Conquering Stroke

Valerie Greene

Description

"A true story of triumph over tragedy, this book is a must-have guide for anyone affected by stroke."
—William S. Maxfield

"Valerie Greene's courage, persistence, and willingness to search for the healing energies within her have shifted her body, mind, and spirit. Her story is an inspiration to all."
—Donna Eden

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States today and the leading cause of adult disability. Now Valerie Greene, a stroke survivor whose recovery surpassed even the most optimistic expectations, uses her own dramatic, inspiring, and eye-opening story to illustrate and deliver the important practical information you and your loved ones need to prevent, recognize, minimize, and recover from stroke.
Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction.

1. The Day My Life Changed Forever.
Resources: Vital Information.

2. Early Warning.
Resources: Risk Factors.

3. Acute Care.
Resources: When the Crisis Is Over: For the Family.

4. Rebirth.
Resources: Exciting "New"Findings.

5. On My Own.
Resources: Homecoming and the Caregiver.

6. Walking.
Resources: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy:"The Best-Kept Medical Secret".

7. Letting Go.
Resources: Critical Care for Caregivers.

8. In the Crucible of Change.
Resources: Integrative Medicine.

9. I Find My Voice.
Resources: Strategies for Helping Survivors with Aphasia.

10. From Powerless to Empowering.

Epilogue: Giant Leaps Ahead.

Resources.

Bibliography.

Index.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Santé du quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Santé au quotidien
• Fitness
• Health

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 14 juillet 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470250167
• Langue: English

Extrait

Conquering Stroke
Conquering Stroke
How I Fought My Way Back and How You Can Too
Valerie Greene

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Copyright 2008 by Valerie Greene. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
Photo credits: page 133 , Brion Price Photography; page 150 , Iman Photography; all other photos courtesy of the author
The information contained in this book is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional medical advice. Any use of the information in this book is at the reader s discretion. The author and the publisher specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained in this book. A health care professional should be consulted regarding your specific situation.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Greene, Valerie, date.
Conquering stroke : how I fought my way back and how you can too / Valerie Greene.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-13792-5 (cloth)
1. Greene, Valerie, 1964-Health. 2. Cerebrovascular disease-Patients-United States-Biography. I. Title.
RC388.5.G727 2008
362.196'810092-dc22
[B]
2008001365
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In loving memory of my father, who always believed in me.
Thanks, Dad, your little B did it!
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Day My Life Changed Forever
RESOURCES: Vital Information
2. Early Warning
RESOURCES: Risk Factors
3. Acute Care
RESOURCES: When the Crisis Is Over: For the Family
4. Rebirth
RESOURCES: Exciting New Findings
5. On My Own
RESOURCES: Homecoming and the Caregiver
6. Walking
RESOURCES: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: The Best-Kept Medical Secret
7 . Letting Go
RESOURCES: Critical Care for Caregivers
8. In the Crucible of Change
RESOURCES: Integrative Medicine
9. I Find My Voice
RESOURCES: Strategies for Helping Survivors with Aphasia
10. From Powerless to Empowering
Epilogue Giant Leaps Ahead
Resources
Bibliography
Index
Foreword
In this time of transition from the classical methods for treating stroke patients to the new ones emphasizing prevention and emergency management to restore function, we are fortunate to have people such as Valerie Greene who, tragically, suffered a devastating stroke that could have ruined her life. With excellent treatment and true grit on her part, she overcame most of her horrible disability and now, all of us, both professionals and public alike, are learning what a stroke is like and what one can do to prevent and to recover from a stroke. This is essential because those of us who have not suffered one can only imagine how it ruins one s life!
Valerie has done it, and yes, she tells us her story as well as describes the cutting edge of prevention and therapy, using not only traditional but also alternative methods to put herself back in the mainstream of society and to restore her as a civic leader. She has written a gripping autobiography full of thought-provoking information and ideas for all of us to embrace.
I am proud to know her.
James F. Toole, M.D.
President of the International Stroke Society The Walter C. Teagle Professor of Neurology and Professor of Public Health Sciences Wake Forest/Baptist Medical Center Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Acknowledgments
Thank you, God, for restoring my body, mind, and spirit. I am so grateful! You have brought me such a long way safely through the fire. I am so grateful for all the angels and guides you sent to protect, encourage, and support me, especially my loving family and friends.
My deep appreciation to some powerful women who were a constant source of support to me, personally and in helping complete this book: Cindi Sholander, Nancy Johnson, Donna Harris, Vivienne Bailey, Markay Holly-Schroeder, Donna Eden, Christina Monterastelli, Donna Griffin, and Rhonna Bodin.
I am also grateful for my agent extraordinaire, Maura Teitelbaum; my editor, Christel Winkler; and for all those who were involved at my publisher, John Wiley & Sons.
Many thanks to Catherine Revland for her hard work, research, and commitment to this project, and for her faithful collaboration with a team of people who have brought this book to fruition.
My sincere gratitude to all the physicians who contributed their insight and expertise: Rhett Bergeron, M.D.; Svetlana A. Dambinova, D.Sc., Ph.D.; David J. Dickoff, M.D.; Richard O. Fass, M.D.; James L. Frey, M.D.; William S. Maxfield, M.D.; Richard A. Neubauer, M.D.; James F. Toole, M.D.; Joseph D. Weissman, M.D.; Mojka Renaud, L.N., Dipl.,A.C.N.C.C.A.; and Terese A. Uliano, M.A., C.C.C.-S.L.P.
And for my partner, Marlies, who has accompanied me on this journey and continues to travel the road ahead with me.
Introduction

