Strokecast

(Transcript pending) Mimi Hayes is a bucket of sunshine. Mimi and I have been in each other's zone of awareness for sometime and we finally connected to record a conversation. Mimi is a stand-up comedian, author, former high school teacher, young stroke survivor, and is the only person know who walked around Scotland wearing a giant foam brain with Band-Aid on it. In this episode we talk about the powerful words from an OT, the importance of writing authentically, the nature of burn out, and why everyone should have a fake attorney on retainer. Bio

Click here for a transcript generated by Microsoft Word on the Web. High Intensity Gait Training is a new research-based approach to Physical Therapy. Rather than focusing on the details of walking, it focuses more on the volume of steps — even if they’re not the cleanest steps.  It’s not just the steps, though. It’s also about getting the heart rate up safely. This therapy drives heart rates up to 65-85% of the max. And you know what? It works. Patients who go through this therapy walk faster. They walk further. Their sit-to-stand performance is better. It turns out the intensity primes the brain for the neuroplastic changes that work with the repetitions we need to do to acquire or re-acquire skills like walking. You can read one of the studies here. This week we learn about High Intensity Gait Training from Dr. Meghan Larson, PT, DPT, NCS. Not only is Meghan specially trained in this therapy, she is also the woman who taught me to walk at age 46. She was my inpatient PT back in 2017. And she continues to

  Click here for a machine-generated transcript. We know that COVID-19 causes stroke in many cases. You can recover from the disease and then still have a stroke caused by the virus. Sometimes the only way you find out you have a COVID-19 infection is that you go to the hospital with a stroke and they tell you. In the US, about 1500 strokes a week are caused by COVID-19. But why is this happening? We're starting to get some answer about how COVID-19 causes stroke thanks to the work of Dr. Jason Hinman and his colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In this episode Jason and I talk about his research and the relationship between Stroke and COVID-19. Bio Jason Hinman, M.D., Ph.D. - Dr. Hinman is Assistant Professor of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Interim Director of the Stroke Program at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Dr. Hinman received his MD/PhD degrees from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed adult neurology residen

  Click here for a machine generated transcript. Mission Thrombectomy 2020+ is an initiative to double the number of mechanical thrombectomies around the world. This initiative, driven by Dr. Dileep Yavagal, aims to help more stroke survivors, communities, and economies in the developed and developing world by reduces the level of disability cause by stroke. We talk about that initiative this week, but first we get an update on Stem Cells. Dr. Yavagal was a guest on Strokecast back in episode 42. We talked his work in stem cell research to treat acute stroke patients. The work was promising but still experimental. It still is. Dileep gives us an update on the progress and research protocols involving the treatment. The bottom line is there is NO approved stem cell therapy in the US today. Research has not sufficiently demonstrated safety and effectiveness. But they're working on it. The only stem cell therapy available for stroke is experimental in research studies. If you choose to parti

  A machine generated transcript is available here A 20+ year old hidden brain tumor made itself known just before Ruth Carroll gave birth. A stroke followed the birth of her son and set Ruth on an unexpected journey as a new mother and young stroke survivor. It's been a few years since all that happened, and I'm delighted to speak with Ruth in this episode. There is something so calming in her demeanor -- even when she's talking about horrific ICU hallucinations. We talk about that, hydrotherapy, family, and more. Bio Ruth Carroll is 36 years old. She's from County Cork in Ireland but live in County Dublin as she married a Dub! They have a son who is 3 & half years old called Bobby.  Prior to this sudden shift in her life direction, Ruth worked in marketing as a brand manager at McDonalds in Ireland Ruth was diagnosed with a brain tumor a week before Bobby was born. Her pregnancy hormones caused the tumor to grow very quickly & suddenly & this unfortunately caused her stro

