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You survived the stroke — now what?

The statistics:

  • At one month post stroke - 64% of people who survive the stroke will have a “motor deficit”
  • At one year post stroke:
          • 50% of people who survive will still have a “motor deficit”
          • 20-30% will have some difficulty with speech and language

You have questions about YOU and your recovery - Will rehabilitation help? Will I get better? How much better will I get? How long will recovery take? Does recovery stop?

In the early stages — most professionals; doctors, physiotherapists, speech therapists will not and cannot give you definite answers mainly because they are not sure.

You need to know:

  • How recovery happens
  • What your goals are
  • What you can do for yourself
  • Who can help you

There are three parts to rehabilitation

  • Restoration of function
  • Substitution of function and
  • Compensation for lost function

The goals of Rehabilitation include:

  • Restoration and Recovery of function
  • Compensation and adaptation to permanent damage
  • Strategy training — finding strategies that help you adapt, recover and compensate
  • Helping you live the life you want to live while you are recovering and adapting

You need to decide what is right for you. How long you go for therapy and what type of therapy depends on your goals for yourself after stroke and what you can afford.

  • Do you want to recover as much function as you can?
  • Would you prefer to adapt to the disability? for example use a scooter rather than walking for long distances
  • How much time and effort are you willing to devote to recovery?
  • How much money can you spend? There are many private rehabilitation providers; physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists that can help you.

Sometimes paying for rehabilitation will help you walk-- you will not need a wheelchair or will enable you to go home rather than paying for a nursing home.

Ask your rehabilitation professional and doctor about how you can meet your goals for your life post stroke.

For more information on