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| Definition: Eclectic (noun). A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources |
Showing posts with label ▶ Eclectic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ▶ Eclectic. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Eclectic Stuff on Wednesday
Countdown to Hamburg
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| Sas Freeman |
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| DIA |
This DIA 28th Annual EuroMeeting brings healthcare stakeholders together to collaborate on when, where and how innovation leads to advances in health care product development. – See more at:
▶ EuroMeeting 2016The session I am involved in, looks at how digital technology is transforming healthcare. I will begin with the patient perspective and share my story as a stroke survivor and talk about the role of social media/digital in my life.
At the end I will be challenging the panelists and audience to think about how such technology can be harnessed to better support patients. The challenge will be around how healthcare providers could offer stroke survivors a more personal and effective stroke recovery experience, freeing up resources that could be used elsewhere and what that future could look like.
There will be an opportunity for questions at the end and there is also live Twitter feed so please support me and put this date in your diary along with the time and join me and everyone involved. I will let you all have the Twitter feed address as soon as I have it.
Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying my Easter weekend, but this is also very much on my mind as it is so very eggciting, excuse the pun, but it is Easter after all.
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Know someone who is ... Caregiver? Spouse? Stressed? That person is not alone
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| Jeff Porter Stroke of Faith |
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| Photo from bottled_void via Flickr |
Stress is especially an enemy for caregivers - and those people are often prime targets for stress.
The needs of caregivers can be woefully ignored, including their own health care, which includes mental care. You should take note from this story on how stressed spouse caregivers race a higher stroke risk:
▶ Spousal caregivers who reported being under moderate or severe strain had a 5.1% rate of incident stroke, compared with 2.6% among propensity-matched people who were not caregivers ... , Sindhu Lakkur, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues found. ...
▶ The researchers suggested there could be a public health implication for targeting stroke prevention efforts to this higher risk group of struggling spouse caregivers. Exactly how this might be done needs further study, Lakkur told MedPage Today.
See the original article:
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Is it too Late for you to get Better - No.
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| Peter G. Levine Stronger After Stroke |
Let's say you're a chronic stroke survivor. You know "chronic" – it's the time after your plateau. Typically the chronic phase goes from 3 months to the end of the stroke survivors life. Do you still have a chance to get better during the chronic phase?
Yes.
Seriously?
Yes.
And here it is…
Typically survivors are forced through rehab as soon as possible. Facilities are expensive and home is cheap, so off you go! The problem is that to get the survivor out the door, compensatory strategies are implemented. Things like AFOs and using the good arm to get everything done. It makes sense, these things do get people out of the system. The problem is those same strategies also hurt the survivors brain.
Astronauts & 1900's Women Get Surviving Stroke
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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
Before I had a stroke I would have found my post "9 Things I Have to Do to Drive Independently" obsessively tedious. I know of only two groups of able-bodied people who can understand what you have to do to thrive after a stroke.
Astronauts. Astronauts understand the conscious attention stroke survivors have to pay to familiar tasks that able-bodied people do without thinking. As I watched astronaut Scott Kelly demonstrate cooking and eating dinner on the International Space Station, I saw that he had a problem. He repeatedly dropped food because his hand forgot you have to attach an object to a surface or it will float away. To be fair, Scott was distracted by having to look towards the camera and explain what he was doing. I am sure he performs better when he does not divide his attention. I think he would understand why stroke survivors do not perform well when they try to multitask. I also think the months of practice Scott did on Earth would help him understand how hard it is for stroke survivors to relearn to do even simple tasks.
Urban Housewives in 1900. If women in 1900 could have read the nine things I do before I drive my car away from the curb, they would have said "welcome to my life." They knew about spending lots of time getting ready to do a task. For instance, before they could start doing laundry they had to do three chores. 1) They had to soak clothes the day before because cleaning agents were not very effective. 2) They had to hand carry 20 to 40 gallons of water from the sink to a large copper vat where the clothes were washed. 3) They had to wait for the coal fire under the copper vat to heat up the water. Only then could they start agitating the clothes by hand with a four foot long pole called a dolly stick.
Here is a re-enactment of doing laundry in 1900 from the PBS TV series, The 1900 House.
