Strokecast

As Emilee said last week, no one plans to have a stroke. When it does happen it's scary and complicated. In addition to the medical stuff, there's also the bureaucracy around finances and family roles that get turned upside down.I see a lot of questions and topics coming up on online support groups on Facebook, Reddit, and other places. I want to talk about some of that stuff this week to provide some reassurance and a base of knowledge from which folks can then ask more specific questions. If anything I say, conflicts with the professional medical advice you receive, listen to your doctor -- not that guy on the internet. As a caregiver with a stroke survivor you have to remember to breathe and take care of yourself. Emilee talked about that last week, and Dr. Lorig talked about it the week before. After a stroke the brain is damaged. The only question is how damaged it is. Early treatment for a clot-based stroke can minimize the damage and speed up the recovery, as we saw with Anne Dailey in episode 14. In m