Recovery After Stroke

Recovery After Stroke

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Recovery After Stroke episodes

  • Thalamic Stroke Recovery Journey: Contraceptive Pill Risks and Advocacy: Jenn Williams
    Comprehensive Guide to Thalamic Stroke: Symptoms, Treatment, and Recovery
    Introduction

    Thalamic stroke is a type of stroke that affects the thalamus, a small but critical structure deep within the brain. The thalamus plays a crucial role in relaying sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex and regulating consciousness, sleep, and alertness. Understanding thalamic stroke is essential for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals to ensure prompt diagnosis, effective treatment, and optimal recovery.

    Understanding Thalamic Stroke
    What is a Thalamic Stroke?

    A thalamic stroke occurs when the blood supply to the thalamus is interrupted, leading to tissue damage and loss of function in this vital brain region. The interruption can be due to an ischemic stroke, where a blood clot blocks a blood vessel, or a hemorrhagic stroke, where a blood vessel bursts and causes bleeding in the brain.

    Symptoms of Thalamic Stroke

    The symptoms of a thalamic stroke can vary widely depending on the specific area of the thalamus affected. Common symptoms include:

    • Sensory Disturbances: Numbness, tingling, or a burning sensation on one side of the body.
    • Motor Impairments: Weakness or paralysis, typically affecting one side of the body (hemiparesis or hemiplegia).
    • Pain: Thalamic pain syndrome (Dejerine-Roussy syndrome), characterized by chronic pain on the side of the body opposite the stroke.
    • Cognitive and Emotional Changes: Memory problems, confusion, emotional instability, and difficulty with attention and concentration.
    • Vision Problems: Partial or complete vision loss, or visual field deficits.
      • Causes and Risk Factors

      The primary cause of thalamic stroke is the obstruction of blood flow to the thalamus. Risk factors include:

      • Hypertension: High blood pressure is the most significant risk factor for stroke.
      • Diabetes: Increases the risk of blood vessel damage and stroke.
      • Atherosclerosis: The build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries can lead to clot formation.
      • Heart Disease: Conditions such as atrial fibrillation can cause blood clots that travel to the brain.
      • Lifestyle Factors: Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, and lack of physical activity.
        • Diagnosis of Thalamic Stroke
        Diagnostic Procedures

        Early diagnosis of thalamic stroke is critical for effective treatment. Diagnostic procedures include:

        • Physical Examination: Neurological assessment to evaluate sensory, motor, and cognitive functions.
        • Imaging Studies:
          • CT Scan: Quickly identifies bleeding in the brain.
          • MRI: Provides detailed images of brain structures and can detect smaller strokes.
          • Blood Tests: Evaluate overall health and identify risk factors such as high cholesterol and diabetes.
          • Electrocardiogram (ECG): Detects heart abnormalities that could lead to stroke.
            • Treatment Options for Thalamic Stroke
            Acute Treatment

            Immediate treatment aims to restore blood flow and minimize brain damage:

            • Thrombolytic Therapy: Clot-busting drugs such as tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) are administered within the first few hours of an ischemic stroke.
            • Endovascular Procedures: Mechanical thrombectomy to remove a large clot in cases where thrombolytic therapy is ineffective.
            • Surgery: In cases of hemorrhagic stroke, surgery may be necessary to repair damaged blood vessels and relieve pressure on the brain.
              • Rehabilitation and Recovery

              Rehabilitation focuses on restoring function and improving quality of life:

              • Physical Therapy: Exercises to improve strength, coordination, and mobility.
              • Occupational Therapy: Assistance with daily activities and strategies to adapt to physical limitations.
              • Speech Therapy: Helps with communication difficulties and swallowing disorders.
              • Pain Management: Medications and therapies to manage chronic pain from thalamic pain syndrome.
              • Psychological Support: Counseling and support groups to address emotional and cognitive changes.
                • Prognosis and Long-term Outlook

                The prognosis for thalamic stroke varies based on the severity of the stroke and the promptness of treatment. Many patients experience significant recovery with comprehensive rehabilitation, although some may have lasting impairments. Regular follow-up care and management of risk factors are crucial for preventing recurrent strokes.

                Prevention Strategies
                Lifestyle Modifications

                Adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of thalamic stroke:

                • Healthy Diet: Rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
                • Regular Exercise: At least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.
                • Smoking Cessation: Quitting smoking reduces stroke risk.
                • Alcohol Moderation: Limiting alcohol intake to moderate levels.
                  • Medical Management

                  Managing underlying health conditions is essential for stroke prevention:

                  • Blood Pressure Control: Regular monitoring and medication adherence.
                  • Diabetes Management: Keeping blood sugar levels under control.
                  • Cholesterol Management: Medications and dietary changes to lower cholesterol.
                  • Anticoagulant Therapy: For patients with atrial fibrillation or other heart conditions.
                    • Conclusion

                    Thalamic stroke is a serious medical condition that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Understanding the symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options can significantly improve outcomes for patients. With comprehensive rehabilitation and lifestyle modifications, many individuals can achieve substantial recovery and improve their quality of life.

                    Thalamic Stroke Recovery Interview with Jenn Williams

                    Jenn Williams discusses her thalamic stroke recovery, the risks of the contraceptive pill, and the importance of self-advocacy and resilience.

                    Instagram

                    Recrudescence of Deficits After Stroke
                    Middle People Project
                    Brain Injury Association Of America

                    Highlights:

                    01:52 Introduction

                    02:48 The Beginning Of Thalamic Stroke Recovery Journey
                    16:20 Self-advocacy For Medical Care
                    35:36 Post Thalamic Stroke Recovery And Deficits
                    43:02 The Middle People Project
                    51:47 Pain Management And Personal Growth
                    1:08:50 Insomnia Causes And Solutions
                    1:17:14 The Hardest Thing About Stroke
                    1:28:16 Thalamic Stroke Recovery, Grief, And Resilience

                    Transcript:

                    Bill Gasiamis 0:00

                    This episode of the podcast is brought to you by headbed.com.au. Hey everyone. Before we dive into today’s episode, I wanted to share something special. In Episode 305, I interviewed Catherine Randabel, the inventor of HeadBed, a product revolutionizing hair salons, especially for stroke survivors.

                    Bill Gasiamis 0:21

                    The HeadBed provides excellent neck and head support during hair washes, reducing strain and promoting better blood flow. For stroke survivors. This means lowering the risk of arterial damage and easing concerns about another stroke. It ensures a safe and enjoyable salon experience and I’m thrilled to support a product that aligns with my mission of stroke prevention and safety.

                    Bill Gasiamis 0:47

                    In our interview, Catherine explained how the HeadBeds ergonomic design prevents neck hypertension, a common issue increasing stroke risk. With the HeadBed you can feel confident and comfortable at the salon knowing your health is prioritized.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:04

                    If you’re a stroke survivor or know someone who is HeadBed is a must have for your next salon visit, check out episode 305 for my full interview with Catherine and learn how this product can make a difference. For those in the United States visit head bedusa.com to get yours today and to enjoy peace of mind at the salon.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:27

                    Now I’d also like to mention my book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. 10 tools for recovery and personal transformations. If beaches inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors and offers hope for those on the road to recovery. For more information visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book or search for my name Bill Gasiamis on Amazon.

                    Introduction – Jenn Williams


                    Bill Gasiamis 1:52
                    Now this is episode 309. And my guest today is Jenn Williams, who at the age of 33 experienced a left thalamic ischemic stroke. In this compelling episode, Jenn shares her incredible journey of thalamic stroke recovery, detailing the early symptoms and the misdiagnosis. And the moment her life changed forever.

                    Bill Gasiamis 2:14

                    Jenn also discusses the emotional and physical challenges of recovery, the risks associated with taking the contraceptive pill, and the importance of self advocacy. She highlights the impact of gratitude, community support, and how she has turned her experience into a mission to help others through her work with the Brain Injury Association and The Middle People Project. Jenn Williams, welcome to the podcast.

                    Jenn Williams 2:41

                    Thanks for having me.

                    Bill Gasiamis 2:43

                    Thank you for being here. Tell me a little bit about what happened to you.

                    The Beginning Of Thalamic Stroke Recovery Journey


                    Jenn Williams 2:48
                    So it was 2016. And I was working as an insurance agent in a busy office and my wrist and my hands on my right side kind of got that feeling like it was falling asleep while I was at work. And I kept trying to shake it out like you do when your arm falls asleep or something and it wasn’t working. I made a very poor joke now looking back to my coworker and said if I die, this is how this started.

                    Jenn Williams 3:19

                    Yep. So the next day, I had that same tingling in my foot on the same side and half of my face. So I got into see my primary care. And she said, you know, we’ll run some blood tests, it could be a mineral deficiency, you know, all this other stuff. There was some miscommunication on what the tests were supposed to be.

                    Jenn Williams 3:45

                    So I went in and out a few times. I believe that was a Tuesday when that all started. And then by Friday of that week, the tinkling was my whole right side. So I had a follow up the following Thursday, and my husband was meeting me at the appointment, he was taking some time off from work, because we didn’t know what’s going on and I wanted some support.

                    Jenn Williams 4:08

                    And I drove from my house to the appointment. And by the time I got there, I didn’t feel good at all. I don’t feel right, my stomach is turning, I’m dizzy. I went to go get out of a car and I fell onto the hood of the car and my husband was like what is happening right now? We went into the appointment and she said, we’ll order some tests. You know, we’ll give you a call and let you know.

                    Jenn Williams 4:35

                    And during this appointment, my husband called his mother to come get my car because I said I don’t feel safe driving. There’s something going on. And in the 10 minute ride that it took to go from the doctor’s office to my house I was paralyzed. And I don’t know about you but I was raised to believe you know the doctor is the end all be all.

                    Jenn Williams 4:58

                    That’s what they do. That’s what they you know, you believe what they say. So I looked at my mother in law, and I said, It’s okay, I’ll just wait for the doctor. And she screamed and said, This is not okay. And she took me to the ER. And they found that I had had a left thalamic stroke, ischemic so clot.

                    Jenn Williams 5:22

                    And I was in ICU for about three days, they wanted me to go to inpatient rehab. But my family and friends were like, we’re not doing that we’re not going to do inpatient, we’ll just help you at home. So I was fortunate enough to go home after leaving the ICU. And I had a lot of support for those three weeks.

                    Jenn Williams 5:41

                    But as many brain injury survivors know, there’s a lot of tests and things that proceed after that. And there was no real issues that they could determine no clotting disorder, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, nothing like that.

                    Jenn Williams 6:00

                    So the general idea is that it was caused by medications, I was taking contraceptives and migraine medications, which both have those dangers, and family history, there is some family history. So definitely not what I expected in my life, at age 33. At the time. But it’s been a really educational incredible experience.

                    Bill Gasiamis 6:26

                    Yeah, you know, you’re not the first person I’ve interviewed who was taking a contraceptive. There’s, I dare say there’s at least another two or three and younger as well, kind of in their 20s. And what’s interesting is when I asked them did you know about that risk? They all said no.

                    Bill Gasiamis 6:54

                    And even if they did, no, I’m not sure that it would have changed anything if they were told, by the way, this medication has this risk, but I don’t know if it would have changed anything. Because I know sometimes contraceptive pill is taken for non contraceptive reasons. Yeah, so were you aware that it was a risk that came with taking the contraceptive pill?

                    Jenn Williams 7:24

                    Yes, I didn’t know I started when I was in high school. And I didn’t realize at that point, but then as I got into adulthood, I started reading those packets that they give you when you leave the pharmacy. And I honestly, I think it was one of those things where I said that’s for old people. That doesn’t happen to young people.

                    Jenn Williams 7:43

                    That’s not going to happen to me. And, you know, I was on contraceptives for 25 years. And I just assumed it wasn’t going to happen to me. Yeah, but I can I kind of go on a tangent. Is that okay? One of my biggest frustrations, this whole process has been the realization that a significant percentage of the population has clotting disorders.

                    Jenn Williams 8:13

                    And we just prescribe medications, especially contraceptives, we just prescribe them to young girls, and we don’t check for those things. And that makes me so scared for our general population, but scared for like my nieces. That I mean, that’s a horrible. I mean, yes, I’m grateful for it in so many ways, but it is a really horrible experience. And I don’t wish that on anyone. And I don’t understand why we don’t check people for things like that. Before we prescribe medications.

                    Bill Gasiamis 8:44

                    I love that because that’s the biggest issue is these know, what’s the word? There’s no kind of investigative work done. Yeah. Before somebody says you should take this. I mean, I know even my father in law, who’s in his 80s. He’s on like, 55,000 medications. But when even though he’s on so many, nobody still does the whole, I wonder if this is going to be appropriate for you to take because that might interact with that and that might do that and that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 9:18

                    And my wife, she’s a bit of a how can I describe her? She’s a bit of a like a detailed freak, like she does details about things that most people would just roll their eyes out, right? It’s just her nature. She’s very thorough, and all that type of thing. And if it wasn’t for her dad would be taking medication that instead of lowering his blood pressure is making it worse or you know, they’re giving him stuff that works with the blood pressure medication to lower even further.

                    Bill Gasiamis 9:57

                    And she’s the one doing the research and he’s been in the system forever. And and it’s really scary to be a family member and to put all your trust in the medical system and not question it. I think that’s kind of a little bit of putting your head in the sand kind of scenario. And I was trained like that as well, when there was something wrong. My parents took me to the doctor, and whatever the doctor said, what we did, and thankfully, all worked out well. But if I took that approach, when I went to hospital for my first bleed.

                    Intro 10:35

                    If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind, like, how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things.

                    Intro 10:54

                    But obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called a seven questions to ask your doctor about your stroke.

                    Intro 11:19

                    These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery, head to the website. Now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                    Bill Gasiamis 11:38

                    Well, nothing my first paid for my second bleed, then I would have been completely dissatisfied with the level of care that I was receiving. And 37 When my life’s on the line, I’m like, Well, I don’t think I’m going to cop this, you guys aren’t going to be that way while I’m around. And I’m going to do something about it.

                    Bill Gasiamis 11:57

                    And then I took responsibility for those things. Luckily, I was able to I was cognitively well enough just to be able to take responsibility for that stuff and to handle some of that stuff off to my wife. And, and we got through it. What bothers me about women who have taken them the the contraceptive pill, and they’ve been on my podcast, is that one of them, ask them? Did the doctors say it was the pill that did it. They do the hall while it may have been the pill that did it.

                    Jenn Williams 12:33

                    Yeah, they won’t cop to that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 12:36

                    Yeah, no one commits to it. It doesn’t say it on the box for no reason it says it on the box for a reason. And when you’re perfectly healthy, you don’t have any history for any of those conditions that cause blood clotting disorders. And you’re young, and you have a stroke, and you’re on that there should be a logical conclusion.

                    Bill Gasiamis 13:02

                    And this shouldn’t be this. We’re just going to wipe our hands from that, but I think that is the pharmaceutical industry, right? That is that whole, just give them this stuff. And you know, 99.9% out of the time, it won’t cause any harm, and it won’t cause any problems. And if it does, we’ll just deny it anyway, it will say it could have been something else.

                    Jenn Williams 13:25

                    Right? So they classify my stroke as cryptogenic. Because they’re not gonna say that it was officially the contraceptive. So they say that there’s no known cause. Well, if I don’t have any of the other risk factors, I don’t smoke, I take very good care of my body.

                    Jenn Williams 13:44

                    All of my numbers are good. Then what does that leave? But it’s like they’re too scared to say that. Which is really unfortunate because it leaves so much unanswered for people that are like myself, like you that are looking for answers.

                    Bill Gasiamis 14:02

                    And you’re looking to maintain your health as much as possible. Now that you’ve had a stroke, you want to make sure you don’t have another one. Did anyone say you should stop taking the contraceptive pill?

                    Jenn Williams 14:16

                    Oh, yeah, that was the first thing that the doctor said to me. Well, thank goodness.

                    Bill Gasiamis 14:20

                    Oh my gosh. So it probably wasn’t the contraceptive pill but stop taking it anyway.

                    Jenn Williams 14:25

                    Oh, yeah. Then the neurologist in the ER came to me and said you will never take contraceptives again. That was in the ER before I was even admitted to the ICU. Yeah.

                    Bill Gasiamis 14:40

                    I many years ago was coaching a lady who wasn’t on the contraceptive pill but she was on other medications. stuff again that she started in her teenage years for some conditions right for a particular condition.

                    Bill Gasiamis 14:54

                    And by the time I spoke to her, she might have been 2530 years into taking that particular medication. And the very first question I asked her was, is it still necessary for you to take that medical medication? Has that issue resolved? And she looked at me dumbfounded. She goes, I don’t know. I’ve never asked anybody. I just go and get the refill every, every however often, and I just take it again.

                    Jenn Williams 15:23

                    I just keep taking the medication.

                    Bill Gasiamis 15:26

                    And I was like, okay, cool. So the next time we spoke, she had spoken to her general practitioner, and they had begun the process to investigate her condition and her situation. And to determine whether or not it was a good opportunity to start removing herself from this particular medication stopped taking this medication.

                    Bill Gasiamis 15:50

                    And no one had followed up with her in all those years, and no one had said, How’s this going? How’s that going? In Australia, you have to go back and get a script, from your doctor, every so often, they’ll give you certain refills, and the pharmacist where you pick up the medication all day, every day, your entire life knows you by name by now, nobody kind of goes, what are you still don’t take in this, how are you going? Are you better? Have you recovered?

                    Jenn Williams – Self-advocacy For Medical Care


                    Jenn Williams 16:20
                    And I think I think that too, comes down to the piece of self advocacy, advocating understanding your body but also advocating for your body. And I’ve been very clear with my doctors, I don’t want to take on unnecessary things. How long have I been on this? Can I get off of this? And they know that that’s my stance. So I think being very clear and direct in that way can be really helpful. But like you said, a lot of people just don’t even think about it. They just, I gotta go get my meds and they take their meds and they go about their day, not thinking that they’re putting chemicals in their body and causing potential damage.

                    Bill Gasiamis 16:58

                    And disclaimer, neither Jen or I are saying, stop taking your medication. No, one’s saying that.

                    Jenn Williams 17:06

                    Good call Correct. No, one’s saying that or saying talk to your doctor.

                    Bill Gasiamis 17:11

                    Correct. And we are also saying that some medications are very necessary, and you have to keep taking them. And you must not be slug are taking them because they’re probably keeping your well and healthy. So there’s both sides of the spectrum. And we’re encouraging people just to know, just, yeah, where they’re at.

                    Jenn Williams 17:38

                    Just to ask, it’s and so I’m from Maine in the United States, and we’re the most northern state on the East Coast. And I do self advocacy training with support groups with a colleague from New Hampshire. And one of the things we tell people is, it’s your body, you have the right to ask questions about your body and about your care. That’s so important. It’s okay to ask a question. And so many people are too scared. It is okay to ask a question about your body. It’s yours.

                    Bill Gasiamis 18:13

                    I agree. I think maybe do you think maybe the recent pandemic challenges with medications might have thrown a bit of a spanner in the works, the way that they were suggested that they were taken, might have thrown a spanner in the works to comply.

                    Jenn Williams 18:34

                    In a way, I do think that there are some people that are and this is not a dig at anybody, but that there are more apt to comply than others. And for me, once again, I needed to do what was right for my body. And for me, I felt like we didn’t know enough yet. And I was not comfortable taking any vaccinations or anything like that. And I had a lot of people that were really mad at me, including my mother for making that decision for myself. And now looking back, I made the right decision. I don’t knock anybody for doing that. It’s just your own personal decision.

                    Bill Gasiamis 19:14

                    Same and on that point of the thing that you said I think which is the best you didn’t know enough. And you not only did you not know enough about that. But this is the point that’s the exact point. Most people don’t know enough about taking the contraceptive pill. Most people don’t know enough taking x y z and that’s the thing it’s that we don’t know enough, we haven’t asked enough, we haven’t learned enough, we don’t understand the ramifications, the complications, we don’t understand that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 19:43

                    I think we should understand it. Especially if the ramifications of not taking something as well and negative so blood pressure lowering medication, blood sugar lowering medication like if we are not doing other things As to support our blood pressure and our blood sugar. And we need medication.

                    Bill Gasiamis 20:05

                    We need to know the ramifications of the other side of the spectrum. What happens if you don’t like high blood pressure medication? stops people from having hemorrhagic strokes? And ischemic strokes? So we need to know more. And thank you for going on that tangent. That was a good one.

                    Jenn Williams 20:26

                    I think it comes with brain injury honestly.

                    Bill Gasiamis 20:30

                    It’s very relevant. Why don’t want to do that. I want to go back to before we went on that tangent, and I want to ask you about how did you end up leaving hospital with your family with you in the care of your family? And what kind of a decision was that that they made that they were going to take the responsibility for helping you get through this on? Like, how does that happen?

                    Jenn Williams 20:56

                    I mean, partly, I think it’s just that I’m just wildly independent, and so is my mother. And my mother is not going to accept me being coddled, I guess. It’s just not how I was raised. I was raised to be, you know, very independent and forthright. So I, they came in and they said, we really want you to go to inpatient rehab, it would be three to six weeks, you would have your daily PT, OT, those kinds of things.

                    Jenn Williams 21:31

                    And my mother was, no, because she’s seen family members go to inpatient rehab. And we said, okay, so what would outpatient look like, you’d be going to the outpatient facility three days a week, you would have your PT or OT, I did have a speech evaluation, which they just said, You’ll get better. And I didn’t have to go for speech therapy. But they really they kind of explained that the outpatient therapy was actually more intensive than inpatient therapy, because they have more tools in their outpatient centers than they do in inpatient.

                    Jenn Williams 22:11

                    So that was the other deciding factor was that when I first went to the neurologist, after my stroke, I didn’t understand. And I said, how long is this going to take? Like three months, I don’t have time for this. And now looking back, that outpatient decision was the right decision, because that was my attitude, going into it from the beginning, is I’m going to get better. I’m going to walk again and write again, and all of those other things, it’s not negotiable.

                    Jenn Williams 22:41

                    So how do I do that? That’s the most efficient way possible, which was outpatient. And I had an amazing experience with my outpatient rehab. And during the days, when I had appointments, my mother would come and take me. And then on the days where I didn’t have appointments, and my husband was at work, I had friends and family that would come and spend the day with me, because I was a fall risk.

                    Jenn Williams 23:04

                    So make sure that I, you know, could go to the bathroom. And that kind of thing. I wasn’t allowed to cook, because I couldn’t tell temperature in my hand. And of course, there’s all cognitive pieces to that as well. So I had friends and family that would come over and make me lunch and that kind of thing. And then in the evenings on the weekends, my husband was the caretaker.

                    Bill Gasiamis 23:28

                    That’s very cool. I get it now. That’s a great move. I thought that they took on your care. And I had no tools or sir or capabilities or skills to do any of that stuff. And I was fascinated to hear that story. But I think what you did was awesome, because I was in inpatient rehab for about a month. And I was I was like you I was maybe it wasn’t how long is this going to take but it was I’m going to put as much time and effort in as I can while I’m here to get a result. So I’d go home sooner.

                    Bill Gasiamis 24:05

                    And instead of being in for the two months that they had booked me in for was in for a month. And then I went to outpatient rehab and I had a similar kind of support structure where family would take me to and from. And my level of cooking was just low level of, you know, prepping a sandwich or something simple that didn’t require knives and standing for too long and all that type of thing.

                    Bill Gasiamis 24:36

                    And then family was bringing over food and then my wife when she wasn’t at work she was helping out and doing her her bit. So it was very similar. And I remember going to outpatient rehab, but I felt like it was a bit of a waste of time. I felt like I had done the majority of the recovery I got great results at in inpatient rehab. And then outpatient rehab, I ended up getting to the point where I said to the guys, I think I think I’m done with you guys, you’ve done a great job, and I’m gonna take the responsibility to improve my walking even more.

                    Bill Gasiamis 25:20

                    On my own, I’m going to do that at home, and I’m going to get better at home. But thanks for everything that you did. And one of the reasons I did that was because I was bothered. I had three appointments a week. And after about, say, nine months of best six months of outpatient rehab, that meant that I had to spend, and always around the middle of the day or something like that I had to spend half of the day, going to the appointment, doing the therapy, and then leaving the appointment and coming home.

                    Jenn Williams 25:59

                    And recovering from those appointments takes a lot out of you as well.

                    Bill Gasiamis 26:04

                    So it’s about three or four hours of the day that are gone. So I couldn’t be productive in other things. So it was kind of weighing up the all the pros and cons and then going, okay, the pros are that I’m really well, well enough to go home. And then I can definitely do more recovery on my own and save three or four hours, three days a week.

                    Jenn Williams 26:34

                    And I asked my physical therapist, I said, you know, how like, would you classify this injury as, because I call them a brain injury? would you classify this is like, mild, it doesn’t feel mild, because I’m learning to walk again, and learning to write again. And she said, I would call it moderate. And I said, I’m just trying to figure out if my recovery is because I’m younger, and I have more gray matter and I more easily leave covering, or if it’s because of like the type of stroke. And she said, Honestly, it’s because you show up.

                    Jenn Williams 27:12

                    And I said, What do you mean I show up? Of course, I show up. And she said the amount of people that don’t show up to their appointments is shocking. And when you miss an appointment, you miss a step in your recovery, just like you show up, you do the exercises, even if they scare you and make you uncomfortable, you still try them. And you you try and you show up and you do the work. And that’s what has made a difference in your recovery.

                    Bill Gasiamis 27:38

                    I would tend to agree with that. And even if it’s hard, you do it, even if it’s hard, and you do it even if you’re fatigued later. And even if you have to recover for half a day or a day.

                    Jenn Williams 27:51

                    And I cried in PT all the time. It’s just part of the process.

                    Bill Gasiamis 27:57

                    Yeah, you have to kind of push yourself, you’ve got to get beyond your limits. You got to find where your limits are. You’ve got to do everything. And it’s got to be you’ve got to be brave to just go places you’ve never been before emotionally, mentally, physically. Because you do get results, you get something back. Now, it might not be the same thing, everyone might not get the same thing back.

                    Bill Gasiamis 28:22

                    But you always get rewarded for putting in more effort when your effort is going towards trying to make you walk better use your hand better, balanced better, you’ll always get a reward by putting in more effort, especially when it’s supervised and you’re safe. And you’re in a good place. Why I like to think that people who are listening to this podcast or other podcasts that are related to health and wellness and recovery.

                    Bill Gasiamis 28:53

                    And overcoming challenges, and all that kind of stuff are always going to be better off than the people that are not looking for podcasts, to listen to, to learn from books, who are not asking to be on a podcast. It’s like, I don’t know what your condition is. I don’t know how bad you are. But if you’re on my podcast, or another person’s podcast, who talks about recovery and overcoming stuff, and how you’re beating the odds and all that sort of thing, you are likely to get a good outcome, you are likely to have an amazing life in 10 years from now.

                    Bill Gasiamis 29:27

                    And the people who aren’t I’m not saying if you’re listening, that’s not enough. No, that is enough. All I’m saying the people who aren’t considering any of that stuff, and are just feeling sorry for themselves. They are going backwards, they’re not going to achieve much.

                    Jenn Williams 29:46

                    And that’s another thing that I share in, you know, the trainings that I do is that part of my because people ask me, you know, how did you have such a great recovery? And one of the things I say is that I refuse to be a victim I’m not going to let this one medical trauma, destroy the rest of my life. I’m not going to sit back and say what was me and just be depressed for however many years I have left, too young for that that’s not acceptable to me. So I’m not going to be a victim. I’m not going to sit there and let life pass me by. And I think that that mindset makes a huge difference in recovery.

                    Bill Gasiamis 30:28

                    This this is saying that I’m gonna ruin right. And I’m gonna not say it right, for sure. It goes something like you fail 100% of the times you don’t try. So I’ve taken that to heart. It’s like, every time you’re afraid of something failing, because you tried it, and you weren’t good enough at it at the beginning. That’s not a failure. That’s a win every time you thought, I’m not going to do that in case I fail.

                    Jenn Williams 31:02

                    And you’re learning, you learn every time you fail at something.

                    Bill Gasiamis 31:08

                    So tell me a little bit about your background. What did you do for work? What were you doing to occupy your time before you had the stroke?

                    Jenn Williams 31:19

                    I was in banking for about 10 years. So I worked in commercial lending, I worked in the branch doing teller work, and I became a licensed insurance agent. A couple of months before my stroke, yeah. See, we I got my job in October of 2015. My husband and I bought a new house in January of 2016. I became a licensed insurance agent in May of 2016. And I had my stroke in August.

                    Jenn Williams 32:02

                    So I continued to try and go back to work. That was not not conducive. But I was I’m also a 31 consultant. So it’s direct sales. And there’s like bags and totes, and that kind of thing. So and I was a leader in that company. So I was working 40 or 50 hours a week as an insurance agent, about 15 or 20 hours a week at that job. And I was going to CrossFit three days a week.

                    Jenn Williams 32:31

                    I was actually continuing to try and go to CrossFit when my hand was tingling. And I was adjusting movements over that 10 days, because I couldn’t grasp correctly. But I mean, not that I don’t now but I had a very full life. It’s just a very different full life. Now I, you know, spent a lot of time with my family and made sure that I had a lot of fun things scheduled and to concerts and all that other stuff. I tried going to a concert, I think two or three years after my stroke, that was not a good idea.

                    Jenn Williams 33:08

                    I’m better now. But the sensory overload that Oh, my goodness. And that has been one of my biggest issues is overstimulation and sensory overload. Which I’m sure as you can understand, and I’m sure other people have said this on your podcast is that when people can’t see it, they don’t know it’s there. They don’t understand.

                    Jenn Williams 33:28

                    So they just say, Oh, you look great. You’re fine. But constitutively No. So I tried going to a concert, and it was not a good idea. I’m almost eight years post injury and I can do those now. But I’ve had to definitely adapt my life, it’s not what it used to be. It’s different. Does that answer your question?

                    Bill Gasiamis 33:52

                    It does. I wanted to get a sense of like, how you were and how you hang out now what you do now. I was the same. You know, work was no problem. I was 37 It was everything was happening fine. Tried to go back to the football which was the thing and people would invite me to go to the football I said I think I want to avoid that I don’t want to go there’s too much noise and yelling and cheering and bright lights for a night game and all that kind of stuff. And it was really difficult to be there.

                    Bill Gasiamis 34:24

                    Tried to go to a couple of venues where family would have a party or something like that or get together and then that would be an early night a lot of the times you’d be I think I’ve had enough at around 930 or 10 o’clock and it’s this go home and then I did go to an AC DC concert with my sons and here in Melbourne and I went with ear protection so that it can dial the right sound a little bit and I could still be there because of my Favorite band.

                    Bill Gasiamis 34:57

                    And then I still will avoid loud rooms, if I can noises, TVs and all that kind of stuff. Everything’s always on, you know, as low as possible. And even these lights that I have next to me and, and in front of me on the podcast where I where I record, even they bugged me. They’re on for an hour. And they bugged me. But like, yeah, you need, you need some lighting, so I can put up with it for now. So it’s okay. So what deficits do you have now? How does the body feel now?

                    Post Thalamic Stroke Recovery And Deficits

                    Jenn Williams 35:36

                    I’m mean, overall, I’ve had a really good recovery, I still have my struggles. But I’m really grateful for the recovery I’ve had, I still have some balance issues. I started going to yoga and bar. I don’t know if you know what Barr is. It’s like a combination of like ballet, yoga and strength training. So it really focuses on those little muscles, which I realized is what I needed to focus on to help my balance. So that’s been helping very slowly, but it’s a very, very slow process. So balance is still an issue, and insomnia.

                    Jenn Williams 36:18

                    I have terrible insomnia. It’s really bad. I’ve been working with a naturopath to try and get that fixed because I was not getting answers in the standard medical world. And then cognitive, really, that overstimulation? I call it delayed memory, like I will remember things a couple of days later, which I had a neuro psych evaluation. And they said that that’s actually stroke onset ADHD, I didn’t know that was a thing. So it can’t be treated with medication because it’s due to brain damage. So I just kind of have to navigate as best that I can with all of that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 37:04

                    And stroke onset ADHD makes you remember things two days down the track.

                    Jenn Williams 37:11

                    So it’s because if I’m not in a focused environment, like right now, if you and I are talking, and you know, my husband comes in and says, you know, hey, can you do this when you’re done? I won’t remember that. If he says, Hey, I need your attention. And they says, Can you do this? Yes, I can. But it’s because of that distraction, that ADHD that I had my testing done, and they said, my storage and recall is fine. It’s just that there’s this delay in me finding the information that I have stored in my brain.

                    Jenn Williams 37:44

                    And it’s because of distraction. So that’s been an adjustment, I’m trying to use post it notes and alarms on my phone, and calendars. And I have the calendar on my phone, and I have a paper calendar. And then I have a family calendar, and I have all of those things to make sure that things don’t fall through the cracks, cracks, they still do sometimes. But that’s been an adjustment, as well.

                    Jenn Williams 38:12

                    And then that overstimulation piece like I mentioned, the hardest thing for me has been the grocery store and driving. Those are very complex tasks for the brain, and you don’t realize it until your brain is misfiring essentially. So I’ve worked really hard to get to the point where I can do those things. I don’t know if you guys have this in Australia, but there’s a company in the United States that does music therapy for cognitive health.

                    Jenn Williams 38:43

                    And I use them which made a huge difference. And I went from not being able to drive for more than maybe 15 minutes to driving an hour, hour and a half. And like going having lunch with my friend and driving back in an hour. So that made a really significant difference in my recovery. But when I’m tired that all flares back up.

                    Bill Gasiamis 39:06

                    And then the brakes get put on I know that I know that when I’m tired thing the wall comes up from out of nowhere.

                    Jenn Williams 39:15

                    That’s a great description a great analogy “The Wall” it’s exactly what it is.

                    Bill Gasiamis 39:20

                    That’s what it is. And it’s like I’m here again. All right. Okay, I’ll stop I’ll sit down and won’t do anything now for the next however many hours and for me the wall’s getting shorter and shorter. But it still pops up it still kind of says you’ve done too much. You haven’t rested enough you didn’t have a good night’s sleep. Time to sit down and do nothing. And that’s it and everything just sort of shuts down like you say like in the movies. You know when a button is switched off on the robot and everything just goes.

                    Jenn Williams 39:56

                    Powering down.

                    Bill Gasiamis 40:02

                    That’s exactly it. So, man, I was gonna ask you a question about something you just said about your Oh, yeah. Music therapy. So what’s that based around? Is it based a certain frequency range that you listen to? How does that work because I have used, and we do have people who offer music therapy.

                    Bill Gasiamis 40:29

                    I’ve never gone to a music therapy session, but I have listened to certain meditations that are at certain frequencies, to get certain waves, beta waves, theta waves, all that kind of stuff going, depending on what you want to achieve. So tell me about what you did.

                    Jenn Williams 40:47

                    So this is what I experienced is different than that. But I do use those meditations, like you mentioned, especially delta waves for sleep, so I use those. But this music therapy was to help me with my divided attention, the stroke onset ADHD. And basically, what the therapist would do is she would have a guitar.

                    Jenn Williams 41:08

                    And then she would have a drum playing on her computer. And she would say, random letters, and I had to raise my hand whenever I heard an H, but only if the drums were playing. So I had to listen to her guitar, listen to the letter, listen to the drums, and then make a decision and acknowledge it physically with my hand.

                    Jenn Williams 41:32

                    Our pool is very complex, but their intake, you know, they do an intake and you know, our exam, just like any other provider, my intake, I was at, like 67% accuracy. And when I left, I was over 90%. So there’s proof in those that that made a difference, for me a significant difference. So there was a lot of different things like that, or she would tell me, she would play notes.

                    Jenn Williams 42:02

                    And I had to tell her, basically, whether they were the notes were going up or down from the previous one. So I have to listen and kind of process the two different tones. Was that first tone lower? Or is the second tone lower? So that required some additional divided attention as well. So it was really it was really interesting.

                    Bill Gasiamis 42:27

                    Did you also learn you weren’t tone deaf?

                    Jenn Williams 42:30

                    Yeah, I used to play music and in school and like high school, so I know I’m not tone deaf. Not completely anyways.

                    Bill Gasiamis 42:44

                    Good. I’m glad you got that.

                    Jenn Williams 42:46

                    I did I like it.

                    Bill Gasiamis 42:50

                    That’s cool. He’s mentioned earlier a little bit about advocacy work that you do about that? What do you do? Who do you hang out with? What? What spaces do you do that in?

                    Jenn Williams – The Middle People Project

                    Jenn Williams 43:02

                    So I’ve done some speaking at some support groups, I’ve done some speaking to college classes for future like speech language pathologists, to kind of talk about brain injury and how they can actually make a difference in brain injury or recovery. I can I plug I don’t want to like plug a business or anything.

                    Jenn Williams 43:30

                    But I want to tell you about this project. So I told you I was teaching self advocacy with a colleague from New Hampshire. So I also am on the advisory board for the Brain Injury Association of America, Maine chapter. So they look for survivor’s input. And I also did some administrative support for our legislative council that deals with brain injury law.

                    Jenn Williams 43:58

                    And in all of those meetings, I have said, what about the people in the middle? Because they talk a lot about these, you know, government waivers and Medicare and you know, how many spots we have and who’s getting services and all this other stuff? Well, those are very small numbers.

                    Jenn Williams 44:18

                    So what about the people in the middle? What about the people like me, that didn’t go to inpatient rehab, I went home, I did outpatient for a year. And I’ve been trying to figure it out on my own for eight years now. I stuffed the primary group that I see at support groups these people that aren’t eligible for certain services, either because they’re “not disabled enough”, which I’ve been told, or they don’t meet qualifications financially.

                    Jenn Williams 44:50

                    So they’re just left to not much for resources. So I shared this idea over and over again, wasn’t really welfare saved. And then I shared it with my colleague from New Hampshire, John, and he shared it with his colleague, David. And David took it and ran with it. He was like, this is an amazing idea. There’s millions of middle people if you actually break down the numbers.

                    Jenn Williams 45:15

                    So the three of us have started The Middle People Project. So we’re trying to create a hub of resources for people that feel like they’re in the middle. They don’t qualify for services, but they feel like they still need help. And they’re not as fully recovered as they’d like to be. I don’t think anyone ever fully recovers. So I don’t like to use that term.

                    Jenn Williams 45:36

                    So we’re trying to offer self management strategies, and eventually do you know, a blog and helpful resources, that kind of thing, because there’s so many people that just need a little extra support, and they don’t know where to go. So that’s another kind of passion project that I’ve been working on in the brain injury world, I have all sorts of ideas. So we’ll see where, you know, next year, I could be on a totally different project. I don’t know.

                    Bill Gasiamis 46:07

                    Yeah, well, if you’re ADHD brain has anything to do with it, you definitely will be.

                    Jenn Williams 46:12

                    Oh, it does. That’s why I have notebooks everywhere.

                    Bill Gasiamis 46:19

                    Yeah, that’s really cool. So I was one of those people stuck in the middle, I received some health care, and some rehabilitation, got a really good result was happy, didn’t feel like the job was done, and then wanted to do more. And then continuing to do more, I consider myself fully recovered, but not from the damage that was done, the damage is there, and my deficits are there. But if I call myself fully recovered, it’s probably from the emotional side of that. And the mental side of it. Although I did my book launch about a week and a half ago.

                    Jenn Williams 47:00

                    Congratulations.

                    Bill Gasiamis 47:02

                    Thank you, thank you. I was in tears. So often in my presentation in my speech, and I had to start making jokes about it. And during the presentation, it was so there was so much of it. And I didn’t realize I was going to have such an outpouring of emotions in that way that it was going to be so evident. And I had to catch myself a few times. But the good thing about being emotional in front of people is, as soon as you cry, you’ve got them hooked. So it didn’t matter, every time I thought I was losing them, I just chucked a few tears out there and just bring them back again.

                    Jenn Williams 47:02

                    Yeah. So I applied to speak, to share my survivor story at the main brain injury conference this fall. And because of all my work, I know quite a few people at the Brain Injury Association, and one is my friend Sarah. And I would say it was like two weeks after I applied. I had a really long day at my job that I have now, which is working at a property management company. And I overdid it. And I realized that I was at the office and I couldn’t drive home.

                    Jenn Williams 48:20

                    So I ended up laying on the floor for like a half hour until I felt safe to drive home. And I’m on my way home, just sobbing. And I call her and I’m like, who am I need to talk about recovery and mindset, if I am sobbing in my car, eight years later, and I overdid it. And she’s like, that’s why that’s literally why because that’s relatable because survivors deal with that every day. And I just had this moment of like, I don’t have this under control at all. I thought I did, but I don’t.

                    Bill Gasiamis 49:03

                    Exactly. I’m 12 years out and here I am speaking in front of a whole bunch of people who came to see me talk about a book, you know, and I think that just goes to show that that’s, you know, that’s just human that’s just being human that’s that’s all that is, not anything else. And it’s good to be able to share your express your emotions, to have the understanding as well, that I need to lie down, I can’t drive and rest.

                    Bill Gasiamis 49:31

                    I often would find myself jiving many years after the brain surgery and kind of get the whole nods happening you know, oh my gosh, don’t think I’m I’m fading. All over Find a quiet spot under a tree had just sleep. Sit down, say for 2030 minutes as long as I needed. And then I would start the car and go again.

                    Bill Gasiamis 49:59

                    And it was necessary, without it, I definitely would not have made it home safely. And it was simply because of that overwhelm of perhaps the distance I traveled, the amount of time I was concentrating cars going by whether it was raining, or whether it was sunny, everything impacted, the way that I would experience that drive and everyday was different.

                    Jenn Williams 50:27

                    Driving is a very complex thing for the brain, there’s a lot of input that’s happening, you’re looking at the road in front of you, you’re looking at the road to the left or the right, depending on what country you’re in, you’re looking at the other lanes watching the traffic, you’re looking on the side of the road for any potential hazards, you’re looking in your rear view and your side mirrors.

                    Jenn Williams 50:48

                    And for me, the biggest issue that I was dealing with was the shadows from the trees, at certain times of day, they would create like a strobe effect. So it felt like a strobe light while I was trying to focus on all of those things. And similarly, like you said, if it’s raining, raining with the windshield wipers, it would feel like a strobe going in front of my eyes. So it just you don’t realize how complex it is until your brain is trying to basically learn it all over again.

                    Bill Gasiamis 51:20

                    Yeah, that’s that’s a legitimate reason to feel like you need to lie down and restaurant you have to it’s yes, it’s necessary. 100%. And I’m like you like it does make me doubt my qualification of being a podcaster promoting all this stuff. And, you know, being an advocate and all that something kind of does make me question my qualification.

                    Pain Management And Personal Growth

                    Bill Gasiamis 51:47

                    And makes me do silly things like, it makes me have like, imposter syndrome every once in a while still. And all that type of stuff. It’s crazy. I still get that even though I’ve done more than 300 podcast episodes, I’ve written a book, I still feel like a bit of an impostor, because I kept remembering the person that I was before stroke. And I was, and I wasn’t not this kind of guy. Like I didn’t do anything public. You know, I wasn’t out there. And I still feel like my identity hasn’t caught up with all the stuff that I’m making it do, that it hasn’t signed up for.

                    Jenn Williams 52:33

                    Yep, I absolutely understand that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 52:37

                    And I don’t even know why I’m doing it all sometimes, why the hell am I doing? Why am I doing my 300 and 10th podcast episode that’s like.

                    Jenn Williams 52:48

                    I can tell you why. Okay, number one, it’s fulfilling to help other people, just in general. Number two, there is such a lack of voices and information around brain injury. So you’re making an impact by spreading information. And number three, it’s healing to connect with other people that have gone through what you’ve been through,

                    Bill Gasiamis 53:11

                    Tick, tick, tick. That’s exactly why.

                    Jenn Williams 53:18

                    Because I do the same thing I’m always looking for, like, how can I make an impact? How can I, you know, help this person? What resource do they need? That’s my same drivers as well.

                    Bill Gasiamis 53:31

                    And sometimes I feel incapable of actually helping and making an impact. And because a friend of mines daughter had a hemorrhagic stroke last year, and she was 17, at the time, I was in ICU with him. And you know, we struggled together. They’ve come a long way, and she’s a lot better, but she’s got pain now in her left foot.

                    Bill Gasiamis 53:58

                    So when things started to settle down, the numbness turned to pain and the pain kicked in. And she’s struggling.

                    Jenn Williams 54:09

                    How long ago was it?

                    Bill Gasiamis 54:13

                    It was in the last 12 months. And now she’s struggling dramatic pain, because of where the stroke happened was the area of her brain where pain receptors do that work, right? That’s as much as I know about it.

                    Jenn Williams 54:29

                    Was it the thalamus?

                    Bill Gasiamis 54:32

                    It was in the middle of the brain near the very center of the brain. Right side, when you see the brain scans, you see the two sides of the walnut and then in the middle, there’s kind of like a bit of a gap. The bleed was from the right side, she had an AVM that damaged the right side, but it bled into that gap between the two pieces of the walnut.

                    Bill Gasiamis 55:01

                    Anyhow, they drained it and she’s got an amazing result, right. But she’s got this pain now. And that’s the thing. It’s like for me, I realized the works not done. And I don’t know how I don’t know how useful it is this podcast to people who haven’t had who have pain who feel debilitating pain.

                    Bill Gasiamis 55:23

                    And I can’t relate to it because I didn’t feel that I feel a little bit of pain, but not ridiculous. She’s not able to sleep because of it, and it’s causing some drama, so that I feel I still feel like I’m not doing enough, like, my work is inadequate.

                    Jenn Williams 55:40

                    Because every injury is different. I used to hate that phrase, that every brain injury is different. But I’ve learned to accept it and actually appreciate it. Because that means that you’re not pigeon holed into one recovery timeline, or whatever it may be. So even though you might not relate to her on the pain level, the general concept, you know, is all very similar.

                    Bill Gasiamis 56:16

                    And I’ve seen that other side of what stroke does to families, because she’s got great parents, and they’re doing a good job, and it’s all good. But I can see the strain on the family, and the mom and dad and what they are going through. And then I just think about that. So it’s on my mind a lot more.

                    Bill Gasiamis 56:39

                    And I’m getting a little bit overwhelmed by it, not in the it’s not going to shut me down or stop me from doing what I’m doing or anything. But you know what, my heart goes out to them. And that’s what it is. And I just don’t want them to be in that situation. And I hope that they have a result a resolution and they’re going after every possible resolution, you know.

                    Bill Gasiamis 57:01

                    So, yeah, it’s just man and this guy, this guy I grew up with. I’ve known him since I was about four years old. And he is a radiographer, I wrote about him a little bit in the, in the acknowledgments in the back of the book. And he helped me out with all the brain scans that I did so he and his team would be taking my brain scans at the hospital that I was at, at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

                    Bill Gasiamis 57:31

                    And he wasn’t meant to, but he would come after the scan and go, it’s looking alright, or because I was I had about eight or nine MRIs in the time that they were monitoring the blood vessel that burst the AVM and he would come and go, it doesn’t look like it’s changed, things have settled down a little bit, etc.

                    Bill Gasiamis 57:52

                    And stopped me from waiting about one month to get the news with my doctor. So that was really cool. And then to be in the damn hospital ICU with his daughter on life support because of this same issue that I had 11 years later, it’s just crazy. I just can’t comprehend it. But it was great to be that guy that was able to walk in the ICU and show them what is possible. Without saying anything. All I had to do was walk in there.

                    Jenn Williams 58:38

                    Can I ask you a question? Have you seen any gains or changes as you’ve gotten farther away from your injury?

                    Bill Gasiamis 58:52

                    Yep. Cognitively, things are improving still. And physically things are stable to slightly declining. But the decline is not something that I can address. So what I noticed is my balance gets worse sometimes. And my pain and the tightness and the spasticity in my left side gets a little bit worse. Now again, nobody would know.

                    Bill Gasiamis 59:31

                    If I said that to somebody that knew what spasticity looked like. For some stroke survivors. That would go you don’t have spasticity. But the feeling that I have has sometimes, sometimes gets worse. And recently I kind of smiled when I said recently I fell off a ladder. And the reason When I fell off the ladder was because my left hand gave away it just let go of the ladder. And that does happen from time to time. And usually it lets go of a bottle that I’m holding or my telephone.

                    Jenn Williams 1:00:12

                    I had that happened with my purse last week. I was really tired, I was holding my purse and my hand just let go.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:00:22

                    Yep. I’ve lost the phone because of that. All sorts of things. But then this time, I was climbing a ladder, I was only two rungs up, I was going up to the third rung. And my left hand just let go.

                    Jenn Williams 1:00:39

                    Thank goodness, you weren’t further up?

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:00:41

                    Well, I still fell backwards. And I fell onto a middle bar, a scaffold bar. Because my full time business is we have a property maintenance company. And in order to do the repairs on this particular home, that we’re working on, I got a scaffold so we could be safe.

                    Jenn Williams 1:01:06

                    The irony.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:01:07

                    Yeah. So I’ve fallen off the ladder backwards onto one of the horizontal scaffold bars that are holding the construction of the, you know, all the poles together, it broke my fall, I landed on my ribs. And then and then I fell another three feet, or a meter to the deck below and hit my head. So it was quite a shock to find myself down there. And then I couldn’t sleep properly for about a week. And then I started to sleep better after that.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:01:43

                    And it’s been around three weeks, and only for the first time last night, I was able to lay on my side, haven’t been able to do that for three weeks. Because of the pain, I got it checked out. There was a lot of bruising, there was no broken bones or anything. But that is not an escalation of my condition. It’s kind of what my condition is doing.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:02:07

                    And I think what it’s doing is it needs more TLC, it needs more therapy and more rehabilitation, I’ve been going to the gym trying to strengthen my left side. And I still, you know, eat well, and all those things, try and get as much sleep as I can. But I think my left side is becoming more needy, and I’m not putting enough effort in. And it feels a little bit number.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:02:41

                    And maybe, and in winter, it always gets worse. It’s getting into the winter months now. We’re first day of winter today here for us. June the first and and I think in winter, my sensation decreases on my left side, it gets more colder and more numb. And I remember now that you asked me thanks for asking this because it’s just reminded me everything my mum,

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:03:06

                    I was at my mom’s the other day. And I was in her way. And she was just trying to not interrupt my conversation and kind of squeezed through him. But I wasn’t paying attention I didn’t notice. So she went to pinch me on my bum. And she said, Why aren’t you moving out of the way? And why aren’t you responding? I said to what? Because I’m pinching you on the bum. I can’t feel it. She says really? She thought I was joking, and that I was just putting up with it. I couldn’t feel it at all. I had no idea she was doing it. So yeah, those types of things are happening now.

                    Jenn Williams 1:03:48

                    Have you heard of something called post stroke? recrudescence? No, do tell this is my favorite topic. You’re gonna love it. Um, so there’s been there was a study done at Massachusetts General in I believe it was 2016 or 2017. And then the American National Institutes of Health just did a study on it, I believe last year.

                    Jenn Williams 1:04:14

                    So the basic explanation how this was explained to me is that when you have a brain injury, and you have neurons that die, the neurons around the dead ones, eventually pick up the job of the dead your neurons as their second job. Well, if your body feels like there’s a crisis, which in the body or crisis can be that you’re tired that you’re stressed. It could be you have low blood sugar, the brain can say, oh crisis, we need to focus on our first job and it stops doing the second job.

