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Stroke Caregivers
February 14, 2008 |
Shirley Lewis’ husband Charles was a successful surgeon. But in 1981 he suffered
a stroke. Shirley says, “He has right arm paralysis. No function in his surgeon’s
hand anymore and he has a brace on his leg and he has speech aphasia.” After the
stroke Shirley found herself playing new roles in her marriage. She was now there
to be a caregiver and support system for her husband.
“It’s a
good thing for them
to have somebody close to them and is their main support. They need support and
I’m sure that it’s a lonely life for them,” she says. Dianna Highsmith is an occupational
therapist who works with stroke survivors and caregivers. She says the stress can
be sometimes overwhelming. “The caregivers now have to take over not only the giving
of care to the stroke survivor but all of the duties that the stroke survivor did
within the family unit. That can cause some pretty severe depression for the caregiver
as well.” Dianna and Shirley say it’s important for caregivers to seek support for
themselves and focus on the positive as
much as possible. Shirley says, “Sharing
your concerns and problems and the sociability of being with others who are facing
similar problems is helpful. We are grateful for what we can do and what he has.”
Dianna says, “You find out things that you did not know about life and about caring
and that just makes life a better place to be.” For more information on local stroke
support groups you can log onto www.leememorial.org. Right now there are nearly
six million stroke survivors living in America. |
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