English transcript here. I read through my daily Google News Alert about stroke a couple months back and came across an article about the Mobile CT scanner. It's designed to mount in ambulances and aircraft. It helps the medical team confirm a stroke diagnosis and start treatment even before the patient gets to the hospital. I reached out to one of the designers and that ushered me into the fascinating world of Drs. Nyein Chan Aung and Thinn Thinn Khine. Bio Photo by James HH Morgan Nyein is an industrial designer, design researcher and artist. He has given himself a mission to "Make Cool Stuff", and has been following that mission since 2005. As a result, he's won several major design awards for products in aerospace, healthcare and camping. He's currently a senior design researcher at Monash University's Design Health Collab, where he oversees the design of high-impact healthcare services and products. Thinn Thinn is an endocrinologist specializing in geriatrics endocrinology. She's

(Click here for a machine generated transcript) Leslie Hadley went from corporate executive to Yoga  teacher to stroke survivor and back to yoga teacher. Along the way, she became an author, life coach, and tapping teacher (not the dance -- the emotional freedom technique).  She shares her story this week, and I share a bunch of my own updates. You can find Leslie's book on Amazon at http://strokecast.com/book/AwakenFromIllness (affiliate link) Bio From Leslie's website: How long have you been doing what you do, and how did you become a Transformational Teacher? To answer this question, it’s probably best that I share with you a defining moment, and resulting compelling story. I was a single mom, divorced from an abusive relationship, in management, working in a high paying corporate job with people from all over the world. I was beyond shocked when one day they laid me off with two weeks’ notice. They didn’t pack my stuff so the 2 weeks gave me creating time! I was teaching yoga part

“Stronger After Stroke” is one of the most recommended books for stroke survivors by stroke survivors. It is a roadmap for recovery after leaving the hospital. Peter G. Levine talks about the importance of repetition to neuroplasticity. He dives deeply into Dr. Edward Taub’s Constraint Induced Therapy, and what stroke survivors can learn from musicians and athletes. And Levine joins us in this episode of the Strokecast. Bio (From Pete’s Amazon author page) Peter G. Levine is a researcher, author, clinician, adjunct professor, and science communicator. His career in clinical research has been dedicated to finding and reporting on the best systems for driving post-stroke brain plasticity. For two decades Levine has tested emergent stroke neurorehabilitation options including EMG-based gaming, wearable robotics, mental practice, functional electrical stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and modified constraint-induced therapy (mCIT). He was the lab co-director at the University of Cincinnati Academic

Kristen Aguirre was working as a TV reporter and anchor in Denver, CO,  when she had her stroke. What followed, of course, changed her life. She spent months in rehab, eventually returned to the air. She has since left that role and now focuses on her recovery, her workouts, and working with other survivors. We cover all that and more in this episode. Bio Kristen Aguirre is an emmy nominated latina journalist turned young stroke survivor. At the age of 31 Kristen suffered an ischemic stroke. It left the entire left side of her body paralyzed. Her doctors told her she would probably need a wheelchair the rest of her life. Despite the prognosis Kristen kept pushing and never lost hope. After months in the hospital and therapy, Kristen is now back to running, lifting weights and rebuilding her career. She uses her story to motivate others to never stop pushing and how to hold onto hope in daunting times. Gratitude One of the topics Kristen talks about is gratitude. As part of her daily prayer and meditation rit

What if you could change the world with your thoughts? Or get enough people together thinking the same thing to change the fabric of reality? Bevan Frank goes deep on this idea in his debut novel. Bevan published his first novel, The Mind of God in 2015. It’s a thriller in the spirit of Dan Brown where he explores the idea of Global Consciousness. And then his world turned upside down with a stroke. We talk about that concept and the power of taking care of a dog in this episode. Bio Bevan Frank has a BA degree in English and Political Studies as well as a postgraduate LLB law degree, both from the University of Cape Town. After qualifying as an attorney Bevan decided to follow his passion and opted down the path of writing and editing. He has worked as a business magazine editor, journalist, writer, plain language practitioner and communications consultant. His articles have been published in numerous publications locally and globally. Bevan lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and children. Bevan’s award-w