                    Jenn Williams 1:04:53

                    So I have symptoms that flare up. When I’m really stressed when I haven’t slept At if my I didn’t really have blood pressure or blood sugar issues, but you know, things like that that could be considered a crisis in the body. And my brain goes, Nope, we’re not doing those things. So my hand stops working, I get tingling in my hand tingling in my face tingling in my foot, my balance goes, I get vertigo, all these other symptoms, and it can feel like another stroke or it can feel like just after my stroke.

                    Jenn Williams 1:05:28

                    So I’ve gone to the ER before, just to make sure I get checked to make sure that something else isn’t happening. And I’m usually fine. But I learned about that. And it made so much sense. And when I talked to other survivors about it, they go, oh, yeah, when I’m tired, all my symptoms crop up. When I’m really stressed about dealing with my doctors, all these symptoms pop back up. So it might not be necessarily decline. It could just be you’re not at homeostasis, for lack of a better word.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:06:03

                    I love that explanation. I think that’s also is valid. What you just said is definitely valid. Classic example is if I have an argument with my wife. Happily married for 19 or 20 years. So I get more symptoms. Yes. So when that I’m in emotional, negative emotional state, I get more symptoms. And it encourages me not to be there for too long. And I’m getting better at not staying angry or mad for ever, and ever. So there’s that. I agree with that. That does happen. And I’ve said it a few times on the podcast. And when I eat the wrong food.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:06:56

                    For me it’s like, say a pastor, or a sugary drink or something like that. Oh, my gosh, things just get so much worse. Brain fatigue, fog, tingling, balance, everything kind of just gets worse. So I agree with what you’re saying. I may have. And that’s a thing, because it’s happened recently a number of things have happened that have bugged me that have made me think but going to the mind goes to maybe it’s getting worse.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:07:26

                    I don’t know that it is I’m not It’s not stopping me from doing anything. Although I am very cautious about letters. Always have been even though I fell from one, I always have been. Yep. And what it says to me is I just need to go and get more rehab, more therapy. That’s all it says. And I’ve been at massless chiropractors, this guy that I’ve been there the whole time. And they know me really well. So yeah, I don’t know. It’s always changing. And I’m always adjusting. And I’m always finding a way, a way to overcome it.

                    Jenn Williams 1:08:09

                    I do think that learning about the poststroke recrudescence helped me to be more self aware. Because when I have those symptoms flare up, I can take a step back and go okay, what does my body need right now? Did I get my electrolytes today? Did I take my medications? Maybe I forgot my medications. You know, maybe I forgot my aspirin or you know, whatever. How did I sleep last night? Am I stressed? Do I need to go move my body like so it gives me that pause to kind of have a little self evaluation to see where I’m at.

                    Thalamic Stroke Recovery: Insomnia Causes And Solutions

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:08:50

                    Yep, I love it. I agree with that. That’s what I do every time I hit a wall, that wall is just the just have a wrist wall? Or is this the do something more than wrist wall? Like what is it? What do you have to respond to? So yeah, for me for work, because I’ve got a couple of guys working with me, I’ve got a business partner. I could just say, I’m not coming in. I need not to be there. And then I won’t be there. That’s been a good thing that I’ve been able to do. Of late. Tell me about your insomnia a little bit. So is it insomnia that had begun after all your medical issues? So what’s it like? How did it begin? Can you describe it? Explain it?

                    Jenn Williams 1:09:40

                    Well, you know, when you talk about insomnia with your doctor, they’ll ask you is it that you have trouble falling asleep or you have trouble staying asleep? For me, it’s both I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. And I actually didn’t realize I guess that it was insomnia at first but cuz I was so fatigued all the time, I just figured that I was just fatigued.

                    Jenn Williams 1:10:05

                    And I was talking to my counselor, and I can’t remember what did I say? I said, I said, I can’t get out of bed. I’m exhausted, and I’m so frustrated. I must be depressed, blah, blah, blah. And he said, Well, depressed people aren’t frustrated about it. So that’s probably not it. I said, Oh, okay. And he said, How have you been sleeping? And I went, Oh, not well, no.

                    Jenn Williams 1:10:35

                    And I push, I learned this probably a year or two after my injury. And I was trying to take care of it on my own and trying to take melatonin and trying to just adjust my life around my sleep schedule, and all these other things, and it wasn’t working. So I eventually got a in lab sleep study in Boston. And they said, Yeah, you have sleep latency, your cycle has shifted. So you just need to adjust your life around your new circadian rhythm.

                    Jenn Williams 1:11:14

                    Well, that’s semi practical, that’s not extremely practical. So I talked to my primary care and gave me some prescriptions and tried a bunch of different ones. And I eventually started seeing my naturopath for something else. And we got that addressed. And she said, Is there anything else you want me to help you with? I said, Well, if you could figure out my sleep, that’d be great.

                    Jenn Williams 1:11:43

                    And she said, Sure, we did some adrenal testing. And it turns out that I was making melatonin at the wrong times a day. And I had like, no cortisol. And then I found out, yeah, for those of you that don’t know, a lot of people think that cortisol is the stress hormone, but it’s actually the counterpart to melatonin. So it’s what wakes you up in the morning, it’s what keeps you going through the day.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:12:05

                    So the too much cortisol can be stressful. Yes, cortisol is necessary, because it’s, it’s the wake up hormone, it’s the wake up part of the sleep cycle, the thing about it is is, once it kicks in, you want to see it drop off, after it’s got you awake, you want to say drop off, and then at the end of the day, when the sun starts coming down, you want to say cortisol, not be there. So that right, melatonin, can start doing its job of putting your body into the sleep cycle.

                    Jenn Williams 1:12:42

                    So I was I had very little to almost no cortisol in the morning, your cortisol levels supposed to be like at a 25. And I was at a three. And then the afternoon, you’re supposed to be between like a five and a 10. And I was point five. And I was also getting a melatonin spike in the afternoon. So my melatonin would jump really, really high at like three o’clock in the afternoon.

                    Jenn Williams 1:13:07

                    So my hormones were all messed up. Another side note, I realized through doing my own research through all of this, that more than half of brain injury survivors have some sort of adrenal dysfunction, which is where your cortisol and your melatonin is produced. So we did this adrenal test, found this out. And I’ve been using different medications to kind of retrain my adrenals.

                    Jenn Williams 1:13:37

                    I used to sleep until noon. And now I get up at like 830. And that has taken me a couple years to force yourself to retrain and like get up at seven o’clock in the morning and take my cortisol so that it produces at the right time. Ah, yeah, I don’t have to take it anymore. My body has figured out the cortisol part. So now I’m working on the melatonin part. But I feel so much better.

                    Jenn Williams 1:14:07

                    Even though my sleep is still very broken. I sleep for like three hours, I’m up for a little bit and I sleep for three hours. But I’m getting more restful sleep, and I have that natural waking cycle that’s supposed to happen. So it’s been a very long journey. On the insomnia piece.

                    Jenn Williams 1:14:26

                    I’ve done all of the healthy sleep habits, no technology, two hours before bed, listening to delta waves, meditating, reading, you know, dim lighting, essential oils, all these things to try and create this like almost romantic sleep situation. And it really was just my adrenals that needed to be retrained. So it’s been a very long process but it is worth it.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:14:53

                    I love it because you have got a positive outcome and that just goes to show you it is something that you can address And it’s whether they’re looking Yes, deeply enough into it. When I typed in cortisol deficiency into Google, it says, cortisol deficiency occurs when the adrenal glands do not produce enough cortisol, this can happen for four main reasons when the pituitary gland is unable to produce the chemicals needed to tell the adrenal glands to switch on the cortisol production. So it’s, it’s a proper brain communication signaling issues. So what I why I read that was if anyone’s struggling with this sleep is to ask the big questions beyond kind of have a sleep medication.

                    Jenn Williams 1:15:48

                    I didn’t want to be on sleep medication. I didn’t want to be on that crazy stuff for years and years. I wanted to fix it. And you know, instead of just saying, I don’t know, I don’t sleep well. Give your doctor details. Explain, I’m not falling asleep while I’m waking up every 30 minutes, because that’s what I was experiencing, I was waking up every 30 minutes, and I would be up for an hour, hour and a half. And it was like naps, all day naps, because I was still out of balance. So asking the very detailed questions and being very open about what you’re experiencing can really make a difference.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:16:28

                    Get your pituitary gland checked out, get your adrenal glands checked out, get your thyroid checked out. Don’t just leave it at an some medications sleep because I’m not sleeping properly.

                    Jenn Williams 1:16:44

                    And I had a thalamic stroke, which I have since learned, because I did not know this that the thalamus is the distribution center of the brain. So all of the information that comes in, goes through the thalamus and then gets sent out. So when you have damage to your Thalamus, it can affect everything. Because the thalamus communicates with everything. So it could depend not even your pituitary. It could be the lambic issue, it could be any number of things.

                    The Hardest Thing About Stroke For Jenn Williams


                    Bill Gasiamis 1:17:15
                    Yeah, yeah, it’s important to know where the stroke happened and what part of the brain is impacted. And what that part is, does for a living, you know, how it pays its rent. So that’s awesome. I’m glad you’re getting a result and you’re seeing an improvement. As we come to wrap it up, tell me a little bit about what the hardest thing about stroke for you was?

                    Jenn Williams 1:17:42

                    Ah, I would say grief, the grieving the loss of my old life. And my old identity, I realized that I had really begun to absorb a strong, deep work ethic as my identity. So when I couldn’t work, I didn’t know who I was. I was like, I don’t, I am not working 80 hours a week, and busy and all those other things like I don’t know myself. And I had to grieve the loss of that old life.

                    Jenn Williams 1:18:22

                    And I still have days where I cry, and unlike what happened in my old life. And you know, the the loss of some relationships, there are, you know, you were talking about the family thing earlier, my family’s wonderful, but I do have some family members that have never really asked me about my brain injury that have never shown any curiosity and how I’m doing which is eye opening.

                    Jenn Williams 1:18:56

                    And then I have friends that just couldn’t handle it, they just could not handle the fact that I was on this road to recovery. And, you know, wasn’t just accessible to them 24 hours a day or anything like that. So I think just in general grief is a is a really huge part of it. And I think that’s the hardest part for me was the grief.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:19:20

                    The loss of identity is very interesting one I speak about that in my book as well. I think it’s chapter three. And the good part about that is you can rehabilitate your identity really quickly. Yes, that’s a good part about it. You can become involved in all those things that you’re become involved in to keep you busy for another 80 hours a week, but just in a different way. And you pick up relationships in those new spaces, just like you were interacting with people in those old spaces. So that’s really cool.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:19:59

                    The friends one is an interesting one, because many stroke survivors experienced the same thing. It says more about the people who kind of step away or don’t know how to handle it than it does about you. And I think it’s a blessing that they move away and step away.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:20:23

                    Because if they’re incapable of supporting you, or being okay, or normal, or just be there, they’re incapable of doing that, then I think that would make your recovery harder, it would cause some stress or some aggravation, or whatever. And I think they do a really good job of going. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. I’m out of it. I’m gone. It seems weird, and it seems like a bit of a letdown and that they’re not doing what you would expect of them. But I think they’re doing the best thing they could possibly do. And that’s like, go away.

                    Jenn Williams 1:21:02

                    I mean, if that if that would be hard for them, then I don’t want them to be present. That’s not fair to either of us. I do also want to just talk a little bit about gratitude. I, my counselor asked me one day, he kind of said, Oh, I bet if you could go back in time and change it, you would. I thought about it. And I said, No, actually, I wouldn’t. And he said, Okay, you got to explain that to me. And I said, I have met people that I never would have met. Without being on this journey. I’ve connected with people.

                    Jenn Williams 1:21:47

                    And it changed me for the better. I have more internal peace. I don’t feel the need to push myself to work 80 hours a week anymore. I’m happier. I appreciate so many little things. Every day, I write down three things that I’m grateful for. And sometimes I’m grateful that I have really nice sheets on my bed. That’s okay. And I never would have had that much gratitude prior to my injury.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:22:19

                    I relate to that. That’s why I wrote a book called The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. And people think I’m mad.

                    Jenn Williams 1:22:25

                    I know. I saw your title. And I was like, yes.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:22:32

                    People think I’m mad. And it’s like, I’m not saying anything positive. Although there is positive things. I’m not saying that pain is good. And all this is like, we should suffer indefinitely. And it’s suffering is amazing. With a purpose it’s okay. It’s manageable. Yeah. Suffering, and then you convert it into a purpose, like a podcast, or helping other people at a homeless shelter or whatever. Like it transforms. I can’t explain how, but it just does.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:23:07

                    And it makes it less shit. And then that’s all I want. I want it to be less shit than it was yesterday. And if it is, then that’s okay. And yeah, it’s like, I don’t know, I would love to learn the lessons without going through stroke. But it didn’t happen that way. I wasn’t that wise, I wasn’t that intelligent.

                    Jenn Williams 1:23:36

                    We apparently had to get some knocks in the head to get the point across.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:23:42

                    A bit thick in the head. So it’s something needed to change, maybe a bolt of lightning or something or jolt or something. It’s just intensely crazy that you would say that that you would say I wouldn’t change it. I have met so many people that wouldn’t change. What happened to them? It’s just crazy. And it’s counterintuitive. What is something that stroke taught you? Did I already ask that?

                    Jenn Williams 1:24:19

                    I don’t think so. If you did, I forgot and we’ll say it again. Ah, gosh, something that stroke has taught me? It has taught me so much. I guess it’s hard to pinpoint one thing. I would say probably the gratitude piece obviously that’s a big part and then the it’s okay to advocate for yourself. It’s okay to ask questions about your health care. And I say It’s all the time and some people don’t like it, but your doctors or your employees, you can fire them.

                    Jenn Williams 1:25:05

                    If it’s not working, it is not working, and you can move on to the next. And that has been a huge change for me to say, You know what, this isn’t a good relationship, I’m moving on to the next person. And just having the self awareness and the comfort in saying that brings a whole new depth to self-advocacy for me internally, in all aspects of my life, it has taught me to stand up for myself in critical moments that I really need to.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:25:41

                    That’s profound. It’s so good to stand up for yourself, and to take them on, and to just make them accountable. That’s all. That’s all you’re doing. Just checking out the information they’ve given you is accurate, and it’s applicable to you. And it’s the right information. It’s no different to what they do to you, when you get asked by 25 different health professionals in the hospital. What happened to you? So what happened to you? It’s on the chart, read the chart, but tell me what happened to you.

                    Jenn Williams 1:26:17

                    I told your nurse, I told this person, I said it in my last appointment.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:26:23

                    Yeah. And it’s just what they’re doing is they’re double checking that they’ve got the right person in front of them that they are talking about the right and that’s all we need to do is okay. Okay, so what are you going to do about it? How you can help me? Why are we doing this? What’s the purpose of that? Why aren’t we doing this? Why aren’t we doing that? And you can do it nicely, you can have a lovely conversation with one of your medical professionals. If they don’t like it, that answering questions, well, then they’re the wrong person, and then you should fire them and you should move on and get somebody to help.

                    Jenn Williams 1:26:53

                    And I had one neurologist that my first appointment with her she was the other neurologist had left the practice and they had someone new. And during my appointment, she kept looking at her smartwatch. And she was like giggling, and so she was clearly reading messages on her smartwatch. And I got home, I was so angry. And my husband was like, try talking to her about it. Just try talking to her about it.

                    Jenn Williams 1:27:22

                    She’s new to the area, she’s the only one in the area. So see if you can work it out with her. And my next appointment, I said, I need to tell you that at my last appointment, I did not feel like you were as invested in my care as I am. And I really need us to be on the same page. And she sat right up and I’m like, oh, oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.

                    Jenn Williams 1:27:45

                    Blah, blah, blah. And we had a great relationship until she moved again, gone through a lot of neurologists, but even just saying that, in my previous life, I would not have said that. I wouldn’t have ever said something like that. But I did. And it worked out and we got on the same page. And we took steps for my recovery. And it felt very collaborative. So even just saying something like that made a huge difference.

                    Thalamic Stroke Recovery, Grief, And Resilience

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:28:16

                    Excellent. What would you like to say to some of the stroke survivors that are listening, that are just on their journey or a few years down the track? Things are a little bit challenging for them? What do you want to say to them?

                    Jenn Williams 1:28:33

                    Recovery is not a sprint. It’s a marathon. It is not three months, it is not a year, it is not two years. It is a life altering journey. And I will tell you, I probably spent the first three years of my recovery and grief. And once I got through all of that I was able to give back. I was able to start helping people and speak at support groups and do self advocacy work. And there’s a lot of really beautiful things that can happen on the other side of that grief. You just have to hang in there.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:29:13

                    Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast. I really appreciate it.

                    Jenn Williams 1:29:20

                    Thank you. It was really nice to be here. I really appreciate it. I love talking about brain injury.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:29:26

                    Me too. You wouldn’t have guessed from the 310 episodes. But yeah, I don’t mind that either. Thanks so much, Jen.

                    Jenn Williams 1:29:40

                    Thanks, Bill.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:29:42

                    Thanks for joining us on today’s episode. If you are interested in a copy of my book about stroke recovery. You can grab a copy on Amazon by visiting on Amazon or by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book to learn more more about my guests including links to their social media and to download a full transcript. Head over to recoveryaftershow.com/episodes.

                    The post Thalamic Stroke Recovery Journey: Contraceptive Pill Risks and Advocacy: Jenn Williams appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                    1 hr 35 min
                  • Unlocking More Stroke Recovery: Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat on the Power of Brain Imaging

                    Uncover groundbreaking insights into stroke rehabilitation. Learn how advanced brain imaging may improve your recovery journey.

                    BrainHehabilitation.org

                    Rehab Team
                    How To Get A Copy Of My Brain Scans
                    Brain Imaging Consultation
                    LinkedIn
                    Facebook
                    Neuro Rehab Team Guide PDF

                    Highlights:

                    01:30 Introduction

                    04:48 Understanding The Individual’s Specific Brain Damage
                    10:04 Brain Imaging For Stroke Patients
                    20:10 Having The Expertise To Look At A Brain Imaging
                    33:07 Personalized Rehabilitation For Stroke Survivors
                    39:14 Access To Rehabilitation Professionals And Their Roles
                    46:23 Importance Of Neuropsychological Assessments
                    56:29 Nutrition And Its Impact On Brain Recovery After A Stroke
                    1:01:42 Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat’s Course

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 0:00

                    This episode of the podcast is brought to you by headbed.com.au. Hello everyone. Before we dive into today’s episode, I wanted to share something special in Episode 305 I interviewed Catherine Randabel the inventor of HeadBed a product revolutionizing hair salons, especially for stroke survivors. The HeadBed provides excellent neck and head support during hair washes.

                    Bill Gasiamis 0:25

                    Reducing strain and promoting better blood flow. For stroke survivors. This means lowering the risk of arterial damage and easing concerns about another stroke it ensures a safe and enjoyable salon experience. I’m thrilled to support such a product that aligns with my mission of stroke prevention and safety.

                    Bill Gasiamis 0:44

                    In our interview, Catherine explained how the HeadBed ergonomic design prevents neck hyperextension a common issue increasing stroke risk with the HeadBed you can feel confident and comfortable at the salon knowing your health is prioritized. If you are a stroke survivor or you know someone who is the HeadBed is a must-have for your next salon visit.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:06

                    Check out episode 305 For my full interview with Catherine and learn how this product can make a difference for those in the United States. Visit headbedusa.com to get yours today and enjoy peace of mind at the salon. I’d also like to mention my book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. 10 tools for recovery and personal transformation.

                    Introduction – Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat


                    Bill Gasiamis 1:30
                    It features inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors and offers hope for those on the road to recovery. For more information visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book or search for my name Bill Gasiamis. This is episode 308 and my guest today is Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat PhD, a distinguished clinician, researcher and educator, specializing in neurological rehabilitation with a focus on brain imaging.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:58

                    She has a robust academic background holding a Bachelor of Applied Science in physiotherapy, a master’s in neurological physiotherapy, and a PhD in brain imaging and neuroscience. Dr. BenShabat is the founder of Brain Rehab Academy, an organization dedicated to educating clinicians on using brain imaging or personalized and optimized neurological rehabilitation.

                    Bill Gasiamis 2:25

                    She is also a senior clinician and a researcher at Caulfield hospital, part of Alfred health and an adjunct research fellow at Monash University. Additionally, she serves as a senior clinician at Renew Rehab. Her work involves teaching clinicians how to interpret brain images to enhance rehabilitation outcomes, and empowering patients by helping them understand neurological conditions better.

                    Bill Gasiamis 2:55

                    Dr. Ben-Shabat’s contributions to the field are widely recognized and she continues to impact both clinical practice and research in neurological rehabilitation. And now it’s on with the show Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat, welcome to the podcast.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 3:10

                    Thank you for having me, Bill.

                    Bill Gasiamis 3:14

                    My pleasure. Thank you for being here. This is a really exciting opportunity for me, because when we met about a month ago, I learned something new. And what I learned was that there’s physiotherapy, and then there’s neurological physiotherapy, and they are two different things. And I didn’t know that stroke survivors will benefit from physiotherapy, but then they’ll also benefit from this other thing called neurological physiotherapy. But before we talk about those two things, can you tell me a little bit about your background? And how you came to be involved in this field?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:00

                    Yeah, sure. I actually started my career as a physiotherapist. And I did a Bachelor degree in physiotherapy, which I finished in 95, I think it was. And then after a few years, I discovered that I’m really really actually new since uni that I was really interested in neurological physiotherapy. So working with people that have neurological injuries, which means injuries to the brain or spinal cord.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:26

                    And so I try different areas. So when you finish physio, they kind of gets you to try different areas to make sure A that you’re competent with all the areas and B that you going down the path not because of that being your first option, but because he actually tried different things and you’re certain that if you’re going to specialize that’s what you want to do, or that you do something that you actually like.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat: Understanding The Individual’s Specific Brain Damage


                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:48
                    Anyway, I went down that path of getting myself trained further in neurological physiotherapy. So I did a clinical Master’s in neurological physiotherapy. Repeat. And I went there thinking that I’m gonna learn lots of neuroscience and lots of brain imaging. And I learned some neuroscience and very little brain imaging.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:48

                    And it was a little frustrating for me, because I wasn’t getting the knowledge I really wanted because I had a had a sneaky suspicion that there’s a lot of information in the brain images that can really help me as a physio. And then an opportunity came up to do a PhD in brain imaging. So that’s what I did, I did a brand new, I did a PhD in brain imaging, it was a functional MRI.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:48

                    So it was about looking at how the brain works. And which areas are active when you do what sort of task, which is a bit different from diagnostic imaging, which is identifying which areas of the brain are affected by a lesion. And the difference between physiotherapy and your logic of physiotherapy, and I didn’t know that people don’t know that. But a physiotherapist is someone who’s responsible to help you get your movement back. So it might be because you had a back injury or a shoulder injury or a knee injury, etc.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:48

                    But then your logical physiotherapist specializes not just in giving you back the movement, but connecting the areas that order the movement, which is the brain to the areas that produce the movement, which is the different body parts. So not only do they need to make sure that the body parts work properly, they also need to facilitate that connection between the brain and the body part that got disconnected because of the injury.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 4:48

                    And sometimes this is really tricky, because you need to explore because different brains are different, and you need to kind of explore if I do this with that work, if I’ll try this with it with it. Will it work? And why did it work for one person and not another? There’s a lot of trial and error, which is why I was so fascinated by brain imaging because I thought that if I look at brain imaging, it will take some of the guesswork out of what I do.

                    Bill Gasiamis 4:48

                    Yeah, that is the key point, I think. So when I, when we chatted the other time over coffee. What happened to me was, I became aware that when I was doing physiotherapy and trying to get movement in my left side back and walk again, and coordination in my left arm, what I realized was that the amazing people helping me were pretty much working blind.

                    Bill Gasiamis 7:36

                    Because they had no idea what the inside of my head looked like they didn’t get access to the images, nobody said to them, this is what happened in a guy’s brain, this is where it happened. This is the damage. They didn’t do any of that. And, and I feel like the giving they’re given the client with half the tools. And that would make recovery, potentially hit and miss and take longer than necessary and then not be targeted. So you might have all that time and effort into the risks, putting those resources into that individual. And then you’re not getting the biggest return on your we’ll call it an investment into that person.

                    Intro 8:24

                    If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, and doctors will explain things. But obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery.

                    Intro 8:54

                    If you’re finding yourself in that situation. Stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to ask your doctor about your stroke. These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke. They’ll not only help you better understand your condition. They’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                    Bill Gasiamis 9:24

                    A few quite a few episodes ago I interviewed Dr. Amir Hadanny a hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic, and he he created the same amazement and awe in me because previously I’d heard about hyperbaric oxygen therapy. There’s plenty of them here in Melbourne. Facilities that I could just turn up and pay for an hour session and then and get a, you know, sit in a tank and then get some therapy.

                    Brain Imaging For Stroke Patients


                    Bill Gasiamis 10:04
                    And although that seems like it’s a good idea at the time, again, were providing our ourselves to this resource we’re paying for this service. And then we don’t know what it’s doing or how it’s doing it, or whether it’s effective or whether we should keep doing it. And it’s kind of working blindly hit and miss, and what the difference between the conversation that I had with somebody else who had hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and Dr. Amir Hadanny was that they do really detailed imaging of the brain.

                    Bill Gasiamis 10:44

                    And they find penumbras in the brain areas of the brain, therefore there can be rehabilitated, that were missed earlier, because the imaging that they do is different, and it’s looking for places to rehabilitate. So tell me about the imaging that you do to what extent does it to what extent does it? How does it work? Like, what does it look for?

                    Bill Gasiamis 11:09

                    What does it do differently to standard imaging, which is, the version that I got was a you went in, they found the bleed, they heal the blade, then they had another look to see if everything looks good, and then that was it, there was no further investigation into those images. I mean, they’ve got him and then they don’t do anything with this resource, I find that amazing. But their role, it’s not their role. So I kind of get it.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 11:42

                    But they are doing something this imaging. So for example, in your case, you had a bleed, and they did imaging. So first of all, they had to sort out whether you had a bleed, or whether you had a blockage that caused ischemia, and each one of them will require different treatment, they also had to find out where that bleed is, and whether they need to drain it or not to drain it.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 12:05

                    So there’s various, the reason they doing these scans they call diagnostic imaging, is because they want to identify what the problem is, because they need to make a decision about how to treat. And when I say how to treat I mean medical treatment. So are they gonna have surgery or not which medication, etcetera, etcetera. There’s a different type of imaging, called functional imaging.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 12:32

                    And that shows you which parts of the brain are work, King, when, and usually, an example of that is a functional MRI, there’s some other scans such as spected, etc, in which you’re injected with a radio active, say, oxygen or radioactive glucose most of the time, and then they trace it to see how it’s distributed in the brain. And then they know which areas are compromised or not compromised.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 12:59

                    And they can also do tasks and find out which areas are more active with a particular task. So in a hospital, usually, you will get diagnostic imaging, and sometimes you get just the initial scan. But sometimes you get further scans down the track down the track, the functional images are not done all that commonly. And when they’re done, it’s usually in the context of say they’re about to do surgery, neurosurgery for someone with a tumor.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 13:32

                    And they want to find out because the area where the tumor is, is really close to say the motor area, and they want to find out exactly how much of the tumor is invading the motor area, are they gonna cause any damage motor damage when they do the surgery. So this is a clinical case in which they will use functional MRI as a standard clinical care. But for most people, this is not the case, the only scans that are taken, and diagnostic images.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 14:02

                    And my point is that those diagnostic images have a wealth of information, not just for the medical doctors with regards to what kind of medical treatment they need to give you, but also in terms of which specific area of the brain is affected. Because if you know exactly which area of the brain is affected, then you know what function will be affected. And if you know what function will be affected, then you know what you need to address in your treatment.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 14:31

                    And furthermore, when you look really carefully at the scans, you can tell whether a particular area is affected badly or maybe there’s a lot of potential for recovery. So you you get a sense of how much recovery you expecting to regain as a result of these injury.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 14:52

                    So for me, it’s really important because for example, the other day I saw someone and they had a lesion which was in a speech area but not a not an area that produces a speech in area that actually allows them to understand speech, which therefore meant that in the hospital, it was really important as a first port of call to find a way to communicate with this person, as opposed to assume that if you’re gonna go to him and speak to him, he’s going to understand you.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 15:23

                    That was not the case, so if you look at the brand new images, and you see that from the beginning, you’re already gonna be starting to communicate effectively this person, you’re probably going to communicate with them, like you communicate with someone who speaks a language different to yours, and you don’t have a common language. So even little things like that, that make a well a world of a difference to a patient. For this patient. That was a really big problem that no one could communicate with him.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 15:49

                    And all he could say was, yes, yes. So every, every time someone said something to hear me would say yes. And the clinician would assume that the yes meant, guess I understand or Yes, I’ll do Ito? Yes, whatever. So the long answer to your question is that there’s two types of images, diagnostic and functional images, I look at diagnostic images within the group of diagnostic images, specifically, in the context of stroke, there is what’s called perfusion images, and they look at how much blood is taken by different areas of the brain.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 16:28

                    So your case, for example, was a bleed. But let’s say they would have discovered that you had an ischemia than they would have used in another scan, or even within the same scan, would inject you with contrast, and then assess which areas of the brain have compromised blood flow. And by comparing the areas of compromised blood flow, and how compromised it is, they can determine whether it’s a penumbra or whether it’s actually the Impact call. So there’s different type of image images, everybody gets diagnostic images.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 17:05

                    And if you had a stroke, particularly of ischemic type, you would have had infusion images. And that’s the basis for decisions for treatment for the medical doctors. But if you have a brain imaging trained rehabilitation clinician, they can take a lot of information out of that can and then direct the whole team, including their own discipline. So for example, for that patient example that I gave before, I said, well, the highest priority is the speech language therapist, she needs to see him first before any of us and we need to prioritize her, so that she can help us communicate with this person. So it also changes how you structure rehab, as well.

                    Bill Gasiamis 17:51

                    It does change everything. And that’s the beauty of it is that I feel like even though I went through the process where there was a fair amount of communication, there was assessments, there was a whole bunch of people talking to each other, I still feel like that the image that they had the images that they had weren’t under utilized.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 18:17

                    I share this view with you.

                    Bill Gasiamis 18:20

                    Okay. And that the the person who was helping me walk, didn’t know about what you just said, they didn’t know that they knew that they had somebody that couldn’t walk properly. And then what they were going to do was go through the standard usual techniques, and that I might apply to every person to get me to walk. And and although I got a result, which I’m very happy about, they perhaps work I feel like they’ll work in blind.

                    Bill Gasiamis 18:56

                    And then I think about other stroke survivors, right, I think about the stroke survivors, who perhaps have been told, you know, that crazy sentence, that’s about all you can expect, or you know, you’re never going to walk again or things like that. And then I start to get really annoyed that a that whatever be said to somebody and be that there’s probably resources and images of that person’s brain that have never been looked at further than the diagnostic part, which was you’ve had a stroke, it’s in this area.

                    Bill Gasiamis 19:30

                    We need to support you to leave hospital and then you need to go to rehab, but then you’re on your own. So I get really challenged about that. And I think there’s a lack of understanding and awareness that there are specialties to the field of physiotherapy that are specifically aligned with neurological rehabilitation. But I don’t know man, it feels Like to me that I went to a physiotherapist, not somebody that had any idea about neurological issues, although they may have understood the simple part of the task, right?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat: Having The Expertise To Look At Brain A Imaging

                    Bill Gasiamis 20:10

                    This guy had a stroke, and he can’t walk anymore. And then we need to help him walk, although they definitely nderstood that part of the picture. I imagine if I showed them an image, of my MRIs, that they would be looking at it thinking, well, this just doesn’t look like anything just as much as I looked at it and couldn’t read anything about it.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 20:36

                    Look, it’s not a simple thing to do, which is why they don’t teach it at university. And not many clinicians have that knowledge. I mean, I didn’t have that knowledge, I had to go and do a PhD to be able to look at brain images, and then figure out a way of how to use it. So it’s not something that is easily accessible to people. And we have to, I think, appreciate the time that it takes to acquire knowledge to acquire knowledge.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 21:04

                    And the time that it takes to train and priorities to train, I think, yeah, they are the limit limitations of the system is we working, I guess, but I think that the role of a patient to be their own advocate. So for me, it’s really important that my patients or clients are really well educated, for several reasons. One reason is that the health system is changing. It’s changing rapidly since COVID.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 21:37

                    And it’s struggling, which means services are gonna cut down gonna be cut down. And it’s not only in Australia, it’s worldwide. And there’s less people interested in working in healthcare. So we have this problem of larger population that we service and fewer clinicians that need to give the service. So for ever, the system is trying to figure out a solution.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 22:01

                    And often the solution involves less services, which therefore means that the patients or the clients must be more educated, because they’re going to need to be their own advocate. So I think it’s not healthy. Or let’s say it’s not a positive attitude, they think, Oh, I can initiate you know that, because that’s not going to get you in. But I think if you educate yourself with the fact that this knowledge can be obtained, can be accessed can direct my rehab, where can I find people that can help me with that kind of information that I need.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 22:40

                    And as 200 clinicians have already trained so there’s a body of clinicians out there that are they’re starting to be a body of clinicians out there that are knowing or let’s say know more than others how to look at brain scans. And I want to take you up on one more point that you mentioned, actually, two points one about if my, if my physio, while they just did standard walking.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 23:07

                    Which is true that the common view out there in the physiotherapy world is that you treat the symptoms that you see. So you assess someone, you find out what the symptoms are, and then you treat them. So if they have a problem or working, you treat them by practicing walking with them. But my point is that walking can be a problem because there is the muscles are not working properly.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 23:32

                    Or it could be that there is spasticity. Or it could be that their sensation is affected. Or it could be that the coordination of the different muscles are affected? How do you know which one is which, without looking at the brain images? The answer that an ordinary physio would give you, oh, we can test for all those things. To test each one of those things is an extra hour if you do it properly.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 23:57

                    So for hours are gone for hours of therapy in a self help service in which the time in rehab is reduced. But if you look at the brain images, you straightaway know which one of those four are playing a part in the problem of walking, and therefore which one should I address first and which one I’m gonna instruct them what they need to do with etcetera, etcetera, depending on how much time I’ve got.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 24:22

                    The point is that when you look at the brain imaging, you can really make your rehab as efficient as efficient as possible. That’s the way I look at it. And there was something else he said. I can’t remember maybe answered it when I talked about brain imaging trained clinician, but I really do think that we can’t be frustrated with the clinicians. They work in a very difficult system under very difficult circumstances. I think we need to understand There’s their perspective as well. It’s not that they’re not doing their best. It’s just that they’re limited.

                    Bill Gasiamis 25:08

                    Thank you for that little reminder. I know, I’m not really frustrated with my clinicians at all. I’m frustrated with the system. And I’m frustrated that I’ve been learning about neurological physiotherapy 14 years after the fact. That’s what I’m frustrated with, not that anyone did anything wrong by me. Nobody did. I got amazing care, and most stroke survivors do.

                    Bill Gasiamis 25:36

                    It’s that I wasn’t educated enough to know that and how could I be, I was not a scientific person, especially not in, neurological side of science. And then I never had a stroke before, I never knew anyone who had a stroke, like, I’m completely ignorant. And that’s the point is that we are ignorant, and we’re desperate for information. And I love the work that you’re doing. I love the fact that you’re training people to be able to read images and have a different approach to physiotherapy.

                    Bill Gasiamis 26:11

                    And that’s exactly it. I, my heart goes out to all the stroke survivors. So I come from that side of the fence. And it’s like, I wish I could help them sooner, quicker. That’s why we’re doing this interview, to educate them, and to make them their own advocates. Because the people who do listen to this podcast are definitely their own advocates, they are looking for information and solutions to their problems.

                    Bill Gasiamis 26:36

                    And they’re open to almost anything, most people, they’re probably limited, limited by resources, and time and energy and all that stuff. So if we, you know, my aim is to sort of, to shorten the distance between the challenge and then the solution and to find the right one quicker. So I interviewed doctors and researchers all around the world world for these types of reasons.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 27:06

                    Which is why I love what you do. I think you’re doing great work.

                    Bill Gasiamis 27:11

                    Thank you. And I suppose at the same time, I’m being a little bit of a devil’s advocate, you know, I’m kind of saying, Okay, I’m gonna put the squeeze on you, I’m gonna make it your responsibility as well to be better trained, physiotherapist better educated, so that when you’re got somebody in your office for an hour, you’re giving them the best level of care that you can.

                    Bill Gasiamis 27:34

                    I don’t expect somebody who came out of uni, after four years to know everything? Of course not. And I don’t expect somebody after 10 years, to know everything. However, I’d love it if everybody was always looking for better ways to support their patients, their clients, etc. And I think that most people are like, let’s be honest, I’m not saying that anyone out there is doing a terrible job at supporting stroke survivors with the resources and the Oh, my gosh, and the stuff that we’ve just been through in the last few years.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 28:11

                    And the likelihood is that you were given your rehab in a rehab setting, in a rehab setting. Even if the junior physio was not particularly trained in neurological physiotherapy, the one above them would have been their senior or the senior above the senior. So somewhere along the line, that would have been the right person keeping an eye on what the person who was treating you doing.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 28:39

                    So that’s one thing. The second thing is that what I’m doing is not just good for physios, it’s good for occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and neuropsychologist. They’re the sort of people that are taking my courses, rehabilitation, rehabilitation physicians, who are doctors that specialize in rehabilitation, they come into my courses as well, because the idea of where the lesioning is relevant to each single one of those discipline, I’ll give you the example of an OT because I remembered what I wanted to say before.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 29:17

                    You were talking about the fact that sometimes, if someone would have told you or you can’t walk, you wouldn’t have liked that at all right? There is an area of the brain, the primary motor cortex. It’s the area, the main area for movement, and it’s a quite small area of the brain and it goes from the middle part of the brain all the way to the outside, and it’s a narrow strip kind of thing.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 29:43

                    And they’ve done all sorts of interesting studies more than a decade ago, where they use TMS transmagnetic stimulation to stimulate different parts of that strip to see how much movement can this person acquire it They did things like well, if nothing if we can’t produce anything at all, any movement at all, by stimulating the motor cortex, we know that this person is unlikely to recover that particular movement.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 30:13

                    And then they tracked them for a while. And they so Oh, yes, they didn’t recover. And they did that with upper limb. Cathy Stinear
                    is the researcher from New Zealand, who was the first person to work on that kind of algorithm, in which you use that kind of stimulation to determine who are the people that are going to recover what people that are not going to recover.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 30:38

                    So sometimes there are particular areas of the brain that are affected, that we know that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. And I want to give the example of upper limb. So with strokes, particularly middle cerebral artery kind of strokes, MCA strokes, which are the most common strokes, unfortunately, the arm and hand area is smacked in the middle of the territory of that particular artery.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 31:11

                    Which means in a lot of people that have stroke, it might be that the arm is affected, and it might be affected quite badly. So my point with this kind of factor is that if you look at the brain images of this person, and you look at how much of the primary motor cortex is intact, and how much of it is destroyed, it will give you an idea of how much recovery the upper limb can have. So will the hand function, or will it be only the elbow that will function or the shoulder.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 31:45

                    So when you look at the primary motor cortex, you can look at which areas are gonna recover and which ones are not in then, for example, one of the most popular treatments at the moment is intensive upper limb rehabilitation, which is extremely effective if some of the primary motor cortex is intact. On the other hand, if the area of the upper limb in the primary motor cortex is not intact, it’s all damaged by the stroke, then no matter how hard you’re going to work with this person, they won’t be able to use their hand like they did before, or sometimes not even for any function at all.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 32:27

                    And I think this is really important. I know that a lot of stroke, people don’t want to hear that. And that’s okay. Maybe, if you don’t want to hear that, then ask people not to tell you that. But would you want all the time to be invested on that function? Or should you be asking your clinician, let’s create a treatment program that in the two or three or whatever four weeks that we’ve got, together, I achieve the most I can and let the clinician prioritize for you, or at least tell you what’s more likely to recover? What will require more work.

                    Personalized Rehabilitation For Stroke Survivors

                    Bill Gasiamis 33:07

                    I completely agree with you. Do you know why I completely agree with you? Because the evidence of doctors saying that to patients comes from stroke survivors who have in the very early stages of diagnosis, after stroke, while in hospital recovering, not at physio, have had doctors come into family and say like, he’s probably going to be a vegetable or he’s probably never going to walk again, all that kind of stuff.

                    Bill Gasiamis 33:37

                    They’re the ones that are the ones that cause unnecessary discouragement, before, there’s been enough time to determine exactly where the challenges are. Most stroke survivors are pragmatists. They may not have initially accepted the fact that their arm doesn’t work. But if it’s not working, and it’s not getting better, many stroke survivors will just understand that there is no medical professional going to allocate X amount of time to a hand that they’re not likely to get a result from.

                    Bill Gasiamis 34:16

                    I interviewed many, many years ago. Dr. Michael Merzenich, the godfather of Neuroplasticity and before I interviewed him I met him in Melbourne he was at the Florida Institute and I went and asked him a question after his presentation and it was why will Neuroplasticity be good for some people and why won’t it work for other people trying to understand my own kind of situation.

                    Bill Gasiamis 34:45

                    He said we’ll it just depends on how much damage and brain cell death there has been and if it’s catastrophic and wide and broad. Well, you don’t have the ability to rehabilitate those things, but also you don’t have a lot of time. What do you do first? Where do you put the resources? So you know, you have to be very careful that you’re not allocating resources into the wrong space. So you get the outcome where you can you allocate the resources where you can get an outcome.

                    Bill Gasiamis 35:19

                    So I know what you’re saying, and I completely agree with you. And I don’t think that I’ve ever had a stroke survivors say to me, that it was in rehab, where they said, you’re never going to do this, again, and you’re never going to do that again, it was in those very early acute phases of the condition and the recovery, you know, so.

                    Bill Gasiamis 35:43

                    But anyway, but look, also, you can also stroke survivors in such a bad way, when that’s happened to them, they don’t have the capacity to even understand what people are saying to them sometimes. So it’s very easily to misinformation, to read it the wrong way to misunderstand that. So I, I know, it’s not as black and white as I painted.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 36:09

                    I also think, doctors go by statistics, and statistics, by definition, involve a large number of people within a large number of people, you don’t know who the one who did better? And who’s the one who are the ones who didn’t do well. So you kind of that’s the other point that I try to explain to people. When you look at the brain imaging, you get out of the realm of statistics, and you get into personalized rehab or personalized you or personal, personalized potential for recovery.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 36:47

                    You’re not in a statistics anymore. It’s like what does this means to me? Bill, with my images, not as part of a statistics of the statistics for people who have brain bleeds is that 40% of them never survived the first year or whatever. The statistic is something as hard as that. But how will they manage? What was their age? Do they bleed drain or not? There’s a lot of factors that determine whether a person is going to survive or not. So it really, in my view, it needs to be a lot more personalized than relying on those large statistics or statistics of large populations, I should say.

                    Bill Gasiamis 37:31

                    You’re right. It’s exactly what they’re going by and the question that I encourage stroke survivors to ask in that situation, or even later, after they’re out of the acute phase. And they’re thinking about what the doctor said that time is. Am I one of those people? Am I that statistic? Or am I going to be in the other statistic?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 37:53

                    I going to be the 60% or the 40%?

                    Bill Gasiamis 37:56

                    And if you, if there is a possibility for rehabilitation, it’s to it’s to do the work to be that statistic, you want to be not the other one, if it’s possible. That’s what I encourage them to do. As we continue our conversation I want to talk about and tell me which order you want to do this in, I want to talk about the course that you run, and basically how it goes like, where you know that like the modules I don’t know what and also I want to talk about that PDF that you sent me, which is going to be available for people to download from the website from the show notes of this particular interview.

                    Bill Gasiamis 38:39

                    Which is about teaching people a little bit about neurophysiotherapy, and when it’s appropriate for somebody like us, like stroke survivors to get some feedback from a neurophysiotherapist. So which order do you want to take that? Do we want to talk about the PDF that I’m going to make available? Or should we talk about your course.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat: Access To Rehabilitation Professionals And Their Roles

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 39:14

                    I’m happy with whichever order but maybe we will start by talking about that PDF, that PDF will be available in your show notes. And also it will be available on my website, which is www.brainrehabilitation.org./rehab_ team so you can access it from a couple of places. And the idea of this PDF is to help clients, patients, people who had neurological injury or stroke, understand what sort of professionals they might need.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 39:52

                    Because the rehab team could be large or it could be small. You might need a certain professional at one time but not in other or you might discover down the track that you need someone to work with you. So the idea is for people to have in one place all the different professions what they do, why would you see them? And what sort of questions you might ask them.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 40:13

                    Again, it’s that concept of giving people the ability to be their own advocates, their own managers have their conditions to have the control of the reins, not rely on someone else to have the control for them. That’s what I had in mind when I created that particular resource for for people.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 40:37

                    So yeah, It need explains a little bit about the difference between neurologist and rehabilitation physicians, because they’re two different doctors, the neurologist is usually involved in the more acute stage, and we things that might go wrong. But in some hospitals, there’s not a neurologist that is going to see you it’s going to be a rehab physician from the beginning.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 40:56

                    Or if you’re from America, it’s called the physiatrist. So there’s also little differences like that. So don’t think you need to have all the different professionals you may not need all of them. So that was one example. The other example was a physiotherapist. Now some people call themselves near logical physiotherapist, whilst other calls them call themselves physiotherapist. I’m not fazed at all with the title.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 41:25

                    What I want to know is whether this person has special interest in urology? If so how long have they been working with patients with neurology? And what kind of additional courses they’ve been taking? So it’s not? That’s me personally, that I think if I had a stroke, that’s the sort of questions I would ask my physio. Do you have a special interest in urology? How long have you been working people with neurological condition? And what additional training have you been taking in the area?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 42:00

                    And you have the right to ask those questions? And I think sometimes people feel a bit funny about asking it. But you can ask it in a nice way you can say hey, I know that neurological Physiotherapy is a big area, and some people call themselves neurological physiotherapist and other node. But I’m really curious about what sort of neurological conditions you worked with, what sort of injuries you worked with? Or just ask it in a nice way.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 42:27

                    So people don’t feel threatened? Because those questions can can feel, I think if a clinician is insecure, because we are all humans, and we all have our flaws. Some people are insecure. And sometimes if you ask questions in a particular way, and they’re quite confronting questions, it could put them in the backfoot.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 42:49

                    So if you aren’t going to ask a confronting question, ask it in a nice way from a good place. You’re coming from a place of wanting to understand where they at not from a place of making them feel like they don’t know enough kind of thing. That’s the way I see it.

                    Bill Gasiamis 43:10

                    I agree. And then we talked about, there’s a couple of other things that you actually have. Where you reference you talk about.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 43:20

                    I’m talking about occupational therapists. They’re excellent problem solvers. So sometimes, and I see that quite a lot. Sometimes people go back home after stroke. And then they all of a sudden discover that there’s something they want to do that they didn’t think about, and they can’t do it. So sometimes the problem-solving process of how do I go about doing it?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 43:39

                    Or how do I go about going back to work or going back to uni, or going back to do the things I like doing, or dressing myself for eating, they’re the sort of things that occupational therapists can really help with. They’re good with that speech and language therapist would help you with communication issues, but also swallowing swallowing is a big thing.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 43:59

                    Again, I keep on saying to Speech and Language Therapists, when you look at the brain images, you can see who are the people that are going to have problems with swallowing, and which ones are going to recover from it well, and which ones are going to work much harder at to get back the swallowing.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 44:16

                    Most of the people get this following back. It’s just that depending on where the lesion is, that will determine what sort of work you’ll need to do with them and how long or how slow or fast it’s going to be. And sometimes I find that it’s really helpful to tell clients, look, this is going to take a long time, but eventually you’ll be able to talk.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 44:41

                    Yeah, or you’ll be able to confess or you’ll be able to give a talk in front of audience or whatever it is. Sometimes just giving them that knowledge that it will be possible in the future. Give gives people hope, gives them a target to work towards. And I I think that’s really important.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 45:02

                    And so that speech and language therapist, what else do they have their own neuro psychologist, neuro psychologists are really important because neuropsychologist, usually they’re involved down the track. So no one really would give you a neuro psychology assessment before three months. And the reason is that neuro psychology tests are long.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 45:25

                    There’s not many neuropsychologist, and it’s an expensive service. So hospitals don’t have a lot of neuro psychologists, they have to prioritize. And in the first three months, when things change so much, there’s no point really doing a full on cognitive assessment.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 45:44

                    So the cognitive assessment that the neuropsychologist do is very thorough, and it involves different aspects and abilities of thinking. It involves memory, it involves speed of processing, it involves a lot of ideation, how are you coming up with idea how you problem solving, there’s lots of different aspects of it.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 46:06

                    And so doing it down the track gives you information about what sort of thinking abilities or cognitive abilities are affected. So if you’re finding that you’re struggling with something, after three months, you might want to get a neuro-psych assessment.

                    Importance Of Neuropsychological Assessments


                    Bill Gasiamis 46:23
                    I had a neuropsych assessment. And what was interesting was, nobody mentioned the neuro-psych assessment at all, I went to my psychologist who suggested a neuro-psych assessment because I was having trouble with making sentences and remembering the sentence that I wanted to say, and then pausing in the middle of a sentence and never finishing it, and all sorts of things, memory issues at the beginning.

                    Bill Gasiamis 46:52

                    And because I didn’t understand that I could go and get a private consultation with an a neuro psychological assessment, I waited about, I would say, about nine months to actually get one through the public system. And by the time I got to the neuro psych assessment, and the guys took me through my paces, it was very thorough took so long, I was exhausted at the end of it.

                    Bill Gasiamis 47:17

                    But they reported back that I didn’t have any serious neuro psychological challenges that wouldn’t come good. And, and I kind of felt that going into the assessment anyway, because so much time had elapsed, and things had settled down in my brain so much. And I had started to regain all these functions. So I didn’t understand them. Why? Why they wouldn’t give me a neuropsychological assessment.

                    Bill Gasiamis 47:52

                    But or suggest that but now that you’ve described that, it’s exactly my experience, so much change for the positive. That was if that I think it would have been leading me down the wrong path. If I had had a neuro psych assessment early on. Because I would have had information that wasn’t accurate nine months down the track, it would have been completely, that’s a different person that wasn’t.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 48:19

                    Or even worse, it would have been demoralizing for you.

                    Bill Gasiamis 48:23

                    Maybe, yeah I never thought about it like that.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 48:27

                    I think it’s important to remember that neuropsychologist is excellent. But let recovery, spontaneous recovery happen. Because in terms of cognitive treatments, a lot of the a lot of the treatments are come compensatory, so not all of them, but most of the ones that are used in the health system, at least in Australia are compensatory. So when we think about treatment, when you’re a clinician and think about the treatment, you think about, is it compensatory?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 48:58

                    Or is it a rehabilitative kind of approach? So this person can’t walk? Or this person can’t move their hand? Are they going to be able to move a walk in the future? If I think the answer is yes, then I go ahead and do everything I can to get that back.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 49:19

                    But if I think they’re not gonna get it back, like the example we used off the hand before, then I’m gonna try and do things to make it easier for them to manage the world with a problem that they have. So one of them is about changing is about plasticity. And the other one is about what kind of scaffolding can we do around this challenge to make it possible for the person to do whatever it is that they want to do.

