Text 87, 68 rader
Skriven 2005-04-07 18:46:44 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
     Kommentar till en text av James Bradley (1:134/77.0)
Ärende: -Plegias  2.
====================
Hi again, James!  This is a continuation of my previous message:

JB>  If memory serves, stroke is more common than vehicle
JB>  collisions.


           I don't know... but I do know it is one of the three major causes of
death & it's much more common at younger ages than the majority of people think
it is.  When Nora was in the neurological ward at BCCH, for example, we met two
other kids who had recently had strokes... and one of them was still a toddler.



JB>  I guess it's the undamaged hemisphere that can take
JB>  up the slack?


           As I understand the situation, this type of repair occurs within the
same hemisphere.  The cerebrum is quite large by comparison to other areas.  If
the part of the brain responsible for a particular function still works, but is
reduced in size, it may be able to recover & expand.  If some part doesn't work
at all its duties may be reassigned.  But job assignments which were previously
grouped together will thus be scattered around various places, with a resulting
slowdown in communication, so the system tends to work less efficiently.



JB>  TOUGH work to be sure, FWIR.


           Yes, it is.  From our standpoint, however, the good news is that the
more effort a person puts into recovery the more they'll probably recover.  :-)



JB>  we have to chase this stuff like an athlete, and usually
JB>  get refused until we camp out on their doorstep. /-:


           Uh-huh.  Nora needs help dealing with bureacracy... but IMHO she has
the right instincts.  When she was in hospital after her stroke, she was asking
for a wheelchair before she could sit erect without being propped up.  Somebody
gave us a song & dance about how she might fall out of the wheelchair, at which
point I mentioned that the nurses at UBC had used a standard wheelchair when my
father was in a similar situation & propped him up with pillows... and that I'd
be glad to bring the seat belt we already owned.  Then they got the OT & the PT
to figure out how to get Nora out of bed & into a chair.  Eventually, these two
ladies remembered they had a neuro chair collecting dust in the basement... and
when one of the other Moms saw it she asked if her son could use it as well!  I
think the resources are available in many cases, but it's necessary to take the
initiative.  If you seem content to lie around watching TV that's probably what
you'll get.  But if you want something more you may have to keep rattling cages
until you find a person who knows what's there & how you can access it....  :-)



JB>  Cheers! There are some you just can't get enough of,
JB>  and some you just try to escape. Just like in person,
JB>  really. You aint the later, I assure you!


           Aww, shucks... [blush].  And neither are you, BTW....  :-))




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver BC, CANADA [604-266-5271] (1:153/716)