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Freedom
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| Beth Sinfield Beth's Story |
Freedom by definition is: the power or right to think, speak or act as one wants. The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. To sum up it's bloody fantastic!
I love being able to get up, get ready and go out on my own. I walk along the pathway to my car, get in and then I'm off. Gone are the days when I would have to wait for my mum to finish work and come shopping with me. I am free to do what I want, WHEN I want.
My little car Penny, (I'm probably the biggest Big Bang Theory fan so it's named after Penny in the programme and it's a girl car because it's all pretty and blue) plays a huge part, since learning to drive my independence has expanded. I love just getting up in the morning and driving to college like it's nothing major. It's just what I do.
On friday I kinda got a little emotional driving on my way to physiotherapy. I just felt so in control saying bye to both my parents, getting in my car and driving all the way to Markyate (a journey quite long and one I never thought my parents would let me do on my own!!). I was 'driving' on cloud nine- I felt extremely lucky to have recovered well from a brainstem stroke, firstly. But also the fact that I stuck with learning to drive, passed first time and managed to get a car of my own. Yes, 'normal' people do it all the time but for a stroke survivor who was told she'd never walk or talk again, is pretty big!
Rick Mercer Report: Robotics & Seasonal Brew
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| www.rickmercer.com |
Rick at the Robotics Competition
Published on Mar 23, 2016Rick competes at the FIRST Robotics regional championship in Oshawa, ON.
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New Seasonal Brew
Published on Mar 23, 2016Turn Budget Day into an all-nighter.
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Saturday, March 26, 2016
Laid-Back Admin: Stop SSTattler, Why?, and a Bit History
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| Dr. Beagle C. Cranium Stroke Survivors Tattler |
This next week will present:
- Stop SSTattler - Stop publish Apr/09/2016 Stroke Survivors Tattler and in the future. The Guest Bloggers told a week before on e-mail Wednesday March 9th.
- Why? - I can explain it in a very positive way.
- History - We have a handful readers of friends in Edmonton at the start but now we have readers approx. 500+/- Users around the world every week, great Guest Bloggers, why have various Wikipedia & Video, Headline Blog, Eclectic Stuff, and Weekly Columnists, Comics, and so on...
For this week I have to scratch-my-head so that I'll to tell you the important details but lots of unimportant details I'll put them my garbage bin. Starting to scratch-my-head right now...
Regards,
Regards,
Dr. Beagle C. Cranium and John C. Anderson
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Eclectic Stuff on Wednesday
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| Definition: Eclectic (noun). A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources |
Strokversary Six
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| Tim Seefeldt Brain Food Cafe for the Mind |
Six years ago today started with a sizzle.
Sadly, it was my brain that was frying. It’s the day I stroked out.
Few days go by without some reminder of my March Madness. It began months of craziness, confusion and fear. It really, really sucked.
But on this first Monday of Day Light Savings, I drink a solo toast, say thanks to whoever will listen and vow not to waste the time I now have with a well functioning brain. Well functioning by my standards, at least.I’m often haunted by terrible memories when I think of stroking out. The confusion and fear of the first days was actually a pleasure compared to the fright that followed my earliest recovery. That’s when I was together enough to realize just how messed up I really was.
50 Shades of Possible Changes
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| Sas Freeman |
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| Wheel Chair |
After George Osborne announced this cut to the Personal Independent Payment (PIP) from these already vulnerable people, a significant number of Conservative MP’, recognising the drastic effects on thousands of people’s lives, warned him that they were ready to throw out his plans. They have written a letter to the Chancellor requesting he rethinks his plans. Iain Duncan Smith resigned as work and pensions secretary, denouncing £4bn of planned cuts to disability benefits as “indefensible”.
If these changes are forced in, it could in real terms, leave disabled people, who need extra assistance, £3,500 a year worse off whilst the cost of the paid care they need remains the same.
Swallowing, a Simple Thing You Take for Granted
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
Almost 7 years ago, when I was brand new to the constantly changing, faceless group known as stroke survivors in the rehab facility, I was more absorbed with my lack of right-sided movement than with anything else. And I was on intravenous, plus a feeding tube for 5 weeks that injected "formula" directly into my gastrointestinal tract to keep me alive in name only. I had no appetite anyway because the noxious depression, accompanied by random seizures, kept on going, never stopping, even for mealtime.