                    Bill Gasiamis 49:49

                    How can we compensate? So one of them is Neuroplasticity, it’s rewiring and the other one is compensating?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 49:55

                    Yes. So one is rehabilitate and the other one is compensate. And if I was to bring all rehab into the most basic principles, they’re the two principles am I’m trying to make these better? Or am I accepting the fact that this particular challenge is not going to get any better? So, with cognitive except for the Arrowsmith program, which is definitely rehabilitative.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 50:21

                    A lot of the other neuropsych approaches or psych approaches in general, no, I should say neuroscience or cognitive treatment, I should say, are compensatory, like a lot of the memory strategies for people to cope with memory are not exercises to improve memory, there are using diary or different tools that can help you to improve your way of coping in the world with reduced memory or compromised memory.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 50:50

                    So the other thing to remember, bear in mind is that when you do the assessment with a neuropsychologist, you’re not wasting time by waiting for the neuropsychologist, because most of the time, they’re not going to give you a rehabilitative treatment, they’re not going to give you a treatment that is going to change the deficit and get back the memory that you lost.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 51:14

                    They’re gonna give you tools to work around it. So I think people need to understand that perhaps neuro psych, the urgency of neuro Psych is not let’s, let’s say there is a trade-off, you’ll be better off doing it later when all the cognitive processes settled before, before getting that expensive assessment. And then once you’ve got the assessment, yeah, there’ll be some compensation, but some, you can still rehabilitate. So that’s a conversation for every person with their particular deficits. I hope it’s not a complicated answer.

                    Bill Gasiamis 51:55

                    It’s a necessary answer. I think it’s a good answer. You mentioned Arrowsmith program. That’s Barbara Arrowsmith. Somebody who I’ve listened to present as well. Who is somebody who has done amazing work in the rehabilitation space. So anyone who is curious, and is listening and making notes, make a note of Barbara Arrowsmith go just check out her work, because she does amazing work in this space, and I heard Barbara speak with Michael Merzenich in Melbourne a few years ago, way before lock-down.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 52:28

                    I think we were were both in the same home and we didn’t even know it because I’m a Melbourne person as well.

                    Bill Gasiamis 52:38

                    Yeah, it was in. What was it down there at Federation Square? Yeah. Okay. Awesome. I love that we were both there. So this, I love your list. I love your PDF that, people are going to go and get from brainrehabilitation.org. Because it’s like a who’s who in the rehabilitation space. And it says this is what the person’s title is, this is what they do. This is why you might need to speak to that person. As we continue down the list. There’s a couple more to talk about. And I think you’re up to social worker.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 53:20

                    So social workers are underestimated, in my opinion, I think every patient who had a stroke or any other neurological injury needs to see a social worker, because they have phenomenal knowledge on what services are around. So except for the emotional support that they can give.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 53:39

                    They also their job is to know exactly what sort of services are available and what you can access to help you with whatever challenges you’ve got, be it a day groups be here to help at home be whatever it is that you need. So there’s a wealth of knowledge and resources that you really need to get in touch with, I believe, did you have a social worker? Did you meet a social worker?

                    Bill Gasiamis 54:07

                    No, I think I substituted my social worker with my counselor.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 54:13

                    Okay. That’s fair.

                    Bill Gasiamis 54:16

                    Which was really awesome. Because it was my guiding light. You know, my counselor was my guiding light, you might want to look at this, think about that, see this person, check out that person. She was amazing. So I think we got a lot of support there.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 54:31

                    Yeah. And dietitian is another one. So sometimes, well, for many people, neurological injuries associated with changes or what they eat, how they eat, how they taste, sometimes with traumatic brain injuries, often that taste like sense of taste changes, which is a massive risk. Because if your smell is affected, and you can smell the food that goes off in the fridge, and then you go and eat it, you’ll get very sick.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 54:59

                    So, dieticians are people that help you with a diet with what you eat, how you eat, how you take care of your food, etc, etc. And sometimes people after neurological injuries, lose weight or put on weight. So dieticians can also help you with guiding you, with regards to how you monitor what you eat, to make sure you don’t want to put on too much weight or lose too much weight, you want to stay around about how you were before the stroke.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 55:27

                    And then the nurses that can help you with all sorts of things that can happen with changes of medications and your symptoms, what to do with new symptoms, do I need to see a doctor need to see a doctor do I need to see a specialist, etcetera, etcetera. So they’re quite handy like and the GPs are really good as well. So you can always go to the GP and say, hey, look, this is what I’m experiencing.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 55:50

                    I’m thinking I need to see blah, blah, blah, whichever professional from that list you think you might see. And then they can discuss that with you. So use your GP as a bouncing, like as a sounding board to bounce your ideas off, do think about what you’re going to need next. But talk to people that you talk to professionals, people are there to help you make sure you use that. And in that little list that I’ve got it set up in a way that you can do like a little tick next to each one of them if you feel you need it. So you can easily visualize it. That was the aim.

                    Nutrition And Its Impact On Brain Recovery After A Stroke

                    Bill Gasiamis 56:29

                    I love it. The dietitian one I like particularly the questions that are what food should I eat to support my recovery? Are there any foods I should avoid? And I think in stroke recovery, if you’ve got a dietician who understands the neurological impact that food has, especially sugar, it’d be great if your dietitian was a little more knowledgeable about neurological recovery, because sugar is definitely one of those avoid categories in neuro neurological rehabilitation, and so is alcohol clearly, I mean, that’s obvious. But still, maybe you know your dietitian, it should be somebody that has a lot a little bit more time in the in the field and has perhaps a specialty or an interest in neurological recovery.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 57:23

                    And your book has a chapter on that which is worth reading too.

                    Bill Gasiamis 57:27

                    Yeah it does. My book has a chapter on nutrition. And I like to go to nutrition from the what I should avoid space more than anything. And because when I avoided caffeine, in many cases, dairy, in many cases, sugar, gluten, they really improved, my deficits, my deficits got better, and they decreased my fatigue when I avoided those foods. And I was just stunned by how much I could support my rehabilitation by doing that thing at home, you know.

                    Bill Gasiamis 58:04

                    And it didn’t cost extra to not eat sugar, and it didn’t cost any extra to not eat with the amount of bread that I used to eat, which was tons. So I love that PDF, we’re gonna make that available to everybody, the links will be in the show notes. So now tell me a little bit about, is there something else before we talked about your course?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 58:28

                    I just wanted to make a little comment about sugar. So sugar is problematic because it’s a pro inflammatory substance. And when your brain has an injury, there’s inflammation that’s going on there. So reducing the amount of sugar reduces or promotes less inflammation. So there’s few things and if you want to look more into that just look into just Google food to reduce inflammation.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 58:57

                    And you’ll find quite a lot of information about what sort of food to eat or not eat if you want to reduce the amount of inflammation in your body. And it’s not just brain inflammation, it’s gut inflammation as well. And there’s also a connection between the gut and the brain, which people are discovering now with research. So it’s an active space. I always tell this story.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 58:57

                    You were talking about my course. I’ll tell you a little thing that I teach people in my course. I teach them embryology, lot embryology but just a little bit of embryology. Embryology is how the baby developing the womb. And I’m talking three weeks when there’s no baby, there’s just group of cells, right? And when that group of cells develop, there’s two tubes that form first before heart before muscles before head before anything at all.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 59:23

                    One tube for the gut and one tube for the nervous system, the neural tube and the tube that will form the gut. And that link be between the gut and the nervous system exists there at three weeks when there is nothing at all. So, you know, there’s even evidence from embryology that the link between gut and the nervous system is close. And we’re seeing it more now we did research on the whole concept of inflammation, and what kind of the health of the bacteria in your gut influences the health of your brain, etc.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:00:28

                    And to give a very simple version of the explanation of what it’s like, in the very early stages of a human being, it’s like a womb, it’s basically a gut and a nervous system, there’s a brain, there’s no nothing. And then the the heart and the brain actually come on after the gut. And then all of that starts developing later. So the, you know, the first part of it is kind of, you know, is a way to create nutrition for the nervous system. So that then it has the ability to spread and for the other organs to come online.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:01:03

                    I don’t know if it’s one or the other, because it’s very hard to tell. But that fact tells me that those are the two most important systems of our body, otherwise, why do they develop first? And why do they develop in such a parallel way? So that’s the sort of thoughts that this had in me, so I say to people be very careful in what you put in your gut, and what you put in your brain.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:01:33

                    And especially when you’re pregnant, and what you put into your new developing embryos.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:01:39

                    Yeah, for sure.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat’s Course


                    Bill Gasiamis 1:01:42
                    All right. Tell me about the course. Now, what I want to know is, I want to know, the type of people that have attended, as in, you know, what kind of backgrounds they have, what are they hoping to achieve? And what you take them through what they learn? And how long does it take to complete the course? And then what can they do with their course. So, you know, that doesn’t go to the additional learning points and all that kind of stuff, just so that people can understand how they can enhance their skills.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:02:16

                    Yeah. So the people who I teach are clinicians. So I teach physios and occupational therapists, and I teach neuropsychologist and I teach speech and language therapists, and I teach rehabilitation physician, registrar’s, which are doctors that are training to be rehabilitation physicians, etc, etc. And some nurses as well. So basically, it’s very similar to what you will see in that list of the rehab team.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:02:17

                    For the people that come to do the course. Most of I mean, with the exception of the social worker, and the dietician, most of them are people that come and do the course. And the reason they do the course is because they want to understand how to use brain imaging, how to do better rehab, how to do personalized rehab, more personalized rehab, that is based not just on the assessment, but also on what the brain images tell us.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:03:04

                    And there’s different levels of training, there is a basic training that people do on their own. And that’s how they get the basic skills, and they can start with more brain images. And then there is the advanced course in which I take people over seven weeks, and then they do additional studying on their own. And that’s designed to work with them every week, so that they really look at all the different parts of the brain and know how to identify all the different parts of the brain, they understand all the different types of images that can be in the film bag.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:03:55

                    So that’s where the different scans are put in, in the notes in the medical notes. And I also teach them how to understand the brain as a system. So the brain brain function is something that exploded over the last 20 years. And we know so much more about how the brain works. And we know that there are certain networks in the brain, the brain is divided in networks, and they’re responsible for different things.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:04:23

                    So by understanding what those networks are, and how they work and what they do, then you can look really carefully at which parts of the networks are affected, and therefore what do I need to do in my treatment? So there’s three parts really one part is to know the anatomy, so know how to identify different parts of the brain on the scan. The second part is about knowing about the different images.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:04:50

                    There’s so many different types of images. Which one tells you what Which one do you look at? That’s the second part. And the third part is about the brain function. How Do I know which part of our brain does what? And so it’s quite extensive the training.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:05:07

                    And you can always ask clinicians whether they had brain imaging training, and if so what sort of brain imaging training and then they’ve been trained with BRAC or with me then have got a full training. And usually, yeah, depending on the level of training people get certificate some of training as well. So that’s something you could ask for as well. And yeah, so that’s what I do. So my aim is to change the world, kind of, in my own little way.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:05:44

                    I would like to see patients getting better treatment. That’s what I really liked.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:05:47

                    See were aligned. That’s what I was saying before, when I was having a go at everybody. I was saying that I’d like to see them better trained, is exactly how I was saying it just I had different words.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:06:00

                    Yeah. So that’s why I’m training clinicians. But I know that not everybody can get that. So clients or patients can also contact me if they want me to look at their brain images, you can find it via the website.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:06:15

                    Okay, tell me about that. So what can you do like you can have a look at if somebody’s listening has had a stroke, and they haven’t had their images investigated? Is that the word as thoroughly as they may have wanted? You can do that and give them a report?

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:06:33

                    Exactly. So when people approached me that way, then the aim for me is to understand where they at, understand their specific lesion and form some kind of idea of what do they need, the list of clinicians, that’s the sort of thing I do, what sort of actions do you need to take, and what are the people that can help you with those actions.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:06:55

                    So then I create that little report, and we have a zoom session together, and we discuss all of that. And, yeah, and the idea there, again, is to give people the control the knowledge and the control, if you have the knowledge, then you have the ability to advocate for yourself. If you don’t know, then you don’t know what you need to do. That’s why I think it’s really important for clients to have the knowledge.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:07:26

                    I love that idea of having somebody that you can send images to that can look at them, give you a report, make that report available, so that then you can take to the people recommended. And this is what I said it’s decreasing, have the time to work out what is going to be the most effective treatment and where to put your resources and your investment. That’s exactly what I’m talking about. That’s brilliant.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:07:59

                    It’s actually quite simple to do and all people need to do is to get a copy of their brain scan. So on my website, there is a little if you Google, how exactly do I get my MRIs, you will find a little blog that I’ve written that explains exactly the seven steps you need to take to get a copy of your brain scans. And I personally think that everybody should have a copy of their brain scan a CD copy of their brain scan, so that they can show it to whoever they want.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:08:28

                    Because what if you decide to leave somewhere else in the world, somewhere else in the world and you’re going to see neurologist, someone else somewhere else in the world, at least you’ve got your own scans to show them. I think it’s really important. And there’s a platform here in Australia called Aura box that you can basically upload your images and say I’m giving Ettie a permission to see my images for a week.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:08:54

                    And then I can look at them, or you can send me your CD, there’s few options. But everything has become a lot easier these days because of digital access. So once you have your scan, it’s easy enough to share those images, with your doctor with your neurologist with someone elsewhere with someone in a different country.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:09:18

                    Ettie, thank you so much for your time and all the information that you just shared. I really appreciate it. I think this is going to be an important interview that I am going to send people back to again and again. You know, there’s sometimes there’s those interviews, check that out, listen to that, go back. This is going to be one of those. And for everyone watching and listening. We’re going to have all the links all the resources that Ettie mentioned. We’re going to have him in the show notes and you guys are going to be able to go to Ettie’s website, which is brainrehabilitation.org and check out All those things in more detail. Thank you.

                    Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat 1:10:03

                    Thank you for having me. And thank you for doing all this work. Because the more help people get, the more knowledge they have, the better off they are. I’m glad I could help.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:10:15

                    Well thanks again for joining us on today’s episode, I do hope you enjoy the conversation with Dr. Ben-Shabat. If you’re interested in my book about stroke recovery, you can grab a copy on Amazon by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book. To learn more about my guests, including links to their social media and download the full transcript, head over to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:10:40

                    A massive thank you to everyone who has left a review it means the world to me. Reviews are crucial for podcasts to thrive and your feedback helps others find this valuable content, making their stroke recovery journey a little easier. If you haven’t left a review, please consider leaving a five-star review and a few words about what the show means to you on iTunes, and Spotify.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:11:04

                    If you’re watching on YouTube, leave a comment below, like the episode and subscribe to the show on the preferred platform to get notified of future episodes. If you are a stroke survivor with a story to share now’s the perfect time to join me on the show that interviews are not scripted, you do not have to plan for them. Just be yourself and share your experience to help others in similar situations.

                    Bill Gasiamis 1:11:29

                    If you have a commercial product that supports stroke survivors in their recovery, you can join me on a sponsored episode of the show. Just visit recoveryafterstroke.com/contact Fill out the form with your category and I’ll get back to you with the details on how we can connect via Zoom. Thanks again for being here and listening. I really appreciate you so you’re on the next episode.

                    Intro 1:11:53

                    Importantly, we present many podcast designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast or the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

                    Intro 1:12:10

                    All content on this website at any linked blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis the content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice.

                    Intro 1:12:33

                    The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional. Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor or your rehabilitation program based on our content if you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional.

                    Intro 1:13:01

                    If you are experiencing a health emergency or think you might be, call 000 if in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information in our content.

                    Intro 1:13:17

                    We do not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with links we provide however third party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                    The post Unlocking More Stroke Recovery: Dr. Ettie Ben-Shabat on the Power of Brain Imaging appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                    1 hr 14 min
                  • Jim Moody’s Double Stroke Miracle and Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness): A Journey of Survival and Resilience
                    Understanding Prosopagnosia After a Stroke: Causes, Symptoms, and Recovery Strategies

                    Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is a condition that can significantly impact a person’s ability to recognize faces. This condition can be particularly challenging for stroke survivors, as it adds an extra layer of difficulty to their recovery journey. In this article, we will explore the causes, symptoms, and recovery strategies for prosopagnosia following a stroke.

                    What is Prosopagnosia?

                    Prosopagnosia is a neurological condition characterized by the inability to recognize familiar faces, including one’s own face in the mirror. This condition can vary in severity; some individuals may have difficulty recognizing faces they have only seen a few times, while others might struggle to recognize close family members and friends.

                    Causes of Prosopagnosia After a Stroke

                    The primary cause of prosopagnosia after a stroke is damage to the brain areas responsible for facial recognition. Strokes can lead to brain damage in regions such as the fusiform gyrus, which plays a critical role in processing facial information. When these areas are damaged, the ability to recognize faces can be impaired. Other contributing factors include:

                    • Ischemic Strokes: These occur when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain, leading to tissue damage and loss of function in the affected area.
                    • Hemorrhagic Strokes: These involve bleeding in or around the brain, which can also cause damage to the facial recognition areas.
                    • Secondary Effects: Complications from strokes, such as swelling and pressure on brain tissue, can further exacerbate facial recognition difficulties.
                      • Symptoms of Prosopagnosia

                      The symptoms of prosopagnosia can vary widely among individuals. Common signs include:

                      • Inability to Recognize Familiar Faces: This can range from difficulty recognizing acquaintances to not recognizing close family members.
                      • Difficulty Identifying Faces in Photographs: People with prosopagnosia may find it challenging to identify faces in pictures or videos.
                      • Reliance on Other Cues: Individuals may depend on non-facial cues, such as clothing, voice, or unique features, to identify people.
                      • Social Anxiety and Isolation: The inability to recognize faces can lead to social withdrawal and anxiety in social situations.
                        • Diagnosis of Prosopagnosia

                        Diagnosing prosopagnosia typically involves a combination of neuropsychological tests and imaging studies. Key diagnostic steps include:

                        • Face Recognition Tests: These assess the individual’s ability to recognize and differentiate between faces.
                        • Neuroimaging: MRI or CT scans can help identify areas of brain damage that might contribute to prosopagnosia.
                        • Neuropsychological Evaluation: A comprehensive assessment by a neuropsychologist can determine the extent and nature of the facial recognition impairment.
                          • Recovery Strategies for Prosopagnosia

                          While there is no cure for prosopagnosia, several strategies can help individuals cope with the condition:

                          1. Facial Recognition Training: Rehabilitation programs focusing on improving facial recognition skills through repetitive practice and cognitive exercises.
                          2. Using Alternative Cues: Encouraging the use of other identifying features, such as voice, hairstyle, or clothing, to recognize people.
                          3. Social Support: Building a supportive network of friends and family who understand the condition and can assist in social interactions.
                          4. Technology Aids: Utilizing technology, such as facial recognition apps and software, to aid in identifying and remembering faces.
                          5. Psychological Counseling: Therapy can help address the emotional and social challenges associated with prosopagnosia.
                            6. Living with Prosopagnosia

                            Living with prosopagnosia requires adjustments and coping mechanisms. Here are some tips for managing daily life:

                            • Educate Others: Inform friends, family, and colleagues about the condition to foster understanding and patience.
                            • Develop a Routine: Establishing consistent routines can help reduce anxiety and improve social interactions.
                            • Use Memory Aids: Keeping a diary with photographs and names can assist in remembering and recognizing individuals.
                            • Join Support Groups: Connecting with others who have similar experiences can provide emotional support and practical advice.
                              • Conclusion

                              Prosopagnosia after a stroke can present significant challenges, but with the right strategies and support, individuals can improve their facial recognition skills and enhance their quality of life. Understanding the condition, seeking professional help, and employing adaptive techniques are crucial steps toward managing and overcoming the difficulties associated with prosopagnosia.

                              Jim Moody’s Double Stroke Miracle and Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness): A Journey of Survival and Resilience

                              In this powerful episode, we sit down with Jim Moody, a stroke survivor who experienced an ischemic stroke and a hemorrhagic stroke following heart valve surgery at the age of 49.

                              Jim’s YouTube Channel

                              00:00 Introduction

                              02:33 Stroke Caused By Heart Surgery
                              07:14 The Initial Deficits After The Coma
                              13:03 Dealing With Prosopagnosia
                              18:08 Mental and emotional health after a brain hemorrhage
                              23:04 Controlling controllable for stroke recovery
                              29:04 Managing Emotional Issues After A Stroke
                              41:23 Recovery From Vision Loss And Focusing On Gratitude
                              47:16 Dealing With The Relationship Breakdown After The Stroke
                              51:52 Challenges with navigation and time management
                              1:05:32 Stroke Recovery, Self-criticism, And Patience With Others

                              Transcript:

                              Introduction – Jim Moody

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:00

                              This episode of the recovery after stroke podcast is brought to you by headbed.com.au. Hey everyone, before we dive into today’s episode, I wanted to share something with you that’s really special. In Episode 305, I had the chance to sit down with Catherine Randabel, the inventor of HeadBed, a groundbreaking product that’s changing the game for hair salons and more importantly, for stroke survivors like us.

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:29

                              HeadBed is designed to provide exceptional support for your neck and head during hair washes, for stroke survivors, this means reducing strain, promoting better blood flow and decreasing the risk of damage to your arteries, easing your concerns about another stroke. It’s all about making sure you can still enjoy an amazing salon experience without compromising your health.

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:55

                              I’m incredibly excited to promote a product that aligns perfectly with my mission of stroke prevention and safety. In our interview, we discuss how HeadBed’s ergonomic design helps prevent neck hypertension, a common issue that can increase the risk of another stroke. With the BeadBed you can feel confident and comfortable during your salon visits, knowing that your health is being looked after.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:22

                              If you’re a stroke survivor or know someone who is the BeadBed is a must-have for your next salon visit. Make sure to check out episode 305 of the podcast to hear my full interview with Catherine Randabel and learn all about the benefits and how this product can make a real difference in your life.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:42

                              If you are in the United States, visit headbedusa.com to get yours today and enjoy peace of mind while indulging in a relaxing salon experience. I’d also like to take a moment to mention my book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened 10 Tools For Recovery And Personal Transformation.

                              Bill Gasiamis 2:04

                              It’s a collection of inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors showcasing their incredible journey from adversity to personal growth, covering everything from nutrition and exercise to handling their emotional challenges. This book is a beacon of hope for those on the road to recovery. For more information, you can check out recoveryafterstroke.com/book or simply search for my name Bill Gasiamis on Amazon.

                              Stroke Caused By Heart Surgery


                              Bill Gasiamis 2:33
                              Now, this is episode 307. And my guest today is Jim Moody, who at the age of 49 experienced heart valve surgery that resulted in an ischemic stroke and a hemorrhagic stroke, leading to the breakdown of his marriage.

                              Bill Gasiamis 2:52

                              This is a compelling episode, Jim shares his incredible journey of survival and resilience, detailing the life-threatening events that led to his strokes, the physical and emotional challenges he faced during recovery, and how he found hope and gratitude in the midst of adversity.

                              Bill Gasiamis 3:12

                              Join us as we delve into Jim’s story of determination and the lessons he learned along the way. Now it’s on with the show. Jim Moody, welcome to the podcast.

                              Jim Moody 3:23

                              Hey, thanks. It’s good to be here.

                              Bill Gasiamis 3:26

                              Lovely to have you here. Tell me a little bit about what happened to you.

                              Jim Moody 3:30

                              Yeah, so I was pretty healthy my whole life. I played competitive sports, most of my life. I was healthy weight, healthy everything. And then in 2013 I blacked out and had to take an ambulance ride to the hospital wasn’t sure what was going on. And little did I know, my whole life like I said, I was very healthy, very active.

                              Jim Moody 4:00

                              Little did I know I had a ticking time bomb on my chest. I was born with a congenital heart defect. So this is a little bit different story than probably most of your interviews. Most of yours are straight up strokes, or car accidents, or whatever, mine was the result of a heart surgery.

                              Jim Moody 4:18

                              So in 2013, I had to go have open heart surgery to replace a valve that I was born with an aortic bicuspid valve which means my valve was almost sealed shut, I was getting no blood flow to my brain and blacked out.

                              Jim Moody 4:35

                              So as a result of that surgery, I had a mechanical valve put in, everything was looking great. Well, I had an ischemic stroke. So during that surgery, sometimes some of the plaquing or whatever in the surgery will break loose and head north to the brain and that’s what happened.

                              Jim Moody 4:51

                              So I had an ischemic stroke that night as a result of the surgery and then it got worse. I had a massive brain bleed and the pressure was building up so much in my skull, my brain was crushing itself. They said, that I would never live, they told my family he’ll never make it out of here and he’ll never open his eyes again.

                              Jim Moody 5:13

                              So I spent eight days I went in under general anesthesia had heart surgery, never woke up until eight days later, when I was in a coma that whole time being kept alive on ventilators and life support systems feeding tubes. And then I woke up. Doctors never thought I’d live and I woke up on day eight. Let’s go.

                              Bill Gasiamis 5:37

                              You just needed to prove them wrong.

                              Jim Moody 5:41

                              I said I’m gonna live through this man, I’m a fighter. But then after that, I spent 32 days in the hospital, I was very sick. I mean, I wasn’t expected to live, probably maybe not even past that eight days. So I spent 32 days in the hospital. Before I could go home, it was a long time.

                              Jim Moody 6:00

                              So as a result of that my brain was crushing itself. And here’s a nice little souvenir that’s a craniotomy. So they took off half my skull, and they took it off and stored it under my skin in my abdomen for few weeks, a month and a half and then put it back on.

                              Bill Gasiamis 6:22

                              It’s amazing what they can do. Just amazing. I mean, everything you’ve said is amazing heart valve replacement. You know, ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke. We know what caused the ischemic stroke, but what caused the hemorrhagic stroke? Why did you have a brain bleed?

                              Jim Moody 6:39

                              I’m not sure. I mean, anything, you know, during surgery like that, they’re having to adjust the pressures in your your arteries. Right. And so they can get off. And you know, who knows. But I had both. So I had the worst case scenario, I had the, you know, the ischemic stroke started it. And the chain reaction that led to the massive brain bleed, that’s, I think, what did the damage.

                              Bill Gasiamis 7:06

                              When you woke up, and they were able to assist you? What deficits did you have?

                              Jim Moody’s Initial Deficits After The Coma


                              Jim Moody 7:12
                              Yeah, so I was in really bad shape. I mean, when I first came out, I had a lot of physical issues. So I had I was I was losing sight, my right eye. And this is even after I went home, I mean, this is weeks, months down the road, I was losing sight in this eye, first of all, my stroke, my brain bleed, and all the problems were in this front right lobe.

                              Jim Moody 7:38

                              All right, everything else was I think, okay. So I was losing vision in this eye, I was losing functionality in my left arm, I had, you know, some major physical things going on. And I did have some other things like that I still deal with. So fortunately for me, I have been able to heal through most of the physical things.

                              Jim Moody 8:03

                              I mean, I healed through what I just talked about, I’ve got perfect vision in both eyes, full functionality. So my problem now is not any of the physical stuff. The problem is a lot of the memory stuff. I mean, so I had a lot of loss. I mean, for me, in my in my as a result of all of it.

                              Jim Moody 8:29

                              I mean, I suffered through a lot of loss, I lost my memory, my health, my marriage, my friends, my family, my job, I was forced to go on disability. So it was a lot of loss.

                              Bill Gasiamis 8:42

                              Your identity?

                              Jim Moody 8:45

                              Yeah, everything. I mean, I lost it all.

                              Bill Gasiamis 8:49

                              I spoke about that a little while ago, just before we begin the podcasts properly. You told me about the book, you bought a copy of my book, you’re halfway through it, you found a lot of similarities in the way that I went around about things the way that you went about things.

                              Bill Gasiamis 9:06

                              And a couple of days ago did the book launch and we spoke about, you know, my journey, the person I was before stroke, the way that stroke impacted us, and the way that I kind of responded after stroke.

                              Bill Gasiamis 9:22

                              And one of the things I mentioned was the loss or the losses, and man they just stuck up and quickly and then over it’s overwhelming and you get to that stage where you go well, I don’t know how much longer this was all these losses can go on for how many more can I take you know?

                              Bill Gasiamis 9:41

                              But what’s interesting is I feel like I got to rock bottom. I had found a place that was rock bottom when I recognized myself being there. It was like, oh, oh, okay. Well now, there’s out there can’t go further than this. Now there’s only The the way forward, how do you go forward from all the things that you experienced then all the losses?

                              Jim Moody 10:09

                              I mean, I gotta say that one of the things I talked about, one of the things I really do believe in is you can’t change the past, so you can’t focus on it. And I learned that really quickly that, you know, I’m not going to change what happened to me what was taken from me, I’m not going to change my healthy lifestyle, my career in medical sales, my income, the relationships I had with some friends, families, co-workers, whatever.

                              Jim Moody 10:39

                              I’m not going to change that. So why focus on it, you’ve got to make the best possible life you can moving forward. So I mean, one of the things that I was talking about, somebody’s talking to me about, you know, comments on stroke, whatever.

                              Jim Moody 10:53

                              This is a comment, a quote that I read a long time ago. And it’s true, and I think you’d agree with this one. If you don’t leave the past in the past, it’ll destroy your future. Instead, look at what is in front of you, not what yesterday took away, right? The best is yet to come.

                              Jim Moody 11:15

                              So you have to look at it like, you have to accept, okay. Okay, this is what I lost. And this is what I have left, and I’m going to play the best hand of cards I’ve got with what I’m given. That’s, that’s the way I look at it tonight, when people talk to me about what happened to me, I always try to communicate a positive message.

                              Jim Moody 11:40

                              So it’s a message of hope and faith, and optimism and happiness and to other stroke survivors, we’re survivors. An outlook don’t ever give up that you can’t heal through this, you know, I heal through stuff that doctors are still shaking, their heads are going how do you heal through that?

                              Jim Moody 12:03

                              You know, it could take a day, a month, a year, 10 years, but people heal through this stuff. And, you know, I still don’t suffer with the physical stuff. But I still have memory issues, facial recognition, navigation, I drive everywhere, everywhere with Google Maps. I’ve lost all navigation.

                              Jim Moody 12:29

                              You know, I can go somewhere, drive down to where I grew up. 20 minutes away, have no idea where I am. And without Google Maps, I couldn’t get back home. I mean, that’s I’ve lost all navigation.

                              Jim Moody 12:41

                              People understand that. You know, facial recognition is gone. no concept of time. That’s the funny thing. You know, I talk to my kids and like, Oh, I miss you. I haven’t seen you in weeks. And I, Dad, we saw you like, last weekend.

                              Jim Moody Dealing With Prosopagnosia

                              Intro 13:00

                              If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like, how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid in case I make matters worse?

                              Intro 13:21

                              Doctors will explain things that obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to ask your doctor about your stroke.

                              Intro 13:48

                              These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                              Jim Moody 14:08

                              You gotta have a sense of humor about it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 14:09

                              What are you going to do? As long as they understand where you’re coming from and why you said what you said and it doesn’t really matter that you didn’t realize what’s interesting is, you know, facial recognition. So are you able to explain how it doesn’t work? Like what does that even mean? So you see my face now? And then what does that mean for my face? Later, or tomorrow?

                              Jim Moody 14:36

                              I’ve seen your face on a number of your podcasts and obviously in your book and all that kind of stuff. So it’s kind of in there now. But that was the mess. You know, that was the mess. When I went back to work I tried to go back to work. I was covering you know, hospital systems and accounts I had about 150 accounts.

                              Jim Moody 14:56

                              And I couldn’t get to accounts that were located two miles from house without Google Maps. That’s scary. And then the real thing with facial recognition when I knew it was a real issue was I had the stroke and had all the issues and stuff and tried to get back to work.

                              Jim Moody 15:13

                              And I would meet somebody, I would meet somebody on a Monday, oh, it’s nice to meet you. You know, here’s my business card. I’d go back to that account, maybe four or five days later and see him in the hallway and go, Oh, hey, I’ve been wanting to meet you.

                              Jim Moody 15:25

                              Let me give you my business card, introduce myself. What? I just met you like Monday. Facial recognition, it’s a real challenge for me. So I can meet somebody, and it just won’t lock it in. It’s hard to lock it in.

                              Bill Gasiamis 15:44

                              Okay. And then what about other types of recognition? Do you lack any other types of recognition? Is it tied in with memory, facial recognition? What is it tied in with? How is it that you have some parts of that, but not others?

                              Jim Moody 16:03

                              I don’t know. I really don’t know how to. I assume it’s, I assume it’s a short term memory thing, because that’s where I struggle. My struggle is really short term memory. And it’s like, from today, backwards a few days or a week or two really struggle. But my long term memory is pretty well intact. So the short term, I think it falls under that short term category. That’s where I struggle. Yeah, it’s still it’s still a major, major issue.

                              Bill Gasiamis 16:36

                              When your relationship ended, was that your marriage that ended?

                              Jim Moody 16:40

                              Yeah, that was that was my first marriage, we were married a long time, 27 years, and

                              Bill Gasiamis 16:48

                              that in the thick of your recovery, your illness, what phase of the

                              Jim Moody 16:54

                              trial, right after all that, and it put, you know, it puts this kind of challenge. It puts a lot of pressure not only on the person that’s going through it, but the spouse, the kids, the friends, family, everybody, and it was, you know, I was always the breadwinner, I was always the guy, you know, all that. And it just kind of fell apart. So that was really rough. was really rough. So I lost a lot. I had a lot of loss so it was 2013.

                              Jim Moody 17:32

                              So yeah, you had your troubles 2012 right? Just ahead of me. Yeah. So one year ahead of me, we’re both in the thick of all this mess at the same time. So yeah, you know, a lot of loss. And over the last 11 years, it’s been, you know, I really took a lot of time to see how I could make my life better. How I could cope with this and that and loss and ongoing things, right, like what I’m talking about.

                              Mental And Emotional Health After A Brain Hemorrhage

                              Jim Moody 18:01

                              And that’s where I was like, I found out some good stuff. And I think that healing your mental side is absolutely as important as hearing healing your physical side. Yeah, certainly, I’ve come up with things that have helped me deal with it. And I’m in a great place now. And now, I’ve been trying to pass that along with stroke support groups and videos and stuff like that, if I can help somebody like you are, I mean, it’s a great thing.

                              Bill Gasiamis 18:34

                              You mentioned that, just before we started the recording, and we spoke about how you’re presenting some of the things that are in my book, you’re presenting them your support groups, but unbeknownst to my book, you didn’t know that my book was out yet and that I similar philosophy, you still already doing that. So tell me about the couple of things that you think are important in recovery. I agree with the mental health one because I also tied that into emotional health. And I try and I think that is separate, right?

                              Bill Gasiamis 19:13

                              So when when I hear when I go to a psychologist, the Greek word psychology, okay, means sit here, which is soul and logic. Okay. psychologic and it means soul law logic. So, when you go and see a psychologist, what I feel like you’re dealing with is not the head based stuff. Perhaps there is an element of dealing with the way you think about things, etc. But what you’re really dealing with is the emotional part.

                              Bill Gasiamis 19:47

                              Because your psych you know, your soul, I feel like kind of resides around your chest, your heart, you know, in that area where the emotional space kind of sits. And I was at counseling and very early on, I’m talking about within weeks of my first bleed. And I was in counseling, talking about the emotional impact and the psychological impact, and the mental impact of what it did to me to have a brain hemorrhage and then not be able to work and have a lot of those losses that we spoke about. So how did you tackle that? What did you have to do to deal with your mental health and your emotional health?

                              Jim Moody 20:42

                              I mean, I think that I realized pretty quickly, and I see it at some of the stroke support meetings, that there’s people that are really still stuck in this anger phase, you know, there’s people that they go through this and right up front, they’ve got denial, they’ve got anger, depression, all this kind of stuff, you know, and I think that right up front, I realized it, like I said, it’s going to change it. And you have to accept what I call a new normal, this is your new normal, and you got to get okay with it. In your in when you do.

                              Jim Moody 21:27

                              And this is really where I’m gonna get place. I mean, you know, when you accept your new normal set of circumstances, the quicker you’ll be in, you’ll find peace, the quicker you’ll be comfortable in your life. And know, okay, that’s the cards I’ve got. And that’s what I’m dealt. And I’m going to make it the best life I can. I’ve got some great support systems, I’ve got some great things I can do. And it’s not all bad. I mean, if there’s any positive to it, I was in as in medical sales, she is running the sprint every day, right holding on for dear life.

                              Jim Moody 22:11

                              My life changed, right? It’s not all horrible. I mean, at this point in my life, okay. I’m not doing it anymore, my income went down, certainly. And my health is different. But I’m more peaceful. Now. In my life, I have more of a feeling of appreciation for just quiet time and peace and time with family. Stuff that I didn’t really value before I was just hanging on for dear life with trying to make the income, it was all about the money and the title and all that.

                              Jim Moody 22:43

                              And that’s not me. I have a whole new sense of living and giving back. That’s my focus, I focus on me, my physical health, my mental health and trying to give to others if there’s anything that somebody can take away from what I’ve learned over my 11 years, then great, I try to pass it on.

                              Jim Moody: Controlling The Controllable For Stroke Recovery

                              Bill Gasiamis 23:04

                              The passing on is really important, too. I find that strange still, but I’m also doing so I observed myself, and I still think it’s strange. That all made a stroke survivor who, who will contact me by email and say, Hey, I’ve had a stroke literally, a month ago, four weeks ago. You know, six months ago, whatever. And I want to share my story, I hope that it helps people.

                              Bill Gasiamis 23:31

                              And that’s crazy that I want to share my story, I hope that it helps people is one of the first things that comes into the mind of a lot of stroke survivors. And it did for me, and this is what the podcast is, it’s totally I want to help people. And that’s what it does all the time. And I think it’s a very critical part of stroke becoming the best thing that happened to me because we’ve already you know, we’ve touched on a couple of things already.

                              Bill Gasiamis 23:58

                              One of them was relationships and a healing of those and getting your family relationships and all that sorted. We spoke about already helping other people we already spoke about getting your emotional and mental health. There’s already four chapters of my book that we’ve spoken about. And that’s what the other people that I’ve interviewed to make my book possible, that’s what they did, I didn’t invent this, we all defaulted to these things.

                              Jim Moody 24:31

                              And just so you know, I just got your book Monday. So I’m only 40 pages into it. So I you know, I haven’t read it all. So I, you know, I just got it so all this stuff that I’m trying to work on and deal with that I have been for quite a while is what I’ve been doing. I have yet to probably read any of that in your book, but I saw the chapters I saw what the chapters are about. Just right in line with kind of my thinking on it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 25:03

                              Yeah that’s fine. I mean, it will be familiar to you. And it’s going to be familiar to a lot of stroke survivors, even if they haven’t embarked on the journey yet. Because they’re going to be things that they recognize, you know, when I wrote it, I thought, this book sounds like every other book I’ve read, that’s about personal development, or that’s about, you know, self help, and all that kind of stuff.

                              Bill Gasiamis 25:30

                              And I thought, man, it’s just the same old same. And it’s the reason, there’s a reason why it’s the same old same is because it’s the default, it’s where people go instinctively, and know what they need to attend to. And that might take ages to attend to all of those things. But they know to go there, and they do improve their nutrition, they do improve their sleep, they do improve their relationships, and they do help other people, and they do find their purpose.

                              Bill Gasiamis 25:58

                              Because, you know, purpose isn’t something that you start, it’s not the, it shouldn’t be the first chapter of the book, where I know, I’m going to work out what my purpose is. And that’s not how you work it out how you work it out, is by taking steps to improve your health, your well being your emotional state, your relationships, other people’s health, and well being mental well being emotional state.

                              Bill Gasiamis 26:24

                              And then all of a sudden, what they do is, you look back and you look at how far have I come. And even if the change has been, you know, incremental, and your change has been only five or 10%, further along, physically in some areas, and then it might be when you’re 30%, better in emotional state, it might be, you know, 30 or 40% better in your nutrition. And all those wins, make you feel like you’re in control of your of your recovery, they make you feel like you’re in control of your, of your future and what’s going to happen down the road.

                              Jim Moody 27:06

                              I mean, that’s exactly right. I mean, something I’ve said for years, is you go to the doctor and I tell my doctor, all I can do is control my controllables I can’t affect the genes. I was born with my defective heart valve from birth, whatever. But I can control my side, weight, nutrition, I’m huge into nutrition, that’s huge. sleep, exercise, no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, all that stuff.

                              Jim Moody 27:39

                              You know, all you can do is do that. And that will certainly provide you with the best healthy physical self that you can you can do. I read something the other day, this is alarming as reading something on stroke. This this country, I don’t know about Australia, I can’t speak for that this country has obesity problem.

                              Jim Moody 28:04

                              And a lot of it goes back to sugar. And if you get diabetes, you have doubled your risk for a stroke, or a second or third or whatever stroke. So this country is just diabetes is just soaring. And people don’t realize that that’s a huge cause of it, you double your risk. Control your controllables.

                              Bill Gasiamis 28:28

                              Yeah, you double your risk of heart disease, you increase your risk of cancer. And, and it’s just easy. You know, you just stop consuming sugar, especially that refined stuff that you get in sodas. And it’s in processed food and all that type of stuff, you just get that out of your diet, and things start to improve by themselves immediately. You can lose weight just by cutting out sugar, you can improve your overall health, you can speed up the process of the healing of your brain during recovery from a stroke.

                              Jim Moody Managing Emotional Issues After A Stroke

                              Bill Gasiamis 29:04

                              It was one of the first things that I stopped doing. I stopped consuming sodas and then led to stopping to consume other things that had sugar in them. And that made a massive difference in reducing the fatigue and the fatigue in my head. And just and just making my body healthier and then providing a better vessel to heal my brain going forward.

                              Jim Moody 29:32

                              Yeah, it’s the modern day food supply that’s killing everybody. I mean, yeah, I’ve had a war on sugar for a while a very little sugar eat very clean, intermittent fasting keto diet, I lost 45 pounds and kept it off for about six or seven years. That’s the key to it. It’s not necessarily calories, it’s sugar and it’s preservatives and artificial sweeteners. So I eat very clean and that’s really key.

                              Bill Gasiamis 30:01

                              Yep. And it helps you sleep better, it helps you have a better mental state, a better emotional state, especially if you’re previously one of the people that has an emotional scenario and then has to have like some food to help quell the emotional discomfort. If you can stop having alcohol, and food, to quell your emotional discomfort, what’s going to come up is emotional issues that you haven’t dealt with.

                              Bill Gasiamis 30:33

                              And that makes it possible for you to be aware of where the emotional issues are, and then to tackle them, and then to go after them in counseling and to resolve them and to put them to bed and to leave them in the past and to move on. And I think that one of the biggest things for me in my recovery was getting rid of the emotional turmoil that I was in, because then it kind of takes the cloud away, that that heavy gray cloud over your head that exists when you have emotional issues that gets in the way of every other thing that you’re doing in your life. And it just makes space and energy to tackle something else.

                              Jim Moody 31:18

                              And it’s hard to, you know, we have this physical issue of stroke or brain bleed or major health challenge that comes up in our life. And, you know, we were living normal lives and then bang out of the sky. Right. So we have a physical issue. And then it causes emotional problems. I mean, we were good incomes, you know, providers breadwinners for the family, you know, or all that stuff, and then bang, and then we were challenged with what that resulted. So it will cause probably for everyone trying to deal with that. You know, that’s why I say the mental side is huge to get your head, right.

                              Bill Gasiamis 32:01

                              How old were the kids when all this happened to you?

                              Jim Moody 32:06

                              So this was what I say 11 years ago. So they were 20. And my kids are about 30, 32. So they’re about 20. Somewhere in there. And yeah, it was tough. I mean, they were basically told I would never live again. They weren’t expecting me to ever live. So you know, again, going back to the emotional thing, I think a lot of people that I see that I talked to and like support meetings or whatever, they’re still in that anger thing, and they’re still looking back at the past.

                              Jim Moody 32:46

                              And the problem of it is they define themselves as a stroke victim, still, I mean, they had come through it, they survived. And they might have I mean, there’s all kinds of range of problems, right? Some people have minimal problems, some people really have challenges. So I’m not trying to minimize that. But some people come through that, and they never get out of that they, you know, oh poor me and literally their whole life they define themselves. I’m a stroke victim, over and over. It doesn’t help you can’t you can’t define yourself as a stroke victim, when you know, you can’t, you’ve got to move on, you’ve got to move past it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 33:34

                              That’s why I like the word survivor. And that’s why it’s way better than victim. It’s empowering. And it makes you feel like you’ve accomplished something already. Rather than, you know, being beaten down by this thing that happened to you that you’d never asked for.

                              Jim Moody 33:52

                              Because I do see it and I think it’s sad. I mean, I do see people that will never get out of that they’re kind of stuck in that. And I do get it. I’m not trying to minimize it. I’ve been there. I’ve just been able to dig my way out of my way out of it to a good place. I mean, happiness is, is your choice, right? It’s everybody’s choice. You can wake up each day, and say the glass is half full or half empty. It’s your choice. And yeah, you may have some struggles and challenges. But you know, it’s how do you want to live the rest of your life? You know, you’ve got to make the best of what you got.

                              Bill Gasiamis 34:31

                              I saw this quote, about suffering, you know, and it’s like, it goes something like suffering is optional. I’m just typing it into Google Now, just to remember who said it.

                              Jim Moody 34:47

                              I think God for Google,

                              Bill Gasiamis 34:49

                              Oh, man. I think the Dalai Lama or somebody you know, is special like that. I don’t know who I’ll just type in who said that. Ah, okay. “Pain is inevitable suffering is optional”. This quote has been attributed to the Dalai Lama, Haruki Murakami, and Kathleen Casey. Now I know who the Dalai Lama is, and I know who the other two people are, but they must be the people that say the most often, or the ones that are the most memorable. But that’s really something I found early on, I don’t know how I stumbled across it was pain is inevitable.

                              Bill Gasiamis 35:44

                              Suffering is optional, because I feel like suffering is something that you do in your head. Whereas pain is something that’s happening to the physical body. And, and suffering is also something that you do to the emotion to your emotions, or, or you contribute at the emotional state. I think with the emotional state by not dealing with emotional turmoil and challenges, I think you make suffering worse in your head, I think it impacts the head bar more negatively when you have emotional turmoil.

                              Bill Gasiamis 36:18

                              And I think the key to the key to supporting mental health is to deal with the emotional stuff, you know, it’s hard, by the way, it’s not easy to go where it’s emotionally challenging and difficult, it’s really hard. But then there’s two types of hard, right, there’s the heart of, I’m never dealing with it, I’m never going to go there, it’s always going to follow me around my entire life, that’s bloody hard.

                              Bill Gasiamis 36:43

                              And then there’s the other heart, which is a good heart, which is I’m going to go there, I’m going to tackle it, we’re going to battle it out. And I’m going to persevere and I’m going to overcome it. And I’m going to have relief. And then I’m going to have you know, it’s like suffering with purpose, I’m going to go there, I’m going to get an outcome, and it’s going to be a positive outcome.

                              Bill Gasiamis 37:03

                              And that’s a good thing. Because you get a result for doing the hard work. And you need to do that with support. You can’t do that, necessarily on your own, you might go to a counselor, you might have a good friend, you might have a pastor, or a priest or somebody that you can go to and help you help you overcome that. But it’s really important. It’s one of the most important things.

                              Jim Moody 37:29

                              I mean, one of the things I you know, whether it’s whether it’s a physical challenge, as a result of what we went through, or emotional or whatever, I think I think it’s really important to go through and accept, like, what happened to you so that I was Googling some stuff. And I looked up, and there’s five stages of grief. And a lot of people are still stuck in that, you know, like I’m talking about, look, I’m not trying to minimize there’s some true challenge. But you’ve got to get to the final stage of grief, I just put this video out.

                              Jim Moody 38:10

                              So I don’t think you’ve seen it, it’s out on YouTube. Anybody wants to see it, I think it’s important. This can be applied to stroke or death in a family member, whatever it’s grief in general. But I think it’s true. So I went through this in this video, it’s about five minutes long, whatever it is. It’s the five stages of grief. And it’s really important to go through those first four to get to that last one because until you get to the last one, you’re not going to be a happy individual. You want to live your challenge to find you.

                              Jim Moody 38:40

                              So it’s denial oh my goodness, I can’t believe this happened to me. I’m totally healthy. Anger. A lot of people are stuck in anger. Right? Bargaining, oh my goodness, if I could just get better if I could just heal I’ll do this fill in the blank, whatever it is. Depression. So a lot of people again, they’ve they’ve kind of let this define who they are.

                              Jim Moody 39:07

                              They can’t move on. I mean, you might not be a you know, they whatever your income, but don’t don’t get stuck into depression because you’re not a big breadwinner anymore. Something. It’s a different life. It may be a better life, peaceful life, right? And the very last one, if you don’t get to this, you’re not going to you’re not going to be probably happy acceptance. The quicker you can get to acceptance, again, accepting your new normal. If you don’t get to that final acceptance and move on. It’s not good.

                              Bill Gasiamis 39:45

                              When you were in hospital, and was it 30 something days before you woke up?

                              Jim Moody 39:51

                              32 days in the hospital.

                              Bill Gasiamis 39:54

                              And then what was your rehabilitation? Like? What are the things that you had? toggle

                              Jim Moody 40:03

                              mainly, mainly it was I hated it was the worst, I was the worst patient in rehab, I hated it, I fought it, whatever. So mainly, it was losing the functionality of my left arm. You know, like I said, when I first woke up, and after that eight or nine days, and then a few a week or two later, whatever it was, you know, I really losing fucking button, my shirt, I couldn’t use much of this left arm and, you know, going and moving something from the left to the right.

                              Jim Moody 40:36

                              And, you know, this kind of thing of working with the therapist, to try to see what the mobility function of my arm was. And I mean, it didn’t get better within that hospital. I don’t think within that hospital stay, but then it it healed. I mean, that’s where, you know, amazing that most, most of my physical stuff healed. I mean, I’m pretty athletic today and enjoy. You know, I’m very thankful for that. I was thankful individual on this earth for what I have, at this point, not what I lost. I have, you know, good physical life. You know, I’m still suffering with some of the other stuff, you know, that we talked about. It’s really not everything came back.

                              Recovery From Vision Loss And Focusing On Gratitude

                              Bill Gasiamis 41:23

                              Yeah. How does the vision of affect you now.

                              Jim Moody 41:28

                              My vision is, that’s the thing I was going blind in this right eye because the brain bleed or whatever blew out the affected the optic nerve in the back of this eye I was losing vision in it. I’m like, I don’t have contacts or glasses on now. I mean, my vision is almost 20-20. I wear contacts or glasses for distance way, way out. Other than that. Vision is pretty normal. Yeah, I’m very thankful. I’m still shaking my head, how I healed through some stuff, I should never have healed through.

                              Bill Gasiamis 42:05

                              Yeah, it is cool. It’s just really cool to hear it. I mean, you had like the triple like it’s a it’s a heart issue. And ischemic stroke and a hemorrhagic stroke. It’s just, I know why the doctors were so concerned early on, you know.

                              Jim Moody 42:25

                              My neurologists that would come in and visit with me and my family’s in the in there. And he would look over at me, and he said, what a shame he’ll never leave here live out of this hospital. And when I followed up with him, after all this, he said, I’ve been a neurologist for 25 years and I’ve never, ever seen anybody in your condition, with the pressures in your skull and what it was doing to your brain live, and come back. So again, don’t ever give up hope. Don’t ever give up hope and health though some of this stuff.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:04

                              I agree, I agree. And the recovery keeps happening decades later. And if you heal your emotional state, that’s a massive part of healing. And that makes you feel so much lighter and better and easier. And then that makes way for other healing. And it just keeps going. Like if you’re, I remember the old me, I used to focus on problems. Look at all my problems. Here’s another problem, there’s a problem.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:31

                              And the more I focused on problems, the more problems I had, right. And then I started focusing on solutions. And then the more I focused on solutions, the more solutions I found, the more problems I solved. And I was able to get everything to bed, so to speak, and to rest and move on and just keep going forward. So that was really, that was really a big shift in the type of person I was before stroke.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:58

                              And after stroke, I noticed a significant and I think I couldn’t I mean, because I really had problems after stroke didn’t I like I had a ton of things that I had to overcome. Imagine just focusing on the negative side of it, and how easily they could just get you down and mess with you and get in the way of every recovery and not having gratitude that I was able to take advantage of the medical system, the technology, the rehabilitation, and all that stuff. Like imagine being the guy who has all that available to him and then focuses on the problems instead of the gifts. But it’s just crazy.

