THE CARE GIVERS

THE CAREGIVERS

If you are a caregiver, do take note about this role ahead of time.

Are you prepared to work with the patient on stroke recovery? Talking it over with other people who can share the care giving job with you, will help.

What are the stroke survivor's needs? Who can best help meet each of them?

Who will be the main caregiver? Does caregiving need to be scheduled around the caregivers' jobs or other activities?

Caregivers who help Stroke Survivors (SS) at home are usually family members such as a husband or wife or an adult son or daughter. They may also be friends or even professional home health aides. Usually, one person is the home care main caregiver, while others help from time to time.

An important part of the home care is to make sure that caregivers understand the safety, physical, and emotional needs of the stroke survivor, and that they will be available to provide needed care.

Since every stroke is different, people have different needs for help from caregivers. Here are some of the things caregivers can do:

Keep notes on discharge plans and instructions and ask about anything that is not clear.

Help to make sure that the stroke survivor takes all prescribed medicines and follows suggestions from program staff about diet, exercise, rest, and other health practices.

Encourage and help the SS practices skills learned in rehabilitation.

Help SS solve problems and discover new ways to do things.

Help SS with activities performed before the stroke. These could include using tools, buttoning a shirt, household tasks, and leisure or social activities. Help with personal care, if the SS cannot manage alone.

Help with communication, if the SS has speech problems. Include the SS in conversations even to encourage active participation.

Arrange for needed community services and aid. Stand up for the rights of the Stroke survivor.

ADJUSTING TO THE CHANGE

For the stroke survivor, it may be hard to transfer the skills acquired during rehabilitation. and may find it hard to go back to old activities. During this time, the stroke survivor and family have to make the necessary adjustments.

These adjustments are a physical and emotional challenge, for the main caregiver as well as the stroke survivor.

The caregiver has many new responsibilities and may not have time for favorite activities.

The caregiver needs support, understanding, and time to rest, too. Care giving that falls too heavily on one person can be very stressful. Even though family members and friends are nearby and willing to help, conflicts over care giving can cause stress.

A stroke is always stressful for the family. It is especially hard if one family member is the only caregiver. A lot of time may be required to meet the needs of the stroke survivor. Therefore, the caregiver needs as much support as possible from others, too. Working together eases the stress on everyone.

STROKE… THE SILENT KILLER… are YOU at risk? "

“STROKE… THE SILENT KILLER… are YOU at risk? "

Research shows that 'STROKE' is the No.3 leading killer of the young and old…”According to reports in one of the local newspapers in Malaysia on Tuesday 24th April 2007… this phrase- ‘Six Malaysians hit by STROKE every hour” was splashed on the front page.

Have you experienced a stroke before, or witness the struggle of a Stroke Survivor who needs support, help and encouraging information that will give lead to an improved quality of life?

Every year… Stroke becomes a silent killer for thousands of people. Those lucky enough to survive, may find that life following a stroke can be filled with pain, sorrow and feelings of loss and despair.

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these feelings and limitations, like discovering a new independence…one that is rich and rewarding.

Each year, people become victims of stroke, when they fail to recognize the early warning signs!

Again, this little friendly reminder to act FAST, when you see these signs of impending stroke:

·Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg,

or one side of the body
·Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
·Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
·Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
·Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

CARING FOR THE STROKE SURVIVOR

"Greet and make them feel better… "

A genuine, friendly smile, accompanied by eye contact is the best welcome. The gentle tone of your voice affects the greeting much more than the words you say. General caring comments play a big part, too.

For example:

Look for something nice to say, eg clothing, hairdo etc and give a genuine compliment.

or a simple ... “How are You” makes a difference, too.

Enquire about their wants… Open questions that usually start with ‘how’, ‘what’, ‘when’ , ‘where’. are leads that will help to explore their needs more. Just the smallest extra touch can make a lot of difference.

Listen to the Response. Proper listening involves complete attention, eye contact and body language. Questions to gain more information or to clarify, are part of the active listening process.


If you have a story or message to share with us on your experiences regarding stroke, as a stroke survivor or a carer, touching on any of the following angles.