There was a separate section set up for all those who passed that test, the controlled feast as I called it, and across from each person sat a speech therapist taking notes on the progress while the people ate the mechanical soft stuff. It made me nervous and a little edgy, but I ate, albeit drooling with food occasionally falling out, little bits at a time to avoid choking, to keep the feeding tube removal on schedule.
9 Things I Must Do to Be Independent in Driving
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| Rebecca Dutton Home After a Stroke |
Regaining independence in driving took more than being trained to drive one-handed by a certified OT driving instructor. There were nine additional skills I had to master. I begin with two tasks that able-bodied people do before they pull away from the curb.Safety. (1) The seatbelt was always twisted when I pulled it across my body. I learned I have to make sure the seat belt is completely straight when I pull it out.
Starting the Car. (2) My left arm is my sound arm so I have to lean over to see the slot for the key. I can pull the key out thru an opening in the steering wheel because this does not require the precise placement that inserting the key demands.Managing Blood Pressure - Lowering Those Numbers
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| Jeff Porter Stroke of Faith |
Pay attention, keep track and act when needed - key elements to control high blood pressure, the leading cause of strokes.
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| Photo from http://www.medisave.co.uk via Flickr |
▶ "Active management of systolic blood pressure in this population using a 140 mm Hg target led to a clinically important reduction in blood pressure," they wrote, adding, "Active management of blood pressure after stroke/transient ischaemic attack is more important than the target that is set."
▶ "The additional resources needed to achieve the additional 3 mm Hg lower blood pressure in the intensive target arm might be better spent in increasing the proportion of people with stroke in primary care who have a systolic blood pressure below 140 mm Hg."
▶ Their Prevention After Stroke -- Blood Pressure (PAST-BP) study included 529 patients at 99 general practices in England who were randomized open-label to treatment to an intensive target of under 130 mm Hg (or a 10 mm Hg reduction from baseline if they started below 140 mm Hg) or a standard target of less than 140 mm Hg.
▶ "Apart from the different target, patients in both arms were actively managed in the same way with regular reviews by the primary care team," Mant's group noted."
The reduction of blood pressure readings might have been small, but which level would you rather have?
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Going Backwards
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| Barb Polan Barb's Recovery |
Setbacks are a common occurrence in everyone's lives, right? It's not just me, right?
I have a double-whammy of steps backwards going on right now: after having knee surgery, I've regressed to my immediate post-stroke state. On top of that, although I was progressing rapidly, given my circumstances, according to the nurses and PT's I've seen since the surgery, I took two steps back last Friday...
When I stood up to greet the nurse who was going to remove my staples, I felt pain in the side/back of my post-op knee; I slowly limped (don't I always?) to the door, trying to pretend my knee wasn't threatening to collapse under me. I told her it was hurting a bit more than yesterday, and she thought that wasn't unusual.
I, on the other hand, was appalled that that day didn't bring improvement - that's what was supposed to happen: my knee was supposed to feel and behave a little bit better every day. Eventually I'd get back to my half-disabled-and-half-unharmed body. Ironically, the abilities of that broken body now seemed a desirable goal.
I conjectured that I'd "overdone" it the day before - not with exercise, as my knee hurt to much riding the bike Thursday for me to overdo that. I blamed the staples, which were scheduled to come out that morning, leading to yet another milestone on the way to "better."
Rick Mercer Report: Snow Plows & Daylight Saving Time
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| www.rickmercer.com |
Snow Plows
Published on Mar 16, 2016Rick joins the snow removal crew in Barrie, ON to clear the roads after a winter storm.
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The Rant - Daylight Saving Time
Published on Mar 16, 2016Rick's Rant for March 15th, 2016.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Eclectic Stuff on Wednesday
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| Definition: Eclectic (noun). A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources |
Locked-in at 17
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| Beth Sinfield Beth's Stroke |
So what are my 'tips', if you like, about overcoming brainstem stroke/locked-in syndrome at 17? Well, I don't really have an explicit ones but I did have certain 'motivations'. First let me walk you through my immediate thoughts then I'll give you some tips that helped me.