                              Jim Moody 44:44

                              I mean, I tell people, everybody that I talked to everybody friends, family, people, I mean, don’t waste a day when you’ve I was dead. I was literally being kept alive for eight days on life support and came back and I get to spend my kids live. both my son and daughter they live 10 minutes away. I get to spend time with them. I have a great life. It’s not perfect, right? But it’s a great life.

                              Jim Moody 45:10

                              There’s nobody on earth more grateful and thankful and happy to be back. When you’ve had what I went through, essentially died, lost everything as a result and then came back. cherish every day, man, don’t waste a minute. You know, one of the one of the things I say, again, is if you’re lucky enough to get a second chance in life, don’t waste a minute of it, man. Don’t waste a second cherishing Starcross and some crap off your bucket list. Yeah. You’re selling this on my bucket list. Yeah, I’m gonna come dive the Great Barrier Reef. You have to do that bucket list for a long time.

                              Bill Gasiamis 45:59

                              I haven’t done it. But you have to come. I’ve been up to that part of our amazing country. I’ve been near there. But diving is not my thing. And I’ll take your word for it that the Barrier Reef is beautiful when you when you do it.

                              Jim Moody 46:13

                              That’s one of the things that I hate about what happened to me if there’s one thing, I was a huge scuba diver. And because of my mechanical heart valve sitting in there, I’m on blood thinner for the rest of my life. And I can’t dive to any kind of a depth. So if that’s the worst of it for me, all right, whatever.

                              Bill Gasiamis 46:32

                              You can snorkel it.

                              Jim Moody 46:34

                              Oh, yeah, I can snorkel all day long.

                              Bill Gasiamis 46:39

                              And even if you don’t dive and you snorkel it, and you’re just in that part of the world, that’s a win, man.

                              Jim Moody 46:45

                              I’m gonna get over there one of these days.

                              Bill Gasiamis 46:47

                              That’s a win. Get over there. Get over because you’re the American dollar is quite good against the Australian dollar. You guys come down here it’d be cheap.

                              Jim Moody 47:00

                              Yeah. It’s dirt cheap.

                              Jim Moody 47:05

                              You don’t know how many days you got left? I’ve been dead once.

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:10

                              I agree, you don’t know when it’s gonna happen.

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:11

                              You don’t know when the next one’s coming.

                              Dealing With The Relationship Breakdown After The Stroke

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:16

                              How far into your release from hospital did the relationship breakdown? Was it in the very early days? Or was it a few years after you got home? When did that happen?

                              Jim Moody 47:30

                              That was like, so that happened in 2013. And then everything fell apart for me in 2015. Yeah, I lost everything.

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:43

                              It’s common. I hear a lot about it. I spoke to the literally the previous person who I interviewed, the interview hasn’t gone live yet. This guy he was this guy’s like a cat. Like he’s got nine lives, he’s had already he’s had two it hasn’t gone live yet. But anyone listening to this, by the time you’ve heard this, it will have gone live. So it was the interview before this. The gentleman’s name was Ritesh.

                              Bill Gasiamis 48:22

                              So he’s had two kidney transplants, he’s had type one diabetes his whole life, he’s had a brain hemorrhage. And the second kidney transplant and brain hemorrhage all happened around the same time. And for him, the brain hemorrhage happened as a result of getting hit in the head. Because of the I don’t know what they call it. He was sailing.

                              Jim Moody 48:53

                              The mass, the boom in the sailboat? Yeah, him across.

                              Bill Gasiamis 48:57

                              And whacked him in the head. So in that time, he lost his relationship. He had a hemorrhagic stroke, and he had to have a second kidney transplant. And it was all before the age of 38.

                              Jim Moody 49:14

                              Now it’s really funny, almost started laughing. So when you say like a cat Nine Lives, there’s a guy at the gym that I go to, and he knows my story all too well. And I was supposed to have died at birth. I weighed three and a half pounds at birth in 1964. So that’s about a 0% chance of living, right? And then 11 years ago, I had about a zero chance of living again. So when I walk into the gym and see that guy, he goes, Hey, it’s nine lives. That’s what they told me at the gym. As I said, all right. I’ve burned up two of them. I got seven left.

                              Bill Gasiamis 49:55

                              Man that’s a lot of lives left.

                              Jim Moody 49:58

                              I got seven left. I’ll try to get through them slowly.

                              Bill Gasiamis 50:03

                              Yeah, go easy.

                              Jim Moody 50:07

                              No diving on 180 feet anymore on on scuba.

                              Bill Gasiamis 50:16

                              And thin blood doesn’t make for a good type of condition to dive what does it do? How does diving affect the blood?

                              Jim Moody 50:28

                              Well, I can dive probably 30, 40, 50, feet doesn’t do anything but dive into depth going down 100, 150 feet, the pressures at that depth, because my blood has to be thinner than normal blood just to make sure flows through the heart valve perfectly. You know, I monitor it’s simple, I keep it in normal range all the time. But if I don’t have to depth like big depth, it can push it across into the brain because it’s thinner. Just just that’s really for anybody if they have any kind of a blood issue or whatever. Shouldn’t be diving 150, 160 feet, whatever. It’s a deep dive.

                              Bill Gasiamis 51:10

                              What’s down there at 150 feet? What’s the point of going down there? I don’t understand it. So tell me.

                              Jim Moody 51:17

                              There’s some awesome stuff down there. I’ve been diving all over the Caribbean, Grand Cayman, Cozumel. And I mean all over the place. There’s amazing shipwrecks go over the edge of the wall in Grand Cayman. And I mean, you just can keep going and go on forever and ever and see every type of giant fish and sharks and colors of the rainbow of the corals. I’ve been doing it for a long time. And I haven’t done it in a long time.

                              Bill Gasiamis 51:48

                              At 150 feet can you see anything?

                              Prosopagnosia, Challenges With Navigation, And Time Management

                              Jim Moody 51:52

                              I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you the water. I’ve got a picture I took I took a picture at 165 feet, which is deep right in Grand Cayman just over the edge of the wall all the way down. Some corals and some fish, I took a picture down there, and you think you’re in two feet of water in a swimming pool. The water is so clear the sunlight penetrates hundreds of feet. Whereas some of the ocean, it’s churned up. It’s you know, it’s murky. You can’t see two feet in front of you. It depends on the dive site. I mean, there’s some of the clearest waters in the world in the Caribbean, you can see forever. It seems like.

                              Bill Gasiamis 52:37

                              Do you feel the actual pressure on your bones on your body? Do you feel the squeeze? How does that work?

                              Jim Moody 52:45

                              You do a little if you get down. I used to go down I think the deepest dive I’ve been to is like 175 you get down around 140 150 somewhere down there. You feel it in taken breasts off your regulator. So it’s harder a little harder to you know, to breathe, you don’t really feel you feel a little bit. But the water column think of the water column 178 feet deep pressing in your body is not your it’s pressing in from all angles.

                              Jim Moody 53:21

                              So you don’t really feel it. I mean it at 100 feet or something, it’s five or six times the atmospheric pressure at at sea level. So, you know, up here, it’s like 14 pounds per square inch. Like where you’re sitting. The pressure on your body is like, I think it’s 14 pounds per square inch of, of pressure. You don’t feel it right. But you go down to 100. And I’m guessing you get down to like 140 feet. You’re at five times that so now you’re at what 100 I don’t know what it is. I’m 70 6080 pounds of pressure per square inch. Yeah. you know, it’s a significant increase every 33 feet you go, you add another 14 pounds, so you can do the math on that.

                              Bill Gasiamis 54:18

                              So what is the hardest thing about stroke for you?

                              Jim Moody 54:29

                              I just at this point, I let it roll off my back. I have a sense of humor. There’s not much that really bothers me too much. It is frustrating. Short term memory. You know, Hey, honey, you didn’t take the trash out. Memory loss. You know, you know something that I talked about earlier in the day or the day before? You know that’s kind of frustrating and navigation, I mean, I’ve gotten lost within, you know, a couple of miles or you know, two or three miles from my house.

                              Jim Moody 55:08

                              It’s amazing to me. Somewhere where I grew up and have lived nearby for 20 years, I have no idea how to get around. I mean, people don’t understand that all my navigation is gone. I mean, I can get around mainly through the interstates, and I know most of the exits and stuff here. But it’s amazing that it really stripped away navigation. So I have to drive by either Google Maps, or reference points like, Oh, that’s right. I know it’s near that whatever, restaurant.

                              Bill Gasiamis 55:43

                              But then do you know how to get to that whatever restaurant? But that’s the thing about it, right? You know, where it’s nearby? Which part of it? Have you lost what part of the navigation?

                              Jim Moody 55:54

                              Especially the side roads, like any of the, once I leave the interstate, and I get off, like going to a neighborhood or getting off into the smaller streets, if I don’t have a reference point, or whatever. And you know, somebody that’s with me might go, you don’t know how to get to this. This is your doctor down, you know, 25 miles where I’ve had the same neurology practice or whatever.

                              Jim Moody 56:23

                              Since this happened 11 years ago, I’ve been there 100 times. And they’re going, you don’t know how to get to that. And then once I’m getting there, you are having to put that in Google Maps to get home. So that’s kind of frustrating. And that’s embarrassing to, you know, think that, you know, somebody’s asking you. We just came from home to here. And you haven’t put in Google my spec to get home and like, hey, memory loss.

                              Jim Moody 56:57

                              Amazing. So that’s what I say. I mean, people that haven’t gone through what we have, they wouldn’t understand they don’t. And that’s what’s good about your book in your podcast is we can relate, I mean, people some of the deficits, you know, that I would have, or whatever with navigation or confusion or whatever, they would go, what I’m going, Yeah, you got taken down you’re not taken out.

                              Bill Gasiamis 57:21

                              What about north, south east or west? Do you have that?

                              Jim Moody 57:25

                              Yeah I’ve got basic navigation, but.

                              Bill Gasiamis 57:29

                              But intricacies of streets and how to navigate, which turn to take and all that type of thing. That’s the part that’s not there.

                              Jim Moody 57:37

                              And I’m good with like I said, I know where to turn, oh, I’ve got to turn it the baseball field or whatever. So I kind of have these certain reference points. And I know okay, there’s my turn. And time is another thing, time is really bad. I don’t have a good reference of time.

                              Bill Gasiamis 57:55

                              Before we go to time, what about finding your car in a car park at the mall.

                              Jim Moody 58:02

                              I was going to mention that. Disaster so when I was a medical rep, I’m parked in the parking decks in the parking lots and stuff, right? I come out, and I’m going to, there’s a six or seven storey parking deck. I have no idea where I parked. I’m walking in the parking deck for 30 minutes trying to figure out where my car is right? And at the mall, or whatever. So okay, I got really smart with that.

                              Jim Moody 58:30

                              So with my cell phone, when I go somewhere, I either put in my phone notes, like my car is directly across from the whatever, I take a picture of the number of the spot, or I take a picture of my car with what’s in back of it, oh, there’s a whatever store. So I know where my car is, or I’ll put a note in my phone, level five, facing the hospital, whatever, right? I use, that’s another thing I was gonna say I rely on my cell phone.

                              Jim Moody 59:03

                              And that is the one tool that has has enabled me to have a pretty normal life. I use my phone for everything from Google Maps, calendar with recurring alarms and alerts for everything, notes on everything. screenshots on tons of stuff to reference later. I mean, I’m huge on that huge on the cell phone.

                              Bill Gasiamis 59:33

                              I remember one time going to the we call them shopping centers. We went to the shopping center. And it’s only a three level car park. And I parked the car. And this was just after I’d started driving again and was kind of at home preparing some ingredients for dinner. Nothing to do for the rest of the day. Any of that stuff didn’t have anything to do before that. So I went to the I went to the local shopping center to pick up some stuff, parked the car. And then I had zero recollection of where the car was.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:00:13

                              And when I say zero, like it just wasn’t, there was nothing there to see if I had never taken the car and left it there. And I remember walking out and going. And this particular Shopping Center has got about four car parks on either side of the building. And I knew which one I was in, at least which which one to go to, but I couldn’t tell you at all where the car was. So I remember walking around the whole thing to find the car. And in the middle of it, my brother Frank says, Hey, where are you ready to join us? I’m just walking around the car park at the shopping center. So I don’t know because of parked my car. But I’ve got no idea where.

                              Jim Moody 1:01:00

                              After you’ve done that a couple of times like I have you when you park it, I can park in a sea of a million cars now and go right back to it. Because I’ll make sure I’ll have notes or pictures or something on my phone. That’ll get me back to it. Because that’s a scary thing. All right. I got a very quick, quick story. You ready? This is really frightening. It’s one of the scariest times of my life.

                              Jim Moody 1:01:23

                              So right after my stroke, it was even worse. My confusion, my navigation, right after it. Like within a year, probably when I got out of the hospital soon, right. So I went to go meet somebody. And in my confusion, my navigation issues are really worse at night. Because it’s dark. I don’t have any reference points, right? That really makes it worse. I can find my way around during the day because I’ve got reference points. At night I’m out, I don’t know, anything.

                              Jim Moody 1:01:55

                              This is a really bad this is just one of the scariest points of my life talking about this. I went downtown Atlanta, real downtown, right. I went downtown. And I was meeting somebody down there in the heart of Atlanta. And I parked my car in a parking deck. Probably five, six storeys, right. It’s raining, it’s dark. I go in have dinner. And I really came out really late for me. It’s raining, it’s dark, I come out of the restaurant.

                              Jim Moody 1:02:25

                              And I wasn’t paying attention where I parked it. I just take off from the restaurant walking, walking, walking, it’s raining. It’s probably 10 o’clock at night. And I walked several blocks into a really, really bad part of Atlanta. And I’m dressed up nice, and I’m thinking I’m gonna get killed. Right? I look like a lost puppy. Listen to this, I walked and I said oh, well, I’m walking in every wrong direction. I see. Oh, there’s some lights down there. I walk up there maybe that’s it? Because every parking deck looks the same. There’s a million of them. Right?

                              Jim Moody 1:03:02

                              And I’m really lost at this point. I walked up with these lights. And these two guys come out at me with rifles, automatic weapons. What are you doing? You stop right there. We take you down right now. I walked up on the Federal Reserve building in downtown Atlanta, one of the most guarded buildings. I walked up on the guard tower. They said I don’t know who you are, what you’re doing.

                              Jim Moody 1:03:29

                              But if you don’t take a step back right now. It’s gonna get ugly. And they’ve literally got the rifles out. There’s two guards in front of me. I said, I am lost. I had no idea where I am. I parked in a parking deck. I’m literally walking around lost. I have no idea. When you have the fear for 40 minutes thinking you’re gonna get killed. And then you walk up to the Federal Reserve building one of the most guarded buildings in Atlanta.

                              Jim Moody 1:03:34

                              And then it’s a good guy is gonna take you out.

                              Jim Moody 1:03:53

                              So they called the police and they helped me I mean, they called them to help me find the car and it was like, three blocks. three blocks away. That’s really confusion when it comes to there’s a million parking decks. It’s raining, it’s dark, right.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:04:22

                              You’re disoriented and people look at you and they think well this guy looks normal. You can’t see anything wrong with him.

                              Jim Moody 1:04:30

                              There’s my scary story. So since that point, you bet you bet. I’ll know where I parked.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:04:42

                              What’s a few things that stroke has taught you?

                              Jim Moody 1:04:44

                              I think it’s just taught me to cherish some of the smaller things in life. I mean, I cherish time. I cherish Simple things, walking on the beach time with friends and family vacation. I don’t I’m not a materialistic guy. I am the least materialistic guy there is it doesn’t bring me happiness, it’s time and experiences, you know, mean when you’ve lost everything and not expected to live when you come back, you just want to, you just want to do stuff. You know, it’s taught me to cherish every day. And that’s the most important thing.

                              Stroke Recovery, Self-criticism, And Patience With Others

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:05:32

                              Perfect. What would you say to somebody who’s listening? Who’s a stroke survivor? Who is coming across this, they might be going through the tough part of it? What do you say to somebody who’s listening and needs some support advice?

                              Jim Moody 1:05:53

                              I would say. And I’m thinking about putting a video out on this, because I think this is important. Because I’m even like this sometimes don’t be so critical of yourself, right? You had this happen to you, you’re doing the best you can with the resources and support that you can don’t be so critical. You’re not perfect yet, right? You’re not? You’re not where you’d want to be.

                              Jim Moody 1:06:23

                              But you’re a work in progress, right? Don’t be so critical of yourself. And then I would say don’t be so critical. of other people, like we kind of talked about already. Your stressful situation is stressful to you. But it also has put stress on the marriage, the kids, the family, the co-workers all of it. So you can’t always think and sometimes it’s easy for us to think, oh, they think I’m stupid.

                              Jim Moody 1:06:52

                              Oh, they whatever, right, and you get short with them. Right? So I would say Have patience with yourself and have patience with others. That, you know, they don’t get, you know, understand they’re, they’re going through this right there with you. It doesn’t, it doesn’t help you or them to get annoyed and frustrated with them when they don’t understand. They haven’t been through it. They don’t understand.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:07:18

                              We don’t want them to go through it. Because it’s the only way they’re going to understand. Jim, Where would people go and find your YouTube channel? What’s it called? What should they expect to find the I know, it’s just something that you’ve just started. So it’d be good if people come across and supported you. Tell me a little bit about that.

                              Jim Moody 1:07:40

                              So I mean, a lot of the stuff that we kind of talked today about, I’ve got four videos out there. So I put three out. And I just put a fourth one out there. And you just if you just go to YouTube, and you just search and just put in Jim Moody Stroke, all four will come up. And like I said, I’m about to put another two or three out there in the next month. And I think they’re helpful.

                              Jim Moody 1:08:06

                              I mean, I think this is kind of some of the things that I talked about. Doing a stroke presentation, I’m doing one next week at a large hospital in Atlanta, and I’m doing one in a month at another large hospital. So I’m trying to, and those are the things that are in the videos. So I kind of took about a three minute presentation that I would get up and do in front of the group. And I chopped up four parts of it. So that’s what the four videos are. So I think they’re helpful. I mean, did you get a chance to see them?

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:08:39

                              I have I’ve seen them, they are helpful. They’re always helpful. The reason they’re helpful is because they’re another perspective on things regarding the stuff we’re all going through. And that’s what’s really good to hear everyone’s perspective. And that’s why, ultimately, with the book, I was very comfortable after I wrote the book, because I realized that yeah, it all seems similar people default to all the same things. You’re doing similar things, but it’s my perspective.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:09:10

                              And that’s what your videos are, the more content that we have out there for stroke survivors, the better because when you and I were going through this at the very beginning, there wasn’t a lot of stuff on stroke out there. And it was hard to come by. And there wasn’t a lot of different perspectives, different thoughts, different views. And that’s really why I wrote the book, it was the book that I needed when I was going through stroke, right. And that’s the videos, all my videos, all the things that I needed. So it is helpful.

                              Jim Moody 1:09:43

                              And it’s kind of frustrating to me because I film the four videos and I don’t know where to put them actually, I don’t know where to even send them to be helpful. So I filmed the four videos and they’ve had like very few views on them. And I’m like, I just don’t know where to send them to put them out. So I think that the Brain Injury Association of Georgia just kind of shared them shared the links to them. So maybe some people will see them. I just don’t know where to go to put them out to let them get seen. So if you had, if you want to share them?

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:10:18

                              Yeah, well, people will go and find them now. But that’s the best place to share them.

                              Jim Moody 1:10:21

                              But they don’t know to go to find them, they don’t even know that there’s any out there.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:10:26

                              YouTube is full of them now. So it’s okay. But the reason why yours haven’t had a lot of use is because when, when, and this is something that I try and do is encourage stroke survivors to do any version of this, that they can, whether it’s on a podcast or whatever, at the beginning, you get very little traction, because the algorithm, and YouTube doesn’t really know what to do with your videos and who to put them out to.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:10:52

                              And they have to capture a certain amount of attention before they kind of go off. And I’ve got to say that my YouTube channel has been around since 2017. And only now is it really started to take off, like, only now is it just got above 2000 subscribers, like that is a long time to have a YouTube channel without any subscribers. And YouTube just seems to have now figured out what to do with all my videos.

                              Jim Moody 1:11:21

                              I’ve seen a lot of your videos I you know, watched a bunch of them before I’ve prepared for this.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:11:27

                              But we’re not getting any traction at all Jim.

                              Jim Moody 1:11:30

                              I mean, unless somebody is going out there searching like, I don’t know, going out on YouTube and hitting in the search, they wouldn’t even know that any of my stuff’s out there. But if I could put it out under stroke, support groups, podcasts, whatever, YouTube, you know, if I could put it out there to where people within that population, you can know that there’s a resource out there. I mean, right now, and you just throw it out on YouTube, and nobody’s searching for that. I don’t think on YouTube, I don’t know.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:11:31

                              They are 100% they are. But what’s good about YouTube is that it’s, it is a place to catalog it and store it there. So you can easily send people, they’re somebody who you come across in your presentation, you can easily say, like you just said to my audience, you know, go to just search Jim Moody stroke, and they’ll come up, and that’s the perfect place to have them because it’s central and everyone can go there. So you’re doing it the right way. Just keep doing it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:12:27

                              And I think you know what, realistically, what you? I think why you’re doing it is it’s less about? It seems like it’s there’s this two pronged approach is this about the fact that they’re not getting views, although it’s clearly a beneficial thing, but other people if they get views, but it’s more of a, getting it out there creating the content and making it available, and cataloging it in this place. So that it’s accessible to anyone for free, who might want to watch it. And you’re just starting out. So don’t, don’t let it kind of don’t look at the numbers. Just keep doing what you’re doing. And then and then it’ll grow.

                              Jim Moody 1:13:09

                              I’ve gotten to a point where I just like, there’s nobody watching them. So why bother to film anymore? It’s like, nobody sees them.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:13:16

                              I didn’t, if I had that approach, if I had that attitude, then this podcast would never have happened. The curves starts with being flat for a long, long, long time. And then eventually it starts to go up. But it’s flat for a long time. And then, and then it changes. And for me, I’m at 300 episodes. And like I said, it’s only just started to, you know, to go go north. But before that, it was a struggle.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:13:50

                              But nonetheless, the few people that were finding it, were starting to share it, the few people that were finding it, were appreciating it, were reaching out and saying thank you leaving comments telling me how impactful it was. And you and I, back then we didn’t have any of that. So now that amount of stuff has proliferated. And that’s really good. And we need more, so you gotta keep doing it. Because you’ll get better at it. And then look at the views get about the views.

                              Jim Moody 1:14:26

                              Well, I don’t really care. I don’t care that’s one view or million if it’s helpful, great. If it’s not, I’m not going to continue doing it. So kind of my view on it. I’m doing it to waste my time, if it’s helpful, great. You know, whatever. If it’s not, it’s not.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:14:43

                              It is helpful, but that’s the thing. It’s like you’re judging whether it’s helpful based on how many times YouTube has put that in front of other people. And that’s not the judge of being helpful. It’s helpful to stroke survivors of all shapes and sizes from everywhere around the planet.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:15:01

                              The thing about it is Google are the ones who and YouTube are the ones who determine whether or not your videos go to the audiences. And then that’s where we kind of get a little bit disheartened, because we think that nobody wants to see it. But it’s actually Google is not sending it out. And, then that changes later, somehow. I don’t know exactly how but it does.

                              Jim Moody 1:15:29

                              I don’t know how the Google thing works with that relationship. But I just know, I mean, the only, like I said, the only people that have really viewed it was some of the Brain Injury Association of Georgia, they put it out there. So that’s, that’s the only place that you know, to get started.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:15:46

                              That’s a great start. I really appreciate you reaching out, getting a copy of the book, sharing your story, doing the stuff that you’re doing. Thank you so much for being on the podcast.

                              Jim Moody 1:15:57

                              It’s great. It’s good to be here. And I think you and I share the same desire to just try to give back and that’s what I’m trying to do is just try to give back. I’ve got so much now in my life, and there’s a feeling of gratefulness and I can help one person out there. Great, you know.

                              Jim Moody 1:16:14

                              Thanks, Jim.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:16:15

                              Well, thanks again for joining us on today’s episode. I hope you guys enjoyed Jim’s story. If you’re interested in my book about recovery, you can grab a copy on Amazon, or by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book. To learn more about my guests, including links to their social media, and to download a full transcript of the entire interview, head to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:16:40

                              A huge thank you to everyone who has left the review, it means the world to me, reviews are crucial for podcasts to thrive, and your feedback helps others to find this valuable content, making their stroke recovery journey a little easier. If you haven’t left a review, please do so. Consider leaving a five star review, and a few words about what the show means to you on iTunes and Spotify.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:17:06

                              If you’re watching on YouTube, leave a comment below the video, like the episode and subscribe to the show on your preferred platform to get notifications of future episodes. Now, if you’re a stroke survivor with a story to share, come and join me on the show The interviews are not scripted, you do not need to plan for them. Just be yourself and share your experience to help others in similar situations.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:17:30

                              If you have a commercial product that supports stroke survivors in their recovery, you can join me on a sponsored episode of the show. Just visit recoveryafterstroke.com/contact fill out the form with your category. And I’ll get back to you with details on how we can connect via zoom. Thanks so much for being here and listening. I truly appreciate you see you on the next episode.

                              Intro 1:17:56

                              Importantly, we present many podcast designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals. Their opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed all content on this website at any linked blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.

                              Intro 1:18:26

                              The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                              Intro 1:18:51

                              Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional your doctor or your rehabilitation program based on our content if you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency or think you might be call 000 in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance all go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

                              Intro 1:19:15

                              Medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information in our content. We did not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with links we provide however third party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                              The post Jim Moody’s Double Stroke Miracle and Prosopagnosia (Face Blindness): A Journey of Survival and Resilience appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                              1 hr 20 min
                            • Inspiring Stroke Survivor Story: Ritesh Nandwani’s Journey of Resilience and Recovery

                              Ritesh Nandwani’s Incredible Stroke Survivor Story: Overcoming Stroke, Kidney Transplants, and Heartbreak.

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                              Highlights:

                              00:00 Introduction

                              01:34 The Beginning Of A Stroke Recovery Story
                              12:30 Dealing With Language Barriers, And Medical Procedures
                              19:09 Initial Treatment In A Public Hospital
                              25:40 TMS therapy for brain injury
                              33:03 Dealing With Kidney Failure, Dialysis, And Depression
                              40:19 COVID-19 Impact, And Support From Unexpected Friends
                              52:37 Dealing With Divorce And Finding Emotional Support
                              1:01:39 The Hardest Thing About The Stroke
                              1:04:35 Lessons From The Stroke

                              Transcript:

                              Introduction – Ritesh Nandwani


                              Bill Gasiamis 0:00
                              Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the recovery after stroke podcast. This is episode 306. And my guest today is Ritesh Nandwani, who by the age of 38, had experienced two kidney transplants, a hemorrhagic stroke and the breakdown of his marriage.

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:18

                              In this compelling episode Ritesh shares his extraordinary journey of resilience and recovery, detailing the harrowing incident that led to his stroke. His challenges with the medical care in Hong Kong, the emotional toll of his health struggles, and how he found strength and hope through community support, and a positive outlook on life.

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:40

                              Now, just before we dive into the interview, I’d like to take a moment to mention my book The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened 10 tools for recovery and personal transformation. It’s a collection of inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors, showcasing their incredible journey from adversity to personal growth, covering everything from nutrition, and exercise, to handling the emotional challenges.

                              Bill Gasiamis 0:41

                              This book is a beacon of hope for those on the road to recovery. And for more information, you can check out recoveryafterstroke.com/book or simply search for my name Bill Gasiamis on Amazon. And now it’s on with the show, retention and winning welcome to the podcast.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:27

                              Thank you. Bill, how are you?

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:29

                              I’m very well thank you for being here. I really appreciate it. Tell me a little bit about what happened to you.

                              The Beginning Of A Stroke Recovery Story

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:34

                              Well, I had my stroke back in 2019. So five years ago, I was actually sailing with my girlfriend at the time we were sailing. And then on the last day of sailing after five days of sailing. I got hit in the head with the beam of the sailboat. So then that caused a hemorrhagic stroke.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 2:09

                              So at first, you know, just a lot of pain until eventually. It was actually two days later that I lost the full function my right side. I remember I was getting up getting ready for work. And I sat down and suddenly, I lost sensations right side and I started slurring. And then I woke up my girlfriend, then she rushed me to hospital.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 2:42

                              So that was at first the diagnosis of ischemic stroke. But then, later, a couple of days later, when we got another doctor’s opinion, he said, No, it’s a hemorrhagic stroke, and we need to treat it differently. So that’s essentially what happened to me. But yeah, and I guess, the fact that I’m also a type one diabetic since I was a kid. So that made it a little more challenging. And yeah, so that’s kind of what happened.

                              Bill Gasiamis 3:16

                              Were you an experienced sailor?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 3:19

                              No. So we’re actually learning. We’re more like learning. I knew a little bit my girlfriend at that time. So she wanted to learn as well. So okay, we did training together for five days. And on the last day, that’s when I got hit.

                              Bill Gasiamis 3:36

                              So that bar which holds the sales. I think I’ve seen it on TV, the wind changes, they change the position of the sale. And it swings across really violently.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 3:47

                              Yeah, yes, that’s the one and unfortunately, we already actually at the dock already so we were packing up, but unfortunately, no one had tied it up. So we had already gone there. You know, as we were getting out, I had already stood up. And no one had died it up.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 4:09

                              And boom, it hit me. And I was still wearing a helmet, though. But it was still pretty bad. And I guess the weather wasn’t good those days. But you know, we’re learning so we said this could be a good challenge to learn. And we had trainers with us and everything.

                              Bill Gasiamis 4:29

                              So because it wasn’t tied, was it a gust of wind that picked up a sail and pushed it over?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 4:36

                              Yeah, yeah.

                              Bill Gasiamis 4:38

                              So man, like you’re standing there, you’re wearing a helmet and it hits you on the head. I mean, for it to cause a hemorrhagic stroke. That would have been a dramatically violent and hard hit. It must have caught you fall on instead of like, swishing over.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 4:56

                              Oh yeah it smacked me, I got hit and knocked out. I was unconscious the whole time. But yeah, it was enough force for me to lose balance and fall.

                              Bill Gasiamis 5:10

                              When you got up, massive headache I imagine, where you disoriented? How were you experiencing that?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 5:17

                              When I got up yeah, I was a little bit disoriented, but after like maybe a couple of minutes I felt okay. Other than pain that was it. And I didn’t think it was anything serious at the time. So like, I was still okay, still able to talk move around. And then we eventually went back to the sailboat after that, so yeah, I had pain and that was it. That was there for like, maybe two days two to three until the day that actually I just lost sensation.

                              Bill Gasiamis 5:58

                              Yeah. You lost sensation on your right side or your left?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 6:02

                              Yes. My right side. Yeah.

                              Bill Gasiamis 6:04

                              On your right side. And then the last sensation and what did it feel like? What was it like to lose sensation? What were you thinking?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 6:15

                              There are so many things going through my head that I didn’t know, stroke didn’t come to mind. I thought something had happened. Something worse happened and I thought this was it. You know, I literally always tell my girlfriend, all the bank accounts.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 6:36

                              What to do, call my parents, everything and, you know, she was God bless her. She was sitting beside me. She was calling the ambulance on the other side, just taking over everything. And just say, okay, you know what, we’ll just take care of this, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 6:54

                              But you know, she were there so that things are running through my head. I thought this was it. Yeah, I thought I’m done for. Yeah, because like, this was not my first accident, I’ve had a couple of bad accidents as well before, like one shattered my femur. Another time where I had eaten something wrong when I was traveling, it caused me to go into septic shock. And then they had to induce a coma for a day. So had these incidents before, but this is probably where I was scared the most.

                              Bill Gasiamis 7:39

                              At that time, did you connect it at all, to the hit in the head that you received a few days earlier?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 7:47

                              At the beginning, no. It was only later that because at first when we got to the hospital, they didn’t do an MRI. They did a CAT scan, not an MRI. And then they said, Oh, it’s a stroke. So that was it, then another cousin of mine whose mom had a stroke as well. So he just said I go visit a private doctor. The system is a little bit different first thing you do is to use public hospital. And then you have an option for your own doctor, after a few days.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 8:27

                              So that’s what we opted to do. Because things are we’re not clear on what was going on. And my mom had flew in Hong Kong and they were like, Okay, what is really going on, and no one’s giving a proper explanation. So that’s when we decided to get a second opinion. We went to a neurologist, and then he did a full body MRI checking everything then he said, okay, it’s a hemorrhagic stroke.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 8:57

                              And we have to do a different way of dealing with things as compared to ischemic stroke. So then that’s when they started, going through that process. And then he said is actually quite common. A lot of times they do misdiagnosed, ischemic instead of hemorrhagic and the treatment process would be different.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 9:21

                              But he said that if you don’t do a proper MRI, you’re not figured out. So, but that there is like let’s just do a full body MRI, check everything, if anything as if you do have any preexisting conditions that could affect it. And I told them I’m a type one diabetic. And then I’ve also had a kidney transplant before that, like nearly a decade ago before that. So they get these factors will affect it like but everything was stable. Sugar was stable at the time blood pressure, stable at the time, everything else was stable.

                              Bill Gasiamis 9:52

                              And then it kind of occurred to you that might be the hit on the head had some to do with it?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 10:03

                              Yes. Because he actually was a private doctor and detected that it seems like I had some trauma to the head. During the MRI so he asked me has anything happened recently, then I told him this is what happened because that’s mostly, would have caused it. It was actually pretty large was four centimeters in diameter. She goes, this could have caused that and that’s what we went with.

                              Intro 10:32

                              Yeah, if you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like, how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things. But obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask.

                              Intro 10:57

                              If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to ask your doctor about your stroke.

                              Intro 11:17

                              These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery, head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                              Bill Gasiamis 11:36

                              Well, now, we don’t need to discuss this if the question is not appropriate. But I’m gonna ask the question you can tell me if it is or isn’t. Is there some sort of compensation that you’re receiving for the injury that you received on that particular boat?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 11:52

                              No, I didn’t get any compensation. As for the training, like I had to sign a waiver for anything. And then when I was with the hospital, I was told that would be very challenging since I had preexisting conditions. And like, you know, we were like, it’s happened already. So going after, again, fighting with the hospital going through legal process. It just for us, it was like, okay, it’s done. Now let’s deal with it, rather than going through even more stress.

                              Ritesh Nandwani Dealing With Language Barriers, And Medical Procedures

                              Bill Gasiamis 12:30

                              Yeah. Okay, I get it. I totally get it. I was just curious. Because often people have a brain hemorrhage, and it impacts their, livelihood, it impacts everything, right. So it’s a very challenging time for all sorts of reasons. So that’s why I was wondering, but that’s okay. I totally get where you’re coming from. So he’s noticed the trauma, he’s connected the trauma to potentially the incident, and now they’ve got a way forward. You mentioned a little bit earlier that you’ve had a kidney transplant, is that because of the type one diabetes?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 13:14

                              I was actually misdiagnosed before. But I was given the wrong medication a couple of years ago, a year before the transplant and before my kidneys failed. So yeah, in the fact that that was type one diabetic didn’t help. So it made things worse, and my kidneys failed.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 13:38

                              And like if you had seen my the progress of the deterioration, I mean, of the kidneys. There was less than six months from having a normal creatine level to eight times normal creatine level. It was just three months and it happened so fast that when they bring in dialysis, they’re like, Yeah, we need to do a transplant as fast as we can. It was that abrupt.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 14:05

                              You said earlier that the scariest time was when you lost the feeling on your right side yeah. The kidney transplant didn’t make you feel concerned or worried about things. The kidney transplant did. It did but the thing is like, you know, when you’re going through a kidney transplant, I had a friend who had gone through kidney transplant. So you pretty much get back to normal life after surgery.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 14:37

                              So it’s just a matter of waiting till you get a donor and going through the whole process. Yes, it’s a tedious and painful process, especially dialysis. It just takes the life out of you. And it kind of stall everything for you. But as you’ve done your transplant, things do pretty much get back to normal.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 14:56

                              So that okay, and I was still able to talk, able to move to do everything, I was still okay with that. But with the stroke, it was something very different, you know, where it’s, it’s a feeling that you don’t know. And when at that point, whenever when I was going to the hospital and everything, going to the ambulance and all that, there were so many unknowns.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 15:28

                              That was like, okay, and I guess, because I was conscious the whole time as well, that made it even more scary.

                              Bill Gasiamis 15:38

                              At least with a dialysis and the kidney transplant, you know, the procedure, you do this for a little while when a kidney has come available, you go through a process that happens, and then this happens, and then you move on, and you’ve got proof of a successful surgery previously, you know what that looks like, you know, what the person’s life is like, and it’s more, like, I’m just gonna go through the motions here. And when I get to the other side, this is likely the result. Whereas you wake up one morning and you can’t feel your right side, and it’s what the heck is going on?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 16:15

                              So yeah, the fear of the unknown if, for lack of a better term. Yeah, I was in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, as you’re going to the emergency they don’t speak English. And I didn’t know Cantonese. So that was another thing. Like, okay, I didn’t know what’s going on. And because everyone was in a rush to get on with it, no one’s actually telling you, you know, you’re going through a stroke. This is happening. No one’s telling you.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 16:48

                              So you’re just seeing people rushing around you and all the noise and everything. And the hospital results kind of overwhelmed a lot of people so there’s so many people and yeah, it was too much at once, I guess.

                              Bill Gasiamis 17:05

                              Makes sense. Were you in Hong Kong on a vacation? On holidays?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 17:11

                              I was living there. I was living and working there at that time.

                              Bill Gasiamis 17:17

                              And even though Hong Kong is known for English, the English language it’s not commonly spoken in medical?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 17:25

                              No. The local doctors and nurses still prefer talking in Cantonese. Yeah, you know, it’s still their mother tongue and English was more common in the private hospitals. Yeah, in the public hospitals. Yeah, there were some people that knew how to speak English. But I guess when going through all that stress at the same time, mostly were just talking in Cantonese.

                              Bill Gasiamis 18:00

                              I can imagine what that’d be like I was frustrated in a English-speaking Hospital in in Melbourne, Australia here when they wouldn’t speak to me about what was going on. And that would keep me in the loop of you know, my condition and the situation that I was in and I was getting really frustrated and they were talking to me in English every so often but I still felt a little you know, this is not right.

                              Bill Gasiamis 18:25

                              I feel like I need more information you need to be telling me what’s going on I need to know one way or another what’s happening. So I can instead of using my head to overthink things, I can just prepare for things and I can sort of work out you know what my role is going to be in all of this I don’t want to be passive and just sit in there. And having you guys make all the decisions without consulting me.

                              Bill Gasiamis 18:54

                              So I can imagine you’re in Hong Kong. speaking Cantonese you don’t speak Cantonese. And you’re wondering how bad is it? Is it worse than it seems is a better than it seems?

                              Ritesh Nandwani’s Initial Treatment In A Public Hospital


                              Ritesh Nandwani 19:09
                              And then even asked about you know, when they started so the first week I was in the main hospital, secondary get transferred to another place and where they transferred me I was pretty much the youngest guy there no one else was my age. Everyone else was in their 60s and 70s.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 19:31

                              And I remember there were three of us in my room. And I was the only one who could actually still have functional my left side while the other guy like you know, he was eating through a feeding tube. Another one was pretty much catatonic as well.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 19:53

                              So kind of felt different and because it was so low in the public health care system you weren’t allowed visitors, you’re only allowed for two hours a day and that was it. So it was quite challenging. And my girlfriend that time she would sneak in the hospital just to stay in the room with me. And then it came to a point later that they agreed, okay, someone can stay with you.

                              Bill Gasiamis 20:22

                              Yeah. I remembered when I went to hospital. I remember when I went to hospital, the first time I was put in, because there was no beds. I was put in the spinal ward. And everyone, there had a spinal cord injury. And they weren’t moving any part of their body.

                              Bill Gasiamis 20:42

                              And it was really tough to be in there. Because I didn’t know what extent my injury was again, I had a brain hemorrhage, but I didn’t know. What does it even mean, I didn’t know what a brain hemorrhage was before that. And now I’m in a room with people who had spinal injuries, and it was really tough to try to come to terms with what I’m seeing, and why I’m here.

                              Bill Gasiamis 21:08

                              A little while later, they moved me into another ward where there was other people who’ve had strokes. And that settled down my nerves a little bit made it a little bit better. It was tough to witness those guys in the worst part of their injury, which just after it’s happened, you know? And they were really struggling. So I know what you mean. How long did you spend in hospital? And how did they treat your injury?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 21:39

                              So I was in both hospitals in two weeks. It wasn’t the advice of the private doctor that I leave the public hospital. So we took his advice left public hospital, then he was looking after me after that. So at that time, we had stayed in a service apartment at first because my old place was not big enough to even accommodate a wheelchair in Hong Kong, ours were quite small. So it was a little bit more challenging. And we decided to get a service apartment for at least a month until we found the place that was more accessible.

                              Bill Gasiamis 22:27

                              So the doctor would come to your place where you’re staying?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 22:31

                              Yeah, so my service apartment was maybe just a block away. For less than even a block. I was down the road from where my doctor’s clinic was. So my mom was and my girlfriend at the time, they would take me to the hospital, usually every day.

                              Bill Gasiamis 22:54

                              But was that kind of like just where you were staying? So you can be nearby? And then you would go into the clinic and get treated? How did they treat it? What did they do to resolve the blood vessel that had leaked?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 23:06

                              Well, they didn’t operate on it or do anything. So for that they really recorded me more to rest and then, you know, the first month, they asked me to not do any just rest as much as I can. And to you know, avoid stress. Then it was only after the first month that I started getting it therapist and tried to at least start moving it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 23:35

                              Okay, So you’re they’ve noticed that your right side is impacted negatively, right?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 23:51

                              Yes.

                              Bill Gasiamis 23:51

                              And was there any protocol put in place? Was there any thing that they were going to do to help support you overcome that condition or to rehabilitate that?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 24:02

                              In the public hospital, at that point, they didn’t tell me much. They really didn’t say you know, in the morning Sunday, they wanted to do therapy right away. And then that’s actually what happened. That was the main reason why the private doctor got me out. He didn’t want me to do anything at first.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 24:25

                              He said he wanted me to rest at least for the first month. So they gave me some brain vitamins and some medication to help me with that. And they obviously went through, you know, all my medication and adjusted my insulin, gave me some blood pressure medication at first. So they adjusted all that in that span of time, and fortunately I didn’t have to do any surgery or anything like that

                              Bill Gasiamis 24:52

                              So perhaps he was worried that putting you on the pressure to exert yourself might cause a bigger leak. That makes ense. And then after about a month or so, then what happened? How did you go through the rest of the process?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 25:11

                              So then when I went to clinic that day, the main doctor because he was actually neurosurgeon, the one I had. So he gave me to his partner was not a neurologist, who would essentially be taking care of my therapy, since she’s doing something with a physical therapist there. And then she was talking with the process of what we can do together with my family.

                              TMS therapy for brain injury

                              Ritesh Nandwani 25:40

                              You know, like, what exercises or whatever to do, and they kept physical therapists for me that I had to go three times a week with, and then even did, I forgot what therapy it was, but they use magnetic stimulation on the brain. I think it was called MTS or something like that. So it was relatively new in Hong Kong at the time, I think I was the first patient to go through therapy.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 26:09

                              But this works well in Germany, and they felt it did cause independence a really couldn’t move my hand or anything. In fact, even talking was very difficult to me time. After like, maybe two rounds of the MTS, I started getting function back from my hand, I still don’t have full function, but I could start moving my fingers a little bit. And sensation was normalizing. Then I could start talking as well, and then we’re just kept doing therapy after that.

                              Bill Gasiamis 26:46

                              So was that a magnetic brain therapy?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 26:50

                              It was some form of stimulation.

                              Bill Gasiamis 26:55

                              Was it TMS Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 26:58

                              That one yes. That’s the one. TMS.

                              Bill Gasiamis 27:02

                              As soon as I put it up, it comes up. I’ve never heard of it, I’m gonna look into it. Okay, that’s really interesting. Because there’s a couple of things that people can do that really do help heal the brain, one of them is hyperbaric oxygen therapy that really seems to support people’s recovery in heals parts of the brain that previously were not able to be healed. So you notice such a big result that quickly, like literally after a couple of sessions.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 27:32

                              I was getting three sessions a week. So probably the third week. Yeah. The third week, that’s an I noticed more improvement. That thing is the way that therapy was done. Like they would do the TMS and within half an hour, I would do physical therapy. So there’s adults when it’s most effective, initially right after half an hour. So it wasn’t the same clinic that like the clinic was on the 18th floor in the 17th. floor was a physical therapy, surgical one for down against art therapy right away.

                              Bill Gasiamis 28:08

                              So how many more weeks of therapy did you do?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 28:15

                              Well, I’m still doing therapy. Now. I still continue, I haven’t stopped.

                              Bill Gasiamis 28:19

                              What TMS?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 28:21

                              TMS So I did two rounds, stopped, then again after a couple of months started again. But this time, it’s three times a week, we’re doing two sessions a week. So pretty much did TMS about four or five rounds. But it wasn’t continuous. The first few rounds are continuous, then stop for a while then start again, then stopped and started again. Until it was like once a week.

                              Bill Gasiamis 28:50

                              And then you notice the improvements decreasing and not getting as obvious as they did at the beginning.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 28:57

                              It was still a lot of improvement because it’s like actually after the first year, I was already walking with a cane. I even went to Paris for a month because my girlfriend at that time we were already engaged. So she was my fiance, went to France and her mom is a doctor in Paris.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 29:24

                              Actually in Champaign, so her mom actually flew down when I had a stroke. She came visit me he stayed with us for two days. Then went back and then we went to Paris she was like okay, there’s very good facility center near where you stay, I always actually there for a month. And I was walking without any aid at the center.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 29:51

                              And unfortunately, this is March 2020, February, March 2020. And then, since she was very high up in the medical board in Champaign, she was like, you know, we might have a lockdown next two, three days. And and I suggest you guys fly back to Hong Kong. So within the next 12 hours, we left Paris came back to Hong Kong. And sure enough, a lockdown happened.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 30:21

                              In Hong Kong at in the beginning, you were still doing continuing with therapy, then when things got pretty bad in Hong Kong, all the therapy centers got shut down. They’re all converted into COVID facilities. And this is where I really had a challenge. Like I had to stop therapy completely. And even before I was doing water therapy, aqua therapy, I had to stop that because even the the pool in our building was close. And if ever I would have to any therapy, it will be done via zoom.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 30:55

                              Which became a challenge. I guess it’s not the same and challenge at that point was my therapist. I think he kind of took advantage of situation. He was doing Zoom and he having four patients at once. Doing it via video is quite challenging and then you doing it with four patients at once. It was extremely challenging.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 31:25

                              So I guess you know, at that point, there were so many patients, but not enough therapists in Hong Kong.

                              Bill Gasiamis 31:33

                              Do you think that your time on dialysis and waiting for a kidney transplant and recovering from that do you think that has helped you in your recovery from the brain hemorrhage?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 31:47

                              Well, after during dialysis, while I was doing dialysis, trying to do therapy, that was extremely difficult. Because when resumed dialysis, that day is pretty much gone. I couldn’t move much therapy was just extremely challenging. And then also the fact that at the same time, like I had already gotten married, but then a year later, after my marriage.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 32:17

                              It didn’t work out. I found out my wife was actually cheating behind my back, with a couple of guys, and then I was going to Dallas at the same time trying to figure out therapy. And then you know, at that point, even work started becoming a challenge.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 32:35

                              Like, things are not going well for work. So and then they got the call and like things are getting quite expensive. So everything was going on. And at this point, we already separated. So I was going through not only going through the stroke, I was going through kidney failure.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 32:58

                              The stress of work, and then I was diagnosed with depression after that.

                              Ritesh Nandwani Dealing With Kidney Failure, Dialysis, And Depression

                              Bill Gasiamis 33:03

                              Of course makes sense. I didn’t realize that the kidney issue and the stroke issue were happening at the same time, I thought the kidney issue was way earlier.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 33:15

                              So it already happened about you know, in the early 2010s, I think even before that. I went to a second transplant, so it failed again. A year after the stroke, it failed again. So at first the like, let’s try to do plasmapheresis to save it. So I went through plasmapheresis this was December 2019. It went through plasmapheresis. So after I did that, I was good for like three months. But then when I did a blood test while I was in Paris, that’s when my mother in law, she’s like she saw it and then she’s like, I think there might be something wrong with your kidney looks like the plasmapheresis didn’t work.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 34:09

                              So when I come back after like, you know, we got call that things. You know, we came back to Hong Kong, and he’s like, Oh, me two weeks after I came back. He’s like, Yeah, we gonna start dialysis. So then we started dialysis.

                              Bill Gasiamis 34:25

                              Okay, second round of dialysis. So you knew what that was all about? And at the same time, you’re recovering from the brain injury?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 34:34

                              Yeah, correct. And when I started dialysis, he’s like, you might need to do a transplant but because they caught it very early, I had much more time. So we knew during COVID You can’t do anything so I was just waiting and waiting. So I was doing dialysis the whole time.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 34:53

                              And then at the end of 2020 my kidney which has been transplanted before, started this thing started going into rejection. So they’re like we’re going through surgery, now we’re gonna have to pull it out. And I’ll be back on my old kidney, and continue with dialysis. So I went through that, and that was going through that.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 35:22

                              And then later, they took the Kinney end of 2020, at this time I was already married. And then 2021 came, and that’s what like I had a significant weight loss. I was down to 45 kilos at the time. And I usually weigh between 65 to 70. So I lost all that weight, I was extremely skinny. He you looked at me, I just felt sick. So 2020, for me, was extremely challenging. 2021 came along.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 36:04

                              And that was when I was going through again, the work and you know, the cheating, 2021 was even more tough than 2020.