Speech Language Pathologist Lauren Schwabish reached out to me on Instagram with a few questions. I answer them in this episode. If you  have questions you’d like me to address, you can email Bill@Strokecast.com or message me on Instagram where I am Bills_Strokecast. Do you have tips on what education was most effective for you, or your survivor community? One of the first places I went was to podcasts. I found the Enable Me show from Australia and the aphasia-centric Slow Road to Better first, but not much else. It’s why I eventually started the Strokecast. I wanted it to be the podcast I wished I had found when I was in the hospital. Now, of course There are a lot more. If you want to hear more stroke related podcasts, visit http://Strokecast.com/StrokeRelatedPodcasts I also learned a lot from books. The first two survivor books I read were My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and Healing into Possibility by Alison Shapiro. I’ve also learned a lot reading memoirs from Strokecast Guests Christine Le

How do you tell someone’s story in a book without actually writing your story of learning their story? What is qualitative research? We answer those questions and more as I nerd out with Drs. Patricia Geist-Mart and Sarah Parsloe about Communication theory. In Episode 110, I talked with Bill Torres, the subject of the book, “Falling in Love with the Process.” You can listen to that episode here. In this episode, I talk with the authors of the book, Dr. Patricia Geist-Martin and Dr. Sarah Parsloe, professors of Communications at San Diego State University and Rollins University respectively. The result is a wide ranging discussion that let me nerd out a bit about Communication Theory, which is something I haven’t talked a whole lot about since college. We discuss topics like: What communication is and how it defines relationships The nature of qualitative research The challenges in telling someone else’s story Cyberactivism Ableism and intersectionality Inspiration porn …and much more And you’ll get to hear

At 85, stroke survivor Bill Torres works out every day, feeds the ducks, and helps other survivors along the way. He has fallen in love with the process of getting better. This week, we hear Bill’s story. Bill Torres had a stroke at 71. Fourteen years later, he’s recovered and at age 85 spends his days feeding the ducks, hitting the speed bag, working out, and helping stroke survivors around the country navigate their own process of stroke recovery. This episode is a little different. Bill just started telling stories and sharing his wisdom and who am I to get in the way of that with pre-prepared interview questions. I just wanted to hear more. So this episode highlights the core things that Bill and I talked about. I hope you find Bill as fascinating as I do. Bio Bill Torres grew up in San Diego, where he now lives. His career took him to places as varied as Long Island, NY; Jakarta, Indonesia; and a school in Venezuela. He taught English, sold franchises, brought Arby’s to large parts of the Pacific Northw

It’s been awhile since I checked in with the folks at Neofect so in this episode I chat with CEO and co-founder Scott Kim. If you follow the technology and gear around rehab, you’ve probably heard of Neofect. They make a product called the Smart Glove. I talked about it with OT Lauren Sheehan a couple years ago at http://Strokecast.com/Lauren. You can listen at that link. The Smart Glove is a plastic exoskeleton with very sensitive sensors that you wear on your stroke affected arm. Then you play video games with that arm. The sensors detect the slightest motion and translate that motion into in-game activities. It encourages you to do more therapy by making it more engaging. It makes getting those thousands of reps in that much easier. We talk about that, enhancements to the product, new products, and some of the decisions a CEO has to make Bio Scott Kim is the co-founder and CEO of Neofect USA, a digital health company that creates customized digital rehabilitation solutions for patients with neurological a

Speech Language Pathology is a fascinating field. Covering everything from swallowing to memory to the fundamentals of language to not biting your cheek every damn biter during dinner, it’s something most folks outside stroke world or the disabled community never really think about. Tsgoyna Tanzman is an author and a Speech Therapist in Southern California. In this episode Tsgoyna and I talk about: What we mean by “cognitive issues” The multiple different types of aphasia Managing over stimulation after stroke The nature of recovery The impact of telemedicine How race affects post-stroke care and assessment The process of editing and self-publishing a book If any of that  sounds interesting to you, be sure to listen. Bio As a Speech-Language Pathologist and Life Coach for more than 25 years, Tsgoyna has helped thousands of people transition after stroke and brain injury to the next stages of their lives. Having worked in hospitals, home care, residential and skilled nursing facilities, clinics, and communi

