what is it technically? I want to just talk about it and share some information that I received from a stroke survivor. This information of her came through a video and article in which she talks directly about the impact it had on her life.
So, for starters we need to cover what CVA actually is. There are 3 forms of a stroke that you need to know about. The first one is an ischemic stroke. This is where blood to the brain is cut off or blocked due to the clogging of vessels or other reasons. The next one is a hemorrhagic stroke. This is when a vessel inside the skull burst or opens up and causes bleeding on the brain. Lastly, there is a transient ischemic attack (TIA). When blood to the brain is cut off or blocked for a small period of time this is what occurs. Most people refer to a TIA as a "mini stroke". You should also know that a stroke does not have to happen in the brain. It can happen anywhere in the body.
Katherine Wolf suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke due to the rupturing of a brain arteriovenous malformation. It took place in the brain stem. This caused half of her cerebellum to be removed through surgery as well as other nerves(Bryant, 2019). It is important to note that your brain stem is involved in your bodily functions such as breathing. So, Wolf did not have the best chance for survival because of the location. However, she pulled through and was going to have to be open to a new lifestyle.
Wolf had an infant around 6 months old. She could not feed him. Could you imagine the thought of letting and knowing that someone else was going to have to be the primary caretaker of your child? It has to be devastating. Through therapy, in which they put "James", the name of her son, on a medicine ball and had her perform numerous interventions, she is now able to care for her kids (Bryant, 2019). That is right, she has more than one! I will say that I recommend anyone who see this blog, follow the link and learn an inspiring story. Katherine Wolf is a fighter and did not give up. Neurological conditions like this have a lifelong impact, but that does not mean it will hold your quality of life down. Through watching and reading this information, it has reinforced my idea. That is, there will be obstacles that you cannot go around or jump over, so the only other option is to pick them up and carry them with you. Never give up, there is always something to work towards, live for, and be happy about.
Reference:
So, for starters we need to cover what CVA actually is. There are 3 forms of a stroke that you need to know about. The first one is an ischemic stroke. This is where blood to the brain is cut off or blocked due to the clogging of vessels or other reasons. The next one is a hemorrhagic stroke. This is when a vessel inside the skull burst or opens up and causes bleeding on the brain. Lastly, there is a transient ischemic attack (TIA). When blood to the brain is cut off or blocked for a small period of time this is what occurs. Most people refer to a TIA as a "mini stroke". You should also know that a stroke does not have to happen in the brain. It can happen anywhere in the body.
Katherine Wolf suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke due to the rupturing of a brain arteriovenous malformation. It took place in the brain stem. This caused half of her cerebellum to be removed through surgery as well as other nerves(Bryant, 2019). It is important to note that your brain stem is involved in your bodily functions such as breathing. So, Wolf did not have the best chance for survival because of the location. However, she pulled through and was going to have to be open to a new lifestyle.
Wolf had an infant around 6 months old. She could not feed him. Could you imagine the thought of letting and knowing that someone else was going to have to be the primary caretaker of your child? It has to be devastating. Through therapy, in which they put "James", the name of her son, on a medicine ball and had her perform numerous interventions, she is now able to care for her kids (Bryant, 2019). That is right, she has more than one! I will say that I recommend anyone who see this blog, follow the link and learn an inspiring story. Katherine Wolf is a fighter and did not give up. Neurological conditions like this have a lifelong impact, but that does not mean it will hold your quality of life down. Through watching and reading this information, it has reinforced my idea. That is, there will be obstacles that you cannot go around or jump over, so the only other option is to pick them up and carry them with you. Never give up, there is always something to work towards, live for, and be happy about.
Reference:
Kelly Bryant July 25, & Bryant, K. (2019, July 25). 'Having a Stroke as a New Mom Changed Everything, but I'm Treating It Like a Gift'. Retrieved July 17, 2020, from https://www.parents.com/parenting/dynamics/having-a-stroke-as-a-new-mom-changed-everything-but-im-treating-it-like-a-gift/?utm_source=facebook.com
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