                              Bill Gasiamis 36:17

                              That’s too much for one person to have to go through the small amount of time that you went through it. So you were depressed right? Like, as if you wouldn’t be. But what were you thinking at the time? What’s your mindset? Like? Do you know what I mean? Like, are you thinking, I’m still going to keep fighting or it’s time to give up? How do you keep bloody fighting after all of that stuff.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 36:45

                              I was ready to give up. So you know, the cheating and everything I found out in July of 2021. And I remember, so my ex wife now we’re undergoing a divorce. But at that time, in 2021, in August, she moved out. And then I remember it was the middle of August that I was so depressed that I’d really gone to the doctor for depression, they started putting me on an antidepressant at the time.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 37:25

                              So I remember there’s one point where I didn’t even want to get out of bed to go to dialysis. And I was fortunate that the helper who was staying like, she wouldn’t stay, but she would come a couple of times a week and she found me in bed like we had scheduled for dialysis that day. So the first time, like I’m not feeling well, I don’t want to go today so I didn’t go then.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 37:55

                              She came and saw me another time. And she said that my bed was just a mess there was urine all over it and I was pretty much in a very different state. She said like I couldn’t even it was like I was drunk. But I was just so depressed. I didn’t want to go to dialysis, I was at that point where I just kind of ready to give up. And then it was she who actually got me in a car brought me to the hospital called my ex wife and everything, then they treated me to hospital for that.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 38:30

                              So obviously, they had to do dialysis again, but this time, they’re like, we’re gonna keep you in the hospital for a week. So they kept me in the hospital for a week until all my levels became normal and stable. So then at that time, even my, my ex wife, she decided to come and stay in the hospital with me. So we had talked about things and we were trying to work things out but eventually didn’t.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 38:59

                              Then I was in antidepressants for a short while so it was about two or three months. Then after that, you know I think this is something worth fighting for. I may be on my own at this point, but I’m going to fight for it. And then after that happened we both started figuring out what was going on.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 39:23

                              So even the maid of honor at our wedding actually ended up becoming a very close friend of mine as I was going through the process, so she was there so she and my ex wife don’t even talk anymore that’s how bad the situation became.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 39:39

                              But eventually she became very close to me and I remember there was a point where in, it was close to my 41st birthday which is in December so around October November December like yeah let’s do something different for your birthday this year. We can do your 40th birthday. Let’s do something. I’m like, you know, let’s see I’m not sure.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 40:00

                              And I remember one night, probably in October, she just come to my house. And then she’s like, we’re going out tonight. And I’m like no I don’t want to she’s like, no, we’re going out. We’re going for a boat party. And I used to love going to boat parties before my stroke. So like, how am I going to go on a boat, I’m in a wheelchair.

                              COVID-19 Impact, And Support From Unexpected Friends


                              Ritesh Nandwani 40:19
                              She goes, don’t worry, that’s my problem. And sure enough, I get to the port, she has people waiting to get me on the wheelchair to get on the boat. So they literally carried me in a wheelchair, on the boat, got a place for me there. And I guess the story like, because it was a lot of my ex wife’s friends were there. You know, obviously, she was the maid of honor.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 40:47

                              And so at this point, rumors spread around, they all knew the story. So they all ended up, you know, oh, let’s talk. So I ended up getting close to her friends at that point. And the maid of honor also invited a bunch of my friends, that was the first time in a long while that I actually had a big smile on my face that actually felt there were people around me.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 41:13

                              And then they also found out about the depression thing. So I remember, from that day, till the time, when I returned back home in the Philippines, every day, someone a friend of mine, or the maid of honor or something, they would all be at my house, either were just sitting, talking, or you would take me to a restaurant, or we would go out or something.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 41:36

                              There was someone there. So I think that was the time in my life where I really felt like and some of these guys I just met in December. Like you know, some of them I just met and till now we’re so close. So that was like one of the good things that had happened.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 41:52

                              Through all this. I felt there was this support structure from a lot of people that I didn’t know before. Yeah, it was remember this was COVID and a lot of my good friends had left because of the situation. So I felt really alone at the time especially your your wife at that time doing all that. And my close friend, my best friend was staying in Abu Dhabi at the time.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 42:24

                              And a very close friend of mine was staying in Australia and my family was in the Philippines. In Hong Kong, I was feeling extremely lonely in Hong Kong the house is so small that you don’t only feel lonely, you feel claustrophobic. And the way to lock down and Hong Kong where you can’t go out it was so challenging.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 42:46

                              But then when these friend started coming over to the house, at least I felt there was something I felt like yeah, you know, I can get through this.

                              Bill Gasiamis 42:56

                              Community, you can’t do it alone. Everybody needs community. Everybody needs something around them. There’s no way. You know, okay, and you recover. And then if you recover, and you’re going to be lonely, then what are you going to do? Like you have to reach out and find people? You might not have been in the situation where you could reach out.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:15

                              But I experienced something similar people who I didn’t know, people who I didn’t have great relationships with. Were the people that helped out the most. And it was so weird, I didn’t understand that. I appreciate it, of course, and my really good friends now. But they’re the ones that did the majority of the emotional support.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:37

                              I’m not sure why. But it’s a really gift, man. It’s a really great gift that you received, you know, by these people to come around you and to support you, especially with all the stuff that you had been through, as well as then understanding what had happened to your relationship.

                              Bill Gasiamis 43:55

                              Yeah, it’s pretty cool that they did that man and that they supported you. And it’s a testament to how far you’ve come. We can’t do it without people. Yeah. So are you still using a wheelchair?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 44:12

                              No. So as of last year, July, I’m off the wheelchair completely. Although I do use an electric wheelchair when I travel, because I’ve gotten back into my routine of traveling for work. So it’s only my travel that actually use a wheelchair or when I’m extremely exhausted, which thankfully, since July has happened only once I used the wheelchair again.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 44:39

                              So now I walk around with a cane and I can notice that things are improving a lot more like I did the second transplant in December 2022. So, from December 22 like maybe July 20 July 2023. This time the recovery from a transplant was much smoother.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 45:02

                              I didn’t have any infections, compared to like the first time that where I had two major infections and I was in hospital a lot more, this time I wasn’t. And it was already back in therapy after like, six months after transplant. I was back in physical therapy, and I regained walking with the gain much faster.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 45:23

                              My stamina has gone up, like, you know, before, it was a struggle to even do like two or three steps a day. Now it’s like, okay, 5000, no problem, I can do it. And then I’ve gotten back to weight training, as well, under a doctor’s supervision. So even like, now I’m back to like 64 kilos. So I’m close to my normal weight.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 45:47

                              I even see the progression, like I remember before, like, on the leg press, is I remember when I started, I was struggling with five kilos. Now during over, like, just this week, I had a personal record of 70 kilos. So I can see the progression, and this time was much faster. You know, it’s gotten so much better compared to the way it was even two years ago.

                              Bill Gasiamis 46:16

                              Ritesh I absolutely love your story, man. It’s such an interesting story. The setbacks, you know, there’s a lot of them and people a lot a lot of people wouldn’t manage to, you know, overcome so many setbacks, and you’ve overcome them again, and again and again. You know, a word comes to mind like resilient.

                              Bill Gasiamis 46:39

                              Would you consider yourself very resilient? Is there some kind of a ingredient that’s necessary to help you to be resilient. Clearly community is. What else is there? I don’t know. Like, I don’t get it. Because it seems like your life has been put on hold so many times, because of all these conditions.

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:03

                              I don’t know, like, give me a little bit of your philosophy in life, how do you grapple with all of the stuff that you’ve been through at such a young age? Okay, 38. Now, I know a lot of older people who are in their 80s and who go, ah, you know, I’ve lived 80 years, I’m bound to have something wrong with me. You know, it’s great that there’s medical help, you know, we’ll just go through it, we’ll overcome it, we’ll get there. But at 38 I was 37. And I had my first brain hemorrhage.

                              Bill Gasiamis 47:30

                              And I didn’t think I had a philosophy that was very, at the beginning, right, that was very kind of encouraging and supporting of myself and I couldn’t see the silver lining yet. There was no silver lining. To tell me a little bit about your life’s philosophy. How do you get through life?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 47:54

                              I’ve had a positive outlook most of my life, I’m not gonna lie. But there were two times in my life where I never felt more sad, more alone and more depressed. One was when my best friend passed away. That was when I was a 25 years old, passed away very young spinal complications, and he had passed away.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 48:19

                              So that was the only time that was the first time in my life where there was no emotion, I always felt so numb. The second time, was when I was going through all this. You know, I found out about the cheating. And I was going to dialysis and everything. And there was another time where I remember as soon as I found out, I became numb, I couldn’t talk.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 48:42

                              And I didn’t tell anyone I just went is this own bubble of mines. And quiet then then, you know,

                              Ritesh Nandwani 48:52

                              it was like after a week that I started crying and started doing this. But at the same time, I knew there was something wrong already with me mentally.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 49:01

                              So one of the first things I did was, I’m not going to call a friend, I’m gonna look for a therapist.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 49:10

                              That’s what it looked for a therapist because I felt even though I told my friends, especially about what I was dealing with my marriage, I knew they would say things about my ex wife, which I didn’t want to go through, because I knew my ex wife had her own mental problems, which I’d already known about. So I knew, I mean, or at least I felt that if we want to try to work on this, I need to stay away from that negativity. There might be my your friends or whatever, but I know all of them what they’re gonna say.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 49:39

                              100% and they’re gonna make a villain. Yeah, yes. So at first I was like, I’m gonna go therapist, look for a therapist. So eventually, I went through three therapists until I found the right one. Then she actually helped me kind of short things out. And then especially when I was going through depression,

                              Ritesh Nandwani 50:00

                              I’m actually I met her after the bout of depression when I knew I was depressed. After the doctors been antidepressant and this point when I had met her, I found out and then I was even trying to figure out now it was not only dealing with my issues, I was trying to figure out my ex wives in mental state and her her issues in which he was going through. So for the understanding her Yes, exactly, at this point you. That’s a great move. I love that because then you don’t take it personally. Yeah. And also this point, like,

                              Ritesh Nandwani 50:37

                              we were already I was trying to figure out what if it could be safe.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 50:43

                              So I found, I found a therapist who had that me the psychologist that actually written about that type of issue. I found him tracked him down. He’s a, he’s a therapist from Tennessee in the US, actually reached out to him to talk them attended a three day workshop, I understand not only her, I don’t understand her marriage and myself. So I kind of understood that we were going through and

                              Ritesh Nandwani 51:14

                              in Hong Kong, it’s like, the way the legal structures again, would get a guy to wait two years until I could file for divorce, if at least one of us strikes, or probably both of us agree there’ll be one year. But at this point, she didn’t want anything. And I said even at the same time, her case, on the average takes about two years. So they try to go through that process. So I said, Okay, this kind of synchronous two years.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 51:43

                              I’ll wait for two years, I’ll not only try to work in marriage, but also work on myself. And yes, my ex wife and I were still talking at this point. And the topic of divorce had come out maybe once or twice, but not again. So it felt like there was still some hope. But it was only when, so we reached two years in August of last year. And then I was able to fly out in November. So when I actually went to Hong Kong in November, to sign divorce papers that’s when actually I even told my parents that was the first time I told them what really happened. My cousin started finding out.

                              Dealing With Divorce And Finding Emotional Support

                              Ritesh Nandwani 52:22

                              Actually there were a lot of rumors in Hong Kong, because the guy she cheating on me with I knew him. So that was the other thing and then even now at this point. His friends found out, and his friends actually ended up being good friends of mine because they didn’t like what happened it’s such a small community over there, especially those that stayed in Hong Kong during COVID.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 52:50

                              A lot of us became close because most people most expats left Hong Kong, and we all knew each other. So when the cheating happened, and everyone found out, I got even more friends this time or more supporters with the whole thing. And it became kind of like, okay, now people know, and I had all this question. So like, now, I since I’m dealing with it, I’m okay, with what has happened? Now I start, anyone asked me a question. I’m not gonna hide it. I told them what happened. And you know, I tried my best to work on it.

                              Bill Gasiamis 53:33

                              I love it. In my book, there’s a chapter that talks about friends, and how you have to be careful what you tell people about what has happened to you, and about how you’re going about your recovery. Because their desire to, to help sometimes gets in the way because they’re not doing, they’re not doing the type of help that you need. They’re just doing the overwhelming over the top kind of help.

                              Bill Gasiamis 53:59

                              And then there’s also the people who you tell that I’m going to do something and they take a negative, like, why would you want to do that. And they kind of try and change your mind about it. So I really make a point in the book to sort of say you need to hold your cards close to your chest, and you need to not tell a lot of people about what you’re doing and you made an amazing move there by keeping all that stuff to yourself.

                              Bill Gasiamis 54:25

                              And then most importantly, seeking out a therapist. So not only are you kind of avoiding all the difficult conversations with all the people who love you, but you’re dealing with it in a really professional and a really interesting way which is I’m actually going and getting professional help somebody who knows how to deal with these types of issues.

                              Bill Gasiamis 54:49

                              We’re not just getting emotional responses from the people that that love me. We’re getting like real responses real approaches you did a course three day course. I mean, that’s a awesome move to go through that process and deal with all of that. Would you call it all of that trauma? Because it would have been traumatic?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 55:11

                              Yeah, definitely. It definitely left some scars. But those are scars now that, you know, it’s been nearly three years, five years since a stroke. And in three years since the marriage was collapsing. It’s now only that okay. It is only talking about it to clear, obviously, there are a lot of rumors. I come from a very, very big family. My mom’s side, like, you know, they’re about almost 19 siblings. I mean, not all our siblings, but very close cousins.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 55:46

                              And we recently had a wedding about three months ago. That was the first time I attended a family wedding in about seven, eight years. And we usually have a wedding, one wedding or two weddings a year in our family. From my mom’s side, my dad’s side is eight siblings. So I come from a very big family. And both my mom and dad, my dad’s youngest, my mom’s second youngest. So now when it went for the wedding happened, in dubai our family wedding was just 800 people.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 56:17

                              It was a big wedding. And I haven’t seen any of them in ages. But there were so many different rumors about what happened between between my ex wife and I. And at this point, I remember I sat down with, first a few of my close ones. And then they asked me what really happened. So I told them exactly what happened.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 56:42

                              I guess not only to just you know, to make things clear that I am okay. But also to set the record straight. So many things are just not clear for everyone. People are just wondering, and all that. So it’s like, I have nothing against her. I’m thankful my ex wife was with me during that time in my life, where I needed her. And she and I might not talk anymore, but her mom and I are still in touch.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 57:15

                              Her mom, God bless her really treat me like a son. Going through the whole process. You know, she doesn’t mention her daughter or anything. But she really looks at me as a son.

                              Bill Gasiamis 57:31

                              I love that you set the record straight and sort of stopped the rumor mill because the rumor mill can be terrible. And it’s never helpful. Really it never ever helped. And it’s great that you set the record straight and you’re just sort of this is what happened, this is how it was this is where I’m at, and everyone can move on with their own life now.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 57:52

                              Exactly. And because I come from a big family, a lot of these rumors, they come out pretty nasty in some cases. But I still tell them like I don’t have any resentment against her, in the beginning yes, I did I hated her for what I was going through, what she did to me, but now I’m like, at peace. I have to go through that.

                              Bill Gasiamis 58:18

                              It seems like all the things that you’ve been through. It seems like this has been the most significant one, though, because you’ve spoken about the relationship break down more than you’ve spoken about the two kidney transplants more than you’ve spoken about the stroke. It seems like it’s the one that has made you more wise, more kind of educated and more understanding than the other conditions. Is that accurate?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 58:49

                              Yes you could say so. With the stroke that happening like you know, I kind of understood the physical nature of it. Right? So you kind of understand that now you kind of don’t know what to do. I was just thinking of it more logically. This is how we do about it tried to fix it. When it came to the emotional side it was more challenging.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 59:18

                              And they go hand in hand. As much as you need to try to compartmentalize they go hand in hand. And I’m sure my stroke, definitely affected situation. It didn’t make things easy and you know, the transplant and everything. Most people would be overwhelmed. And I get that so I have a feeling that affected that a lot.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 59:44

                              You know, she could have been overwhelmed, and my ex wife and I had a big age gap. We’re 15 years apart she’s much younger, so I’m sure this really affects her and it all went tied in together. So I felt both affected each other in a lot of sense.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:00:07

                              You know, relationships around stroke do break down a lot. And a lot of the time, it’s got to do with the person who hasn’t had a stroke the partner struggles to deal with their partner being unwell and not having the resources and not being equipped enough to support them through that.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:00:26

                              And that people take it personally I had a stroke, and then they left me. And I get it. That makes complete sense, right? What a time. But I see that when you can get over the initial challenge of I had a stroke, and she left me. And when you get over all of that the person who left you after you had a stroke probably did you a favor.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:00:50

                              Because if they’re not capable of supporting you through stroke, and if they’re going to be a burden to have around and make your life harder, better that they’re not around. You know, and as hard as that is, and it’s emotional, and it ruins a family and changes things. It’s such a bold move for somebody to make the decision to leave, because I’m not suggesting that everybody does, but it’s such a bold move, because they are probably going to make the stroke recovery worse by being around in a shitty relationship.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:01:32

                              Dealing with the pain now, going through the pain now, finishing it off, rather than dealing with a later.

                              The Hardest Thing About The Stroke For Ritesh Nandwani

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:01:38

                              Yes dragging it out and making it more painful for longer. Unbelievable story, man. That’s profound stuff that I heard from you today. Like, I really appreciate the fact that you shared that you’re so open. Tell me a little bit about what do you think the hardest thing about stroke was?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:02:03

                              I think every stroke was different. And there’s so many unknowns. Because, you know, I’ve spoken with people who had strokes and my family, like one of my cousin’s, he’s had a stroke. fully recovered. My aunt had a stroke in 2006. And until now, she can’t speak.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:02:23

                              So I’ve had these two people who I’m close with and I see one who’s completely normal one who’s not where do I fall in all this? Now I went through it. I was like, Okay, what happened? Like, even my cousin’s struggling, didn’t know. He had told me like, I met him probably two weeks after my stroke. And then he said, look at where I am today, and you can get back on your feet. So there was a lot of hope there.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:02:53

                              And I was like, Okay, now, it’s a broad spectrum. Every stroke is different. So where do I fall in this? And where do I go here?

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:03:03

                              So it’s like an identity crisis there? Was there?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:03:05

                              Yes. Yeah. And, you know, also during all this time, what I noticed a lot of people is the stroke defines you in a lot of cases. But it was COVID. That actually helped me with that. Have you helped me deal with that. Because like, so my word it’s, there’s a lot of meetings and like, before, I was traveling a lot, like within a month, I spent like maybe six days in Hong Kong, the rest of the time I’m traveling, so I’m always meeting people here and there. But in this case, with COVID.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:03:44

                              Everything was via zoom. I remember I did a one year I was working with a venture capital fund in the US. I finished I ended up finishing my MBA and everything. Nobody knew I had a stroke, I started my MBA in 2017, 2019 I graduated, other than my classmates, and my professor knew about it. Anyone else that I met online, no one knew what I was going through.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:04:15

                              So that kind of like, it didn’t define me as the guy who had a stroke or the guy can’t walk. It didn’t define me anymore. And I kept that with I didn’t tell anyone until things started opening when I met him to like you’re in a wheelchair I go yeah, they’re like what happened? We’ve been talking with you for a year we didn’t know. I’m like yeah.

                              Lessons From The Stroke Recovery Story

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:04:35

                              I like that. I like that because it didn’t become you know, Ritesh, the guy that had a stroke. It’s just Ritesh. Right? I love that. What has stroke taught you?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:04:46

                              So the stroke, never look at it as a wall that stops you. Look at it as a wall that shows you another path in life that where you’re supposed to go, that wall put down, maybe that’s not where you’re meant to go. It just shows you another direction, don’t look at it as a flat wall, look at it as wall that’s kind of curve or, you know, diagonal that’s pushing you in a direction where you should have gone more. And definitely learn to appreciate things a lot more. Go on a different direction. And there’s so many things that you value more now.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:05:41

                              The stroke has done that you, did two kidney transplants make you feel that way?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:05:48

                              The second one did a lot. The first one, the first one. So I was always the guy who had a lot of adventures that I wanted to go to I wanted to do, but never got around to doing it. I was always scared to do things alone. So after my first transplant, that’s when I started figuring out who I was. And the first thing I did actually, after my first transplant was I didn’t stick around with the same group of friends that I had.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:06:24

                              The group of friends that I had in Hong Kong at that time like they were the guys that most of them were married or getting married that time, some had kids, and with the guys I usually hang out with we’ve been going to the same place every weekend, get wasted and not do anything else. But I wanted to start meeting people started wanting to try new things. And they didn’t want to go.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:06:53

                              So I’m going to just go around, go to Hong Kong Island and just meet people. And I started meeting people that way. And the good thing in Hong Kong is when you go say hi to someone. Next thing you know, they’re your friend in the same night. And that’s what happened. And at first I didn’t believe that was possible. But it was it was so much easier even built my confidence in talking to people.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:07:19

                              So I was just going up to random people or like we’re talking to talking to something, we talk and started having fun. That’s where I met a lot of my close friends like my best friends in Dubai and another close friend in Australia so that that was during that period of time, where I started meeting people and I opened up not only that, and then I ended up traveling a lot more got to know myself even more.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:07:43

                              You’re visiting new places, whether you do it alone or with a friend or a random person, I opened up that that’s what the first transplant did. The second transplant, and stroke. It kind of gave me another phase in life where I appreciated not only the new people, but the people who were always there that I may have taken for granted.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:08:14

                              Alright, so that’s when I appreciated a lot more my cousins especially. And you get back to your roots at the same time. Like you can imagine I had left the Philippines in 2004 and he came back in 2022. So even like right now, I am living with my parents, although now I’ve started to travel for work again, and I spend 50% of my time in Dubai. But getting back to your roots meeting my old friends like everyone, just three weeks ago, I met a friend of mine from fifth grade. We bumped each other in a mall and we started talking in the past three weeks we hung out like maybe twice.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:08:59

                              I can relate to that. Connecting with your family and friends again and your roots. And yeah, I can relate to that I’ve gone through that similar thing where, you know, I just looked around and saw the people who have always been around and just let them know that I know that they’ve always been around and I appreciate them and I love them and that was really a good thing for me to do like it was also healing and it also made it

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:09:25

                              I think it was a good thing to do to let people know what I thought of them you know, because there was a chance I might not be around so it was good to tell them there’s gonna be stroke survivors who have just had a stroke or a few years into stroke or whatever listening to this, you know, what’s the one thing you want to leave them with? What do you want to tell them about the possibilities moving forward?

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:09:50

                              A stroke doesn’t end thinks it. It can give you a new life. Consider it as rebirth. Like, even before my stroke, even in my work, I was always doing something that I did enjoy. But I was always working for someone. It was only after stroke. And after going through all that mess, like you know, I decide now I’m gonna do what I really want to do.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:10:22

                              It is a struggle, yes, no doubt, but I feel happier. And I appreciate things a lot more now. So like, right now, you know, since stroke, now I have four businesses I’m running. And two of them actually are with my close friends when I was a kid. So we’re actually doing something that we all like. And at the same time, you know, we’re doing something that we appreciate we enjoyed, but it doesn’t feel like work.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:10:50

                              In order to things I’m beginning to. I mean, now I appreciate relationships, I appreciate even new friends that I’ve met through this whole process. I’m really appreciating that a lot more that, you know, I guess because like the world is so big, and we’re 8 billion people. A lot of times you think that it’s very difficult to make new friends.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:11:21

                              But if you’re willing to say hi, and throw yourself out there, it’s not as hard as it is. And that was the one thing that I always had difficulty with, like, going through all time was like shit, I feel alone. I don’t know who to call. But then sometimes you say hi to someone, and you just start talking.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:11:41

                              Eventually, in some cases, not all but some things you actually ended up meeting new friends that you guys have a logical relator. And you’d be surprised how many people don’t really look at your disabilities. A lot of people think, even me like I thought it would really define me. Right? But then, as I met so many people, it’s not like I even met a girl was like, I remember the first time I met her, she me with a cane and said come dance with me.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:12:11

                              And I’m like, can you see my cane? She goes, you know what? Relax I got it, she’s holding me by the hips. And we’re dancing. She even took the cane and put it away from me holding me by the hips and we’re dancing. And this is the first time I met this person. Like now she’s one of my closest friends. But I never thought that was possible.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:12:31

                              That you know, people don’t look at you with that. Yeah, that’s one thing. I think I have to say that the stroke will give you a new life, and you can’t let it define you.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:12:44

                              Beautiful mate. On that note, I really appreciate you joining me on the podcast and reaching out and sharing your story. Thank you so much.

                              Ritesh Nandwani 1:12:52

                              Thank you as well for giving me this chance.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:12:55

                              Thanks for joining us on today’s episode. If you’re interested in my book about stroke recovery, you can grab a copy on Amazon or by visiting recoveryafterstroke.com/book. To learn more about my guests, including links to their social media, and to download a full transcript of the entire interview head over to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes. A huge thank you to everyone who has already left the review it means the world to me.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:13:24

                              Reviews are crucial for podcasts to thrive, and your feedback helps others find this valuable content making their stroke recovery journey a little easier. If you haven’t left a review yet, please consider leaving a five-star review and a few words about what the show means to you on iTunes and Spotify. If you’re watching on YouTube, leave a comment below, like the episode and subscribe to the show on the platform of your choice.

                              Bill Gasiamis 1:13:54

                              If you are a stroke survivor with a story to share, and now is the perfect time to join me on the show that interviews are unscripted and you do not require any planning. Just be yourself and share your experiences to help others in similar situations. If you have a commercial product that supports stroke survivors in the recovery, you can join me on a sponsored episode of the show. Just visit recoveryafterstroke.com/contact, fill out the form with your category and I’ll get back to you with details on how we can connect via zoom. Thanks again for being here and listening. I truly appreciate you see you on the next episode.

                              Intro 1:14:34

                              Importantly, we present many podcast designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast or the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed. All content on this website and any linked blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for information purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.

                              Intro 1:15:04

                              The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                              Intro 1:15:29

                              Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor or your rehabilitation program based on our content if you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency or think you might be, call 000 if in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

                              Intro 1:15:53

                              Medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information in our content. We did not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content, you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with links we provide however third party links from our website followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                              The post Inspiring Stroke Survivor Story: Ritesh Nandwani’s Journey of Resilience and Recovery appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                              1 hr 17 min
                            • HeadBed: Preventing Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome – Catherine Randabel
                              Enhance Salon Comfort and Safety with HeadBed: Prevent Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome

                              The HeadBed device is an innovative head and neck support cushion designed for use with hair salon wash basins. It aims to provide enhanced comfort, safety, and hygiene for clients during hair-washing sessions.

                              Key Features:
                              1. Ergonomic Design: The HeadBed is specifically designed to support the head at the heaviest point, the occipital bone, which helps in reducing strain on the neck and back muscles. This ergonomic support allows clients to relax fully without discomfort​​ (HeadBed USA)​​ (HeadBed).
                              2. Universal Fit: It fits all standard backwash basins, including portable and home salon basins. The device comes with three height adapters (20mm, 25mm, and 30mm) to ensure it can be adjusted to fit various basin depths​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
                              3. Hygiene and Safety: Made from medical-grade silicone, the HeadBed is 100% hygienic, non-absorbent, and easy to clean between clients. It meets salon occupational health and safety requirements, reducing the risk of bacterial or viral transmission​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
                              4. Medical Endorsements: The HeadBed is recommended by physiotherapists, chiropractors, and remedial massage therapists for its ability to prevent neck injuries and alleviate discomfort during hair washing. It addresses issues like the “Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome,” a condition that can occur due to improper neck support during washing, leading to severe complications such as vertebral artery dissection and stroke​ (HeadBed)​​ (HeadBed).
                              5. Durability: The HeadBed is durable and resilient, with a five-year warranty. It is resistant to chemicals and non-hazardous, ensuring long-lasting use in various salon environments​ (HeadBed).
                                6. Benefits:
                                • Client Comfort: By providing proper head and neck support, the HeadBed significantly enhances the client’s comfort during treatments, allowing for a more enjoyable salon experience.
                                • Salon Efficiency: It helps maintain proper client positioning, preventing water from running down their necks and reducing the need for repositioning during treatments.
                                • Injury Prevention: Supports the head’s weight, minimizing strain on the client’s neck muscles and preventing potential injuries, including severe conditions like Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome.

                                  • The HeadBed is an essential investment for salons aiming to avoid beauty parlor stroke syndrome and improve client comfort and safety during hair-washing sessions. For more information or to purchase, you can visit the HeadBed official website.

                                  Headbed: How To Prevent Beauty Parlour Stroke Syndrome Full Interview

                                  HeadBed was invented to prevent damage to the neck and the blood vessels while at the hair salon wash basin.

                                  Highlights:

                                  00:00 Introduction

                                  05:35 The Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome
                                  15:21 Preventing Hair Salon Injuries With HeadBed
                                  26:31Ethical Business Practices In Hairdressing Industry
                                  35:46 Health And Safety In Hairdressing Salons Including HeadBed Use
                                  45:13 Improving hairdressing experience HeadBed

                                  Transcript:

                                  Introduction – HeadBed

                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:00

                                  Hello everybody. The production costs of today’s episode have been paid for by HeadBed. My guest today is Catherine Randabel. Catherine is the inventor of HeadBed, a Western Australian naturopath with a background in physical education, psychology and neuropathy.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:19

                                  She started her naturopathic practice in 1991 and has since built a successful practice blending various natural therapies including remedial massage. Catherine’s journey to inventing the HeadBed began when she observed that many of her clients experienced neck problems and headaches after visits to hair salons.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:41

                                  Noticing the discomfort and potential health risks associated with hyper extension of the neck during hair washing. She was inspired to find a solution. And also joining us midway through the interview is Sandy Chong, who is the CEO and a board director of the Australian Hairdressing Council. She has significantly influenced the hairdressing industry in Australia. Through her extensive experience and leadership with over 39 years of experience. As a salon owner of Suki hairdressing.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:16

                                  Sandy has been a prominent advocate for hairdressers, barbers, and educators across the nation. A prominent advocate for the HeadBed Sandy strongly supports the use of this innovative product in salons to enhance client comfort and safety. Sandy encourages hairdressers to adopt the HeadBed recognizing its importance in preventing neck injuries and promoting overall wellbeing for clients, including stroke survivors. Catherine Randabel, welcome to the podcast.

                                  Catherine Randabel 1:50

                                  Thank you, Bill, looking forward to talking to you.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:53

                                  Thanks for being here. I really appreciate it. Just give me a little bit of background before we get started and really dive in deep to this amazing product that you have. Tell me a little bit about your background, what have you done in your life? What kind of work have you been involved in?

                                  Catherine Randabel 2:14

                                  Right? Well, Bill after school, I went to university to do a degree in physical education, because I was fascinated with ergonomics, and biomechanics and the human body. So I thought I was going to become a physiotherapist or maybe an exercise physiologist.

                                  Catherine Randabel 2:32

                                  And so that was my university days. And I just went on a little bit more and more sports massage, and nearly became a physio but concentrated on natural therapies with an emphasis on ergonomics and remedial sports massage. So that’s my background, and I’ve been in private practice in Perth, Australia for since the early 90s.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 3:00

                                  And what kind of a practice?

                                  Catherine Randabel 3:03

                                  It’s basically called a natural therapy practice naturopath and I do a blend of nutrition, lifestyle, adjustments for better health, and including into that remedial massage and sports massage when clients come to me with, you know, muscular skeletal problems. And this is how the idea for my HeadBed neck protection device started because of one of my clients.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 3:34

                                  And since we’re talking about we might as well show. This looks like a croissant. It’s not a croissant. It wouldn’t be that tasty as a croissant would be. But we’ll talk about it in a minute like more so. So how do you go like, what happens? How is the process that your head goes through when you decide that as well as providing these services as a naturopath that you’re going to sort of find a way to support people going to a hairdresser. That’s pretty weird. That’s a bit strange that somebody would have that kind of a light bulb moment.

                                  Catherine Randabel 4:16

                                  Well, it really was a light bulb moment, one of my most delightful clients and friends Rose in 2010. She came to me after a week of tremendous neck pain and migraines. And she doesn’t normally have migraine. So she asked me, to see to a remedial massage. And upon questioning her, she said that it started after she had been at a hairdresser.

                                  Catherine Randabel 4:40

                                  Now Rose always was beautifully presented and coiffed and her job was dealing with public so she loved going to the hairdresser. But she hated the basin because she was so uncomfortable at the basin. And so with working with her I was questioning I said well was there something on the basin to help protect your neck or soften? And she said, well, I don’t know there was a little bit of a foam like a little foam cushion, but nothing really comfortable.

                                  The Beauty Parlor Stroke: Hairdressers Syndrome

                                  Catherine Randabel 5:12

                                  And after that she really had this nasty migraine. So, I went back to the medical journals, I started researching the Lancet medical journal journals in neurology, from America. And to my great shock and horror, I found out that they were reported cases of strokes. For ladies who had been at the hairdresser.

                                  Catherine Randabel 5:35

                                  In actual fact a New York doctor, a neurologist reported on five cases of strokes following sessions at the hair salon and they coined, they coined a term for it called Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome. So it’s a recognized medical issue that can happen at the salon.

                                  Catherine Randabel 5:56

                                  It’s a very rare but when I read that, back in 2010, the research not only in Europe in the UK, the Lancet medical journal very prestigious. In 1997, the Lancets reported on a 42 year old woman who had a massive stroke following the session at the hairdresser. So these instances were being recorded. So, to my way of thinking, I was always very practical person, I thought to myself, well, all you need to do is to support the weight of the human head. Now, do you know how much a human head weighs?

                                  Bill Gasiamis 6:40

                                  I think is about four kilos, very good.

                                  Catherine Randabel 6:44

                                  Imagine, if you take between four kilos for women and up to five kilos. For men, it is extremely heavy on the end of a flexible neck. So when the human head reclines backwards over the sharp edge, hard edge of a basin, there can be up to 20 kilos of pressure on the vertebrae and the neck muscles of the neck supporting the cantilevered weight.

                                  Catherine Randabel 7:14

                                  So I thought to myself, it’s a bit like a golf ball on a tee, you have a little tiny surface area, which we eventually was designed and research we built in a little surface area, a platform that when the human head reclines backwards, it rests, the back of the head will be supported by this little platform. So it takes all the weight off the neck muscles. And as you know, from the heart, the blood flow goes up the neck into the head and the brain.

                                  Catherine Randabel 7:49

                                  So little fine blood vessels go through some little holes in the neck vertebrae. And imagine just for illustration, if this little straw is there, if you just keep the head backwards, what happens with a lot of these vertebral artery, little blood vessels, they get kinked and in that kink, there can be little micro tears on the inside.

                                  Catherine Randabel 8:14

                                  And that can be the start of damage and it can be the start of little blood clots. So sometimes there was a lady in the UK, about three years ago, she went to the hairdresser felt unwell afterwards and it was three days later that she had a stroke.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 8:35

                                  I know of people have had a stroke, because they sneezed it caused the vertebral artery dissection, people who have had carotid artery and vertebral artery dissections because of collisions where their head was like a whiplash situation and the damage occurred on the day. But then the stroke occurred later on down the track, usually few weeks or a couple of months down the road.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 9:04

                                  And it’s not uncommon to hear about it and to interview people about it. And I never knew there was beauty parlor stroke syndrome. And that sounds very similar to a syndrome that is spoken about in the forestry industry, where lumberjacks as the Americans call them, look up all the time.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 9:29

                                  And it’s called lumberjack syndrome or something like that. And they cause damage to the blood vessels just because they simply have a lot of time looking up at trees falling down. So this is fascinating that we here we are now for the opposite reason that potentially putting people’s necks at risk.

                                  Catherine Randabel 9:51

                                  This is where I came from, it absolutely floored me because I didn’t realize that in the shampoo basin of most addressers, and hairdressers are the most caring people person, but they all know that their clients are usually uncomfortable. So some of them support with one hand while they’re doing the shampoo. Some of them put extra towels around the neck.

                                  Catherine Randabel 10:14

                                  But it’s not the neck that has to be softened up. It’s supporting the weight of the head. And when I realized that I started talking to some of the professional hairdressers here in Perth in my city, and they all admitted to me, they know is not a comfortable position.

                                  Catherine Randabel 10:33

                                  But women want to have beautiful hair, and they put up with the discomfort. But also who knows how many headaches, how many sore necks, how many sore shoulders, pins and needles down the arms can be a result of being at the shampoo basin, not necessarily the horrible situation of the stroke.

                                  Catherine Randabel 10:54

                                  Because the nerve endings can also get pinched in the neck by that position of the head, reclining backwards without support. So when I thought about all that Bill, I thought to myself, how come somebody hasn’t done anything about it? And then my friend said, well, you have an idea. So why don’t you follow up on it. Then that’s how it started in 2010.

                                  Catherine Randabel 11:22

                                  And we did two years of research. So discussing with, you know, the hairdressers here in Perth, and they told me what they wanted in a neck cushion because they all tend to have neck cushion. So we devised the soft, flexible silicone cover for the neck, which fits into the curve of the basin. But the inventive step was to organize the head platform that was attached to it.

                                  Catherine Randabel 11:49

                                  And also the three little wedges, which gives it adaptability to move up or down. If somebody’s got a very stiff neck. Exactly right, you can be a bit like Lego adapters, you can raise the head platform, or drop it depending depending on what the client needs the person at the shampoo basin needs. So once you have the head support there, you take 20 kilos of pressure off the neck.

                                  Catherine Randabel 12:16

                                  And so the hairdresser also is very relieved because they can do their job with peace of mind. They don’t hurt their own hands supporting the weight of the person’s head while they’re massaging it. And we’ve designed it so that there’s lot less water can get pass to the person’s neck is right against its medical grade silicone.

                                  Catherine Randabel 12:37

                                  That’s why it lasts. Some of my hairdressing clients have had their HeadBeds for nine years, once the buy one is highly sustainable product. It does not go to landfill. So we’re very proud of that we’ve chosen the best grade medical grade silicone because then it’s softness of the silicone just seals the neck and water doesn’t drip past into the person’s back.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 13:02

                                  Feels really good on the skin, it feels really good to touch. And feel like it’s very sort of like annoying sometimes you get some fabrics and some or leathers and some things that are annoying. So as a male, like I’ve got no idea about this stuff, because I very rarely get a head massage or a wash or anything like that maybe twice in my life.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 13:27

                                  And to be honest, I don’t think it was an amazing experience. But I forgotten about it. Because what I remember is you know how nice it was to have my hair washed and then not to have to worry about hair going all over the place and all that type of thing.

                                  Catherine Randabel 13:42

                                  It should be a beautiful experience, it should be a most relaxing, beautiful experience.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 13:47

                                  Yeah. So you’re saying that there was products, or there are still products, probably not the HeadBed, but other products that are similar to that that hairdressers have always tried to use to always try and make it more comfortable for their clients.

                                  Catherine Randabel 14:04

                                  Yep, the thing, the inventive step, there was nobody and this is what a hairdresser said to me at one of the trade shows I went to just how come one of us didn’t think of that. But that’s because I’ve got the sort of more anatomy and physiology and the health background. Which it became so evident to me that all you needed to do was support the weight of the head.

                                  Catherine Randabel 14:27

                                  What they were trying to do was just put a bit of cushioning around the neck. But the problem is the weight of the head hanging backwards is what was the terrible pressures on the blood vessels, the nerves and the whole structure of the neck. So once I got that incorporation of the head platform into it and I was helped by beautiful hairdressers here in Perth and also a wonderful product design engineer Mr. Cliff Green.

                                  Catherine Randabel 14:55

                                  He just nailed what we were trying to achieve in getting the minimal flat surface under the head of the client. So the hairdresser can do their job, easily 95% of the head is free for shampoo and little tiny surface area, taking all the pressure off the neck because the weight of the head is supported.

                                  Preventing Hairdressers Syndrome With HeadBed

                                  So the thing about it is you’re your preventative person, right? You’re all about, let’s fix what’s wrong. But also let’s prevent things from happening. Hairdressers are about fixing hair they don’t see injuries everyday, they don’t see people who are trying to fix things. They just see people who want a hair cut and want colors or whatever they want.

                                  Catherine Randabel 15:47

                                  Correct so they are trained to look at that side of things. And I’d say 99.9 of women up then some men absolutely love having the salon experience. But from my point of view, it has to be a safe experience as well. And when you have a HeadBed on the basin and it becomes comfortable, and once it’s comfortable, it’s safe, and it’s enjoyable.

                                  Catherine Randabel 16:11

                                  And often some hairdressers have said to me, it benefits their business because people refer their friends back to their salon. But also they can offer more services. They can offer eyebrow tinting, do eyelashes and waxing and all sorts of extra services with the person comfortably reclining in the shampoo basin. Before that, they’d go no, no, no, no enough, enough, I’m uncomfortable I’m getting out of there.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 16:39

                                  So there’s also in the uncomfortable position, that’d be a time limit as well.

                                  Catherine Randabel 16:45

                                  That’s why they just want to get out of there as quickly as possible. You saying with men, more and more men now go to barbers. And in actual fact, in 2016, a 42 year old young man had a stroke from being at a barber. So it was reported, again in the media over there. And it was a massive, you know, they sued the salon for hundreds of 1000s of pounds.

                                  Catherine Randabel 17:11

                                  So not only is traumatic to have the injury, I mean, it as you know yourself and all your listeners know it’s a life changing injury to have a stroke, but the trauma and the rehabilitation, and then you have medical bills for many years following so all that’s you know, if you can prevent all that right at the start to do not let the human head hang backwards into a basin without head support.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 17:46

                                  So who buys this? Do only hairdressers buy or can I buy it? For example, I go to your website or to your supplier, whoever. And if I want to take a preventative step as a stroke survivor, because I’ve already had brain injury, I don’t want another one. And I wanted to just get my own because say my hairdresser didn’t know about it or did or didn’t buy one or doesn’t have it? Would I be able to buy one from you and bring that to my hairdressers appointment?

                                  Catherine Randabel 18:18

                                  Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I’ve had many, many of my own clients from my practice, say fantastic. Catherine will buy our own and any salon we go to especially some people who travel a lot or people caravanning around Australia or the States or Europe, they bring their own HeadBed with them. And make sure you have your three little adapters with you.

                                  Catherine Randabel 18:40

                                  And just explain to the salon owners it please if you put that on your basin then my head can be supported and I am safe. So yep, you can get one through the website. I also have some wonderful distributors. In Australia. There’s a great organization called Sustainable Salons and their members and they support products that are not throwaway and they recycle human hair and foils and plastic bottles.

                                  Catherine Randabel 19:09

                                  So it’s a big organization of hairdressing salon members in Australia Sustainable Salons and Sandy is a great supporter of their work. So they sell my HeadBed I’ve got a distributor in Queensland in Brisbane, but in Europe is probably the biggest distributor that we are very lucky to have a French company called Cindarella. So you just look up our website and on there, there will be the list of all the distributors we have.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 19:45

                                  You mentioned Sandy, Sandy is the CEO of?

                                  Catherine Randabel 19:48

                                  Sorry, yes, Sandy Chong is the CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 19:55

                                  And we’re going to be talking to her in a little while we’re going to get a little bit of feedback from previously a person who was a hairdresser for many, many years, and now has moved into this particular role. And we’ll get some information from Sandy as well. So what you’re saying is that a lot of people buy this, put it in their luggage and travel with it, because they can just go to one of the websites and pick up one, what do they cost?

                                  Intro 20:25

                                  If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like how long will it take to recover? Will I actually recover? What things should I avoid in case I make matters worse, and doctors will explain things that obviously, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask.

                                  Intro 20:49

                                  If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation. Stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called seven questions to ask your doctor about your stroke.

                                  Intro 21:09

                                  These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website. Now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                                  Catherine Randabel 21:28

                                  Well, in Australia, there are about $98 plus the postage within America is just adapted. We have an agent in America so you can buy it off the website over there. Lynn Sheffield will help. But at the moment 90% of our clients are salon owners, so they buy it for their salons but definitely we have about 10% of people are just ordinary individuals who would like to have this as a safety device that they can carry with them and present it to the salon they go to and just explain a little bit.

                                  Catherine Randabel 22:01

                                  The hairdresser can look online at the video because it will fit 95% of basins some basins are a little bit different in their shape. But that’s why we made the HeadBed with such flexible silicone. It’s very, very adaptable. It’s very soft and it will bend and but the thing that is not sort of bendy is that firm head support. But the rest of it will it will adapt to most curves of the neck over any basin in the salon and shampoo basin.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 22:35

                                  So the American distributor do they sell direct to public? Or can public just buy it from a different location? Where do they have to buy it from?

                                  Catherine Randabel 22:48

                                  Well, she will post it up to anybody who goes on the Headbedusa.com website and you can order online. I’m working with a gentleman in Los Angeles who is looking at becoming a distributor. So we’re just trying to, you know, find more ways of letting people know that there is a safety device there that should be on just about every shampoo basin around you know, around the world because you want to avoid the potential for an injury.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 23:22

                                  Is a $100 expensive for a hairdressing salon to put on their little basins?

                                  Catherine Randabel 23:29

                                  Not at all. I mean a pair of good scissors hairdressing scissors is several hundreds of dollars. A shampoo basin is several 1000s of dollars. And another thing that I’ve been so proud of is often a hairdresser will say to me, we knew our basins were uncomfortable. So we were thinking of replacing the basins 1000s of dollars, she said, but when we put our HeadBed on the uncomfortable basin, the clients became super comfy and asked Oh, did you change your basins?

                                  Speaker 1 24:01

                                  Because they haven’t worked out where the difference is, is but they realize that they are suddenly more comfortable. So for a small investment of I think in Europe, it’s about 150 euros or so for the HeadBed. And our distributor sells it with their new basins because it’s part of the package because they know it makes their Cindarella basins much more attractive to buy because of the comfort that the HeadBed being on it provides.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 24:37

                                  So you have a partnership with a manufacturer of a basin and that’s the perfect marriage, isn’t it? That’s the most ideal situation. But then for people who have already had their basins installed, it’s no big deal because then they can just get something and implement that compared to the cost of scissors like next to nothing.

                                  Catherine Randabel 25:01

                                  That’s right. Not even $200 I mean scissors and then all the, you know, the hair dryers equipment and Salon furniture, it’s very expensive. Whereas this is not an expensive solution to, first of all, making the basin safe and comfortable. And then from there, as I say, very often, the hairdresser reports that they can actually have more business because their clients are so comfortable, they accept to have more services done at the basin and not realizing that, you know, well could fall asleep here.

                                  Catherine Randabel 25:37

                                  Whereas before, all they wanted is please shampoo, rinse my hair, and let me get out of there and carry on with the cut and the blow dry and but the shampoo experience itself should be as you said yourself, it’s such a wonderful feeling to have a head massage, and this should be very relaxing. And it should be safe. That’s where I come from the safety, health and safety point of view.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 26:02

                                  Yeah, I love it. We’re going to pause for a moment. And we’re going to bring Sandy on and we’re going to have a conversation with Sandy. And then you and I we’re going to continue the conversation after we’ve spoken to Sandy. So let’s pause for a moment. And let’s bring Sandy on Sandy Chong welcome to the podcast.

                                  Sandy Chong 26:18

                                  Thank you. Hi, everyone.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 26:22

                                  Thank you so much for being here. Really appreciate it. Can you start by giving us a little bit of a background to what you used to do in the past and what you do now?

                                  Ethical Business Practices In Hairdressing Industry

                                  Sandy Chong 26:31

                                  Okay, so I am a hairdresser. And I also did own my own salon for 38, 39 years. And but I don’t do that anymore. I’ve sold that I am the CEO of the Australian Hairdressing Council. And I’ve been that since 2012 I think. So my role is actually representing the hairdressing industry when it comes to lobbying and advocacy work. But more than anything, we do, I guess, advise and nurture our small businesses.

                                  Sandy Chong 27:05

                                  We recognize ethical business practices within the hairdressing industry. And I think that’s why and how we actually came across, you know, Catherine and her product, because of what her product does when it comes to taking good care of our clients, and having the best interests of our clients health and well being while they’re in our salons and definitely at the basins. And so that’s how we came across Catherine in Oh, 10 years ago. That would be because Catherine comes under, you know, definitely ethical business practices, which is something that we recognize in our industry.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 27:42

                                  It’s really interesting to say that you guys practice ethical business practices in hairdressing because I, you can see I have a number one, and I’m not sure. Like what level of ethics you need to uphold to be able to do a number one and I never connected my hairdressing experience with that. How is it that that came to be why is that a thing?

                                  Sandy Chong 28:07

                                  Well the thing is with the AHC ethical business standards come under an accreditation process when it comes to our businesses. So there are certain standards that we accredit them on or recognize them on. So management operations is one client services presentation, for instance, which is what this would come under, because OH&S, this comes under as well work health and safety. And then there’s marketing, employment practices.

                                  Sandy Chong 28:36

                                  And then we’re also very big on sustainable practices. So we have salons who’ve reached their accreditation, because in gold or silver salons, and it’s our way of recognizing that they go above and beyond when it comes to business, and taking care of their clients as well as their staff.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 28:56

                                  I like that. So that occupational health and safety stuff kind of trickles into the care and safety of the customer.

                                  Sandy Chong 29:07

                                  Absolutely, as well as our employees, we want to make sure that we’re taking good care of them.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 29:13

                                  I never considered that there was a possibility that somebody could get injured at a salon maybe because I only ever get to number one, I can’t ever really get cut or snipped or anything. But I imagine there are some possibilities for some serious injuries if people aren’t careful.

                                  Sandy Chong 29:30

                                  What I think there’s possibility for injuries in any trade if someone’s not careful, but be mindful that yes, you do have a clipper cut. However, we use chemical then we also use sharp objects as well. And there’s also the mental health side of that and our physical health. So to be a hairdresser, well then you need to be physically healthy as well. When it comes to mental health.

                                  Sandy Chong 29:55

                                  There’s quite a bit that you’ll hear in the media about being an accidental counsellor. So sometimes, you know, lots of clients will dump all their stuff on us, we need to make sure that our mental health is resilient. And that we do have well that we mentally well, so that we can definitely handle, I guess any situation with any client who might be telling us their issues, their problems, etc. At the end of the day, you know, we feel that our hairdressers deserve the respect from consumers or customers. But on the other hand, we also want to make sure that we are 100% Taking care of the well being of our customers as well.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 30:40

                                  And that brings us to this little beauty here. So I’ve had the pleasure, Sandy, of sitting in a hairdressers salon and having my hair washed just probably once or twice in my life because I went to get a haircut and I couldn’t be bothered going home and having a shower, that kind of situation.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 31:02

                                  And they washed my hair, it was a real treat, it was a bit of a massage, it was warm, and I walked out and I never had hair all over the place that was scratching my back and all that type of stuff. And it was quite an uncomfortable experience. But I’ve got to say that before my stroke, I never considered that there was a possibility that somebody might go to a hairdressing salon and potentially damage a carotid artery or vertebral artery, simply because of the position that their head was in.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 31:34

                                  I don’t believe that the design of the basins are specifically going to cause that issue, I feel like there may often be an underlying issue that people aren’t aware of the kind of just gets exacerbated. And I say that, because I’ve met people who have done damage to a carotid or vertebral artery by sneezing others by driving a car and being in a minor collision and having, you know, that whiplash movement.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 32:05

                                  So I don’t see that the basin is going to be like a risky place to be. But it has been known to cause a couple of issues for some people. And there’s some evidence to suggest that more should be done to support that. In your time in your time as a hairdresser. And now in your time as CEO, have you seen any of those injuries?

                                  Sandy Chong 32:30

                                  I don’t think that I have really seen those injuries, okay. But in my own career as in my own salon, but one thing I will say is that I think that it can contribute definitely to an injury. And in my career, where I had my hair shampooed all the time. And a shampoo experience a basin experience is meant to be quite luxurious, and you know, most of the time, and it should be it should be where you lie down, it’s your time out, it’s your escape from reality, you’ve got someone who’s giving you a lovely head massage.

                                  Sandy Chong 33:06

                                  In our case, we used to actually get trained our hairdressers are trained by Kinesiologist, we would do the ears the neck and everything. So she actually showed us the correct way to massage a neck. Now I have had my hair shampooed as well and had a really bad experience with someone presses the head down. And if they’re at the wrong angle, it’s incredibly painful, like really painful.

                                  Sandy Chong 33:33

                                  And you can have a painful neck, you know, for the rest of the week or even longer. And you need to see a physio like Catherine, or an osteo, etc. I think the one thing that I should say is that as the client, make sure you’re comfortable, make sure you do wiggle around if the if the basin is too high, too low, make sure you’re comfortable. Now a good salon really spends well on their basins, on their basins area.

