Last week at this time, Steve was recovering from an angioplasty with 5 implanted stents that opened up two blocked arteries. Since then, he’s been feeling much better. All chest pain is gone and he has much more energy. He doesn’t sleep as much as he did before, which was on and off about 18-20 [...]

On this two-year anniversary of Steve’s stroke, I reflect upon the progress and setbacks he’s had.

Today he can walk with a quad cane about 275 feet before he needs to rest. I remember how excited I was when he could walk only 12 steps with a cane, and that was with two people assisting him.  [...]

Steve’s heart catheterization and angioplasty was a success. He was scheduled for the heart cath on Thursday, but on Wednesday morning his chest pain was so severe that he asked me to take him to the hospital.  The angina pain would let up after taking nitroglycerin tablets, but then after any mild exertion like walking [...]

Steve is scheduled to have a coronary angiogram because he’s been having severe episodes of angina (chest pain) for the last two weeks. He’s feeling weaker, more fatigued and out of breath, and his heart races more often.
These episodes started when we were on vacation a few weeks ago and have become more frequent in [...]

Overindulgence on our trip to Florida increased Steve’s stroke risk and caused some serious consequences.
We rented a scooter for Steve to use. This was a necessity because of his mobility deficits. But as a result, he did very little walking…maybe only 40 ft. a day going to and from the bathroom, which is much less [...]

Stroke depression plagues many stroke survivors, because they bemoan the loss of their abilities and the person they were before the brain attack changed their lives forever.
We’ll be celebrating our second Christmas since Steve’s stroke, and we’re so glad he is with us and improving in his stroke recovery. But he has difficulty in seeing [...]

Medical costs associated with a stroke and stroke recovery may be daunting, but there is financial help available for caregivers of stroke survivors.
We had financial help available to us because even though Steve was too young to be eligible for Medicare when he had his stroke, he was receiving Medicare Disability for the last nine [...]

Someone recently asked me, “Where can you find comfortable stretch waist pants to help a stroke survivor become independent?”
Nice looking comfortable pants like these are hard to find in local stores, but I found a source online that has many different styles of stretch waist pants to choose from in a variety of fabrics, sizes [...]