T WELVE YEARS AGO , at age thirty-one, I was riding high. I had a successful career, a fancy car, a posh address, a closet full of designer-label clothes, and more friends than I could name. Then without any warning, it all fell apart when in June 1996 I suffered a catastrophic stroke. It was one of the worst kinds, caused by a large blood clot that blocked my basal artery, where all routes to the brain merge into one. You don t hear too much about this form of stroke, as nine out of ten victims die immediately. Although I was one of the lucky few, it left me half paralyzed, deaf in one ear, and unable to speak or even swallow. The doctors told me I would probably never walk again.
Like most patients in the aftermath of a massive stroke, I sank into a deep abyss. When three psychiatrists came into my room and tried to encourage me to accept my limitations, it felt like a death sentence. But instead of succumbing to it, something deep within me resisted. That moment ignited a spark that grew in strength during the weeks that followed, firing up my determination to begin the fight of my life. I just didn t know how to begin. My thinking was disoriented and I couldn t express myself verbally or in writing. I was trapped, a prisoner within my own body, with no path of escape in sight.
Over time, I slowly regained my strength and clarity of thought. It was then that I began to educate myself, gathering information about every therapy that promised to restore me to health. My search turned into a twelve-year odyssey of recovery, a process of trial and error during which I tried every available treatment I could afford, discarded the ones that didn t work, and continued with the ones that did.
Today I am a walking, talking miracle. Whenever I speak before a group of stroke survivors, they respond with hope, applauding from their wheelchairs when they see me walking unassisted to a microphone. My presence alone reenergizes them because of the message I bring that recovery is possible, even from the most debilitating kind of stroke. I have written this book to share with every survivor and caregiver the valuable information I have learned during my recovery, some of it hard to come by, describing the procedures that worked for me and that may work for anyone searching for a way to heal from a stroke.
Although Western medicine is the best in the world when it comes to intervention, it has little to offer stroke victims after the crisis is over in the way of recovery. More and more people are investigating beyond conventional medicine when they want to get well, and my experience led me to do the same. The therapies in this book represent the full spectrum of global medicine-everything that works, not just what s profitable. Some of these regenerative therapies are a well-kept secret in the United States, even though they have long track records of effectiveness in other countries. I have given special emphasis to the little-known treatments that worked wonders for me. You will find a resource section after each