                                  Sandy Chong 34:01

                                  And so, you know, make sure you’re comfortable, make sure that you have got padding underneath your neck. In our case, as I said, we use HeadBed for the last 10 years. And I totally and absolutely swear by it because of the fact that it was designed by a physio then what better product to put in your basin scenario. But I think from a consumers point of view, a client’s point of view, one, be comfortable, don’t lie there and and think this is really uncomfortable. Tell them and from a hairdressers point of view.

                                  Sandy Chong 34:33

                                  They really need to be aware that there are better techniques and massaging and making sure that the pressure is not on the neck and they’re not pushing down on the head, but they’re massaging up and taking that weight away from the neck. So I’ve I’ve actually experienced some of the most luxurious oh my God amazing, you know, I just want to purr if I could do that, and if I knew how to purr.

                                  Sandy Chong 34:56

                                  I would do that. When I have a beautiful basin experience. But then again, I’ve also had a painful one, which my concern is, it would lead to exactly what you’re saying, a stroke, or it could, it could almost certainly affect the neck and your neck health leading to a stroke. After the event is well, after the experience.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 35:24

                                  You hear, sometimes chiropractors get a big, hard rap because they do neck adjustments. And people then report that they’ve had a stroke, and they blame it on it on the chiropractor. So whatever the situation there is, I can’t imagine it’s a good experience, either for the person providing the service. And then for the person experiencing like a neck trauma or a stroke.

                                  Health And Safety In Hairdressing Salons Including HeadBed Use

                                  Bill Gasiamis 35:46

                                  That’s the last thing that any hairdresser would want to generate or create or be responsible for creating to one of their patients. So what happens when somebody comes to you and says, I’ve got a product, there’s a possibility that this is going to make your customers experience better. Were you running these products, the HeadBed, while you were a hairdresser, in your salons?

                                  Sandy Chong 36:11

                                  So as soon as HeadBed was released, we embraced it immediately. And I think because I saw the value, like I saw the value in protecting our clients necks. And, you know, I think that any salon every salon, as long as the HeadBed will accommodate the shape of their basin. And I My understanding is it does for most of the most of the basins that are out there. I really do believe that every single salon should have this in place. And it’s purely comes down to work health and safety as well.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 36:45

                                  Yeah. What are the implications if somebody does get injured now, maybe not from the HeadBed, but from another situation? What happens? How do you manage that? As a hairdresser, and as the Council that supports hairdressers? What’s the path that people need to go down to get some kind of a resolution or an outcome.

                                  Sandy Chong 37:06

                                  If, we’ve got a client who had damage on their neck and it came in from a basin experience, then I think it’s part of our duty of care to do the absolute best that we can to see how we can assist and help in any way. Obviously, the first thing is to go and seek medical help. And I think that it’s in the best interest of the client, and also the hairdresser to keep in touch and not just go see you later, you know, none of us really want to do that. If we were accountable responsible for giving any client pain, we would want to just make sure that everything was okay.

                                  Sandy Chong 37:46

                                  And they were okay, after the visit, I think that it would not be you know, it would lack integrity. If you just sort of say goodbye, see you later and or the very best good luck. But we would hope that the client would also make sure that the salon is well informed. Now every salon should have work health and safety procedures and policies in place. Is it? You know, is it necessary to have something around the basin in your work health and safety? I think part of that is making sure that your client is comfortable that you do have a good massage technique in place and that you’re very aware of any client who is uncomfortable.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 38:32

                                  Yeah, I suppose it’s just really making sure that the staff understand that everybody’s neck is different, that people’s necks are different that people have a different experience. And that different sizes, shapes, heights, length, necks all change the way the client might feel when they’re getting their head washed, or a treatment put through it.

                                  Sandy Chong 38:59

                                  All different shapes and look at as a business owner. You know, we know what we want, we want the absolute best for every single person that walks in the door. I think where it does come undone, though, is making sure that every employee is well educated around that, and that they are always attentive when they are providing the service and that they’re not you know, they’re not unaware as like when you’re aware of something, you’re aware that you’re aware that you’re always aware of just you know, watching the body language watching for someone who screws their face up and they might be feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

                                  Sandy Chong 39:41

                                  So it’s important that they give 100% attention to that client who is in the basin. Look for anyone who is uncomfortable. I think that every business owner is very committed. Our challenge, of course is making sure that every employee has that commitment that understanding that training that education, and also that awareness with every single client that they take care of, as well.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 40:09

                                  hairdressers have public liability insurance, I imagined that this would be a sight for sore eyes for the insurer, if they were able to see that the hairdresser has gone and implemented something to minimize the risk of injury. As far as the cost is concerned, is it a, like, how good is it to be able to spend 100 bucks or there abouts to create such a massive improvement in the safety of your clients?

                                  Sandy Chong 40:41

                                  Well, prior to HeadBed, we would use these other foam products, and they disintegrate and crack in no time. And so with HeadBed, you just have it for years. I mean, it’s like almost a single investment and you have them forever. In fact, Catherine could correct me I think in 10 years, we might have reordered once, which is probably really bad, repeat business not very productive, you need to make them disintegrate or something you know a little bit sooner.

                                  Sandy Chong 41:11

                                  So it’s not great for repeat business. However, you know, if there’s 12 and a half 1000, salons in Australia, there’s a few more than that, that actually did have HeadBed, or then that would be a really great solution. On top of that 70% of our industry, you know, over 20,000 are single operators, their sole traders, they could be working from home, or they might be working in a hybrid salon.

                                  Sandy Chong 41:34

                                  And when you look at the amount of hairdressers that are out there, if they really considered putting HeadBed in then you know, potentially, you know, you will be looking at 20,000 of them out there in the industry. Most salons have between three and five basins some have two lots of five basins.

                                  Sandy Chong 41:53

                                  And, really HeadBed should be in every one of them because it is part of a work health and safety strategy and policy and procedure. And, you know, for the safety again, and also for your duty of care. I think it’s something that should be seriously considered by every hairdresser in every salon in Australia and including the barbers as well.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 42:17

                                  Yeah, the barbers they’re starting to really take off in big numbers. Now you see barbers everywhere. I was wondering like, how would it go if a client turned up with a HeadBed and went to their salon with it? Like if I bought one, and went to my salon and said, before you wash my hair? Can you please put this on the basin? And how do you think that will go down?

                                  Sandy Chong 42:42

                                  I think any hairdresser would accommodate just make sure that it actually fits their basin though who might need to go in prior to that, okay, and just check that it does check because basins are sort of sometimes they can be strange shapes. And in fact, the one that I find the most difficult has a very wide neck shape. So it’s very difficult to not wet the neck and wet the clothes or whatever. And so you need to really make sure that the HeadBed does fit the basin. But I don’t think any hairdresser would not accommodate that kind of request. In fact, it’s probably not advisable for them to not accommodate, because if something did go wrong, then they’re certainly liable.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 43:31

                                  Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. And you know that you’ve got lots of stuff to do. So, at this point, we’ll let you go back to your day.

                                  Sandy Chong 43:42

                                  Thank you. Thank you for having me. And I just want to say I hope that you’re well now and also congratulations, Catherine on you know, designing such a brilliant idea for the hairdressing industry and also our consumers. It’s really important. So congratulations, and thanks again. All

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:00

                                  Alright, Catherine. So that was an amazing conversation with Sandy.

                                  Catherine Randabel 44:05

                                  It really was and I am just so so grateful for the Australian Hairdressing Council, most of their members are well equipped now, we all have their HeadBeds in their salon. But like Sandy was saying, there’s many many salons out there. And home salons, people work from home. And the more they know about the BeadBed, the more they can certainly invest in being properly equipped for the basins.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:29

                                  I don’t often think about occupational health and safety when I go to a hairdresser and that’s the interesting part of the conversation that we had is that, you know, there’s a duty of care. People at the hairdressing salons are thinking of things that I wasn’t ever aware of that I’m not thinking of when I go to a hairdresser just always thinking about is there an appointment.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:50

                                  Do I have to make an appointment can I just come and sit down or what the deal is and then I want to get my hair cut and then I want to get out of there. Most of the time. I want to get out of there because I want to go home wash my hair and get rid of all the junk out of my hair. And I very rarely, like I said to Sandy I very rarely sort of said, can you please wash my hair for me because I don’t know, it’s just something I don’t do.

                                  Improving hairdressing experience HeadBed and avoiding Hairdressers Syndrome

                                  Bill Gasiamis 45:13

                                  And I don’t think it was an uncomfortable experience, the times that I did have my hair washed, but I am pretty certain it wasn’t fun. Like, I don’t think I could have sat there for ages and enjoyed that experience, and especially what you said earlier in our conversation with the fact that the head becomes four times heavier in that bent back position. That’s pretty crazy. And now that I’ve had a brain injury, I don’t want to have any more.

                                  Catherine Randabel 45:51

                                  When you think about it, you got to number one hair cut most women that much longer hair than that. And they spend a lot longer at the basin, except that there’s different colors that are put through the hair. So it’s there’s foils, there’s different colors, there’s rinsing several times, there’s shampooing several times. So it takes it takes a long time being in that head back bent back position, at the basin with all the pressure against the back of the neck, with all the muscles of the neck holding on for dear life.

                                  Catherine Randabel 46:23

                                  And very often ladies that to like slide down the chair to try and straighten up their neck and their head because it gets uncomfortable, and the hairdresser can’t do their job properly, then they go Come back, come back into the basin, put your head back. And so it’s that constant issue of good body alignment. Because most hairdressers chairs and basins and adapt, they tilt a bit and the chair can go up a little bit. But it was still not enough, because the head was just hanging back into the basin.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 46:56

                                  Most of the chairs that I’ve seen in front of basins are pretty dodgy chairs, you know, they’re just the, the chair that they got from down the road or the one that’s been left over from wherever and it was never adjustable. It’s always just slid in front of the sink. And then you hope for the best you hope to sort of it fits one one size fits all and you hope that you’re going to be able to get your head in there.

                                  Catherine Randabel 47:18

                                  More and more like Sandy was saying good salons have got a proper basin and chair setup. So it’s all electric, and it’s reclines and all sorts. So most salons are aiming towards that because they know clients have to be comfortable at the basin. So now for just a few $100 A tiny little safety device can completely change the experience and make their clients super comfortable.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 47:44

                                  Yeah, so it’s totally legitimate when my wife was going to the hairdresser. And I look at my clock, you know, three hours later, where is she? So it’s all legitimate because all those steps they take time washing etc.

                                  Catherine Randabel 48:02

                                  Only know it’s a quite an involved process. And hairdressers are very, very proud of their trade and very caring people. And once their client gets in the basins, they know, it’s not usually a quite a comfortable place. And most of them try and take great care. But now with a HeadBed on their basin, it should make their life so much easier as well. So it’s a win win for all.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 48:26

                                  It’s a win win, win win win win win. Can you tell me now where would somebody go and have a look at the product online? Where would they be able to buy it from? We will talk about that right now. But for anyone watching and listening, we are going to have all those things in the show notes and in the YouTube description.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 48:44

                                  So if somebody is very keen to have a look and to buy a product and take it to the hairdresser, etc, you’ll be able to find that easily through the show notes and also through the YouTube description. But just for the record, Catherine, where would people go?

                                  Catherine Randabel 49:02

                                  The easiest one is headbed.com.au because we’re an Australian company, and then on there and our Facebook page HeadBed the Facebook page, they will have all the information needed to contact our various distributors or even buy online directly or even contact me email me I am so happy to talk and discuss and explain was great pleasure.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 49:34

                                  We’re going to have all of the contact details in the show notes or the email address. I won’t put that in the show notes. But if somebody reaches out directly to me through recoveryafterstroke.com/contact or asks for it on the YouTube comments. What I’ll do is I will pass on Catherine’s email address just so that we can keep it offline and so that we don’t get spam coming through to you for all sorts of weird things.

                                  Catherine Randabel 50:08

                                  Also on our website, and Facebook they will have my contact details as well.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 50:11

                                  Even better, even better all right, fantastic. Well, Catherine, thank you so much for reaching out, I really appreciate it for sharing your product for sending me one, my wife is going to get one now. And I’m going to sort of try and convince her to take it to the salon, from a comfort perspective, more than anything.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 50:33

                                  Because I think that if she did take that to the salon, from a comfort perspective, that her hairdresser would implement that, before I go, I just realized I’ve got these wedges here that we picked up a couple of times, like, so what’s the point of this? What am I supposed to do with this wedge?

                                  Catherine Randabel 50:52

                                  The wedge fits into the head platform, like a little lego block. And it is designed to make sure that it braces against the inside of the basin. So if my hand is the basin, the little wedge braces against the inside of the basin and the weight of the head there is supported properly.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 51:16

                                  And this is where the head rests?

                                  Catherine Randabel 51:20

                                  Tthe head rests on that little platform here, and the wedge sits inside the basin. That’s right, exactly right. And the little suction cup stick underneath the basin. So the HeadBed doesn’t move on the neck curve. And there’s three levels, three heights of adapters.

                                  Catherine Randabel 51:39

                                  So if a person wants the head further back, they can just quickly put their finger underneath and pull out the little adapter wedge and put a smaller one in, just like so. And it just takes 10 seconds to do and the hairdresser can carry on with their job. So they are designed with great care and attention to the needs of the hairdresser. But more so the needs of the client having their hair washed.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:05

                                  How much does it weigh, because people will travel with this right? But 400 grams, okay, so it doesn’t add too much to the weight of your carry-on. 380

                                  Catherine Randabel 52:16

                                  To 400 grams, not even half a kilo. Yep.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:20

                                  Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much. This is just the kind of thing that I think stroke survivors would love to find out about, I really appreciate your time and good luck with the with the product and with the new distributors that you have in the United States.

                                  Catherine Randabel 52:38

                                  Indeed, we’re looking forward to growing and making sure that most salon basins are well-equipped.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:45

                                  Well thank you for tuning in to today’s episode where we explored the benefits of HeadBed. An innovative head and neck support cushion designed to enhance salon comfort and prevent neck injuries.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:58

                                  Whether you’re a salon professional or someone looking to improve your hair-washing experience. The HeadBed is a game changer in providing ergonomic support and ensuring safety during treatments.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 53:10

                                  For more information on how the HeadBed can revolutionize your salon experience and where you can purchase your own visit Headbed’s official website. All the links will be available a recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes and in the show notes.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 53:27

                                  Stay up to date with the latest news and benefits by following HeadBed on their social media channels. And remember taking care of your neck and ensuring comfort during salon visits is crucial.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 53:39

                                  With the HeadBed you can relax and enjoy your treatments without worrying about discomfort or injury. Thanks again for listening, and we hope you found this information helpful.

                                  Intro 53:49

                                  Importantly, we present many podcast designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

                                  Intro 54:07

                                  All content on this website at any length blog, podcast or video material controlled this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.

                                  Intro 54:19

                                  The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances or health objectives.

                                  Intro 54:35

                                  Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or is a substitute for the advice of a health professional. Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional your doctor or your rehabilitation program based on our content.

                                  Intro 54:51

                                  If you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency, or think you might be, call 000 if in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

                                  Intro 55:08

                                  Medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information and our content, we did not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content, you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with the links we provide however, third-party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                                  The post HeadBed: Preventing Beauty Parlor Stroke Syndrome – Catherine Randabel appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                  57 min
                                • Ischemic Stroke Recovery Story – Shane Duffiney

                                  Shane Duffiney was in a car crash that damaged the blood vessels in his neck causing an ischemic stroke at 42 years of age.

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                                  Highlights:

                                  00:00 Introduction

                                  01:25 Stroke after whiplash injury
                                  08:26 Misdiagnosis of stroke and TPA shot
                                  19:35 Managing stroke recovery with a slow and steady approach
                                  27:29 Post-Stroke Deficits
                                  33:18 Personal growth and overcoming emotional issues
                                  45:23 Healing journey after stroke and writing a book
                                  55:04 Improving the quality of life for people with neurological conditions
                                  1:19:30 The hardest thing about the stroke
                                  1:24:25 Lessons from the stroke
                                  1:26:20 A message for other stroke survivors

                                  Transcript:

                                  Introduction – Shane Duffiney


                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:00
                                  Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Recovery after Stroke podcast. My guest today is Shane Duffiney, who contacted me initially to thank me for the podcast and tell me how it has helped him navigate recovery after he experienced an ischemic stroke at age 42.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:19

                                  His stroke was caused by damage sustained to one of his blood vessels in his neck several months after being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Today, he joins me to share his stroke recovery story. Now just before we dive into the interview, I’d like to take a moment to mention my book The Unexpected Way, That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 0:38

                                  10 tools for recovery and personal transformation. It’s a collection of inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors, showcasing their incredible journey from adversity to personal growth, covering everything from nutrition, and exercise to handling the emotional challenges. This book is a beacon of hope for those on the road to recovery. For more information, you can check out recoveryafterstroke.com/book or simply search by name Bill Gasiamis on Amazon, and now it’s on with the show. Shane Duffiney, welcome to the podcast.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:15

                                  Hey, thank you, Bill, I appreciate it. It’s good to be here.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:19

                                  It is really good to have you here. Thank you. Tell me a little bit about what happened to you, Shane.

                                  Stroke after a whiplash injury

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:25

                                  Ah, you know, the short version, I’m at a relatively young age of I think I was like 42 At the time I had a stroke happen. It was caused initially it was caused by a car wreck, somebody decided they didn’t want to pay attention on the highway and ran into my car and I guess the the whiplash from the wreck caused some internal arterial damage. It went undiscovered and in my understanding without using big medical words, arteries started building up a scab.

                                  Shane Duffiney 2:11

                                  Five months later, the scab broke free and got stuck as it was flowing through, went up through my brain, and then came back down and got stuck on the way back down. And that’s as pretty far as my medical knowledge goes about strokes at the time. And so it’s a little bit better now. And so I had a complete ischemic stroke. I was just driving me some friends at seven o’clock at night. And the world fell out from underneath me.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 2:49

                                  Was there anyone injured after the collision?

                                  Shane Duffiney 2:55

                                  No, we all walked away and nobody was injured. I was driving a big old truck and I don’t know what kind of car he was driving because we couldn’t tell I couldn’t tell what it was his car was totaled. So safety gear works great for theirs I know I have my seatbelt on. It’s just something that happens actually, according to the doctors that happens. Like the damage from the whiplash happens to a small percentage of people.

                                  Shane Duffiney 3:23

                                  Specifically, a small percentage of people have their arteries flowing through the spine. But at one point for a small percentage of people, the artery pops out from the spinal column, it was like this little loop and it goes back down. You probably know all about this.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 3:42

                                  Not about that one specifically.

                                  Shane Duffiney 3:44

                                  Right. And so for those that small percentage of people that have that very minor genetic defect where the artery comes out, it loops around the spine and goes back into the spine and so if your neck is pushed just far enough, just quickly enough instead of like when the spine is like starting to pinch on that artery now since it’s outside of the spinal column.

                                  Shane Duffiney 4:13

                                  Normally it would just slightly push it out of the way the artery either way, but it does it too quickly, it’ll pinch hard enough that it will cut the artery wall the internal wall because there are layers of the wall it will cut the internal layer of the wall and that’s where the whole dividing us into self-repair mode and builds up a scab and tries to repair that. In my case, it didn’t repair itself but it did break free and get stuck and that turned into a stroke for me.

                                  Shane Duffiney 4:52

                                  And yeah, I was 42 years old, had had no cholesterol problems, and had no high blood pressure, which was shocking to the doctors when I walked in, and somehow I walked into the hospital because I was like, I think I’m dying. And there happened to be an emergency room, three minutes down the road, and it was like, okay, I can wait 45 minutes for the ambulance or I can see if I can make it three minutes down the road.

                                  Shane Duffiney 5:18

                                  And the doctors were like, you can’t be having a stroke, you have no your foot, you’re not old enough, I mean, you’re kind of fat but you have no cholesterol, like zero cholesterol, they tested me three times. And you have no high blood pressure. And it was the nurse, the nurse was like he is having a stroke, we need to put him in the MRI machine. And she insisted on it. She saved my life.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 5:52

                                  How long was the duration after the collision and the onset of the stroke?

                                  Shane Duffiney 6:02

                                  That was five months, it was five months. The neurologist said that’s typical. They said they said when somebody has these conditions to create a stroke, it takes about three to five months for that back to layman’s terms for the scab to break it’s like a six-syllable word they use for it, but it takes about three to five months for the scan to break free. And it either just continues flowing through the system and passes through and doesn’t get stuck.

                                  Shane Duffiney 6:38

                                  Or it gets stuck. And, they said it’s a one-time occurrence. Like even though like in my case, the arterial tear didn’t heal, I still have the arterial tear. He said I swear this is like sci-fi. He said, my body my brain know that in the process of trying to heal the artery, and almost killed itself. And so it will not try to heal the artery again, it will not try to build up a scab on that artery again, it’s a specific type of white blood cell that it releases to specifically heal arteries.

                                  Shane Duffiney 7:18

                                  And then he said it would not do that again because it knows that it almost killed it. After all, I was like, wait a minute, what if it’s still there? What if it tries to build another scab and that scab is gonna break off eventually anyway, and it’s gonna get stuck right behind the other one? He was like, no it won’t happen. He said the body is like, the brain is very self-preserving. It will not do that again.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 7:43

                                  That is amazing that it does that. It’s amazing. The body does what it does, regardless, of all the things that it does, but then to have that intelligence to go. No, we tried that that didn’t work. Let’s move on.

                                  Shane Duffiney 8:03

                                  That’s very cognitive thought that’s like, right, you know, that’s like decision trees. Like, like, and you’re like, wait a minute, we’ll move to somewhere in there. The brain just does that. Like the body just does that figure that out? And like, bad, bad plan. Don’t do that again.

                                  Misdiagnosis of stroke and TPA shot for Shane Duffiney

                                  Bill Gasiamis 8:26

                                  I love that idea. I love that it is but how did the medical team resolve that issue? What did they do to open up the blood flow again?

                                  Shane Duffiney 8:37

                                  So once it was identified and thank God they did, even after they had the imagery back I walked into a training hospital. So they had a lot of residents on staff and that’s who was attending me. So it’s like no fault to the medical system, or the doctors.

                                  Shane Duffiney 9:01

                                  They just had only been like a year in the field. Right. You know, and, whereas the nurse had been doing it for 15 years, 14 years, and she said her father had just had a stroke two months before so she was very familiar with all the symptoms.

                                  Shane Duffiney 9:19

                                  But, yeah, even after they got the imagery back, the doctor was like, this is just a headache. This shadowing and your brain is just a headache. And they sent it off radiology and the nurse was like, No way they’ll get back with us in three minutes and tell us it’s a stroke.

                                  Shane Duffiney 9:36

                                  But they resolved it as best they could. They did a TPA shot. So I’m sure most of you are familiar with that. But for people who might not be like the TPA shot as my understanding of it is it’s like a supped-up blood thinner with a whole bunch of stuff in there to try to break up the clot and try to try to get your body to want to flow blood.

                                  Shane Duffiney 10:07

                                  And it’s actually in Please Don’t Ever Limit Anybody you gotta at least here you have to say yes to if you’re conscious, you have to say yes, I want the shot. And so they were like, Hey, do you want this shot? And again, back to the doctor not having a lot of experience was like, Hey, I’m supposed to ask you they told me I need to ask you if you want this shot, and I was like what shot?

                                  Shane Duffiney 10:35

                                  You know, what does it do? And they she’s like, well, it makes you bleed and it makes your blood flow faster and you’ll bleed. And that’s like, I don’t want to bleed. I don’t feel good right now. I don’t want to be bleeding too. And she was like, No, you want this, it’s fine.

                                  Shane Duffiney 10:53

                                  It’s like what like, doesn’t sound like it’s going to be fine. And by the way, like it’s not normal too that’s another thing. It wasn’t normal for somebody to be very cognizant of what’s going on around them while they’re having a stroke. And so that was another reason why, you know, it was misdiagnosed early.

                                  Shane Duffiney 11:15

                                  But you know, and finally, the nurse was like, look like I hate doctor I think the doctor is calling right now as they want you to answer a question. So the intern or the resident left, the resident left the room, and like the nurse just snatched me up off his tiny little nurse snatched my massive frame off the table was like she goes, what do you do for a living?

                                  Shane Duffiney 11:41

                                  I was like, I am a business development manager for I like, I don’t know, I throw out some big fancy likeness. And she goes, Oh, so you walk and talk for a living? Right? And I was like, Yeah, I do. And she’s like, well, you won’t be able to do that tomorrow if you don’t take the shot.

                                  Shane Duffiney 11:55

                                  And it like dawned on me like I understood all of a sudden where the urgency the nurse just kept like, like pushing urgency on the doctor pushing urgency on the rest of the nursing staff. And it just dawned on me like, Oh, crap, like there’s a time limit to that shot.

                                  Shane Duffiney 12:12

                                  So yeah, at that point, like she’s trying to hold me back because I’m dragging her out of the room. She won’t let go of me. I’m screaming out the door. Like, give me a shot. But yeah, so that was the TPA shot, and it didn’t dissolve the clot. To your question, it didn’t dissolve the clot, which is one of the things they hope it does.

                                  Shane Duffiney 12:36

                                  They believe later on, they kind of guest it. That’s another back to magic right back to some science fiction stuff. My body my artery built a brand new blood vessel that bridged around the blockage.

                                  Shane Duffiney 12:57

                                  So like the blood vessel, like so, and he could see it, he said, It looks like it built the bridge to go behind the clot the blockage, and it got went and attached it built a bridge to a separate artery or vein that was running next to that artery.

                                  Shane Duffiney 13:18

                                  And he said it’s discharging so it’s flowing around the blockage and it discharges on the other side of the blockage. And that again, I was like, that’s like some alien stuff or anything. It’s like some, he said, that’s very common. And actually, I’ve talked to some of you that have heart attacks and had like, you know, they said that that’s their hearts have done that too and he said it was just so either way.

                                  Shane Duffiney 13:46

                                  So that’s what it ended up doing. And they never did or able to dissolve the clot I still have the clot in my neck is still there. But it’s bypassing right there’s there’s enough flow going around the clot and he said maybe it’s also it opened up the vessel enough that their flow or not just the bridge, but it’s also flowing he said Either way, you’re getting enough blood to your brain that you’re not dying.

                                  Shane Duffiney 14:15

                                  And they decided not to dig it out. He asked where that stuck out in your head. It’s gonna if we try to dig that out, we’re gonna do more damage to you. And then of course, I was like, I don’t know, man, I kind of went I don’t like the thought of this thing here. Man. But yeah, so. So it sounds like

                                  Bill Gasiamis 14:36

                                  I made the right decisions. I mean, I might have fumbled their way around explaining things to you and discovering what the issue was, but it sounds like everything else was probably done correctly and in the right way. And there’s little, you know, as less invasive procedure as possible was done.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 14:57

                                  And that seems I’ve got a great rule what were your, what were your symptoms of strokes? Or what did you notice? WherWhatdo you think? I need to get to the hospital. What were the things that were obvious to you that kind of like, something’s not right?

                                  Shane Duffiney 15:15

                                  Great question. So I didn’t know anything about stop or whatever, I guess I’ve missed all that in school missed the sign, because they’re all over the place, right? The I Am I so for me, like, initially, I thought, like the world just dropped out. Have you ever been on a roller coaster when those roller coasters where just like take you high?

                                  Shane Duffiney 15:39

                                  And they just let you go? That happened, like immediately, and it wouldn’t go away. It wouldn’t go away in and it just like, exponentially got worse. By you know, by the second it was like every 10 seconds it got like 1% More where it just kept getting worse and worse and worse.

                                  Shane Duffiney 16:03

                                  And then I was like, okay, something’s wrong. And of course, I’m like, am I having a heart attack? I know. And I was like because there’s no pain here. And I was like, am I having a stroke? And, as I was thinking about this half of my fate, my body got numb, right? That’s about all I knew. And the best I had. And so then I start kind of poking myself and scratching my face.

                                  Shane Duffiney 16:29

                                  Right? It was weird. Like, my forehead had gotten the left side of my forehead had gotten my left calf had gotten right, but you know, and so it wasn’t, it was all on one side of the body. But it wasn’t the whole side of the body. For me at least. Like I think like, let my left lip go.

                                  Shane Duffiney 16:50

                                  And I was just like, okay, stroke, probably. But all I knew was I mean, I don’t know, I’ve lived a little bit of a hard life. And it was the first time I’d almost died. But I was like, so I was like, Oh, you’re dying.

                                  Shane Duffiney 17:05

                                  You’re dying right now. And I just kept kind of feeling like I was going in and out of consciousness. And I was just I felt like I was just always on the edge of going out of consciousness and very abruptly, right? It wasn’t a gradual, like, I’m falling asleep kind of thing. It was very abrupt.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 17:22

                                  Was that legitimate? What you said was, accurate did you do it? You’ve nearly died before. And therefore, if you’ve nearly died you knew what that felt like, and therefore you recognize this different version, but felt like your life was on the line?

                                  Shane Duffiney 17:41

                                  Yeah, definitely. I’ve had jobs where I was an explosives ordinance person, like in the private sector. And you know, I got blown up once by accident, right? Fortunately, usually, if you get blown up by accident, they try to find enough for you to put in a box. And I didn’t. That wasn’t my case.

                                  Shane Duffiney 18:05

                                  But it was definitely like, strangely, like the movies where you’re like, the person’s like on the ground, and everything’s like, whoa, so, so I’m definitely like that. It’s been a few other times, that kind of got blown up again, in a different job. But, but is one of those we’re all about to die, kind of like where everything kind of slows down for you.

                                  Shane Duffiney 18:27

                                  And like, if you make the wrong thing if you do the wrong thing. And the neck, like, every second has to be done perfectly, where everybody is going to die, or at least you are and you know, I’ve been in the oil field for also for a while. And so there was, you know, going in that and you know, I’ve been homeless before as a kid and I’ve can’t I left school, I left home like 14 It was just a lot safer to not be home.

                                  Shane Duffiney 18:58

                                  So I left and so it was a little bit of a little bit of a rough. I guess I didn’t even really think about it as rough in a rough life until somebody was telling me like Shane, that’s not normal recently. They were like, That’s not normal.

                                  Shane Duffiney 19:08

                                  I was like, Oh, no. And yeah, so then you got like starvation that comes with that and like but those are the top three, three things other than the stroke I can think about top my head where I have almost been killed.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 19:24

                                  Spidey senses, gut instinct, stuff kicking in and going, Hey, you’ve been in a similar situation before you need to take evasive action.

                                  Shane Duffiney managing stroke recovery with a slow and steady approach


                                  Shane Duffiney 19:35
                                  And the big difference. There, you know, for the stroke was like what the other ones? You know, you’re trying to make yourself dump more adrenaline, right? Yeah. And in times like that, you’re too you’re trying to like whatever like you’re passing out and you’re like slapping yourself to like, you know, maybe and you know, to make sure you don’t lose consciousness.

                                  Shane Duffiney 20:00

                                  In this case, there was a very, very different in the sense of like, there was an eternal thing wrong and I was afraid like I could feel I was afraid with this whole, like, the bottom dropping out feeling. I didn’t want to start trying to get my blood to flow harder, right I just something just like back to the spidey sense.

                                  Shane Duffiney 20:23

                                  Versus the other times where it was just like, yeah, as much as we can get it to make it through the next three minutes. Right. Whereas on the other in this sense, it was just like, go slow. Yeah, very slow very patiently. Like I was in my car was driving, I was driving my truck. And that was just like, I had my I had one hand on the door handle.

                                  Shane Duffiney 20:46

                                  And the other hand, like between the shifter to throw it in parks, as far as like, if you start to go out completely fall out of the truck into the street, somebody can find you, right, like, and I was trying not. And I was intentionally trying not to psych myself up because I knew something was wrong.

                                  Shane Duffiney 21:02

                                  It was like, it was like every heartbeat, that’s when it would get worse. Right? I think that’s probably why I was like, don’t try to psych yourself up. Don’t try to get your blood flowing.

                                  Shane Duffiney 21:11

                                  Because it’s like, there was like every heartbeat I was like, Oh, crap, I start blacking out. And remember that now, but yeah, I was just like, so it was like three minutes getting down the road, like, if you start going out completely try to fall into the street. And hopefully, your truck doesn’t hit anybody as it drives.

                                  Intro 21:32

                                  If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. How long will it take to recover? Will I recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things. But, you’ve if never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask.

                                  Intro 21:56

                                  If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to Ask Your Doctor about your Stroke.

                                  Intro 22:15

                                  These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition. And they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website. Now, recoverafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 22:34

                                  I love the idea that you’re able to kind of be cognitively capable enough to make all these really important decisions slow yourself down. In fact, by slowing yourself down, you probably made it easier for your blood to receive oxygen.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 22:51

                                  Instead of constricting your blood vessels going into stress and all that kind of stuff, your blood was able to flow and still support the rest of the brain. Your heart was able to do its job, you know, just normally and calmly. Probably didn’t spike adrenaline or cortisol or anything like that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 23:09

                                  You just, you know went through nice and steady. And that’s probably the best thing to do you go to the hospital. And when you got there, what did you say to them? Other than did you say I’m dying? Or did you say I’m having a stroke? Or what did you say?

                                  Shane Duffiney 23:29

                                  Like I was like, Okay, this is kind of embarrassing, because I was just stupid really, at this point. I like the stupid male ego thing kicking in, right? Like I, I got this, you know, so I didn’t know that. At least here. At emergency rooms, you can pull your vehicle right up to the emergency room door and jump out right and they’ll valet Park. I didn’t know that.

                                  Shane Duffiney 23:53

                                  So like I go find the parking deck. I drove by the door, right? And I’m even thinking you should probably just park your car right here in the middle of the street and be like, forget it. Like, you know you’ll you’ll find it later. And I don’t know and I get out in the parking deck and I was like I need to figure out how to get in like I told him at one point I make sure I find somebody my head right and I’m moving slowly.

                                  Shane Duffiney 24:18

                                  Very aware. I’m dying. And I’m still just like I got this in like a dumbass and. And I was like, Maybe I should look for somebody that asked for some help. And it is just like this. I told myself in my head. I said if you ended up dying in the parking lot because you didn’t ask for help.

                                  Shane Duffiney 24:40

                                  You’re an idiot. And I was like, Oh God, and that’s what I just saw the first door I saw and opened it and walked in and there was this long high hallway which was a very surreal walk for me to go down the hallway to find somebody you know very much those very classic like life flashing before your eyes like, oh gosh, I, you know, there’s some things I need to do better with my life kind of moments.

                                  Shane Duffiney 25:07

                                  And some things I need to put more value in kind of moments. And if I found somebody I was like, Is this the emergency room? And they were like, No, it’s not you got to go out that door, go back down the hallway, take a ride, go out the door, and go around the corner and you’ll find the door.

                                  Shane Duffiney 25:23

                                  And I was like, Okay, thank you. And I’m like, slowly turning, walking and somebody hollered out, do you need help? And I was like, Yeah, I think I’m dying right now. Back to just being stupid. Like, don’t ask, I was very, very silly, but thank God, the ladies are like, Do you need help?

                                  Shane Duffiney 25:45

                                  And so then they brought me out a wheelchair, and then they will meet, wheeled me into the ER, and that’s in the nurse was standing in the waiting room. And she immediately went, you’re having a stroke? And, Kasey, saved my life so thank you, Kasey.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 26:05

                                  How long were you in hospital?

                                  Shane Duffiney 26:08

                                  Three days, that weekend, three days, they, once they diagnosed me and shot me up with the TPA shot. I didn’t know this. But after you take the TPA shot, they don’t let you sleep. Because it can kill you. And they need to make sure it’s not burning up your brain. Which is why there’s a time limit. Just again, you probably know this, but other people might know there’s a time limit.

                                  Shane Duffiney 26:35

                                  They, wouldn’t give it to me after two hours, which is you know what, the nurse was yelling at me when she pulled me up off the table. And I was like, well, I’ll just wait until tomorrow and see about I think it over tonight. She was like No, they won’t give it to you tomorrow.

                                  Shane Duffiney 26:48

                                  They’ll either give it to you within the next 40 minutes. Or they won’t give it to you at all. And so I’ve been awake all day till seven o’clock now it’s like almost nine o’clock at night. And they’re like, Okay, now you’re gonna put they just put me in the I was there the whole weekend.

                                  Shane Duffiney 27:04

                                  They stuck me in the ICU for the rest of the night for the rest of the weekend. And they kept me away. Because this lady’s in charge of the ICU they slap this slap the shit out of me. Like I wake up, I wake back up I go my kid, you know, I guess they were saying hey, they’re calling Mr. Daphne a lot that was was was it a weekend?

                                  Post-Stroke Deficits of Shane Duffiney

                                  Bill Gasiamis 27:30

                                  And when you left the hospital, what did you leave with as far as deficits are concerned?

                                  Shane Duffiney 27:38

                                  I was blessed. I was blessed. You know, I have a friend and she had suffered brain damage because she worked in a prison and an inmate attacked her and she had some brain damage. And she was like, you know, she told me she was like, you’re gonna go to the neurologist she visited me while I was in the hospital that weekend.

                                  Shane Duffiney 28:06

                                  She said have you thought about what it’s going to be like when you do your follow-up with a neurologist? And I was like no, and then she was like that waiting room is pretty rough. And I understand what she means now. And how lucky I was to the discharged ICU doctor or the emergency room ICU doctor you know, he discharged me himself personally.

                                  Shane Duffiney 28:31

                                  And he was like, you know, we don’t normally have somebody he said I wanted to personally discharge you because I don’t normally get to see somebody come in with a stroke and then walk out of here in better condition than they came in here with and, and I understand that now since I’ve sat in the waiting room.

                                  Shane Duffiney 28:53

                                  You know, all that being said though, I still had to learn how to walk and talk again, I didn’t have a like anything that resembled the world. I just had Aspasia so I had to learn how to do you know think I had to learn how to process information again and like formulate full cognitive sentences and ideas and get those out because like you start my brain would just stop the process of getting it out my mouth.

                                  Shane Duffiney 29:24

                                  And anything that that involved the multi-sensory anything like looking and hearing at the same time or like petting my cat and listening at the same time, like I would immediately basically you know, I would have results like like having a concussion-like very dizzy very to the point if I keep doing it, I start getting nauseous and fall and start throwing up.

                                  Shane Duffiney 29:51

                                  And then so yeah, I had to do vestibular therapy because I couldn’t I couldn’t walk very well. It took me five years. It took me five months to be able to walk and talk at the same time. I’m again. And to this day, I still have headaches, you know, I had the pain for the next week was just intense.

                                  Shane Duffiney 30:09

                                  And if you think you can’t sleep with the most intense pain in the world, yes, your body will shut down just long enough for you to rest up and wake back up. So, thankfully that level of pain is gone, but I do have long-term headaches, I always have headaches.

                                  Shane Duffiney 30:28

                                  They’ve gotten me on a medication management for that very ended up being a very low cost. So just got to make sure I take it to go to bed. If I don’t, I’ll read it tomorrow. But yeah, other than that back to work, fully functional. But on yet longer road, I learned how to walk and talk again, at the same time, at least.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 30:54

                                  You said earlier that you’ve almost come close to death a few times. But sounds like this time. It’s impacted you differently, there seems to be a little more of an emotional or mental impact. Like and I’m not talking about cognitive, I’m talking about psychological impact. Is that accurate? Or what’s going on there?

                                  Shane Duffiney 31:21

                                  Yeah, maybe you can relate to this, I was reading some of your stuff and the title of your book, or at least the first one. And I probably like I thought, at least, I feel I still feel maybe I am I probably like the only person in the history of the world that, like, was so thankful he had a stroke, right?

                                  Shane Duffiney 31:44

                                  You know, cuz I mean, I think there’s a lot of other ways to have a midlife crisis, you could do it without having a stroke. But for me, it took a stroke. I, you know, I was a very ridiculously driven person. Like I said, I left home at 14, I had nothing my whole life for a long time.

                                  Shane Duffiney 32:13

                                  And at some point, like in my late 20s, I just kind of was like, Okay, you’re gonna change everything. And I became very obsessed with finance and business. And, you know, I went from being the guy who sweeps the floor at the company I work for to being in charge of the northeast area, in Canadian business development.

                                  Shane Duffiney 32:36

                                  And, and it was just like, so very driven, you know, went from nothing to financially nothing to beat, okay, you know, being pretty okay, and just learning and to the point where nobody wanted to be around me anymore. Except for the business people.

                                  Shane Duffiney 32:56

                                  None of my friends, none of my family, my family was like, Dude, you know, like, we don’t want you to come over for Christmas, all you want to do is talk about work, you know, and then they’re not being mean. But just to give you an idea of, how difficult it was for me to be human around other people.

                                  Personal growth and overcoming emotional issues

                                  Bill Gasiamis 33:18

                                  You were unknowingly kind of like, you just shop talk all the time all the time, yeah, it was your identity, it sounds like it was ingrained in you. And it probably gave you a lot of safety because we’re going from homeless to having financial freedom. And being able to put a roof over your head is a really important thing for you.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 33:44

                                  Because you didn’t have that now you have that you know what it’s like to have it, you’d rather have it and then it’s like, I’m gonna do everything I can to keep having it and dedicate your life to it. And as a result of that, you alienate other people, because you can’t relate to them, and they can’t relate to you. And they’re like, chill out, and you’re like, No, we’ve got to keep going and keep doing this.

                                  Shane Duffiney 34:08

                                  And to be honest, like, I knew it, and I didn’t want to be that way anymore. I didn’t want to keep losing loves in my life, and, you know, good people who care about me, and I care about them. Trying to get away from me, right, you know, I knew it was going on in my personal life, and I couldn’t stop it.

                                  Shane Duffiney 34:36

                                  And, you know, I tell the story. You know, I remember getting down I have a bay window at my house and we were getting out three days before the stroke. I got down on my knees and I just begged God and just made this it was like an addiction was totally like an addiction. And you’re very accurate. Like all the introspection I’ve had these past three years.

                                  Shane Duffiney 34:55

                                  I agree with everything you said about why we’re in some of that room. cause was coming from that I remember like, like, on my hands and knees praying like God, please, I cannot on my own make this stop, make this stop.

                                  Shane Duffiney 35:10

                                  And I remember I sat down right after that in a chair. And I thought, Man, how stubborn Are you? I thought how hard Is God gonna lop you upside ahead to get it through? And I was like I’m fixing to have a heart attack, I’m thinking three days later I had a stroke.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 35:26

                                  I couldn’t relate to that completely. Because I would have described myself as somebody who was a headcase totally in my head over, you know, overthinking thinking that my head is going to resolve all the problems like your cognitive brain can’t resolve emotional problems.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 35:44

                                  Your cognitive brain can’t resolve whether or not you’ve got the guts to make a hard life decision or an important life decision, you know, you have got to have the guts to do that. And for emotional problems, you got to have the heart to do that, you know, you got to be able to go where it’s painful and make emotional decisions, right? And I always thought my head was probably overdoing.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 36:11

                                  It took all the tasks on and it was overruling my head and was overruling my gut instinct, right? And I couldn’t break out of it. And when my head had the two first blades, I felt like it had gone offline completely.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 36:29

                                  And spaced out like in a different timezone in a different you know, when, when a theory warp, like I don’t know, what it was, was just out of the out of this world is something completely different.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 36:44

                                  And going completely offline, meant that my gut instinct in my heart was sort of starting to come forward and start to express themselves and like, say, alright, now here’s our opportunity to get back some of our power from the head.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 36:58

                                  And it’s like, it was such a blessing because I had things I needed to fix and resolve, especially personal problems that I had, that were minor in comparison, some other people but important with important people like my kids, or my wife, you know, where I was a complete headcase give them a hard time over everything all the time, for no reason.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 37:22

                                  Come home and look for problems and started being angry and yelling, and all that kind of junk. My kids were teenagers, right? And I could see, I knew that it was going to create a divide between us.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 37:35

                                  And I had no idea how to change myself, you know how to stop being the idiot that always found myself in the same place all the time causing the same, like, irritation in the family. And when the head switched off, I was able to address those issues. And it was a big blessing, like, it was hard.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 38:02

                                  And I didn’t know if I was going to survive. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to ever work again to make money or any of that stuff were so many uncertainties, but there was one certainty, and that was that I was going to be able to address all the emotional stuff that I needed to address.

                                  Shane Duffiney 38:19

                                  Well, that’s a beautiful story, but just to get a very great summary to get across and express to me. That journey it sucks to be sucked to be on the front end of all that knowing, like knowing that this is what’s going on in like, like, I can’t fix it, you know, and then and then it’s I’m assuming that it’s better now for your family and your personal life. And so that’s why I was saying it’s a beautiful story, as I’m assuming that part.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 38:50

                                  It’s, better because what they’ve seen is the actual effort that I made to make things better, to apologize to them, except when I was wrong and to give them a break because they’re kids and they’re making mistakes and that’s how they grow up.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 39:06

                                  And that’s how they learn. And to just get off my wife’s back, you know, with just being parenting differently. I thought that there was only one way to do things that was my way. And what they did was they accepted my apology and then they gathered around me more like they came closer.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 39:27

                                  They were able to say hey, I’m gonna go hang out with the old man for a little bit you know, and talk about stuff or whatever. They were able to come to me because I was vulnerable and express to them my personal emotional and mental problems.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 39:42

                                  They’re able to go okay, well I’ve got an example now of what a man is because they’re both boys are both men. This is what a man can do if they want to. So now when they’re going through a tough time as adults, they can come to me or they can go see a counselor or they can go to anyone they can talk through their tough times instead of sitting with them and making matters worse just by sitting in there and overthinking things.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 40:09

                                  So yeah, it helps to bridge the generation gap. And then it helps to heal the wounds, and then it helps to just overcome, overcome some of those things that you don’t realize you start with the best intentions, but it causes a rift in the relationship and then you’ve lost them and it’s hard to get them back.

                                  Shane Duffiney 40:33

                                  It’s funny, like, in a way, it’s funny, like I Yeah, at some point with all that success, quote, success, like I started thinking, Well, okay, you’ve become the person you’re the man you always wanted to be in, like, in the reality is like, my, my cousin sent me a letter, a thank you letter I got last week, you know, my uncle passed away.

                                  Shane Duffiney 40:59

                                  And, you know, I like dropped everything went to, to help them. And that was months ago. And now I went back over there to help them close up best just just just to be in the room with them while they’re going through everything, right, you’re going through the stuff and seeing what they want to carry with them throughout the rest of your life.

                                  Shane Duffiney 41:18

                                  And you know what I’ve ever gotten to get that letter. That’s very heartfelt. Thank you for being there. And thank you for just being this presence that was, you know, helpful and calming. And, and I was just thinking, Okay, now, now I’m the person I’m the man I always wanted to be, you know, and to, because that’s, that’s, yeah, I want to I want it to be that person. That’s, that’s more honored.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 41:47

                                  Yeah, you can’t just be a big hit on a body and turn up to places and cognitively solve everybody’s problems. When they lose somebody, right? You can’t go in there with a head-based solution, you’re gonna go there and just be present.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 42:02

                                  And even if you don’t know what to say, and you’re just there and you’re calm, and you’re loving, you’re expressing love, just by being there, right? People catch on, and they sense that and, it’s appreciated. And it’s easy to do. Shane, you didn’t have to do much.

                                  Shane Duffiney 42:24

                                  You’re right it is sometimes it’s hard to just shut up and sit there. But you’re right it doesn’t take, it doesn’t take a lot. It doesn’t cost anything doesn’t cost anything. And it’s so invaluable. And it took a stroke for me to become the person I wish I had always wanted to be.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 42:41

                                  That’s crazy, good. And just crazy. It’s insane that words come out of more than one person’s mouth, you know those words. So many people have said the same thing. And I love that what it does is it transforms this terrible thing that happened to you, you almost took your life and all those things, but it’s transformed into this amazing thing.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 43:08

                                  And that is what’s great about like, where are the gifts in this terrible time that occurred in a way is the possibility for growth. And that’s what my book is about. It’s about the unexpected way that a stroke became the best thing that happened. And it became that it, it states that wasn’t the best thing that happened.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 43:29

                                  It didn’t start as a great thing. We were completely overwhelmed by everything that it did and caused and the challenges, but somehow we managed to drag some positivity out of it. And that aim, almost like you said, instinctively, it was just these things all happened without me putting a lot of you know, an in a business decision.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 43:55

                                  You know, these are your goals, right? If I do this, this, that and that, and that and that. I’ll get that result or come very close to getting the result with a podcast, but I didn’t have any of those thoughts. I was like, I should have a podcast. And that was it. I did it. And then oh, I think I need a bit of microphone.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:13

                                  I’ll just get a better microphone when I can manage to bring the money together. Oh, and then I’ll learn how to edit. And then do you know what I mean? Like there were no pre-conceived things that I was going to do with this struggle.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:28

                                  I was going to transform it and I was going to know it was just me acting from a heart space and going alright, what could be good about doing a podcast or meeting other people? Okay, what else and then I’m here and it was like that old relate to me or relate to them.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 44:45

                                  And then what I didn’t realize was that after X amount of episodes, it was making a difference to other people and that was helping them and they were feeling better. And that was making the stroke recovery. I knew I knew none of that stuff. I never had any of those extra quotations.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 45:01

                                  And then it’s like, wow, here we go. And it was all simply, from me, just going, I’m going to follow my heart, and I’m going to do the thing that I think is a great thing to do. That’s it. And I never had a lot of time, energy, or cognitive ability. In the beginning, it was really hard to put two episodes together, one after another.

                                  Healing journey after stroke and writing a book

                                  Bill Gasiamis 45:23

                                  So, you know, I couldn’t do one episode a week. But then about four or five years after, putting episodes out incrementally, I started to find my mojo. I was able to put out and commit to one episode a week. And that’s been like that for about three or four years now.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 45:40

                                  So it took, it took a long time, and it’s part of the healing journey, it’s helped me recover, it’s helped me heal, it’s helped me look back and go look how far you’ve come. Volunteering did that as well, going into volunteering at the Stroke Foundation here in Australia and meeting other stroke survivors.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 45:59

                                  That was not something that the old me would have ever done, volunteer and help other people for free. And well, like, What are you talking about? As if Why would you do that? So it was like, a massive opportunity for growth for anyone listening. And it’s like, Where? Where is the path of least resistance?

                                  Bill Gasiamis 46:21

                                  Where can you go and get the massive, most massive benefit in return, whether it’s emotional, mental, or physical return by doing the smallest, putting in the smallest effort possible? So it’s almost the lazy person’s approach to life, but it’s to preserve your energy so that you can attend that event or that thing and do that thing, and then reap the rewards from doing it.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 46:50

                                  You know, it’s just the episodes are recorded before this one is with a lady who adaptively teaches yoga to people who’ve had neurological issues, whatever they are, okay. And she talks about, like, going to adaptive yoga, it’s got nothing to do almost with that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 47:08

                                  That part of the process is called Yoga. She says the benefits far outweigh the yoga part of it, because it’s community, it’s people understanding, it’s chatting, getting ready. It’s finding a way to solve a problem like, how am I going to get dressed on time? Or how am I going to get to the event on time?

                                  Bill Gasiamis 47:28

                                  Or what am I going to do when I get there like, it’s all these other peripheral things that you don’t pay attention to you don’t notice? That, okay, another benefit, the yoga is just an amazing excuse to turn up somewhere and meet with like-minded people, but the other peripheral benefits are just huge.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 47:49

                                  And that’s what the podcast has done for me. And that’s what volunteering did for me. And, then that’s how the book just came to be. It seemed to be a natural progression, it took four years to write and develop the idea and all of that, but it was just a natural progression.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 48:08

                                  And it came to an end. And now there’s a book. And people think, ah, that’s impossible. I can’t do that. But believe me, I never read a book before my stroke, because I didn’t think that was useful.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 48:22

                                  But then when I needed to learn about my recovery, and how to get better. So I did I dove into books. And I became educated. And I learned all because of the stroke this all this stuff is not build before, you know before the stroke is not this guy.

