Synopses & Reviews
A young woman suffers a stroke; she rebuilds her career and personal life, but not before her marriage falls apart. An eighty-year-old man dies unexpectedly of stroke, leaving his grown sons to wonder whether they are genetically predisposed to stroke. A recently retired woman confronts her future with a husband suddenly disabled by stroke. How can she help her husband? Will he ever recover? How will she cope with her own emotional stress?
In Stroke and the Family: A New Guide, Joel Stein shows the many faces of stroke and the people it strikes. To the family just beginning to cope with the aftermath of a stroke, the diagnostic tests, drug regimens, rehabilitation strategies, and varied prognoses can be completely bewildering. Because stroke can affect memory, speech, and movement, the impact on everyday routines and close relationships can be especially intense. Stein has produced a book that allows general readers and nonphysicians working with stroke survivors to make sense of the confusing variety of diagnoses and treatment options, and goes on to explore challenges the recovering stroke patient and the recovering family will face during a long recuperation with an uncertain outcome. Stroke and the Family offers up-to-date information and places the current research findings in context.
Review
Joel Stein has written a comprehensive guide to stroke for patients and their families. It covers all the basics of stroke care, from prevention to returning home from hospital through rehab. Dr. Stein's book will be a 'must' for families and patients living with the after effects of stroke. The writing is clear and easy to understand, and the information-packed text uses patient vignettes skillfully to illustrate very important issues in an engaging and humane manner. Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., Vice Chair, Massachusetts General Hospital Neurology Service
Synopsis
places the current research findings in context.
Synopsis
To the family just beginning to cope with the aftermath of a stroke, the diagnostic tests, drug regimens, rehabilitation strategies, and varied prognoses can be completely bewildering. Stein has produced a book that allows general readers and nonphysicians working with stroke survivors to make sense of the confusing variety of diagnoses and treatment options, and goes on to explore challenges the recovering stroke patient and the recovering family will face during a long recuperation with an uncertain outcome.
About the Author
Joel Stein, M.D., is Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director, Stroke Program, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He is also Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. What Is a Stroke?
2. Finding the Cause of a Stroke
3. Stroke Prevention
4. How the Brain Works
5. Medical Complications after Stroke
6. Recovery and Rehabilitation
7. Stroke in the Young and the Old
8. Impact on Marriage and Relationships
9. Impact on Children and Family
10. Return to Work and Leisure Activities
11. Weakness after Stroke
12. Loss of Sensation or Vision
13. Problems with Memory and Thinking
14. Emotional and Personality Changes
15. Communication Difficulties
16. Swallowing Difficulties
17. Pain and Muscle Spasms
18. Equipment and Home Environment
19. Nontraditional Treatments
20. Understanding Clinical Research
Appendix: Resources and Information
Index