- 'I'm 17. I can't be stuck locked-in like this.' I'm young. I'm meant to be doing 'young things', not sat on a stroke ward with lots of 60 year-olds. I should be preparing to go to university like all my friends.
- My family have to go to work, they can't become my full-time carers.' Family was a huge motivation for me. I didn't want their lives to change as much as mine. I wanted them to stay 'normal', so go to work etc as they always have done. Plus I didn't want them to suffer financially and also health-wise in order to wait on me hand and foot.
- 'I want my dignity back.' At 17 you don't want someone suddenly having to wash you, wipe your bottom for you or wipe up your dribbling mouth. I was going to shower myself again one way or another. I had no dignity, my body had become a view for nearly everyone, including my mum and sister. Not cool.
- 'People won't be friends with me if I look like this.' This one may seem harsh to you-you could even go as far as saying that I sort of bullied myself into getting better by thinking this one.
- But it is true to an extent.
People only talked 'at' me as I couldn't converse back. Topics of conversation had to be established early, I had laminated cue cards to help. But I wanted to be able to talk freely about anything that I wanted. I would miss those little gossip sessions I used to have with friends. I would no longer be an active part of conversation, rather an observer.
50 Shades of 50!
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| Sas Freeman |
Firstly I would like to apologise for my silence over the last few weeks but I was unwell again. To begin with I had been admitted to hospital with a mini stroke but whilst in contracted some horrid flu type illness, to be honest I am not totally sure what it was. No one was able to visit, only a few staff were allowed to enter and only if they were wearing protective gear including face-masks. When I eventually left the room had to be fumigated and left for four hours before anyone was allowed in?! Anyway here I am back again.
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| 18881-atrial-fibrillation-p1 |
Findings show that still many people are completely unaware of the condition called AF, the abbreviation for Atrial Fibrillation. This is commonly known as an irregular heart beat. It is often unknown in a person and yet is the cause for approximately twenty per cent of all strokes in the UK. This condition is so easily treated once detected and then the risk of having a stroke is reduced by sixty seven per cent, this is why raising awareness is vital. We could start today if after reading my blog you took a photo of it and sent it to five or ten friends via whichever social media you prefer then you ask each of them to do the same and so on. Think of how much more awareness we could have collectively raised as a result of one blog and a few minutes of your time, if you will please help me. If also anyone wishes to purchase my book to learn more, it isn’t a heavy read, you do not have to have had a stroke or know anyone who has experienced a stroke to get something from it I am informed, then also awareness is rising again yet further and the extra money raised for the cause.
Can't Do's and Can Do's: A Stroke Survivor's Thoughts
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| Joyce Hoffman The Tales of a Stroke Patient |
I was in one of those moods recently, a gloomy day sitting by the useless sliding doors that lead out to the decent-sized balcony. That's what put me in the mood to begin with, those useless sliding doors that you need two hands to operate. My son, who is 6'1", strong as an ox, and also has two hands, had trouble opening them, even with 3-In-One Household Oil applied.So I started making a mental list of all the things I can't and can do anymore. My depression left me 4 years ago, and it was almost 7 years post-stroke, so I wasn't in jeopardy of succumbing to depression again. My right arm is paralyzed from my hemorrhagic stroke, and I use it for a visual aid. Ergo, the can't and can.
Besides opening those sliding doors, here's the favorite list of 10 can't do's:
- Clap at a good performance (slapping my thigh wouldn't be heard above the thunderous crowd)
- Knit my sons scarves (even with the imperfections)
- Play the piano (I know, I know, there are pieces for only the left hand, and I wish I had a dollar for all the people who told me that, but the piano is supposed to be played with two hands, knucklehead)
- Run like the wind (it's all relative)
- Cook something that isn't a sandwich (I always dropped things so I gave up)
- Open a package or a bottle without using my teeth (my dentist would kill me)
- Go to a buffet (it's self-explanatory))
- Do a manicure by myself (I could paint the right hand, but the left? Smear, smear, smear....)
- Style my hair (scary when I let it air dry)
- Read a paperback book (the book sometimes closes involuntarily and I lose my place)
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