                                  Shane Duffiney 48:40

                                  Yeah, and I’m really glad you pointed out that you have so many of those things. Because somebody might take it the wrong way. When I say like, it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And they look at me like, oh, yeah, well, you’re walking, you’re looking at your you’re fine.

                                  Shane Duffiney 48:54

                                  Right, you know, and they don’t, they didn’t hear the fox. I didn’t say it, but you did. You know, there’s a part of the story where you’re back to that, like weeks of pain, and have to learn how to walk and talk again. And fortunately, I was able to quickly, like you said, like the peripheral things these people are experiencing together, because you have to learn how to get dressed again.

                                  Shane Duffiney 49:20

                                  You have to learn how to put your pants back on you have to learn how to button them again. You have to learn how to, like, Cook was like being in my 90s Like, you know, I’m like oh, this is what is old and invalid. Like I couldn’t. Somebody would take me to the store so we can go buy food.

                                  Shane Duffiney 49:41

                                  And I couldn’t get in the door. And I’d be like yes take me back home. Because like like I’m about to pass out. Right, you know, and it was like getting then it was just like incremental victories, being able to be able to get down the stairs, being able to get to the car.

                                  Shane Duffiney 49:58

                                  Like you know, if I didn’t put the work in today, to be able to function tomorrow, like practice walking, practice turning my head and looking at something. Like until you lose the ability to turn your head and look at something you don’t know what it’s like to fight to get that back, you know, so yeah, those peripheral things, and then only other people, you know that in that situation can’t have had.

                                  Shane Duffiney 50:28

                                  And again, I was very fortunate I got the shot, you know, the people who, who, you know, seven years later are still very visibly, you know, not functioning well, like those people didn’t get the shot, but there are still probably pretty, I mean, a few of my mad at ones that met and I’m so excited when I hear somebody talking about like,

                                  Shane Duffiney 50:49

                                  My son just had a stroke, like, I’m like, Hey, he’ll get better. Yes he well, I mean, like, or, like, people come up to me and talk to me, because I’ll be telling a friend, you know, I see a friend, I used to live in Texas, I live in Pennsylvania now. And they were in town.

                                  Shane Duffiney 51:04

                                  And we caught up and somebody heard me telling the story. And they came up to me and they said, My son just had a stroke, you know, and it’s like, these are anything you think I should tell him, I was like, he will get better, like, there are trained, committed people out there in the medical field, the medical community to help him get better.

                                  Shane Duffiney 51:26

                                  Like, just do it, he’ll get better one inch at a time. But it will happen. And so yeah, it’s great to be able to have that. I mean, it’s like the most rewarding thing. And now here, I’m trying to do financial, like I’m doing financial coaching now. Because I love, like, that’s where my heart is gone.

                                  Shane Duffiney 51:45

                                  Like I love seeing, like I just talked to I was having a haircut the other day, and I was talking to this lady, and she’s like, I can’t retire, I can’t afford it, and she told me some things. I was like, well did you check this? And did you check that? And she was like, No, I didn’t, I didn’t know you could, and like, by the time I left, she was like, I think I can retire.

                                  Shane Duffiney 52:02

                                  And you know, just like I changed her world. Like that information changed her world, I was high on life for a week after that. Like, you know, so it’s great to be able to follow your heart a lot more, right, you know, and reap the rewards, whether they’re financial or you know, or whether they’re just so like I said, I was high on life for a week. From an eight-minute conversation.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:34

                                  And I love what you said about reaping the rewards, it’s like, when something is really difficult, you know, you can’t walk. And the deficits have caused problems for people and it’s in that fight, it’s in that fight, you know, no matter if you’re fighting for better movement, more walking, more flexibility, more whatever, there is always a positive payoff, you do get something out of it.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 52:58

                                  And if you judge yourself by, I’m not running, like I used to run before the stroke the same, then you’re gonna feel deflated. But if you understand that you’re able to continue biting and improve incrementally, and you may not get back to before stroke, what it was like before stroke, but you can continue to improve always, well, there’s when you have the guts to go after that you do.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 53:28

                                  You get rewarded, and your effort doesn’t go wasted. You know, that’s not how it works. When you go after something, you learn something, you grow, you get challenged, you prove yourself wrong.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 53:47

                                  And, it’s really important to not judge yourself by what you weren’t capable of previously, you know because the stroke happened and you have your character now gets the opportunity to build itself from what you do now, not from what you did in the past.

                                  Shane Duffiney 54:07

                                  This was like such huge some of what you said is such a huge factor on you know, I reached I thanked you, I sent you an email to thank you because of course, I started looking some of the stuff up after it happened to me and in and you know.

                                  Shane Duffiney 54:24

                                  I saw these headlines on YouTube and for your podcast and I was like I watched some of it and what I could and I was like, okay, these people just like my friends are talking about they got better, and they’re all happy. Admittedly, I was happier.

                                  Shane Duffiney 54:45

                                  Three days after my stroke, unable to walk and talk, and intense pain that I had three days before my stroke. Because there was just such a life change that I like, I’m like, I want to spend time with my niece and nephew right? I don’t want to like to skip Christmas anymore because I gotta go finish this deal.

                                  Improving the quality of life for people with neurological conditions

                                  Shane Duffiney 55:04

                                  But, you know, you invited me to be on this podcast, and, and I, you know took forever to sign up for that. And you know what brought me back to make sure I sign up for that was because one, you know, looking at through the lens and thank you but also, I saw somebody in my neighborhood I saw somebody walking in my neighborhood and I was driving, I saw like a pastor.

                                  Shane Duffiney 55:34

                                  She had this weird shuffle gait limp with her left leg and her right hand was not functioning, and she was trying to keep it up. And, you know, and, her face wasn’t functioning correctly, or just was in this weird position. And then I saw the determination and the drive in her eyes, right?

                                  Shane Duffiney 55:55

                                  You know, this slightly older lady. And I saw that determination and drive in her eyes, I was like, I will, I will be able to I will learn to do this again, right, you know, and I recognized I should say, I recognize that. And I thought to myself, like, you’re gonna get better, like, you’re gonna get better.

                                  Shane Duffiney 56:20

                                  What you’re doing now those little, little, little incremental. Admittedly, it was, it was a war of inches, for me, and it’s going to be a war of inches for her. But I just thought like, if one person could hear you would get better. Like, that’s why I made sure I signed up on your calendar and just just so I could give back a little bit. And just just make sure somebody hears that, like, you will get better.

                                  Shane Duffiney 56:51

                                  The reality is, for me at least, like every day that I did the work that I was being told to do at home, the physical therapy work, like I could tell the following day, I was a little bit better, right, just a little bit better it which was incredibly encouraging. So like, if you’re at home, and you happen to catch this podcast, you know, and you’re very depressed, totally understandable.

                                  Shane Duffiney 57:20

                                  But don’t let the depression stop you from trying. Because because it will get better. And I was the guy who told that I told the frickin neurologist, because he was like, I’m gonna sign this paperwork to the to your out for the rest of the year from work. And I was like, no, no, no, no, I’ll be back in three months, I’ll be back in three months.

                                  Shane Duffiney 57:38

                                  So you fill that out for I think I said five months, or something like that, like, I’ll be back. You know, and, and I made him feel it out for like, whatever, three, five months, I don’t know. And like, I humbly went back to him. And I was like, I just didn’t realize how bad I was. I was the last one that I was.

                                  Shane Duffiney 57:56

                                  And I humbly went back to him and was like, You don’t understand who I am, I make things happen. And I went humbly back to him apologized and just told him I was sorry for thinking I knew better than you. You know, that was very, very ignorant. I mean, I did and, asked him.

                                  Shane Duffiney 58:18

                                  But again, like, it’s it for me being here. It’s all about, you know, for those people who are down and depressed, like you know, you know, you will get better if you put in the work, and I hope they do.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 58:33

                                  Yeah, and it’s true, and I don’t care what condition you’re in now, you can always make a better you can always adjust your nutrition and eat better, healthier, whatever. And make sure that you’re not making your deficits worse by eating the wrong food or drinking alcohol or smoking still and that kind of stuff.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 58:55

                                  You can meditate and make your emotional state calmer and better. And that doesn’t cost anything or you don’t need to go anywhere to do that. You know, you can do so many things that can improve your situation, even if you don’t look like the person that you looked like before.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 59:18

                                  You know, even if you don’t feel like the person they felt like before you can still experience improvements and benefits, and technology is rapidly changing. You know, I did a podcast episode about a tennis court. A little while ago. It’s an injection.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 59:39

                                  There’s a Dr. Tobinick in Florida who injects people it was previously an anti-inflammatory medication, which is still useful people for rheumatoid arthritis. And somehow they stumbled across it improving stroke symptoms for a lot of people and it doesn’t work for some people.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 59:58

                                  And that episode has just offered so much hope for people being able to understand that technology and medicine have moved in a positive direction towards being able to support us in spaces where they never did before. And then I was watching this sleep.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:00:18

                                  That was on the Joe Rogan podcast, he was talking about Randy Travis, an American singer who had a stroke some years ago and lost his ability to sing. And now there’s AI technology that’s been able to sample his voice and turn from his previous records and the diff.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:00:41

                                  And the songs that he’d released in the past. And they’ve been able to create a new release, even though this guy cannot sing anymore, and can’t talk anymore. And he’s just released the song. I don’t know if it’s very recent, or how recently, but they released the song with AI, in his voice singing this new song.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:01:00

                                  So I don’t know that life’s over four stroke survivors, I don’t know that you should just put yourself on the, on the bench, you know, and store yourself away and forget about life anymore, think you should go after things and find a way to solve your problems.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:01:23

                                  Because even in that fight, the finding of ways to overcome that you just grow in that as well, just in the fight to find solutions. Rather than focus on problems. You know, if you focus on problems, you’re gonna get tons of them. If you focus on solutions, you’re gonna get tons of them.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:01:40

                                  So it’s just about where you put your mindset, you know, you can shift that easily. And that doesn’t cost extra either. It’s just a free experience that you can have. Sounds like you’ve very much taken a lot of those lessons and run with them. And it seems like you’re thriving and benefiting from them.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:02:00

                                  Even though you’ve been, you know, we’ll call it like, a little bit scared or nicked by this thing, you know, and you’ve got, you know, a physical thing to show for it. It’s, there is a physical thing in your brain, right, that has been damaged.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:02:16

                                  I’ve seen the scan, there’s a little bit smaller on the golf ball size, a dead spot. I was like, so that’s dead. And they’re like, yep, that’s dead. I was like, that’s gonna never come back to life no.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:02:36

                                  Yeah, right. But around that what’s interesting, also, is that I did an episode on hyperbaric oxygen therapy as well. And they’re finding these areas, they call them penumbras that are areas that are offline, that have been put offline, because of the injury, and then because of the damage that’s occurred in that main spot.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:02:58

                                  And what they do is this clinic of clinics in the United States as well, I think they are in New York and a couple of other locations. And what they do is they put you, or people through a whole bunch of tests to discover whether there’s these numbers, these areas that can be rehabilitated around the dead zones, so to speak.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:03:23

                                  And if they find them, they can put you through hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions. Their protocol, I think, is one session a day for 60 days. And people recover some of those areas that have been put offline. So even though it appears as though that part that’s gone is gone.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:03:45

                                  Usually, it’s surrounded by other parts that can be rehabilitated, that can be helped with again, technology, and medicine. So I would encourage people to just leave no stone unturned, no stone unturned for things that they can do to recover.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:04:05

                                  Glad you told me about that. I mean, it’s Yeah, I mean, I anything, anything that can help with the Neuroplasticity? Back are the building up stronger, blood veins. I mean, that little bridge going around that blockage is much smaller than the original original vein. Let’s, I’ll take two or three more of those little bridges.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:04:33

                                  And the more you can support them, the better the more you can put oxygen through them and encourage blood flow the better, and even then, that’s fascinating as well. I never knew that blood vessels do that. That’s unreal. I love that.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:04:47

                                  Oh, yeah. Okay, I mean I just to me You’re like the foremost Doctor authority on the subject matter like you’ve been doing this a lot. Yeah. When they told me that I was like, that’s some sci-fi Yes. Yeah, that’s an alien step right there.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:05:03

                                  It is, I must admit, I’ve learned a lot about stroke, stroke recovery, and all the different conditions and all that kind of stuff. And it’s, you know, I’m not an expert in any medical sense or any of that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:05:16

                                  But I can relate to a lot of things that people are saying, and give them a sense of go there, have a look there or speak to that person, or check out this, or this is another thing I came up with, or I remember on that interview, somebody said that, something like that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:05:31

                                  So, you know, I’m like a hub of information that I could send people to and from, and it makes a massive difference in being able to decrease the amount of time that stroke survivors find that information, right? So previously, they might have had to stumble across it over a year or two, or months, or whatever.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:05:51

                                  And now, if they happen to know me, or know of the podcasts and ask the right question, and I answer it, I can decrease the time that it takes for them to get that answer. Because, you know, squeezing into weeks and days instead of years of research and discovery, and all that kind of stuff.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:06:09

                                  And it’s good because I learned that from my stroke survivors who have interviewed, my neurologists don’t know that some of that stuff, you know, my doctors don’t know that stuff. You know, and certainly, my experience is a lot of the doctors in the neurologists that we deal with in the acute phase of our stroke, we never see again afterward.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:06:30

                                  So you can’t follow up with them, and you can’t get more information out of them, all you do is get patched up and sent home. And that’s the hard part, that’s where the gap of information lies, you know, it’s not their job to do that. I don’t feel like so I don’t want to be too hard on them. And that’s where I feel like I fit in, that’s my job to do that. To create a network of inflammation so that people can get to it more easily.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:06:57

                                  Yeah, it’s, you make a really good point. I mean, again, not to go down to be too rough on the doctors and medical people in this field. Because I mean, these, you know, I pointed out to me, for, like, the neurologists to be the, you know, to make it and be a neurologist, that’s a lot of dedicated time in schooling.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:07:20

                                  And it’s not like a kind of school where everybody just gets an A if you do good enough, no, it’s like only a certain amount of, there’s like, whoever’s the best of the best is allowed to be that and it’s, that’s how it goes on the ranking system. And, like, we know, upfront, like, somewhat like this, many of you are going to fail, because you’re just not as good as these others.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:07:40

                                  It’s not like, you just get a certificate or degree in it, you have to be the best the best either way, you know, and so they have their reasons to to go through all of that. And to be that committed to getting into to become a neurologist who does brain surgery does work with stroke victims and in and you know.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:08:06

                                  That’s back to the comment I made about committed medical dedicated professionals who come up with off-the-wall things that, you know, really maybe aren’t approved, or aren’t what’s considered the medical way of doing it, because but it’s like, well, we’ve seen patients get better when they stand on this Wobble Board right?

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:08:31

                                  Now, when I take them off for a hike outside and have them look at the skyline while they’re walking, they seem to recruit better quicker than if they use this tool, right? So then that becomes like, again, it’s like people are going in there, like professionals are going to their off hours to go with patients and how that but either way, right, you know, it’s like, you know, they’re very in the trenches of it.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:08:53

                                  And it’s in sometimes, you know, I’ve gotten a view I’ve done some things and helped my tried some things that I found out, oh, they do in another country, or they try to some other point, you know, and some other time and it was worked out sort of, well, you know and you know, maybe it’s not just like what’s considered like the most modern.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:09:13

                                  I think you make a point to like back to the neurologist, but like, you know, my neurologist who was for my stroke is very different than the neurologist from for my ongoing pain in my brain. Right and so, you know, the neurologist right strokes like Well, yeah, they do this and they do that, you know, he can, you know, they can work with you for getting turns out like Botox, or you do Botox to try to alleviate the pain.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:09:37

                                  And so I go to the neurologist for headaches specifically and he’s like no, we don’t do that first. Like, like, we don’t do that first. We do that in extreme cases. And so just, there’s very different there’s differences and discipline and fields and skill sets of neurology, you know, so to be able to find a source like yourself or your webpage or your podcast, you know, the internet.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:10:15

                                  To get some practice on things get some resolutions or just try something different. And again, if it works, if it even helps a little bit, like, like a little bit 2%, better today than I was yesterday, is a lot, especially what I can do 2% I can be 2% Better the following day, and 1% by the next day. And yeah, I’ll try anything.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:10:39

                                  Accumulated benefits, massive, massive, and YouTube is an unbelievable resource for stroke survivors. I mean, it’s endless, what you can find on YouTube, about how to support yourself.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:10:50

                                  More and more information on that subject, at least, like three or 2021, I think it was when this happened. Like, it seems there’s more information out there and I ischemic, like the cardio, care, whatever they call the special medical term, there’s a lot more information out there.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:11:07

                                  Now, just on that tear, there’s very little information to find out there, but I can find there’s a lot more out there on YouTube to find and I’m like watching like a two-hour lecture by some doctor in Toronto, right, you know, and in Toronto, Canada, and I’m like, wow, like, that’s good to know.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:11:25

                                  And like I you know, and turn it around to like, at least I wrote into this like going to a doctor for something else. Just anything else, whatever. Like a normal general practitioner. It’s funny because the discharging doctor even though he was like, I want to discharge you personally, because I don’t get a discharge, somebody’s in better condition.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:11:49

                                  And they walked in here very often. But also attendees, he wanted to make sure I understood fully what happened to me like you had an isometric or ischemic stroke, you have full-on, he was very specific, you had a full-on isometric stroke, nada, nada, a wandering stock, or whatever they’re calling them and whatever part of the country right now for like a partial stroke.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:12:15

                                  And I’ve run into that to where like, again, like, because of the effort and the work put in, and how fortunate I was like, to me, like, Man, I would never know you had a stroke. And it’s like, that’s a great compliment because of the work. But then they’ll go to a general practitioner, and they’re like, they don’t believe me.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:12:33

                                  You know, and then I’m like, and you know, they see like, Oh, you’ve been prescribed high blood pressure medication. So you have high blood pressure, and you have all these other ones.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:12:42

                                  So maybe the reason you’re here for me now is because like your symptom would be the high blood pressure, like I don’t have high blood pressure, they just prescribed me that medication. After all, that’s what they prescribe to people so like, so also like e being able to be more informed on the subject matter.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:13:00

                                  And especially when it comes to technical terminology, like to be able to kind of throw some of that, even picking it up from another dot from professionals in that specific field on YouTube.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:13:12

                                  You have to walk into least I run into it a lot, where they’re just like, you know, they don’t want to like sometimes they don’t want to the doctor doesn’t want to listen or Yeah, like, Hey, I had this I started using, like explaining it to them. They’re like, Oh, okay, no, I see that now.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:13:27

                                  They want to be the one source for medical information, which they can’t be you know, that’s like, that’s an ego thing. What they need to be is the need to listen, and they need to embrace what you’re saying, and they need to respond appropriately in a medical way and say, Yeah, I’m not sure about that, or I’ll look into that, or you might be mistaken about that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:13:49

                                  They need to allow you to have the conversation, the days where you go to the doctor and you let them do whatever they want. And then you just accept that. That was my dad’s generation. My mom’s generation not us, we don’t do that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:14:06

                                  They need to step up, they need to know, they’re the stuff and if they don’t know this stuff, they need to be able to know who to send us to, if they don’t know their stuff, and that’s okay, I’m not expecting everyone to know everything. But I’m expecting them to respond appropriately when I challenge them.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:14:23

                                  And they can’t respond. I’m not doing it to teach you a lesson or to make you feel like you’re a terrible medical professional. I’m not doing that. I’m just trying to protect myself and I want to make sure I make the right decisions going forward because I’ll have the cognitive ability to so I am going to do it and I don’t have time for you to make mistakes and to create setbacks for me.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:14:49

                                  I’ve already had enough of those and I need to be efficient. So that’s all I’m just doing. I’m just having a proper conversation and I want you to respond appropriately. And if you don’t know, I’m not going to hold that against you. I don’t expect you to know everything.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:15:04

                                  Don’t Don’t Don’t dismiss me at least don’t dismiss what I’m saying or what I mean. There. I mean, I will tell a medical professional who listens to me and listens, listens. Does. I will thank them. Like, thank you so much for patiently listening to me.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:15:23

                                  And in I do I have run, I think everybody’s kind of run into it, at least if the older, more experience you have with some of the, you know, the medical profession, the more you might I always I’ve run into where it’s like, they get stuck on trying to prove their right.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:15:41

                                  Instead of right, like, you know, instead of like, well, okay, like, none of the symptoms are actually at this point pointing to that. Why are you still really working on trying to prove that that’s what it is? If everything’s kind of pointing over here now.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:15:56

                                  Medication is one of those things, right? It’s interesting what you said about medication. So there are some protocols for stroke such as high cholesterol, medication, blood pressure, medication, and all that kind of stuff for somebody who turns up because of carotid artery dissection.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:16:12

                                  Okay, and then don’t have any of those underlying causes. I would question whether or not you need to take the medication at all. Now, in the initial phase of we don’t know, what’s going on with you exactly. So why don’t we take some preventative action? I accept that I accept the preventive action.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:16:34

                                  But if I am not on task, I don’t have the risk factors, if I don’t have pre-existing conditions, you know, why should I be taking the medication? And I think like, in those instances, you should be able to challenge a doctor and go, I think I want off of these things.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:16:48

                                  And, you know, this is what I’m requesting this is what we should do, let’s talk about how we’re going to go about doing that and achieving that. If you’ve got high blood pressure, and you can’t control it, you should not be off high blood pressure medication, under any circumstances, you know.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:17:05

                                  And it’s just stay that’s the thing is like, and I’ve had interviews where I’ve interviewed stroke survivors who have said that, that they will, they’ll they’ll put on all this stuff preventatively.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:17:17

                                  And then they will like, I think I went off and found the right doctor and disgusted and became monitored and did Bloods and did all that stuff. And eventually, they got off it. And it’s better to not take a medication that you don’t need to be taking.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:17:36

                                  Yeah, and I ran into like I said earlier, like, the big thing I brought it I ran to I did I said similar I fought to get off some of it to get it, you know, some of it like went back on later. And but it mostly was because there’s in general, the protocol before discharges.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:17:55

                                  And that’s what that’s what they told me like, it’s the kid the residence, it was like, Okay, well, this is what we get, we sign up and sign you up for once. It even I remember they even had a conversation with a resident who said no, but he doesn’t have high blood pressure.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:18:11

                                  And they were like, well, yeah, but that’s what we give him. You know, it will let’s just give it to him, you can get taken off it later. And the thing I’ve run into is, then my chart now says that and like you’re on this and I start getting misdiagnosed for other things, because then they the medical professional in the future uses what’s happened to me sees I’m on high blood pressure and now starts Miss diagnosing me because they assume I have high blood pressure.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:18:45

                                  Complicates the medical issue.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:18:48

                                  I’ve fought to get that taken off, like, hey, let’s get that off of there. Because it’s like, I don’t have again, as you said, I don’t have time to come back three more times. When we pray it probably could diagnose this the first time we eliminate the high, just as example, the high blood pressure that’s out there.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:19:09

                                  Yeah. So that’s the thing, like being accurate in your diagnosis and your medical history. Your actual medical history is really important to be accurate, you know, and that’s the thing.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:19:21

                                  I just updated my medical history correctly. The other day, I said, You need to correct this. Like, very important. It’s funny, you said I’m sorry, I interrupted you.

                                  The hardest thing about the stroke for Shane Duffiney


                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:19:31
                                  That’s all right. Look, I’m, I’m curious about a couple of things as we wrap up. Now, what I’m curious about is what’s the hardest thing about stroke.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:19:48

                                  Hardest thing about stroke and I want to kind of want to get this answer right for your audience. Man, the hardest thing about stroke I’m tossed up between, like not getting depressed through it. Right, you know, especially the early phases, you know, in knowing you’re gonna get better because I’ve said, and I say that, like, especially about the depression.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:20:27

                                  Because as I walked, I walked into the place like freaking ecstatic because I was like, this is going to change you for the better. Like, I knew it, like you’re not like, I remember walking down the back to that hallway, I walked in the door, walking down the hallway, and it’s just like, total cliche, but, you know.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:20:49

                                  It’s flashing through my mind, all the things that I’m gonna miss, like, if I don’t leave this building, because that’s what I was the reality, right, you know, and I was very aware of it, it’s like, you might not walk out of you might not leave this building a lot. And so it’s like, you know, the family, the friends, that cliche, but it was so true. And I was just like, and you have not been doing enough of that.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:21:15

                                  And so, back to the depression, I was thrilled. For being and all that pain and being able to again, I had to learn how to turn my head and look at things. I learned how to do that again. I got to spend weeks learning how to do that. And I still had dark moments, right? You know and scared like, sad, dark, not suicidal.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:21:42

                                  I didn’t get that point. But I could see how somebody would write you know, and so that, I would say the depression, you know, like, like, so many people, I didn’t know how it affected so many people in my life already, like so many people texted me found out heard about it, from all over the country all over the US.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:22:04

                                  Because I’ve traveled for work, travel, I’ve just lived all over the place. I’ve been everywhere in this country. And in so many people, you know, my brother-in-law’s family, you know, that I met for Christmas one time had great people, like, texted me heartfelt. Hey, you know, I heard you’re going through some stuff.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:22:25

                                  You know, and I, you know, you’re cared about like, those was like bright shining star moments for me in that depression. And I’ve made so for myself, I made sure every one of those people who reached out to me, like, when I see him again, in person, I thank them, I look him in the eye. And I thank them.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:22:45

                                  I tell them how much that mattered in that moment. So it was very, it was very depressing. And I was probably about as happy as you can be. Like, and it still was very depressing. And those for anybody else who’s watching and hasn’t had a stroke like yeah, those little, that little text message was very helpful.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:23:05

                                  So yeah, I mean, the depression I would say is probably the hardest in the thought of I won’t get the I can’t get better. Like there’s no like, my life is over. My life is over. Like, it’s not back to why I finally showed up for this, right? Like, my life is over.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:23:23

                                  My life is over and that lady walking down the street, and I was like, Oh, I know where she’s at. She’s she’s had a stroke. Like, she’s fighting this and her life is not over. It might feel like it right there.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:23:36

                                  But she’s doing what it takes, you know, and it’s yeah, the world is not over life is not over and it will get better. And man, you know, and if you have to have a you have to have a midlife crisis by us by Porsche instead. Know, but this will do.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:23:58

                                  Buy a Porche, drive fast, scratch it, and realize it wasn’t the Porsche that was gonna make me feel better at 42. Right? And then sell it for half of what you bought it and you know, let it burn a hole in your pocket and then go, Okay, now what do I have to do?

                                  Lessons from the stroke

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:24:25

                                  What has stroke taught you?

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:24:27

                                  Oh, cherish the moments. cherish the moments, cherish the moments. Every once in a while I start forgetting that, you know now recognize, recognize, cherish, take, you know, I do this thing. Like you know again I didn’t realize how much it was going to help other people.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:24:49

                                  But it did. So people would come up to me when they saw me again. I do this thing where if I stop cherishing the moments, I mean any not like I I’ll make a point in my day to take a look around my day and find something beautiful in the day. And it might be in that might be a car on the street, like my experience.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:25:14

                                  If I put myself in the right mindset, I can find something beautiful and an ugly object, right, you know, and inside, take a picture of it. And I just that angle that where I’m seeing the beauty of that. In that post, I posted on Facebook, and I put the view from my window.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:25:31

                                  Right? And when people asked, like, why do you do that, it’s like, because, because I’m making sure because I’m forgetting right now I’m forgetting to cherish the moments, and I’m getting kind of depressed with it from it, you know, and, and I’m making a point to make sure I do.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:25:45

                                  And other people like me, that helped me out a lot. You know, it made me start realizing I need it. That made me start looking at the world around me differently. So I would say like, that’s been the, the biggest thing is cherish the moments. Like, having a yacht and going to be I guess not, it’s not worth all that.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:26:09

                                  You happen to find yourself on a yacht. And it’s a beautiful day and you’re cherishing the moment.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:26:14

                                  That’s perfect, perfect.

                                  A message for other stroke survivors from Shane Duffiney

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:26:20

                                  What’s the message you want to leave the people watching and listening with? You know, what do you want to say? Other stroke survivors?

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:26:27

                                  Yeah, I, yeah, I’ve kind of kept throwing it out there. Thanks for asking that question. Again. I’ll reiterate it, you know, you will get better at it. This isn’t the end of your life. This isn’t it? You know, whatever the old saying is, it’s always the brightest after the darkest moments, right? You know, and it’s very true.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:26:55

                                  In this case, there are like, you will get the I took me weeks to learn how to turn my head and look. There, they will put a Z on the end of a stick and now like, Okay, follow it with your eyes, I guess I wasn’t even turning my head. It took me weeks to be able to do that.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:27:16

                                  Like, you will get better. Further stroke survivors out there. And like, don’t, don’t, please don’t look at the condition I’m in now or here like and look and think and let that turn into well, you aren’t as bad as me. Because you were never as bad as me maybe I wasn’t bad off after the shop is immediately after the sharpest me.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:27:42

                                  Maybe I wasn’t but there are dedicated professionals who are committed, who have made it their life’s journey to find ways to to help you. And if you put any effort and an effort in the beginning is just mentally saying I’m gonna do this and then eventually you will physically also be able to do it.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:28:05

                                  And I know there’s been plenty of people on this podcast that have been worse than I was that have said the same thing. So please, like that’s that guess that’s just the big thing like you will get better keep keep keep on keeping on. You’ll you’ll get better if you’ve tried it.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:28:23

                                  Awesome. Shane. And on that note, thank you so much for A reaching out and sending me that amazing email B agreeing to be on the podcast sharing your story. I appreciate it.

                                  Shane Duffiney 1:28:35

                                  Absolutely. Thank you very much. Bill thanks for following your journey and finding your journey with this and being there for everybody.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:28:45

                                  Thanks for joining us on today’s episode. If you’re interested in a copy of my book, you can go to Amazon and use my name Bill Gasiamis In the search bar or visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book. To learn more about my guests, including their social media links, and to download the full interview transcript head over to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:29:10

                                  A huge thank you to everyone who has left a review it means the world to me. Reviews are crucial for podcasts to thrive and your feedback helps others find this valuable content making their stroke recovery journey a little easier. If you haven’t left a review yet, please consider leaving a five-star review and a few words about what the show means to you on iTunes and Spotify.

                                  Bill Gasiamis 1:29:34

                                  If you’re watching on YouTube, leave a comment below the video or like the episode and subscribe to the show on your preferred platform to get notifications of future episodes. If you are a stroke survivor with a story to share now’s the perfect time to join me on the show that interviews are unscripted and don’t require any planning. Just be yourself and share your experience to help others in similar situations. Thanks so much for being here. Once again, I appreciate you see you on the next episode.

                                  The post Ischemic Stroke Recovery Story – Shane Duffiney appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                  1 hr 32 min
                                • Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign – Dr. Violiza Inoa
                                  Maximizing Stroke Prevention: The Ultimate Guide
                                  Introduction

                                  In today’s fast-paced world, the prevalence of stroke is a pressing concern. With its debilitating consequences, stroke prevention has become paramount. The Getting Ahead of Stroke Campaign is dedicated to empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to get ahead of stroke. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into effective strategies and actionable steps to mitigate the risk of stroke and safeguard your well-being.

                                  Understanding Stroke
                                  What is Stroke?

                                  A stroke occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted, leading to cell death and neurological impairment. Ischemic strokes, caused by blood clots blocking arteries, and hemorrhagic strokes, resulting from ruptured blood vessels, are the two primary types.

                                  Risk Factors

                                  Identifying and addressing risk factors is crucial for stroke prevention. Common risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking, and sedentary lifestyle. Additionally, age, genetics, and previous stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) contribute to stroke susceptibility.

                                  Recognizing Symptoms

                                  Prompt recognition of stroke symptoms is vital for timely intervention. Remember the acronym BE FAST, which includes additional symptoms:

                                  • Balance difficulties
                                  • Eyesight changes
                                  • Face drooping
                                  • Arm weakness
                                  • Speech difficulty
                                  • Time to call emergency services

                                    • These additional symptoms, along with the classic FAST symptoms, provide a comprehensive framework for identifying stroke and seeking immediate medical attention.

                                    Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign
                                    Purpose

                                    The Getting Ahead of Stroke Campaign aims to raise awareness, educate communities, and promote proactive measures for stroke prevention. Through collaborative efforts with healthcare professionals, organizations, and the public, we strive to combat the rising incidence of stroke.

                                    Key Initiatives
                                    1. Educational Workshops: Hosting workshops on stroke prevention, risk factors, and warning signs.
                                    2. Community Outreach: Engaging with local communities through health fairs, seminars, and informational sessions.
                                    3. Digital Awareness: Leveraging online platforms to disseminate informative content, resources, and testimonials.
                                    4. Partnerships: Collaborating with healthcare providers, advocacy groups, and governmental agencies to amplify campaign reach and impact.
                                      5. Empowering Through Education
                                      Lifestyle Modifications

                                      Encouraging healthy lifestyle choices is paramount for stroke prevention. Adopting a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, along with regular physical activity, aids in maintaining optimal cardiovascular health.

                                      Medication Adherence

                                      For individuals with hypertension, diabetes, or other predisposing conditions, adherence to prescribed medications is crucial. Regular medical consultations, medication management, and monitoring play a pivotal role in controlling risk factors and preventing stroke recurrence.

                                      Smoking Cessation

                                      Tobacco use significantly elevates stroke risk. Offering smoking cessation resources, counseling, and support services empowers individuals to break free from nicotine addiction and safeguard their vascular health.

                                      Conclusion

                                      The Getting Ahead of Stroke Campaign is committed to driving positive change in stroke prevention and management. By prioritizing education, awareness, and proactive interventions, we can collectively reduce the burden of stroke and enhance the quality of life for individuals worldwide. Join us in our mission to get ahead of stroke and create a healthier future for all.

                                      Full Interview with Dr. Violiza Inoa

                                      Gain valuable insights from Dr. Violiza Inoa on recognizing stroke symptoms early and seeking immediate medical help. Empower yourself with knowledge for a healthier future!

                                      Highlights:

                                      00:00 Introduction

                                      05:00 Getting Ahead of Stroke Campaign
                                      12:12 Stroke treatment, including emergency response times and medical interventions
                                      22:06 Getting ahead of stroke and family decision-making
                                      27:50 Stroke disparities in different communities, and lack of awareness
                                      35:00 Stroke diagnosis and treatment, including when to call 911

                                      Transcript:

                                      Introduction – Dr. Violiza Inoa

                                      Bill Gasiamis 0:00

                                      Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Recovery after Stroke podcast. My guest today is Dr. Violiza Inoa a leading neurologist who spearheaded medical missions in rural Dominican communities before pursuing advanced training in the United States. As an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee, she champions stroke prevention and treatment.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 0:24

                                      Dr. Inoa’s expertise in vascular neurology and interventional neuroradiology has earned her numerous accolades including the Excellence in the Treatment of acute ischemic stroke award. Before we dive into the interview, I’d like to take a moment to introduce my book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened: 10 Tools For Recovery, and Personal Transformation.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 0:51

                                      It’s a collection of inspiring stories from 10 stroke survivors, showcasing their incredible journey from adversity to personal growth, covering everything from nutrition and exercise to handling emotional challenges. This book is a beacon of hope for those on the road to recovery. For more information, you can check out recoveryafterstroke.com/book or simply search for my name Bill Gasiamis on Amazon. Dr. Violiza Inoa, welcome to the podcast.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 1:22

                                      Hi, how are you? Thank you. Thanks for having me.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 1:24

                                      Thank you for being here. Before we do have that conversation about stroke awareness, stroke prevention, and supporting people during those stages where they’re having their stroke or their stroke is occurring. Tell me a little bit about yourself and the work that you do.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 1:42

                                      So again, my name is Violiza Inoa, I’m at the stroke in neurointervention, in Memphis, Tennessee, the United States. I am a neurologist by training by background, and I dedicate my life to seeing stroke patients for prevention, but also for hyperacute treatments in post-stroke care.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 2:07

                                      Your work has got you to this stage of your career where you’re encouraging you want people to know something about stroke, you want them to know that stroke is treatable. And do you have a sense that there is a feeling in the communities that you deal with, or the people from the community deal with that stroke is not treatable, that it’s some kind of a condition that when it occurs, it’s devastating, and it’s life-altering and life-ending?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 2:44

                                      Yeah, no. And it’s not just a feeling. I’ve had my personal experience with that, you know, with many patients that do not recognize stroke as an emergency or as a treatable condition. However, there’s a lot of data behind it data from the community from different states.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 3:08

                                      We know what is going on. The majority of Americans nowadays, know that stroke is an emergency. But if you were to ask if they would call 911, less than half would seek emergency treatments. Many, many, many people in the population would say that they would recognize stroke symptoms, but they would not seek any medical help.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 3:46

                                      And the reality of it is that we’ve lived in a culture where people believe that if they had a stroke, they’re doomed, that there’s nothing they’re going to do about it. That stroke leads to death and disability. And that’s it, that there’s no opportunity for treatment. And we are here to tell you that that is not true stroke is a treatable condition. I think, for many years, many of us have spent a lot of our energy in educating the population about stroke prevention.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 4:23

                                      And I think that’s important, talking about the importance of recognizing high blood pressure and diabetes, high cholesterol, on healthy lifestyle, treating those conditions to prevent heart attacks and stroke. But I think we’ve spent less time talking about treatments and the reality is that the treatment of a stroke is one of the most impactful treatments in medicine and we can talk a little bit about what that means in a few minutes.

                                      Getting ahead of stroke campaign

                                      Bill Gasiamis 5:00

                                      So the whole reason this podcast exists is because there is a gap in the support for people who have had a stroke. And then when I had my hemorrhagic strokes and then had to have brain surgery, and then I had to learn how to walk again, and all those things, I didn’t have anyone sort of reaching out to say, Hey, this is going to be okay, we’re going to work it out, you’re going to get through that in 10 years, you’re going to be in a better position.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 5:27

                                      Maybe you’ll have some physical challenges, but you might have been able to grow from this psychologically or emotionally or in many other ways. And the biggest challenge is that I did a lot of support work in my time after the first bleed. I did a lot of work for the Stroke Foundation here in Australia, where we did all of the awareness campaigns. But my anecdotal experience was that the awareness campaigns and this is not true, entirely.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 6:06

                                      But we’re falling on deaf ears and the audience that needed to hear them. Those awareness campaigns were not there when I was presenting to the people who needed to hear how to prevent stroke, we’re not there. So then what was happening, we were discovering that in my interviews, I was discovering people who had had a stroke and were young, like me in the 20s 30s, or 40s, even in their 50s.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 6:36

                                      And they were “I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with me, it’ll pass I’ll have a headache medication, or I’ll go to bed and sleep it off” and of course, those people are in the category of I’m not old enough to have a stroke. So it must not be a stroke. And then the people around them, their family, friends, colleagues, also, there wasn’t enough awareness of what stroke is, but that was very easily convinced by the person.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 7:09

                                      Even though their instincts told them. Something’s not right with my colleagues, they’ll very easily convinced when the person says, I know, I’m okay. I’m just gonna go lie down, I have a headache. So, what you’re saying, and what I’ve experienced anecdotally, really does align there. And over 300 episodes now, and we’re starting to understand that what people SRECS fibers need is more information.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 7:42

                                      And as we get more information about recovery, people are contacting me going, Oh, this is a fantastic resource. I didn’t know that it was possible to overcome these challenges. And I suppose one of the other issues, Doctor is that when we are treated? I don’t know if there are a lot of doctors that share your enthusiasm. About the possibility of recovery and overcoming. Why are you so enthusiastic? Why do you believe that we need to be telling people that recovery is possible?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 8:22

                                      Well, your story thanks for sharing. And it has many important points, and I think we can unpack a few of the things that he just mentioned. So first of all, there are two types of stroke. One of them is the lack of blood flow to the brain a clot that is called ischemic in medical terms, that’s about 87% of the stroke.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 8:52

                                      And there’s brain bleed. There’s hemorrhagic stroke, which is the minority of stroke, and both of them are equally devastating, potentially right. Both of them can present with similar symptoms or stroke symptoms. And I think it’s important to go over some of the stroke symptoms and we can stop here and make this parenthesis and talk about the mnemonics that we have.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 9:21

                                      One of them is the BEFAST. B stands for balance, loss of balance vertigo spinning sensation inability to walk. E stands for eyesight. So, sudden blurry vision or vision loss or double vision even F stands for face, face drooping. Stands for arm, arm weakness, and leg weakness, as well as S for speech, inability to speak correctly, slurred speech, unable to find words unable to read to write, and T stands for time, time to call 911.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 10:06

                                      So, those are the stroke symptoms, and they can happen with both ischemic lack of blood flow, hemorrhagic bleeding stroke, and what happened to you was a bleeding stroke. Both types of stroke need to be identified and treated right away. So let’s talk about the more common stroke, which is the ischemic stroke, like you said, about 87% out of the 100 stroke patients 87 will have an ischemic stroke.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 10:46

                                      In the United States, it’s about like 800,000 people per year, it happens every 40 seconds, and someone will have a stroke in the United States overall stroke. So if we go back to the ischemic stroke, it can also happen to anyone at any age, right? What is different is the cause of stroke is going to be different across ages. So someone who is 18 can have a stroke, and someone who is 60, 80, 90, or 100, can all have a stroke.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 11:28

                                      The causes can vary a little bit, right, regardless of the age, they need treatment, stroke is a treatable condition you were saying. And the fact of the matter is that I know you’re in Australia, we are in the United States, we are developed, we have great stroke systems. Stroke Treatment doesn’t happen at home, we have to call 911. Although I know that in your country, you have a lot of people who are not necessarily close to stroke centers.

                                      Stroke Treatment Including Emergency Response Times And Medical Interventions

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 12:12

                                      However, I know that the systems work because we have worked and we know doctors from Australia. And I know how they can take care of stroke patients over there. So the more or the most important thing is that people after they have the symptoms, they call 911. Because that starts the triage system, and the patients can get to the emergency department where stroke can be treated.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 12:45

                                      Yeah, in the main cities, we have stroke units in the hospitals. And what’s cool is recently some of those hospitals rolled out specific stroke, ambulances. And that means if our emergency services triple zero if we call triple zero, and we request an ambulance, and we say I think that somebody is having a stroke, there is a possibility that they will send the stroke ambulance, which is just an amazing resource.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 13:20

                                      What I’ve found is the response time by the medical organizations has been such that it’s decreasing the amount of time that it takes to get a suspected stroke patient to the hospital. And that by have even heard of stories where people have had a stroke. And they are compared to me and some other stroke survivors, people who have had other ischemic strokes, they’ve been able to have the cause of the clot removed or treated with TPA, and as a result, have a fantastic outcome.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 14:01

                                      And even though they have some, you know, some deficits or some challenges, they are far better off than they would have been if they waited a lot longer. Tell me a little bit about the way that you guys can treat somebody who turns up at an emergency department and is having an ischemic stroke. How, do you go in and support them to improve blood flow or to get blood flow back to the brain?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 14:36

                                      Yeah, no. And I’ll get to that. But I think I want to highlight the fact that you’re talking about the stroke ambulance. So last time we checked there were about 40 stroke ambulances in the world and for the people that are listening, what that means is that there is a more expensive ambulance. But it’s a bigger ambulance that has a CAT scan inside of the ambulance.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 15:13

                                      And what that means is that the people that are riding in the ambulance, they have the knowledge, the radiological knowledge, they have nice text, they have people that can draw labs, they have the first line of treatment when indicated, which is TPA, TNK thrombolytic. And those are clot-buster medications. So they are harbored in the ambulance.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 15:44

                                      So people can be treated right away. But I have to say that that’s the VIP treatment, right? So we do have one I live, in Memphis, Tennessee, and we do have one as part of the University of Tennessee, we were doing some research. And it works. Good data suggests that people who ride on the stroke ambulance are treated faster. So we have some experience with that.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 16:11

                                      Now, I want to make sure to the audience that the audience understands that not everyone is going to get the stroke ambulance at their doorstep. And that doesn’t matter. Because, you know, our systems of care are built to treat stroke patients. And what happens is that if I’m having symptoms of a stroke, I call 911. And I forget about the stroke mimics meaning I forget about if this is not a stroke, or if this is a stroke, I’m not the doctor, right?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 16:50

                                      If I was a patient, I’m not trying to diagnose myself, all I’m trying to do is to activate the system, the system is activated. Great data saying that once the EMS paramedics call the hospital word stroke can be treated, say a stroke patient or potential stroke patient is coming in. Once a patient arrives at the ER, there are a lot of people waiting for this patient. To start this triage in the emergency department. The first step is to get a CAT scan like you suggest that people bleed in the brain.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 17:30

                                      And we could not get the clot buster medications to the people that have bled. So we need to identify ischemic or lack of blood flow. And then we give that medication. As soon as we can, the faster, the better. Then we do a special CAT scan that highlights the vessels. And then if the arteries of the brain are blocked, we identify a big artery that has been blocked, and then there’s a procedure that is indicated that is called thrombectomy.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 18:07

                                      So physicians, like myself, many physicians, we have them in Australia, they go from inside the vessels, or tiny vessels, either from the wrist or from the groin. This is a minimally invasive procedure. This is not open skull or brain surgery. This is inside the vessels. They navigate through the vessels as big pipes. And then we go to the brain and with devices, we get the claws out. And it’s it’s amazing. How fast we can do this procedure, how minimally invasive they are, and how much better the patients can get.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 18:55

                                      Yeah, it is amazing. Are there some risks to doing that procedure? What are the challenges with doing the procedure? And then clearly we know the benefits. If it goes well, where I’ve had a lot of them that have gone well, then we can improve blood flow very, very rapidly. So first question, what are the risks of doing a procedure like that?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 19:26

                                      Yeah, absolutely. So that’s a good question. For the benefits, we know, that the number needed to treat patients to get better is 2.6 which is amazing. It’s better than any other procedure, even medications in the history of medicine. So the downside of the procedure is minimal. But for example, the procedure uses contrast dye so patients can get allergy II to the conscious die and that is treated with medications such as steroids, even Benadryl, you know, anti-allergic medications.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 20:10

                                      So sometimes the procedure is under anesthesia, that general anesthesia. So there are some risks related to the anesthesia in the procedure. Sometimes as we go through the vessels, we can injure some of the vessels we get through. So we can call tear of the vessels, etc, most of the time that heals itself, or we give aspirin or medications, such as aspirin to treat them. Sometimes, the complications can be devastating, you know, we’re trying to get the clots out of the brain that causes bleeding in the brain, etc. This is the minority of the time. And in fact, when if we have a complication, or if we were to encounter a problem, we will try to fix it right away.

                                      Intro 21:06

                                      If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind, like how long will it take to recover? Will I recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, and doctors will explain things that, you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery.

                                      Intro 21:36

                                      If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to Ask Your Doctor about your Stroke. These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, but they’ll also help you take a more active role in your recovery, head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                                      Getting ahead of stroke, and family decision-making

                                      Bill Gasiamis 22:06

                                      Yeah, I do hear from many patients who have had that procedure and it’s gone fantastically well. There are some patients, some of my guests who have had some challenges with a few additional complications. All of the people that I’ve spoken to seem to be grateful that they were able to have the procedure, even though there were complications, even though there were some challenges that they were very unwell at the time of the prevention, of the procedure being provided.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 22:46

                                      And as a result of that, the outcome might have been a lot worse, if they didn’t have the procedure. The challenge is that family members often struggle with these decisions. I think one of the reasons they struggle is because they may not understand how unwell their loved one is, and making decisions like that is difficult. I’ve even had somebody contact me and say, I think I made the wrong decision about allowing the doctors to intervene in my husband’s stroke.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 23:19

                                      And it’s like, why would you think that, and it’s because he’s very unwell now. And I decided without thinking about it and all those types of things. But in that particular case, I feel like this lady also now feels like that without an intervention. That outcome may not have been as good as it is now. And this particular stroke survivor has had an amazing recovery.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 23:47

                                      And I’ve followed him for about 10 years. And even though he may have hemiplegia, he is living an amazing life. He can become a member of his community, he’s able to participate and go back to work in some capacity. He’s become involved in creative outlets, and he has been involved in the production of shows and all that kind of stuff. So it seemed very, very bleak at the beginning, and it was, but that type of intervention has allowed him to find a way back into an amazing life even though it has its challenges and difficulties.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 24:36

                                      Yeah, and I want to expand on what you’re saying because it’s it’s very important to understand that not every patient is going to be the same. Right. So we have different baselines, you know, we function the Frequently, we have other comorbidities. And also we do different things. So for example, someone who drives for a living a taxi driver might think that if they were having a stroke that just affects their vision that’s going to be disabling, versus someone who is retired and is living at home.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 25:29

                                      And it’s not like you do not want to see, however, your vision is not going to impair you from making a living. So there are so many aspects to this, this is very interesting. But something that I have to address is that time is brain. And it has been probably the most important factor that we that we know about is stroke treatments, early interventions are going to favor our patients.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 26:06

                                      There are studies out there. There’s a beautiful paper by Dr. Savor talks about the quantification of neuron loss. So for example, if we were to have a stroke and not get treatment, for every hour of not being treated, we age 3.6 years, millions of neurons go by. So time is of the essence, and I understand where you’re coming from, you know, those are very important critical decisions.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 26:53

                                      But even the time that a family member takes trying to understand and grasp in, in get a lot of knowledge about what’s going on, that is detrimental to the patient, unfortunately, so in many centers in the United States, and I would like you to share what you guys are doing over there.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 27:17

                                      But we treat thrombectomy as an emergent procedure, of course, we want to talk to the family. But even if we do not reach out to these family members, we go ahead and talk to other physicians, and as long as everyone is agreeable, we go ahead and treat the patient. And then we ask questions later because we know that if we lose the time, there’s less likelihood that this patient is going to get better.

                                      Stroke disparities in different communities, and lack of awareness

                                      Bill Gasiamis 27:50

                                      I like the sound of that. Deciding to treat the patient, I think in that scenario is very important. According to the stats, nearly 2 million brain cells die every minute a stroke goes untreated. It sounds like a lot of brain cells.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 28:09

                                      That is a lot of brain cells, a lot of brain cells and across the board, when we look at treatment with plug booster medications and treatment with thrombectomy, which is the unblocking procedure, we know that time is one of the most important factors. So we need to act fast. You know, going back to the beef fast mnemonic. Yeah,

                                      Bill Gasiamis 28:45

                                      I like to be fast. In Australia, we don’t talk about the beef fast, so much, we mostly talk about the FAST. I like to be fast because it does add that level of B loss of balance and E loss of eyesight, which is which are very common symptoms of stroke. But we seem to focus on all the other ones which are also important. But I love that BEFAST version is a little more, covers a few more people and perhaps gives a little bit more awareness of what stroke can look like on somebody who’s in front of you, whether they’re a loved one or somebody or a work colleague.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 29:29

                                      There also seem to be some stroke disparities. Now some communities are more likely to have a stroke, who are those communities and what are the challenges that they face as the above two? And who are the other communities where’s the difference? There are disparities.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 29:52

                                      So absolutely. I am Hispanic Oh, so our community has a high risk of stroke, sometimes types of stroke, black people have more likelihood of having stroke because of genetics could be because of socioeconomic situations, it’s very multifactorial, with higher rates of high blood pressure, higher rates of diabetes, in my community, the Hispanic community and in the black community.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 30:32

                                      So Asians will have more plaque built up in the brain. So even younger, Asians will have stroke more promptly because of this reason, and then access to care, right? So lower socioeconomic status will probably have less access to care, and lack of insurance, many people who would not go to doctors will lack education, but also finances. So they are concerned about the hospital bill, paying for an ambulance, what it’s what what is it going to cost in all of those factors will contribute to the socio-economic and racial disparities in stroke treatment.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 31:25

                                      I have to say that your race, your age, and your background do not preclude you from having a stroke, and do not preclude you from getting treatment, we treat all comers. And again, time is the most important thing, because after some time, patients will fall outside of Windows, right? So there’s a time window for the clot buster medication, there’s a time window for the thrombectomy and the old clot in the vessels. So if you fall outside of the time trying to wait out your symptoms, you’re not going to get treated.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 32:14

                                      Yeah. Doctor Inoa, you know, in those communities, is that there isn’t enough awareness about the fact that if you belong to a particular group of people, you’re more likely to have a stroke. And therefore, when you see somebody, you might suspect a stroke more quickly. But why is it that not only will black communities Hispanic communities and Asian communities be at greater risk of stroke?