Loving yourself
Friendship
Relationships
Family
Tough Stuff
Love and Kindness
Learning Lessons
Follow your Dreams
Making a difference
Overcoming the challenges

please feel free to comment here or email me at - tanjeanna@gmail.com

( More sharing in my next posting )

Stroke Risk Factors

Risk factors that may contribute to stroke include:

§ Increasing Age
§ Gender
§ Race and Ethnicity
§ Family History
§ Stressful Life
§ Unhealthy Lifestyle
§ Health Problems, such as Hypertension, High Cholesterol level, Diabetic etc

While you may not have the ability to control some of these risk-factors, a healthy lifestyle will definitely help to reduce the odds of having a stroke. What are these risk factors and how can they be eliminated?




Stroke Risk Factors

Some stroke risk factors are hereditary. Others are functions of natural processes. Still others result from a person's lifestyle. You can't change factors related to heredity or natural processes, but those resulting from lifestyle or environment can be modified with the help of a healthcare professional.

What risk factors for stroke can't be changed?

Age — The chance of having a stroke approximately doubles for each decade of life after age 55. While stroke is common among the elderly, a lot of people under 65 also have strokes.

Heredity (family history) and race — Your stroke risk is greater if a parent, grandparent, sister or brother has had a stroke.

Sex (gender) — Stroke is more common in men than in women. In most age groups, more men than women will have a stroke in a given year. However, more than half of total stroke deaths occur in women. At all ages, more women than men die of stroke. Use of birth control pills and pregnancy pose special stroke risks for women.

Prior stroke, TIA or heart attack — The risk of stroke for someone who has already had one is many times that of a person who has not. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) are "warning strokes" that produce stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage. TIAs are strong predictors of stroke. A person who's had one or more TIAs is almost 10 times more likely to have a stroke than someone of the same age and sex who hasn't. Recognizing and treating TIAs can reduce your risk of a major stroke. If you've had a heart attack, you're at higher risk of having a stroke, too.

What stroke risk factors can be changed, treated or controlled?
High blood pressure — High blood pressure is the most important controllable risk factor for stroke. Many people believe the effective treatment of high blood pressure is a key reason for the accelerated decline in the death rates for stroke.

Cigarette smoking — cigarette smoking to be an important risk factor for stroke. The nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke damage the cardiovascular system in many ways. The use of oral contraceptives combined with cigarette smoking greatly increases stroke risk.

Diabetes — Diabetes is an independent risk factor for stroke. Many people with diabetes also have high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and are overweight. This increases their risk even more. While diabetes is treatable, the presence of the disease still increases your risk of stroke.

Carotid or other artery disease — The carotid arteries in the neck supply blood to the brain. A carotid artery narrowed by fatty deposits from atherosclerosis (plaque buildups in artery walls) may become blocked by a blood clot. Carotid artery disease is also called carotid artery stenosis. Peripheral artery disease is the narrowing of blood vessels carrying blood to leg and arm muscles. It's caused by fatty buildups of plaque in artery walls. People with peripheral artery disease have a higher risk of carotid artery disease, which raises their risk of stroke. \

Atrial fibrillation — This heart rhythm disorder raises the risk for stroke. The heart's upper chambers quiver instead of beating effectively, which can let the blood pool and clot. If a clot breaks off, enters the bloodstream and lodges in an artery leading to the brain, a stroke results.

Other heart disease — People with coronary heart disease or heart failure have a higher risk of stroke than those with hearts that work normally. Dilated cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart), heart valve disease and some types of congenital heart defects also raise the risk of stroke.

High blood cholesterol — People with high blood cholesterol have an increased risk for stroke. Sometimes, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol is a risk factor for stroke in men, but more data are needed to verify its effect in women.

Poor diet — Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol food can raise blood cholesterol levels. Diets high in sodium (salt) can contribute to increased blood pressure. Diets with excess calories can contribute to obesity. Also, a diet containing five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day may reduce the risk of stroke.

Physical inactivity and obesity — Being inactive, obese or both can increase the risk of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The recommendations are brisk walking, take the stairs instead of the lift, qigong exercises or any form of mild exercises , to get a total of at least 30 minutes of activity on a regular basis.

