Living With A Brain Injury

So I’m sure the word “Stroke” has been thrown around a lot and all I remember saying was “I thought that only happened to older people ” I found out the hard way…it doesn’t! and little did I know it would change so much of my daily life. So let’s start out with “what is a stroke?”. 

Well commonly it damages brain cells due to interruption of blood supply. Let’s break it down further shall we: there are typically two kinds of strokes. 

1. Ischemic stroke- This occurs when blood supply is reduced. When this happens it prevents oxygen and nutrients to the brain which causes brain cells to die. 

2.   Hemorrhagic stroke (the one I had) -this happens when a blood vessel bursts and causes bleeding in the brain which causes pressure to increase and damage brain cells. 

Now, both types of strokes are life changing and can leave you with deficits. Some of them can be: impaired speech, muscle weakness or paralysis, vision problems and fatigue. Other issues can include depression and lower cognitive function. All symptoms can be temporary or permanent as every stroke is different. However, the common denominator is that hard work is required to regain the ability you once had but in the end it will never be the same.