THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don & Rosella Kvernen

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Thank you

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you for the sacrifices you have made to help people like us

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Today we want to: Tell you a patient and care partner’s view of rehab Tell you what you do that helps us Encourage you – that you make a huge impact in people’s lives Questions or Comments

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Our Family Don, Rosella, Jon, and Josh

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Monday morning March 18, 1991 Don had a TIA and another

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Tuesday morning March 19, 1991 our lives changed forever

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Left Internal Carotid Dissection

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don’s MRI November 2009

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For your skilled care that helps your patients survive For your kindness

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For assuring families but not forcing them to go home For letting them decide

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don & Rosella before Don’s Stroke

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE In one day, we left a good life and headed into a huge unknown

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Rehab !

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For not forcing your patients and their families too quickly into the realization of what lies ahead

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE HOPE

HOPEHOPE Thank you For creating a pleasant environment for your patients to heal and to begin to hope

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For crying with your patients For showing compassion alongside your professionalism

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For balancing humor with your compassion and knowledgeable care

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For sensing your patients’ and their families’ discouragement For encouraging them about their progress and their future

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For treating your patients like regular people, not just a certain patient diagnosis

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For creating opportunities for your patients and their families to interact with and encourage each other

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Tragedies happen to families

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For your medical expertise For your wisdom to help families pull together toward their loved ones’ recovery

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For letting spouses come to therapy sessions

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For letting children come to their parent’s therapy sessions

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For showing – not just telling – your aphasic patients what to do in therapy

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For allowing your hospitals to support chaplaincy programs

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For easing your patients into their new lives by arranging home visits

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE The Orton-Gillingham teaching method uses learning elements that are: Visual Auditory Phonetic Kinesthetic

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Visual Drills Auditory Drills Say name & sound (e.g. F & fff) Feel mouth Trace in rice Repeat name & sound See the letter Hear the letter

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don with Kay Hawley, his tutor from the Dyslexia Institute (aka) Reading Center of Rochester

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE TouchMath

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you Speech Therapists Kay Hawley, Don’s tutor The Orton-Gillingham method The TouchMath method Don’s practice friends

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For “taking it” when patients say horrible things to you

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For teaching your patients to take responsibility for their own well-being

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For training your patients how to accomplish their ADLs For helping them become independent

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For tending so diligently to all of your patients’ complex health issues

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For persisting until you find anticonvulsants and other meds that work well for your patients For giving hope For being kind

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Patients slough off your suggestions because of Denial Pride Embarrassment Too much – too soon

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For continuing to gently present resources to your patients and their families Keep on offering help Perhaps on the “6 th time” they will respond

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don, enjoying his John Deere

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don and a friend

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For helping patients navigate the myriad of issues involved in integration back into life

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE We Needed Counseling

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Overcome by Recovery

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For your wise counsel For directing your patients and their families toward a more healthy way of living

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Thank you For inviting patients to work with your PT students For letting survivors give back

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Don chose not to get bitter He did not have to deny our pain He just did not want to let our losses fester and control our lives

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE StrokeSurvivor-StoryofHope.com

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Chapter 9 Tackling Challenges – D riving

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Don has driven safely for many years with adaptive devices

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope: Medications have controlled Don’s seizures and other symptoms Don used a pool noodle with straps for swimming A pedal with strapped platform has allowed Don to ride a stationary recumbent exercise bike

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope: We added cable TV to our exercise room A test for driving readiness was available through the OT department We adapted our vehicles for Don with a spinner knob, left foot accelerator, and convex rear-view mirrors

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope: Specialized driving instruction was available for brain injury survivors A handicapped parking sticker and well maintained handicapped accommodations at businesses have made a big difference Shoe buttons have made dressing easier for Don

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope: A wall-mounted shampoo dispenser has allowed Don to bathe independently We installed a higher toilet in our bathroom to help Don get up easier Don special ordered a left-handled recliner

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE What helped us cope and gave us hope: Grab bars have provided safety Don learned to back down staircases that have no left railing An answering machine or voic has allowed us to receive accurate recorded phone messages Don has learned to defer to me at times for details

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Chapter 12 Lessons We Have Learned

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE StrokeSurvivor-StoryofHope.com

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Our sons, Jon and Josh Right Left

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Jon and Svea

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Josh and Beth

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE A lot of love for a new grandson

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Our grandchildren

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Wonderful times with friends

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Celebrating 40 years of marriage

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Thanks to a large group of rehab professionals, Don survived, so we could enjoy these times together. We are extremely grateful!

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Gratitude by Melody Beattie Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. Beattie, Melodie. (1990). The Language of Letting Go. Center City, MN: Hazelden Publishing. Used by permission.

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPEHOPE Rehab Professionals You make a huge difference in broken people’s lives. Thank you – to all of you!

THERE IS LIFE AFTER STROKEHOPE Questions or Comments