Alcohol abuse — Alcohol abuse can lead to multiple medical complications, including stroke. For those who consume alcohol, a recommendation of no more than two drinks per day for men and no more than one drink per day for non pregnant women best reflects the state of the science for alcohol and stroke risk.

Drug abuse — Drug addiction is often a chronic relapsing disorder associated with a number of societal and health-related problems, with an increased risk of stroke.

Many of the risk factors for stroke can be controlled if people change their lifestyle…
The good news is with early intervention and proper rehabilitation, many stroke survivors and family members can go on to lead normal or renewed lives. The first step to achieve success…is to recognize the warning symptoms of stroke, to avoid having a recurrent episode which may lead to further damage to the body and life.
The impact of stroke can be devastating for the more than 700,000 people that suffer from stroke each year.
When armed with knowledge and information; you can learn to lead an ordinary life even after a devastating stroke. One of the most important desires stroke survivors have is the ability to regain an independent lifestyle. How is this POSSIBLE?
This is often achieved through rehabilitation, support and counseling, as well as caring for the individual’s health related to post stroke problems..
Friends and loved ones also find that they are confused about how to cope with a loved one’s loss. Fortunately, help and guidance are now available. Friends and family can learn to heal others and heal their own sense of loss by learning more about life following a stroke.
While a stroke survivor may not return to the state of health like before, there is evidence that leading a rich rewarding life is still possible.

Stroke Alert

“STROKE… THE SILENT KILLER… are YOU at risk?

Research shows that it is the No.3 leading killer of the young and old…”
According to reports in one of the local newspapers in Malaysia on Tuesday 24th April 2007… this phrase- ‘Six Malaysians hit by STROKE every hour” was splashed on the front page.

Have you experienced a stroke before, or witnessed the struggle of a Stroke Survivor who needs support, help and encouraging information that will lead to an improved quality of life?

Every year… Stroke becomes a silent killer for thousands of people. Those lucky enough to survive, may find that life following a stroke can be filled with pain, sorrow and feelings of loss and despair.

Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these feelings and limitations, like discovering a new independence…one that is rich and rewarding.

Each year, people become victims of stroke, when they fail to recognize the early warning signs!
Recognize these signs of impending stroke:

·Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, on one side of the body
·Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
·Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
·Sudden dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
·Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

F.A.S.T.

The acronym FAST is an easy way to remember signs of stroke. What to do if you think a stroke has occurred. The most important is to immediately call for medical assistance.

FAST stands for:

• FACE - Ask the person to smile. Check to see if one side of the face droops.
• ARMS - Ask the person to raise both arms. See if one arm drifts downward.
• SPEECH -Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Check to see if words are ````` slurred and if the sentence is repeated correctly.
• TIME - If a person shows any of these symptoms, time is essence. It is important to go
• to the hospital as quickly as possible…Act FAST, call for HELP
  
  These may all be signs of a impending stroke attack… IMMEDIATE MEDICAL HELP is crucial …!!!

Experiencing one or more of the symptoms above, may put you at risk of Stroke attack. Stroke is increasingly prevalent in modern times.

Risk factors that may contribute to stroke include:

§ Increasing Age
§ Gender
§ Race and Ethnicity
§ Family History
§ Stressful Life
§ Unhealthy Lifestyle
§ Health Problems, such as Hypertension, High Cholesterol level, Diabetic etc

While you may not have the ability to control some of these risk-factors, a healthy lifestyle will definitely help to reduce the odds of having a stroke. What are these risk factors and how can they be eliminated?

More information …in my next posting very soon…

Seven Magical Steps To Quicker Stroke Recovery

STROKE SURVIVOR, CARER AND SUPPORT
By Jeanna Tan

To begin with, in my Blog, I am going to share my experience as a Carer for my Stroke Survivor Husband, K.K.YAP… my Support for Him and other Stroke Survivors world wide, especially those in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia … and as a Volunteer at the National Stroke Association of Malaysia.