What if you could see your doctor as much as you wanted and never have to pay a deductible or co-pay? What if your doctor was not paid based on how many patients they see on a given day? This week, Dr. Felecia Sumner joins me to talk about the Direct Primary Care  model of healthcare. It’s the Netflix of Healthcare. You pay a monthly subscription fee and get to see your doctor as much as you need to without dealing with insurance providers. This can be a great thing for stroke survivors and other folks with chronic conditions where you have not only complex needs and more of them than the general population, but you also need a provider who is interested in staying on top of your complex medical history. Bio From Dr. Sumner’s website: https://drfsumner.com/about-me/ Dr. Felecia Sumner is a family medicine physician, national speaker, best-selling author, and wellness strategist dedicated to improving the health and overall wellness of her patients and their communities. She is also the co-founder and Vice Pr

Music has the power to take us back in time to a fuzzy, nostalgic past. Or it can take us into a future we aspire too. It can show us history or connect us with God. It can take us deep into the emotional side of our brain and help us transcend our present.  As I invested time with my therapists, Lin Manuel Miranda's lyrics helped keep me going, Just like my country, am young, scrappy, and hungry, and I'm not throwing away my shot  My Shot, Lin-Manuel Miranda And even in the dark days, Billy Joel reminds me that The good old days weren't always so good and tomorrow's not as bad as it seems. Keepin' the Faith, Billy Joes Music can take us to a different place metaphorically, and now, literally. Medrythms uses a system of sensors and specific music tracks to help stroke survivors learn to walk. The US Food and Drug Administration recently accepted the Digital Therapeutics Platform for Walking from Medrythms into the Breakthrough devices program. This program streamlines the approval

Sometimes, I interview a guest and we cover everything I wanted to talk about and it's a great conversation. Sometime we go off in a different way completely and I have to throw out my whole plane. And that also can turn into a great conversation. That's what happened with this conversation I had with Occupational Therapist Jane Connely , better known as "Heal the Brain with Jane." With the occasional chanting and loud child in the background, we talk about Jane's path to OT, the core elements of the OT field that Jane gets so passionate about, and how she helps survivors heal their lives after their injury. Bio Jane Connely is a Occupational Therapist and neuro specialist in San Luis Obispo, CA. Jane graduated from University of Southern California with her MA in Occupational Therapy in 2013. Her experience working with persons post brain injury pushed her to continue her training to become neuro-developmentally trained (NDT) beginning in 2015 and after 140 classroom hours finished her training in

Click here for a machine generated transcript. I have no idea what the back to school season will look like for college and university students in the fall. After all, right now it’s early July in 2020. COVID-19 is picking up pace. Protests are still happening. The presidential election is going to get really ugly. And the US is in full recession. So school could look like anything. And people like Kaitlin Molloy will see their workloads grow as we all navigate accommodations for students with disabilities in higher education. Kaitlin’s job is to help students secure the appropriate disability accommodations in school. In this episode we talk about that process and discuss some options. Hack of the Week Kaitlin’s recommendation is to be planful. If you are  starting or continuing higher education, reach out to the disability services staff as early as you can. Once they know you are there or are joining the school community, they can start working with you. Maybe that has impacts on appropriate housing or st

Hospice is something I knew existed, but it's not something I've ever had an extended conversation about, until I spoke with Barbara Sussanne.  In her job as an RN, she helps patients and their families navigate the dying process in the final few months of life. Before that, She worked as a travelling nurse in both some of the largest hospitals in the US and in some of the smallest. She shares her experience of working with stroke patients across her career We recorded this conversation in March on a cruise ship. It was the last trip of Holland America's Niew Amsterdam before COVID-19 cancelled cruising. The ambient noise you hear is the buffet area of the Lido deck. This sailing was a charter. It was the 10th annual JoCo Cruise, and the 8th one I've been on. Like in previous years both pre- and post-stroke, I had a great time. I'm booked for 2021 if cruising is still a thing that exists next year. If you like geeks, nerds, musis, crafts, karaoke, and other genre stuff, join us next year. You