When Mom called on the morning of September 14th, we sensed that something might be wrong.  She rarely called us out of concern that she'd be bothering us at work.  When we called her back, she was not able to communicate much, so she handed the phone to her friend, Marcella, who told us that Mom was very distressed.  Her friends rushed her to the hospital and she was admitted right away.  At first, a stroke was ruled out, leaving us confused about what was happening.  She didn't even know her name or birthday!  By the evening of the next day, her neurologist told us she had had a stroke caused by a blood clot that damaged a portion of the left hemisphere of her brain. 

Source: strokecenter.org

A stroke is a sudden interruption in the blood supply of the brain.  Most strokes are caused by an abrupt blockage of arteries leading to the brain (ischemic stroke).  Other strokes are caused by bleeding into brain tissue when a blood vessel bursts (hemorrhagic stroke).  Because stroke occurs rapidly and requires immediate treatment, stroke is also called a brain attack.  When the symptoms of a stroke last only a short time (less than an hour), this is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mini-stroke.  Stroke has many consequences.

The descriptions below are succintly written by the National Stroke Association.  Download the “Explaining Stroke” booklet to get more information and visual cues.

The National Stroke Organization has outlined a quick and easy-to-remember checklist to recognize a stroke.  If you notice any sign of stroke seek medical attention - even if it's only one sign or the symptom goes away.  Quick medical intervention is important if it is a stroke, and if it wasn't a stroke, you may help prevent one in the future.  It’s not a bad idea to know in advance which hospital in the area has the best stroke treatment.

We are sending this list to all of mom’s friends.  It’s good for everyone to know.

Mom is continuing to recover from her stroke.  She looks forward to her speech therapy with MaryPat at The Villages Regional Hospital three times a week.  She has also joined the local Wellness Center (a.k.a. health club) and takes a MedFit class twice a week.  MedFit is an extension to Physical Therapy with no doctor involvement.  Otherwise, Mom has returned to her active social life with her friends.  Her next hurdle is learning how to drive again. 

We would highly recommend Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight,  the story of the author's experience with her own stroke and recovery.  We particularly like the appendix section titled "Forty Things I Needed Most."  In fact, immediately after a parent's stroke, it may be difficult to find time to read any more than that.  But it is well worth it:  It tells you how you can be most helpful to your parent.  Below are Taylor's 40 things she needed most.

Source: strokecenter.org

Each stroke is different depending on the part of the brain injured, how bad the injury is, and the person's general health.  Some of the effects of stroke are: 

Source: medterms.com

Stroke look-alikes:  Just because a person has slurred speech or weakness on one side of the body does not necessarily mean that person has had a stroke.  There are many other nervous system disorders that can mimic a stroke, including:

We have provided a broad strokes overview of treatments from webmd.com below.  If you want more specifics concerning drugs used to dissolve blood clots or other procedures to remove clots and regain blood flow to the brain use this link to the National Stroke Association website.

Source: usnews.com

The US News & World Report is well-respected for its "best hospital" surveys.  Here we have listed just the top 10 hospitals ranked for Neurology & Neurosurgery.  We can speak firsthand regarding NYU Langone Medical Center in New York - it's in the top ten for good reason.  Our mother received acute stroke treatment there and was given extraordinary care.  But since coming to New York is not an option for everyone, go to the link above and check out the more than 1,200 hospitals listed by US News & World Report.

At this one site, strokecenter.org, you can investigate clinical trial opportunities and get the latest news on drug and treatment developments.

We were so surprised to see how many complementary and alternative therapies are considered for stroke.  If you visit holistic-online.com you can read the various nutritional, herbal, homeopathic ideas to help your parent recover from a stroke, and help prevent another one.

What was most inspiring to us is the number of nutritional sources that work to prevent blot clotting:  Ginkgo biloba, garlic, ginger, tumeric, pineapple, blueberry, huckleberry.