From the experiences and views of life after stroke, and discover new and beautiful ways to improve the quality of life, even in the face of adversity…

Very importantly, we ought to seriously consider the following factors …

A healthy lifestyle and low fat diet, rich in natural sources of vitamins and minerals will definitely help against further attack of Stroke.

KK had a few attacks of Stroke before the last one on 9th October 2005. The earlier episodes were not as serious and he recovered in less than a month after each attack. Looking back, I think all the previous occurrences were actually warning signs…Warnings that it’s about time to change his lifestyle…

Way back in the eighties, as a journalist, he was already suffering from high blood pressure but did not really take this health problem seriously. In August 1991, I believed he had his first stroke, when he was feeling very ill with his nose breeding profusely. It was already after midnight then, so I took him to a 24Hr clinic, but the Doctor just dynosed his condition as normal. He was sent home with just panadol and advised to take a rest. However, the following day, KK was feeling really very sick, drowsy and could hardly opened his eyes…I sensed some thing was not quite right. This time, I took him to the emergency ward at the University Hospital. Upon arrival at the Hospital, he was immediately wheeled in and given medical attention. His blood pressure then was very very high (257/176 ) and was warded for further observation. Fortunately, the hemorrhage was not at his brain, and was on his feet again after being hospitalised for more than 10 days.

On February 1st 2001, KK, home alone, had a stroke at about 3 am. We only knew of his condition at 7 am. He was taken to Hospital by our son-in-law, Eric Lee. Lucky for KK, Eric could not join us on our holidays in Penang. This sudden attack could be a result of a heavy bout of badminton earlier in the evening. He was warded for 5 days in Hospital. A good rest and family's love and concern brought KK back to normal life again, though he had to give up his love for badminton and made do with just daily brisk walking for exercise.

Then in October 2005, KK suffered two attacks within a week. During a meeting tea-break on 3rd October, at the Istana Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, he suddenly lost control of his limbs movements and speech. An ambulance was called and he ended up in hospital again. However, by evening the same day, failing to recognize the early signs of a stroke attack, the Doctor in attendance discharged him.

Sad to say, on 9th October 2005, during our family dinner, he suddenly turned pale, hands and legs started shaking uncontrollably, vomiting and could not walk or talk anymore. This time, it was really serious. We thought he had a heart attack and took him to IJM for medical treatment. The Doctor at IJM later confirmed that it was not a heart attack and could be suffering from a stroke. So again, we brought KK to the emergency ward at UMMC. A thorough medical check up and a brain scan, confirmed that KK had Stroke attack and was warded at 5am. After ten solid days and nights in the Hospital neurology ward, KK was finally discharged. Still unable to walk, he had to use walking aids and wheelchair, for almost two months. This was the most trying time for KK and everyone in the family.

The journey to recovery was pretty tough in the beginning for all his love ones, because KK was totally helpless, then. However, with proper monitoring of his daily routine, such as his diet, medication, physiotherapy session at NASAM (National Stroke Association of Malaysia), accupunture treatment, reflexology massage and keeping regular doctor appointments. really helped him pulled through.

Nevetheless, the most important fact was KK's own will power and determination to recover fast enough... to be able to walk on 26th November 2005, the Wedding Day of his beloved second daughter Elaine Yap to Warrence Ting. Sure enough, a few days before the wedding, KK was able to walk again. Thanks to Prayers answered, love & concern from family & friends, as well as a very strong goal, KK succeeded in his plight.

Now, as I reminiscence my Husband’s recovery from his disability, I realized that his speedy journey back to normal lifestyle was really quite simple, possible and achievable to other stroke survivors, too. I call this journey…’The Seven Magical Steps to Quicker Recovery After a Stroke Attack’

The SEVEN MAGICAL STEPS TO QUICKER RECOVERY AFTER A STROKE ATTACK:

. The Stroke Survivor's SELF DETERMINATION and WANT to recover
· The LOVE, CARE and SUPPORT of immediate family
· Regular MEDICATION and CHECK-UP
· DAILY CORRECT THERAPY SESSIONS
· Proper DIET
· CONDUCIVE and suitably equiped Home ENVIROMENT
· SUPPORT GROUP For SURVIVORS And CARE-GIVERS