Stroke Information

Stroke Recovery

The road to recovery for a stroke patient begins after they have been stabilized at the hospital. At St. John's Hospital we place a lot of emphasis on helping our stroke patients make the fullest recovery possible. We have an expert team of dedicated professionals, including but not limited to physicians, nurses, rehabilitation therapists (speech, occupational and physical), pharmacists, and caseworkers, who are devoted to helping our patients return to “normal” as quickly as possible. We work with the patient as well as their family to help rebuild quality of life after stroke and strive to educate patients and their family on stroke in an effort to reduce their risk factors and avoid having another stroke. recovery

All stroke survivors are not alike and depending on what part of the brain was injured, the severity and type of injury, as well as other factors, survivors may act differently. Stroke survivors will have good and bad days. Some common noticeable changes are:

Pain, numbness, and odd sensations on the affected side of the body may make the survivor tense and uncomfortable.
One-sided neglect of the body causes survivors to ignore everything on the affected side of their body.
Problems with bowel or bladder functioning are often temporary and can be addressed by the rehabilitation team.
Tiredness may be caused by the brain injury and by more demands on the survivor’s energy as he/she begins to cope with the deficits from the stroke.
Sensory deprivation effects result when survivors are confined to bed for a long time and deprived of the sensations of touch, pressure, position and pain. The loss of sensory stimulation and human interaction can contribute to behavioral changes such as irritability, confusion and even delusions.
Emotional lability is typically characterized by rapid mood changes that include laughing or crying.
Post-stroke depression is characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness or helplessness, irritability and changes in eating, sleeping and thinking.

Within 5 years of having a stroke, survivors have up to a 40% increased risk of suffering another stroke. Talk to your physician about preventing another stroke. Common concerns of a stroke survivor can be fear of having another stroke, difficulty in accepting and adjusting to the changes in how their bodies and minds work, apprehension about staying at home or being moved to an assisted living facility, and fear of abandonment of friends and family.

At St. John's Hospital, we have a wide variety of programs and services to help stroke survivors and their families make the transition back to a normal life. Please see Center for Living and Patient Services.

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