                                      Bill Gasiamis 32:52

                                      But is it that they also are not taking action to are those communities not educated about that higher risk, and therefore, making decisions that are money based, or making decisions that are culturally based about doctors or anything like that, what other things are happening in that space that stops people from getting treatment from those communities?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 33:17

                                      I can tell you, and obviously, I would not want to generalize, because there’s education across the board. But definitely, lack of education plays a big factor. And, obviously, lack of awareness, lack of getting appropriate medical care, lack of identifying the symptoms, not going to the hospital not calling 911. So for example, we live in Connecticut, excuse me, we live in Memphis, Tennessee, I don’t know I trained in Connecticut.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 33:58

                                      So it came up to me but I live in Memphis, Tennessee, in the south of the United States under the stroke bill. And in reporting data is mandatory mandated by the state, you know, from the different hospitals in you cannot imagine the majority of people will drive, you know, through these rural areas to try to get to the hospital to get treatment for a stroke.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 34:26

                                      And that is just a lack of awareness and knowledge. Because if they only knew different, you know, they would call 911. And I mean, there’s there’s a lot of there’s a big taboo as well. In my Dominican community, for example, if you have a stroke, you’re done. You know, there’s there’s nothing afterward. That is the cultural belief, which as you know, it’s just absolutely not true.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa – Diagnosis and treatment, including when to call 911

                                      Bill Gasiamis 35:00

                                      It’s interesting that thing you said about people driving. Now, I know a lot of people who have said they’ve driven to the hospital to avoid a hospital bill or ambulance bill, and I get it at that moment. Firstly, you don’t think you’re having a stroke. Secondly, you know that the bill is going to be expensive, you’d like to avoid that if possible. But during that drive, you’re missing the opportunity to be treated by an EMT.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 35:28

                                      So even if it’s not a stroke, or ambulance, which it most likely won’t be, you’re still missing the opportunity to get treated and be cared for. And for tests to be done and things to be determined so that they can be reported to the ER so that when you arrive there, things can be action can be taken appropriately. Also, you’re putting other people at risk by driving because if the stroke that we’re experiencing gets worse, it could mean that we end up having a collision, making it worse for ourselves and making it worse for other people around us.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 36:09

                                      Yeah, and I have met people who get to the hospital, and they spent hours waiting in the ER, just to get triaged, let’s say your stroke symptom is a little bit of numbness in one arm. And let’s say it’s the eyesight, it’s the vision, oh, blurry vision that can be about anything. However, now, it can end up being a big, big stroke.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 36:42

                                      And sometimes there’s a pro drum, you start with milder symptoms, milder symptoms can be also associated with large clots, right, so things can get worse, etc. So acute care and diagnosis are absolutely important. And yeah, I’m completely against driving into the hospital because of all of the reasons that he just expressed.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 37:20

                                      In the scenario of an ischemic stroke, thrombectomy. And medications are great interventions, how do doctors support people who are having a hemorrhagic stroke? What are some of the interventions that can help decrease blood loss and blood entering the brain?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 37:43

                                      The best intervention is the diagnosis and the lowering of the blood pressure. And that has to be that needs to be done hyper acutely. So there’s great data that we know, suggesting that or demonstrating that controlling that blood pressure aggressively, immediately after the bleed, will decrease, disability will decrease rates of death, right? So, rapid approach to the acute management of the patients, patients would bleed when they come in and they can be very sick.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 38:30

                                      So they cannot protect the airway, and sometimes they are altered. So protecting, you know, the ABCs of medicine, right making sure that the patients are stable, that the blood pressure is adequately controlled, and also getting in many cases, a CAT scan of the vessels or CTA is very important, because depending on the age and the type of the bleeding, people can have brain aneurysms, vascular malformations, and those things need to be treated. So it’s equally important that people with hemorrhagic stroke arrive at the emergency department as soon as possible as well.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 39:20

                                      Yeah. And of course, when you’re a patient, you won’t know if you’re having a hemorrhagic stroke or an ischemic stroke. But the symptoms are very similar, or the things that we experienced are the same. So it’s just as important to take action and don’t worry about what you think is happening. Just take action because of what is happening and what you notice.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 39:42

                                      I’m curious, Dr. Inoa what, in the whole process. When do neurologists become involved? So initially, I imagined the first phone call 911 in America or 000 in Australia. do you deal with an ambulance, the ambulance takes you to the ER, and then from the ER, you might get a CAT scan, and you might get admitted to a ward. What part of the process? Does the neurologist become involved in the patient? And what type of role do neurologists play?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 40:19

                                      So that is a great question because it’s going to depend on the type of hospital that you get to. In the United States, we have highest level would be a comprehensive stroke center, we have primary stroke center, we have a stroke, writing hospital, depending on the staff, and the availability of stroke treatments, then we classify the hospital as LS, a stroke neurologist, or a neurolos not going be everywhere, but definitely will be at the Comprehensive Stroke Center and the primary stroke center.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 40:58

                                      So it is more likely that in the majority of the hospitals, you’re going to be seen treated triaged, and treated by the emergency department. So they are capable. And they know all of the stroke protocols. And also, they know how to quantify strokes, and they know when to refer. So part of the triage system that we have, and I think that I cannot be more repetitive we call we need to call 911 because the ambulance, and the EMS providers, will know where stroke is treated and where the specialists are going to be.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 41:46

                                      And for example, if they identify someone that is having a stroke, or symptoms of let’s say, a large vessel stroke, right, they will come they will more likely route that patient where there is a neurologist, where there’s a neuro interventionalist where the people can get CAT scans of the vessels, advanced neural imaging, there’s a neuro ICU, etc.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 42:14

                                      Usually where neurologists work, they usually become part of a triage of a stroke. As soon as the patient arrives at the emergency department, which is something that probably that’s where you were going to write, you don’t have to wait. Once you come to the ER with the stroke symptom, the neurologist is waiting for you or someone who belongs to the neurology service. triaging stroke patients will be waiting for you.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 42:48

                                      And most importantly, what you said was that everyone you deal with is going to be in a position to diagnose, treat, and support somebody who’s having a stroke, that presents to the ER. So from EMTs to paramedics, to registrar, nurses, to every single person who you’re going to come across is aware of the stroke protocol. I appreciate your time, what are some of the last few messages we can give to people who are listening?

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 43:26

                                      Absolutely. So Well, thanks for the opportunity. I think this matters anywhere we are. And thank you for sharing your story. And I think it’s extremely important what you’re doing. And I’m glad to see you walk up talking, you know, process everything and being great. Because that is a great example. I think the final message is probably a long one Stroke can happen to you and any of your family members.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 44:00

                                      Regardless of your background or your age, the stroke is treatable. It is survivable. And I think we are blessed in your country and in the country I live in that we have access to treatment. So we need to understand how to identify stroke symptoms, to call 911 to get treatments. Again, we are blessed with systems of care that will support stroke patients and will bring their lives hopefully back to their baseline and their lives can be better or the same as they were before.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 44:48

                                      I completely agree with that. I have some deficits left side numbness proprioception issues and a whole bunch of stuff but things improved things that are getting better. I’m an example of that the 300 other people that I’ve interviewed are an example of recovery and the possibility of recovery.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 45:09

                                      Everyone is fighting the good fight, and they are going after recovery. They’re great examples of what’s possible. It’s possible because of amazing people like you without amazing people like you and all the people who work with you and around you. We wouldn’t be here. So we are grateful. And thank you so much for your time. I wish you all the best.

                                      Dr. Violiza Inoa 45:33

                                      I appreciate it. Thank you.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 45:34

                                      Thanks for tuning into today’s episode. For more insights into our guests and access to a transcript of the entire interview, head over to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes. And to all those who have shared feedback. Your reviews mean the world they not only fuel this podcast but also like the way others are on their stroke recovery journey. If you haven’t left a review yet, why not share your thoughts on iTunes or Spotify? And if you’re watching on YouTube, drop a comment below.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 46:07

                                      Give this episode a thumbs up and hit the subscribe for more updates. To all stroke survivors out there. Your story is welcome here. raw and unfiltered. Your journey has the power to inspire and uplift others facing similar challenges. And for those offering innovative products or services.

                                      Bill Gasiamis 46:26

                                      For stroke survivors, let’s talk about collaborating on a sponsored episode of the show. Just head to recoveryafterstroke.com/contact to start the conversation. Thank you once again for your presence and support. Together we navigate the journey of recovery one episode at a time until the next time, take care, and stay resilient.

                                      Intro 46:48

                                      Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals. The opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed all content on this website and any linked blog, podcast, or video material controlled by this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis.

                                      Intro 47:17

                                      The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances, or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure, or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                                      Intro 47:42

                                      Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor, or your rehabilitation program based on our content. If you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency or think you might be called 000 in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

                                      Intro 48:07

                                      Medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information in our content. We did not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with the links we provide however third-party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                                      The post Get Ahead of Stroke Campaign – Dr. Violiza Inoa appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                      49 min
                                    5. Adaptive Yoga For Stroke Recovery – Stacie Wyatt
                                      Adaptive Yoga for Stroke Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide
                                      Introduction

                                      Welcome to our comprehensive guide on adaptive yoga for stroke recovery. In this article, we delve into the therapeutic benefits of adaptive yoga for stroke patients and how it can aid in the rehabilitation process.

                                      Understanding Stroke Rehabilitation

                                      Stroke rehabilitation is pivotal for aiding stroke survivors in regaining independence and improving their quality of life. While traditional rehabilitation methods are crucial, integrating complementary approaches like adaptive yoga can enhance the overall recovery journey.

                                      The Therapeutic Benefits of Adaptive Yoga

                                      Adaptive yoga is a modified form of yoga that accommodates individuals with varying abilities and physical limitations. For stroke patients, adaptive yoga offers several therapeutic benefits, including:

                                      • Customized Modifications: Adaptive yoga instructors tailor poses and sequences to meet the unique needs and abilities of stroke survivors, ensuring safety and effectiveness.
                                      • Improved Mobility: Gentle, modified yoga poses help improve mobility and range of motion, addressing common post-stroke challenges such as muscle stiffness and weakness.
                                      • Enhanced Mind-Body Connection: Adaptive yoga emphasizes mindfulness and body awareness, fostering a deeper connection between mind and body, which is essential for stroke recovery.
                                      • Emotional Well-being: The calming nature of adaptive yoga promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety and depression commonly experienced by stroke survivors.
                                      • Community Support: Participating in adaptive yoga classes provides stroke patients with a supportive community of fellow survivors, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie.
                                        • Incorporating Adaptive Yoga into Stroke Rehabilitation

                                        Integrating adaptive yoga into stroke rehabilitation requires careful consideration and collaboration between healthcare providers and certified yoga instructors. Here are some tips for incorporating adaptive yoga into a stroke recovery program:

                                        1. Professional Guidance: Stroke survivors should consult with their healthcare team and seek guidance from certified adaptive yoga instructors to ensure that the practice is safe and appropriate for their individual needs.
                                        2. Accessible Props and Equipment: Utilize props such as blocks, straps, and chairs to make yoga poses more accessible and comfortable for stroke survivors with mobility limitations.
                                        3. Focus on Breath Awareness: Emphasize breath awareness and gentle breathing techniques during adaptive yoga sessions to promote relaxation and stress reduction.
                                        4. Encourage Self-Compassion: Encourage stroke survivors to practice self-compassion and acceptance, recognizing that progress may be gradual and non-linear.
                                        5. Celebrate Progress: Celebrate small victories and milestones achieved through adaptive yoga practice, fostering motivation and a positive outlook on the recovery journey.
                                          6. Conclusion

                                          In conclusion, adaptive yoga is a valuable and inclusive approach to stroke rehabilitation, offering a range of physical, emotional, and social benefits for survivors. By incorporating adaptive yoga into the recovery process, stroke patients can enhance their overall well-being and resilience on the path to recovery.

                                          Remember, adaptive yoga offers a personalized and supportive environment for stroke survivors to explore movement, mindfulness, and healing. With dedication and support, adaptive yoga can empower stroke patients to embrace their journey of recovery with strength and resilience.

                                          Full Interview With Stacie Wyatt

                                          Stacie Wyatt is no stranger to how neurological challenges can impact life. As a mother of a child with a neurological condition from birth, she turned to adaptive yoga to help herself and others.

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                                          Highlights:

                                          00:00 Introduction
                                          07:08 Motherhood, and Acceptance of a Child with Special Needs
                                          11:06 Adaptive yoga for individuals with brain injuries
                                          18:14 Importance of community in stroke recovery
                                          25:20 Volunteering after a neurological condition
                                          29:13 Volunteering in hospice, experiences with loss and healing
                                          35:51 Coping with life changes, focusing on gratitude and mindset shift
                                          49:24 Yoga and its benefits for physical and mental well-being
                                          1:00:30 Yoga and breathing techniques for managing stress and trauma

                                          Transcript:

                                          Introduction – Stacie Wyatt

                                          Bill Gasiamis 0:00
                                          Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of the Recovery after Stroke podcast. My guest today is Stacie Wyatt, who amongst other things, is an adaptive yoga instructor who joined me on the show to encourage you to discover the benefits of adaptive yoga.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 0:16
                                          And I’m not just talking about being more active. This was a deep and meaningful conversation, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I encourage you to listen to the end, as the highlights just kept coming.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 0:28
                                          Now just before we get started with the interview, allow me to share for a moment a little bit about my book, The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened: 10 Tools for Recovery and Personal Transformation.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 0:40
                                          Within its pages lie the profound stories of 10 stroke survivors, each illustrating the transformative journey from adversity to personal growth, spanning topics from nutrition and exercise to managing the emotional aftermath.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 0:55
                                          This book serves as a guiding light for all those navigating the path to recovery. To discover more about this invaluable research visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book. Stacie Wyatt, welcome to the podcast.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:10
                                          Thanks for having me.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:12
                                          Thank you for being here and requesting to be on the show. I love it. When people reach out and request to be on the show, it makes my life a little bit easier. It means I don’t have to find people. And I love meeting people who want to help people. Tell me a little bit about your background.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:30
                                          Well, my background is sort of an interesting story I am a mom to three amazing human beings. And my middle child, my only daughter was born with multiple disabilities. And the first 10 years of her life were tough I wasn’t very happy that this was what was given to me.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:52
                                          And I resisted it for a long time. And so I found I found a yoga practice thinking that would make me a better person and or make me stretch here my intention was initially that I would be more flexible. And I had no idea it would change my life in such amazing ways.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 2:10
                                          And I initially stepped into teaching yoga to people with developmental disabilities. And thinking that would be a bridge for my daughter and I and it it just wasn’t for her. Like she wanted nothing to do with it.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 2:24
                                          But I felt so drawn to bringing yoga to people who couldn’t access a traditional setting like they couldn’t go to a yoga studio because there were barriers and maybe that was a disability or mental illness or income or size or age.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 2:42
                                          And so I knew I didn’t want to just teach normal, super flexible, cute Yoga people, I wanted to reach a different population. So I began almost 17 years ago with that intention.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 2:58
                                          And as time went on, I found a great love and appreciation for people with traumatic brain injuries. Because I feel like they’re living in everyday life all as well. They’ve got a career family and in an instant, their life has completely changed, and I just felt like that.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 3:21
                                          That was my heart and soul. So I did some more studies and became more schooled in brain injuries and what that looks like, and here I am. And so my students now range from acquired brain injuries, traumatic brain injuries, dementia, Parkinson’s, any sort of really neurological condition. And I serve hundreds of individuals every single month. It’s it’s crazy.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 3:50
                                          That is probably lovely. I know crazy you’re using it in that way. But it’s probably crazy good, right? It sounds like it is. Tell me about your daughter a little bit like what condition were you guys dealing with? When she was born? What was it that she had?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 4:11
                                          Well, initially, I just thought, is this how girls are like I had I had a son and I thought this is hard like she was hard. And as an infant now that I know what I know. Like I just never connected with her. She always was staring off into space.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 4:30
                                          And she never engaged in a way that like a baby does when you approach them in the little basket and they get all like wiggly and happy to see you there was none of that. And by the time she was two, some big differences were happening and language wasn’t coming and she was very particular about things.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 4:49
                                          And so of course we got a diagnosis of autism spectrum, but that wasn’t it and it took until she was 17 years old. So to identify that she has a very rare genetic change in her chromosome, one of the little rungs of her ladder is missing.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 5:09
                                          And the features of the syndrome very much look like somebody who has autism and other just developmental delays. So it’s hard to explain like, yeah, she has tendencies like somebody with autism, but it’s so much bigger than that.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 5:26
                                          Because there’s some physical stuff that we didn’t know about and cognitive stuff that, you know, she’s, she’s this will be 30 in just a couple of weeks. And she’s more like a 10-year-old, a pretty happy 10-year-old. Now that she has some strategies, and we’ve come to understand each other well, things are good. But it was hard. It was really hard.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 5:47
                                          I can imagine what. So what’s it like, though, as a mum, you don’t have any expectations that your kids are going to be “different” There’s no other word for me to say different. You have one child who’s born as expected.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 6:05
                                          And then the second one is a little bit of a challenge because you’re not recognizing things. After all, you have no experience in that type of condition, you don’t recognize things. So you stumble, and you fumble, and it’s frustrating, and it’s challenging.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 6:24
                                          At the 10-year mark, you kind of go I need to do something for myself out of here have you realized that you need some self-care, because caregivers tend to neglect themselves, especially if you’ve got three kids? Mums neglect themselves all the time.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 6:42
                                          But then when you’re dealing with a child who’s a little more requires a little different strategy. You’re even more stretched, it’s even harder. What did you do to support yourself for those 10 years? And then what was it like to get to this realization that you needed to do something more than just about your normal day?

                                          Motherhood, and acceptance of a child with special needs

                                          Stacie Wyatt 7:08
                                          Yeah, it was crazy. I was a very young mom, and young married mom trying to play the role of being a wife and a young mom. And I didn’t understand myself, I chose to get married and then chose to have three little kids very early into my 20s.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 7:14
                                          And, you know, when there’s such a stressor of being young, and financially struggling, as young people often are, and then you have this child that you don’t understand.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 7:32
                                          And when she was in early, elementary age, I would take her to school, and there would be other moms with little girls that would take their child and kind of shy away from Lindsay. And I just thought, you know, this is so wrong. Like, I felt so different. I didn’t have connections with other moms.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 8:00
                                          I didn’t know any other parents of people with disabilities. And my marriage fell apart. My husband at the time just couldn’t do it. He had that choice, I guess, to leave. So here I was a single mom with three kids and no education. And I was angry, I was toxic.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 8:17
                                          I was physically ginormously, heavy, energetically, spiritually heavy. I was a mess. And I found yoga. And I thought I loved this so much. I’m going to become a yoga teacher. And in my first yoga teacher training, the teacher was talking about suffering.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 8:35
                                          And being that I was young and full of what I thought I knew everything and had a little bit of ego. I went to him during the break. And I said, You don’t know anything about suffering, my daughter, she suffers, nobody likes her, she looks different, and she doesn’t get invited to parties.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 8:53
                                          And he just smiled tenderly and kind of leaned in and he said, who’s suffering? And I just was getting furious. Like, you’re not hearing me like nobody likes her, she has no friends, people stare at her, people stare at me, they think I’m a bad parent.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 9:09
                                          And I just kept going on and he finally got so close to me. He probably could have kissed me. And he said, who’s suffering? And it was like a thunderbolt hit me. And I realized this was all about me. And I went home from that training, 14 hours, went home, and I looked at her through an entirely different lens.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 9:35
                                          I looked at her through the lens that she’s not suffering that she’s herself, she’s fine. She lives in happiness and joy. And I saw her as perfect. And when I did that, and I was able to see her and accept her and say yes, literally within a year my life changed.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 9:59
                                          I found my part purpose, I knew I wanted to do what I wanted to be doing today. And I went out into the world with a lot of information and a lot of heart to say, These people need to be seen and they need to be heard just as they are and, and really, I call that time in my life around when I was 30 as my great wake up, because I turned something off, turn something on in me that the anger went away.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 10:28
                                          Love came into my being I lost 80 pounds, I got lighter in my spirit I found myself and I often say that, that she was like this gift holding this door open for me. And her spirit was saying if you say yes, your life’s gonna be unreal. And literally within nine months to a year of me saying yes to who she is, my life has just tremendously changed. And so while it was really hard, and I had very minimal support, it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

                                          Adaptive yoga for individuals with brain injuries


                                          Bill Gasiamis 11:06
                                          Sounds like the exact title of my book. I wrote a book called The Unexpected Way That Stroke Became the Best Thing That Happened to Me. And there’s a chapter about exercise in there. And what I’m trying to do is encourage people to understand the benefits of exercise, but also demystify it so that they don’t think that what exercises is running laps, or doing CrossFit or, you know, pumping massive weights or whatever.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 11:37
                                          That’s not exercise that is necessarily useful for somebody who’s had a stroke or has a neurological condition or something like that, that that can just simply sit on a chair, and be guided by a yoga teacher. And that says, you know, move this way, move that way, to the best of your ability to do this and do that. And you’re, you’re it’s like, your path to finding your purpose.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 12:10
                                          Sounds like it came from going with the flow rather than fighting the current. And then once you discover that your daughter is this way, and she’s probably okay with it, well, then that’s when the learning has to come to you, who has to grow up and start acting like an adult, and then discovering, discovering the things about yourself that you need to improve on.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 12:38
                                          And those things. For me, it was a classic example. For me, I was 37. And I had to start my personal development. Although I had played in space a little bit, I just stopped my personal development at 37, when I had a stroke, because I was suffering. And suffering without purpose is terrible. But when you’ve got a purpose, and your suffering kind of is, as is given an outlet, the suffering tends to ease and the purpose comes alive.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 13:10
                                          And you find yourself in this space like me, after 300 episodes of the podcast so far, you find the space, in the space with something that you love doing. And it’s easy to do, that might be a lot of work. And it might be a lot of challenges around but it’s easy to do emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically. And then, and then you’ve transformed this supposedly terrible situation, you know, the one that you thought was terrible, into an amazing opportunity for personal development and growth.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 13:45
                                          And then you’re an example, to your family, to your friends, to your children, about how somebody might tackle a difficult situation. And then people look at you in awe and they go Stacy’s you know, you’re, oh my God, how do you manage to do everything or this supermom? You’re this superwoman, you do yoga to do this. And it’s like, you probably have a busy day, but you don’t find it difficult to do these things. You find it rewarding purposeful and useful. And yeah, tell me how does that do that?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 14:24
                                          Yeah, and I often say like, what when I go to work, I get in my car and sometimes I have to commute 200, 300 miles just to knock on the door of a home or people who have traumatic brain injuries are living and I walk in a knock on the door and say, Hey, I’m here for yoga and, and I think this doesn’t even work. This is such joy. And it’s so amazing that I get to do this and it’s I’m grateful that I get to do it.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 14:51
                                          I don’t have to do it I get to do it. And I think there’s a big difference in that a lot of people feel like going to work is something they have to do and I’m just blown Last, I am grateful that I make a living doing it. But the money is so irrelevant to me, I love it so much, I would do it for free. But maybe someday I’ll go back to that I volunteered for four years before I actually started contracting with agencies, and I do eventually want to go back to that, model of just serving without financial gain, but right now it’s paying the mortgage.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 15:25
                                          And it’s good. And I think my experience with somebody who has an everyday normal life, whatever normal is, and an event happens, for me what I’ve come to realize with that population of brain injuries, particularly because it’s such an instant, right, whether it’s a stroke, and you’re having a great day, and then boom, is there such a tendency in rehab to make sure the person can toilet, eat, walk, transfer, maybe get dressed, and my thinking when I see these individuals who are talking about grief and loss.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 16:05
                                          And their career is over their family life is over their ability to drive and be independent and cook a meal. And, and there’s so much loss. And so part of the yoga that I offer these individuals is to find wholeness in what’s new to them now, not what was because this is an entirely different experience.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 16:29
                                          And so a lot of my yoga work, you know, I’m a big Stickler, and our western view of yoga, here in the United States is just so physical based, and there’s a place for it, for sure. But there are seven other big parts of the yoga practice, that have to do with how we show up in the world.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 16:50
                                          And a lot of that is an understanding of who we are. And, so that’s my gift to my students is helping them see that even if their body doesn’t move the way that it did, or their memory or their language, or maybe they can’t speak at all, but they use a device that they’re still holding, there’s still a deep purpose in them that we have to uncover and figure out what that is.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 17:15
                                          And if it’s becoming some sort of advocate for fellow people that live in their house and helping somebody else to do everyday activities of daily living because they can like that might be your purpose, and let them see that they still have a place in this world for them to shine. And it’s a lot of work. there are a lot of big emotions, and I get challenged sometimes by more exercise-based people who observe my work because they’re thinking as well, can’t they be doing more physically?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 17:48
                                          And like, Well, yeah, maybe. But right now we got to purge some of this pain, where they’re never going to be able to get there. And, so that’s really, what I’m passionate about the most is just really seeing individuals as they are today. And in fact, I rarely even want to know how their injury came to be if they want to share that. That’s fine, but I don’t inquire about it.

                                          Importance of community in stroke recovery


                                          Stacie Wyatt 18:14
                                          Because I want to see who they are at that moment on a random Tuesday. I don’t need to know all that. Maybe it will come out in time. And it’s relevant. And I need to know some things. But I try not to get too curious about their life before their events unless it applies to their health and something I need to know like a spinal injury or something, but I try to see them. And that’s what they need. They need to not be seen as broken, disabled, half-paralyzed people, they need to be seen as whole. And I want to give that to them.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 18:49
                                          Yeah, that’s an awesome gift. You know, what you said about the people who see you and say, can’t they be doing more things, more physical stuff, that’s, it is a great thing that the hospitals and rehabilitation facilities do is they can address walking and moving and standing and lifting and hand and shifting and all that kind of stuff that can address that. So they’re good at that.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 19:16
                                          But then, and they’re not resourced to handle the emotional side of recovery from any condition, you know, it doesn’t matter who they are. I know that in a stroke, you’re going to one of the things that gets missed out on a lot is the emotional side. Mental Health kind of gets a little bit of a look in physical does but the emotional side gets missed and you can’t heal from any trauma. If you don’t do what I call the three-tier kind of recovery, you know, emotional, mental, and physical.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 19:51
                                          You got to do all three and if you don’t do one, I think emotional seems like it’s 1/3 of the pie like it seems to represent 33% But I think the power of emotional healing is far greater than 33%. I think it gives way more back when you do the hard work go with the traumas face your demons, and overcome all that kind of stuff. Now, what I love about a group like yours is that people come there for something else, they think they’re coming for yoga, and they think they’re coming from movement, and all this kind of stuff.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 20:25
                                          And then because of the type of space that you have, is, it’s safe. And there’s an opportunity for them to share things they may not have normally shared with people who are like-minded with people who are similar to them, and people who have been through what they’ve been through maybe in a different format, but you know, have a similar trauma.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 20:44
                                          And then, and then it’s like, these are kind of my people, you know, I was listening to somebody talk about immunity, and they broke the word down from they broke it down, like from community, to the words that make up that word. And what came back was common unity.

                                          Intro 21:06
                                          If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind, like, how long will it take to recover? Will I recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things. But, if you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recovery after stroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to Ask Your Doctor about your Stroke. These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery, head to the website. Now, recovery after stroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 22:09
                                          Love it, love it. And it’s interesting, like, like community, I have four pillars that I sort of teach to it. And this is sort of the method that I’ve crafted over my time doing this. And the number one pillar that has to be part of the puzzle is community. And we always sit in a circle because I’m not the boss, I’m not the teacher, I’m not better than and so we gather around a living room or a kitchen table. And, there is that space to share and to be heard and to be seen. And I’ve had students in my practice who have been incarcerated and have done bad things.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 22:51
                                          And they come with a lot of identity and labels to those things. And in that moment, it’s irrelevant because we’re sitting around the kitchen table, we might even be having tea or coffee. And they’re thinking they’re going to do yoga. And by definition, yoga means union, it means to unite two things together. And so if I get resistance, like I’m not doing that, you know, crazy pretzel get on the floor yoga.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 23:17
                                          And so I asked her asking them some questions or you know, I get real close and say, can I see what color eyes you have? And there’s an immediate connection because we’re looking at each other. And then I’ll say you just had a beautiful yoga practice with me. And then they laugh and go, Oh, it’s not scary. It’s not pretzel stuff. It’s it’s community. And so we do a check in every practice. How’s your mind? How’s your body? How’s your spirit?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 23:45
                                          And the purpose of that is to be brave to be vulnerable and say, my mind is busy, my body sucks and my spirits in the dumps? Well, if somebody else is feeling the same thing, now all of a sudden you have shared empathy, you have shared compassion you have a home, I’m not alone. Oh, thank goodness, I’m not alone.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 24:06
                                          And so then we have this round robin, kind of how are you, and I try to do a check out after we do the other three things that I always do in the practice. And, at the beginning that drove my data for agencies who make decisions to say like, well, if something’s happening, they came in very dysregulated and pissed off and upset and in pain, and they’re leaving yoga feeling peaceful and joyful and grateful for what is happening.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 24:37
                                          And so for years, I took those data sheets and would hand them to the administrators who never came to the practice. Just so they could see that there’s something magical that’s going on in these 45 minutes that the least likely people to do yoga are showing up and they’re shining in this practice.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 24:56
                                          So community is the number one thing that I Teach. And so when I have somebody observe me, and their questions, what can’t they do more? Like you just missed all of this courage and sharing and growth, just so that maybe they could stand on one leg? Who cares? Like, who cares about that? That’s part of it. But it’s not all of it.

                                          Volunteering after a neurological condition

                                          Bill Gasiamis 25:20
                                          No, no, it’s probably probably good to fail in front of other people as well, when you can’t do that. Because there’s a bit of a lesson there as well. It’s like, nobody in that room, nobody cares. It’s interesting what you said about who comes to your room.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 25:35
                                          With my podcast, I don’t have any requirements for people to come on my podcast, you need to be somebody who either had a stroke or somebody who helps people who have had a stroke. In your case, for example, you might not specifically help or target to helping stroke survivors, but people who have neurological conditions are a pass for me.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 25:55
                                          Everything else that you’ve done in your life that you’ve been through, or whatever, like, it doesn’t matter, I couldn’t care less. But what I do, just want to know is that you’re out willing to share a story that’s going to help other people, that’s all I’m interested in. And that makes the bar for attending this particular interview very low, and nobody has to worry about, Am I good enough? Am I going to be able to meet up to the expectations of the person hosting and all that kind of stuff?

                                          Bill Gasiamis 26:26
                                          No, just come and have a chat. You know, we’ll talk about stuff. And we may not talk about what you’re expecting, there won’t be any pre-prepared questions, it’s just going to be literally, I had an I didn’t have an agenda other than to share a recovery story so that somebody else might hear it and feel better. I also loved the thing that you said about how the community aspect of it is kind of the biggest part of it, it’s your number one chapter in the book, and that’s also about finding your right community, and the struggles that people will face.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 27:03
                                          Imagine a guy who’s had, you know, been incarcerated, and now is coming to yoga, imagine what his friends and previous community or other communities would, you know, kind of look at him, like if said, I’m going to yoga, that a lot of people would get resistance. Some of the community that I talked about was, that what we need to do is find a way to increase the types and variation of the people that we hang out with, but also to scale back on some that we used to hang out with.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 27:35
                                          T o find a way to maybe not cut ties and not be mean and nasty to people who don’t serve you anymore, but just sort of spend less time in those spaces and start spending more time in other spaces. And I love what you said about volunteering because I did volunteering for about, I recommended it properly for about five or six years after my neurological condition, first sort of appeared. And doing that and not expecting to expect things in return. just changed my life for the better. So good. Volunteering is a strange thing, because you think that it’s taking, you know, the old may think you’re taking advantage of people they’re volunteering, they’re not getting paid, they’re not doing so well, it didn’t matter, it mattered not that they weren’t getting paid. The only challenge I have with volunteering for the particular organization that I did, was that most of the people volunteering can’t work at all, because they are stroke survivors. And I felt that maybe they could just reimburse a few more expenses to do that volunteering. And better than what they were doing, but they were limited in their funds. So volunteering does help and was a really useful service. And in the end, the volunteering that we were doing was making a difference in preventing stroke and supporting people who had loved ones who had a stroke. So it was still worth doing. But that was the beginning of my journey towards purpose, I think.

                                          Volunteering in hospice, experiences with loss and healing

                                          Stacie Wyatt 29:13
                                          Yeah, it’s it’s so selfless and once I you know, word got out of what I do, and then I became a brain injury specialist just to better understand the brain and, and things that happen inside the brain and how it looks so different. You know, you may have a TBI or acquired brain injury and so you get that label but it’s also individual and so different and so when I stopped volunteering and not realm I found volunteering and hospice to be so fulfilling, and kind of replace that time and my job and hospice is rubbing people’s feeds as they transition in their death. And it’s, you know, people are like, Oh, how do you do that? It’s so much love and it’s such an honor and so I feel like volunteering can be very honorable for the volunteer like you’ve learned so much when you’re not doing it for financial gain, you are totally in the presence of receiving, you think you’re giving, but you’re receiving and I love it. I think people should volunteer in some ways. If it’s sitting with a neighbor, or picking up trash on your trail that you walk every day, just do something to better the world. And it’s a ripple effect that happens for sure.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 30:29
                                          I’m curious now, can we touch on that conversation you a bihad t earlier, you said about massaging people’s feet as they transition? So What’s all that about? How did that even become a thing? I love the idea of it. But how did it become a thing?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 30:43
                                          Such a great question. Nobody’s ever asked me that. Because I’m not a foot person. I don’t like touching people’s feet. I’m not a touchy person. But there’s something that just came into my life. And so my first husband, the father of my three children, who opted that this was too hard, made that choice to carry on with his life. And, and that was okay, of course, I had anger.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 31:12
                                          But I did my best I did what I needed to do I moved forward, and let him be he ended up just not taking really good care of his physical body, probably had some mental illness and Reader’s Digest version. He ended up passing away when he was just 47 years old and poor, right before he died. My children, my boys aged 22 and 17, were asked to decide to take them off life support as just young men.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 31:44
                                          And so I was supportive of them through that process. And we all took turns saying our goodbyes and so my young children, my young boys, as young adults had to that make that call. And it was gut-wrenching. And he ended up living for about 10 days. And the doctors had just anticipated he would only live a couple of hours once they extubated him.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 32:11
                                          And so in that 10 days, he was able to be cognizant enough to say I don’t want to live please sign a DNR and so he did all of that. But at the end of his life, my oldest son got a phone call. And they said he’s very, very close. Do you want to come and sit with him my oldest son called me in tears. And he said I can’t do this again. I can’t do it again. I can’t say goodbye again.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 32:41
                                          And so the father of my children ended up dying alone. And, it just, you know, we had our differences, of course, and it was really hard to be left in the situation I was but there’s healing that comes and I just felt such a strong internal need that nobody should die alone. And I reached out to hospice and said, You know, I think I need to volunteer I need I felt like maybe I just needed to understand death better.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 33:11
                                          And I found out later that nobody in hospice dies alone. There are little angels like me that go in if there are no family members, and they sit with people hold their hands, rub their feet, and do whatever we do. And, so that made me feel better. But what was so interesting was my first assignment with somebody dying, they gave me you know, here’s your chart, go down the hall, it’s the last door on the left.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 33:39
                                          It was the same room that my children’s father died in. And that just made sense to me. It just felt right. And so that’s how I ended up doing it is it wasn’t that I felt like, I needed to make amends or anything like we had a great relationship at the end. And I felt okay. But I just felt people shouldn’t be alone. At that time. They just shouldn’t be alone. So I wanted to just touch people and rub their feet. So I love it. I love it so much. It’s

                                          Bill Gasiamis 34:12
                                          fascinating what you said. So how many times would you have sat with somebody who passed?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 34:21
                                          Well, you know, it varies I had one beautiful man who I met with him every Saturday for 18 months, and I rubbed his feet every Saturday for a year and a half before he finally passed. And then there’s some that you meet once and that’s it. It just depends on how close they are, and how ready they are. There’s a lot that we don’t understand on the outside until you step into the world of hospice, but people have to be ready.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 34:51
                                          You know, the body might be ready, but there’s a lot that happens on that spirit level. And to witness that what I learned is I want to Make sure my ducks are in a row spiritually, because it’s, it’s not pretty when you’re struggling. And, so it’s just inspired me to live a beautiful life and a life that’s based on gratitude. And, you know, I tell my students, you know, we’re going to pull out all the weeds in our heart that just take, just take up too much space, like resentment and bitterness, and just plant some other things in that space.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 35:26
                                          And so I try every day just to check in with my internal garden. And is there some disappointment that’s kind of bubbling up and need to get rid of that because it’s getting in the way of acceptance or peacefulness? And it’s just a practice that I feel so strongly about to live our best life every day because we just don’t know.

                                          Coping with life changes, focusing on gratitude, and mindset shift

                                          Stacie Wyatt 35:51
                                          And life’s way too short to live with regret, bitterness, and a feeling of lack and limitation, because it’s just like that. And so I tried to teach that and hospice has opened up my eyes to living my best life. And it’s I’ve met amazing people that give you chills down your spine, that just, there’s just something so beautiful, that I would have never experienced. So it’s all good.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 36:22
                                          Far out, I guess I was expecting that part of it to come that part where it’s, I don’t know, if it motivates you, maybe you have another word for it. But it motivates you to get on with things in life. And to put things at ease and to put things to bed and to move on and to overcome. You know, a lot of stroke survivors might have had a fear of failure or something like that, before they had a stroke, you know, they might have had the fear of failure, I’m not good enough, or I’m not smart enough, or I’m not this or I’m not that.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 37:02
                                          And then sometimes what happens is stroke creates even more fear because if they weren’t physically capable of doing something before, after stroke, they’re probably less physically capable of doing it. And some people go through that whole life’s over routine and all that type of stuff. And I don’t know if it is, I don’t know if it needs to be over. I know plenty, I know of plenty of people who have won gold medals at the Paralympics after the disability occurred.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 37:36
                                          And before that, they had never participated in sports, and we were never going to win a gold medal in the Olympics. In no way shape or form. Right? So how? How does seeing that part of life, the end of life? How does that change your perspective, your mindset of going forward from the person that you were, say, 10 years into the separation? You know, how do you see yourself as being completely diff? Are you completely different from who you were then?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 38:15
                                          Different.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 38:17
                                          I’m fumbling around trying to understand like, what the difference in you is compared to that person in the past.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 38:25
                                          I think the person in the past wanted so much control, I wanted to control everything. And here I had this child that I couldn’t control, I had no control of what occurred to her or for her, if you look at it, for her, and for me, it was the greatest thing ever. And so I wanted to control and so as a young mom, you know, I color-coded all the toy boxes and made everything perfect.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 38:50
                                          And that was my control. And when I realized that, I gotta let go of the steering wheel. And I just gotta live my life in gratitude. Gratitude is one of the other four pillars that I teach. We finish every class with gratitude because we could list a laundry list of things that are wrong in our lives. But if we look at the blue sky, right there, we can see and discern color, or we can smell something, and a lot of you know, people with neurological stuff can’t smell anymore, but they might remember the smell of cookies or an orange.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 39:33
                                          And so I tap into the five senses because that’s the present moment. It’s right now. So I might have the students look out the window, and tell me something you see, that’s beautiful. I might say I need you to close your eyes and let’s listen. And then there are birds or there’s traffic, there’s life around us. And so I think for me, it helps me to see like, I can’t control everything, but I can control my reaction or my response to everything.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 40:06
                                          And every day we go about our life, there’s going to be triggers, there’s going to be pain points, there’s going to be joy. And how do I respond to that, or react? And so the word react has action. And it’s usually forceful. I react in anger, I react with a slam door, I throw something, I get mad, or I respond to it, by getting curious about it. And then I get grateful for it. And I think that’s what shifted in my life was I, I don’t have control other than I can control my thoughts, I can’t control other people.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 40:44
                                          I can’t control my body all the time, I suffer from chronic pain, and I just had my fifth hip surgery a few weeks ago. I can’t control that, but I can control how I respond to it. And if I’m grateful every day that I can sit in a chair with not too much pain, and I can chat about what I’m passionate about, then that’s okay. That’s, that’s what I can control in my mind.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 41:12
                                          So I try to finish my class with that, because people who have had a stroke or an event, might feel that they have no control. And, they do, they can control how they respond to things, and then we can control our outlook on life by being grateful. And a lot of times people want to get away with what I’m grateful for my friends, my family, my house, no, those are given.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 41:41
                                          Those are given. When she did go deeper than that. I want you to go deeper than just family, friends, and a place to live. So I might do follow-up things. Why is your mom important to you? Well, she takes care of me. Oh, great. So you feel understood? Well, there it is. And they’re able to articulate better than just friends, family, and a place to live, it goes a little bit deeper into their being.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 42:06
                                          It goes way deep. And it just needs somebody to prod a little further and ask some more questions. You know, I know what you said about your hip, how difficult that could be my mum had hip problems. And she’s had a lower back problem probably from when she was a child like when she was born. She’s in her late 70s Now, and she had so much pain that she went from somebody in her 70s Who was walking five kilometers a day.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 42:34
                                          It’s about two and a half miles a day she went to not being able to move pretty, pretty much off the couch because of so much pain, and she thought it was a lower back. And partially, the lower back was sort of starting to get to the point where it needed to be resolved through surgery. And in the process of trying to find the problem with the lower back, they did some scans.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 42:59
                                          And they found that she had a very arthritic hip, and she needed a hip replacement. And she couldn’t go through those surgeries at the same time, she would do one and then go through the other one a year later. So she did the back surgery first. And that relieves some of the pain. But then it comes it’s somehow brought forward all of the hip pain.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 43:23
                                          And she was so disabled by it, that she was in so much pain, it was probably the first time in my life that I’ve seen it depressed, you know, what I would call depressed? And she didn’t describe it like that. But that’s kind of how it looked. And I just said to her, why don’t you take some pain meds? And she never took any pain meds for any of her issues ever. She has never taken any pain meds.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 43:49
                                          The doctors gave her a couple of she took them once it slowed down her bowels. She said I’ve never taken them again. They stopped me from going to the toilet. I said, Okay, fair enough. And then I was just trying to get to the bottom of why she can manage when I know people who are suffering from similar issues back, or leg problems or knee problems, etc.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 44:12
                                          And they’re and they’re on pain meds. And she said, because there are so many worse things that can be happening to me and my family right now. And if the only thing that I have to deal with is pain, then I’m pretty blessed. That’s pretty good. You know, that’s all manage that. And when in time the surgery will come. And hopefully, if the surgery works, then the pain will be reduced and everything will go away.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 44:39
                                          Oh my gosh, like, how do you bottle that? How do you bottle that and then just hand it down to other people to deal with that? I just couldn’t understand that. And I think it comes back to what was said about suffering earlier, you know, which is a quote, there’s a quote that’s been attributed to the Dell Lama, which goes, you know, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 45:05
                                          Yeah, for sure.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 45:08
                                          But people who might not have caught on to what I meant by that is suffering is in the head. Pain and physical pain and all that kind of thing is in the body. But suffering is something that’s happening in your mind.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 45:23
                                          Yeah. And I felt like when I went back to my, my yoga teacher, and after he had opened up kind of took the blinders off of, my suffering, you know, I was choosing that I was choosing to see my situation with my daughter, and my husband, leaving me is just this misery when, in actuality, it was empowering. And it was good. And it was what needed to happen.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 45:44
                                          And, you know, I stepped into being an amazing advocate for her. And when she’s doing tremendously well for 30-year-olds, and I needed to do that, and I probably couldn’t have done that if he would have stuck around. And I don’t know why things happen, but it did. And, and I was no longer responding to the life I had, as suffering, I was responding to the life I had as an opportunity and a blessing.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 46:15
                                          And everything changed. And so if I can just pass that nugget on to the students that are in front of me that there’s an opportunity in every situation, to be grateful to shine to do something with it, that sort of thing. Oh, I said, Well, what are you going to do with it? And so when we talk about like, the physical part of yoga, that brings up some frustration for my students who maybe are paralyzed, or, you know, there’s a lot of, you know, anger, when I might suggest, can you put your arms above your head?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 46:53
                                          And students have said, you know, I can’t move my left arm? Well, can I help you with that? Can I touch you? Well, there’s a connection again, there’s a community, there’s an invitation to allow somebody to help. And for a lot of, you know, those harder guys in my world, all of a sudden, there’s a softening. And so I’m, I’m lifting their arm for them. And they’re feeling something that they haven’t felt since their event because they don’t get PT anymore.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 47:21
                                          They don’t get, you know, physiotherapy, they don’t get it that stretch, there’s no funding for massage. And then they’re like putty in my hands, like, Oh, can you do that again, can you do it again, I move their arm this way. And they feel something here, what I’ve done that they’re not aware of is I’ve just taken their left hand and crossed that amazing midline to the right side.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 47:44
                                          And there’s a little bit of neurons happening in the brain that they didn’t even know was going on. And so I do that a few times. And all of a sudden, their anxiety, their dysregulation, their, whatever I call it, their pissed offeree kind of just settles down, because I’ve crossed the midline. And then we do that a few times, we might make a cake, make some frosting, I mean, it’s all playful things.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 48:09
                                          I’m not going in and speaking Sanskrit, I’m just like, hey, you know, reach across, let’s do some boxing. And I’m working that midline. And there’s some organization happening in the brain. And then the physical pieces, they’re feeling a sensation they haven’t felt in a long time, and they feel better. And, you know, I support their spine with a pillow if they’re slumped.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 48:33
                                          And now all of a sudden, they can take a full breath, because they’re not curled into this, you know, half fetal position. After all, now they can open up the diaphragm, well, that brings oxygen to the brain, and then there’s clarity. And so of course, by the end of 45 minutes, they’re going to feel different, but they don’t even know what they’re doing to know that it’s going to be different.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 48:33
                                          Because I don’t make it scary. Or say, well, we are going to follow me, and here’s what we’re going to do. It’s just like, hey, can you touch my hand and touch your toe, not your other hand and we we make cake and frosting and I just make it something familiar to them. So a lot of the gentleman, we do referee signals, you know, we we do touchdowns or whatever, you know, I got my little poster out and I learned all the signals what referees do.

                                          Adaptive yoga and its benefits for physical and mental well-being

                                          Stacie Wyatt 49:24
                                          And pretty soon we’re doing referee signals, and they have no idea but it’s fun and they’re moving. And they haven’t moved for a long time. And then there’s laughter And look how funny this guy is. And look at you did that you lifted your leg and there’s camaraderie and connection and (sigh).

                                          Bill Gasiamis 49:43
                                          I felt that in rehab, you know, everyone is about a week or two weeks or a month out of having a stroke, the worst thing that happened to them, and all of a sudden they’re more interested in how well you’re doing with your hand movements, or with your leg movement and they It’s pretty stuffed themselves, you know, but they’re going, hey, well done, man, and you don’t know this person from a bar of soap and then they’re just like, wow.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 49:44
                                          It’s such an interesting situation to find yourself in is when, when everyone is supposedly suffering, everyone’s in pain, everyone’s got something, but everyone’s looking out to, you know, too, to pick you up, you know, to support you to make you feel better, and it doesn’t happen at home on your own. It doesn’t happen. Being at the house on your miserable suffering and worrying about what people think and all that type of stuff.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 50:35
                                          And I love how you suck in the men, you know, they’re just so dumb, then, what do you got to do say do hand signals referee signals. Because when you said that, immediately, I felt like, that’s me taking control of a situation telling people what to do. You know? No, that’s not how it was. No, that’s not a touchdown, though. This is Yeah, it feels like it’s an authority, authority kind of thing. And I’m telling you what to do.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 50:57
                                          And you have to comply. And it’s like, man, so simple, but the benefits are huge. And that’s the thing is, I’ve done another two episodes on yoga, adaptive yoga. One with it doesn’t matter, though. They’re all about 30 episodes apart, something like that. And that’s the whole point of the whole point is to try and get people to understand, it shouldn’t even really be called Yoga, because it’s, you know, not the yoga that we all sort of see.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 51:32
                                          But I love the fact that the word yoga is used because most people know what yoga looks like. And I love how then you sort of take the word yoga and just use it as a scam to get people in. And then you just change it and turn it into mixing the bowl and all that kind of stuff. It’s got nothing to do with white tights and weird stretchy poses.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 52:01
                                          What’s cool is they like, see, like, I can do something. So then there’s the confidence that comes. And they can see, you know, that their brokenness, a lot of times we have very discouraged and broken and then you hear from your peers, no, you’re not broken, you’re amazing. And I feel something physiologically different in my body when I’m just getting those endorphins. And I’m moving and my neurons are communicating.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 52:29
                                          And I’m taking a full breath, and we do some, the third pillar of my practice is breathing. And we’re going to breathe together. Because when I breathe out, you’re going to breathe in. And that means we’re connected. Again, we’ve just shared breath. And so it always trickles back down to the union. You and me right now we’re, we’re practicing yoga because we’re connected to pieces coming together.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 52:57
                                          And even if you come to the yoga practice, and you simply sit, and you breathe, and you ask and answer a question, that’s okay. If they’re not in a place to move their body, that’s okay. There’s no like, you have to do this. It’s just come as you are, and you will be welcomed and seen. And so we do those four things. And we finish with a little checkout, there’s always an opportunity to share, you know, how do you feel what’s going on, or what’s going on next week, what’s next in your day.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 53:30
                                          And, you know, they’re very curious about my life. And I’m very transparent with what’s going on in my world. And, you know, I’ve been out of work for four months, because I had my hip replacement. And then week five, I’m doing great. All of a sudden, my leg swells up twice as big, can’t walk on it, and have to go back and get the whole thing redone. have blood clots, I have an infection.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 53:57
                                          And so I promised them I’d be back. I’ll be back in six weeks because everybody says it’s so easy. It’s been four months. And so I’m just now going back next week for my first kind of go back. And, and for these guys, a lot of the students, there’s trust, you know, people say, Oh, I’m going to show up and do this with you. And then they don’t show up. And so my heart has been just like, they need to know I am coming back because I promised them I would be back.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 54:28
                                          And I built a lot of trust in them. And so words out, they know I’m coming and it’ll be great to see them again and just see how they’ve maintained their mindfulness, their gratitude, I’d left him with a little bit of homework. You know, I need to know what you’re grateful for. And so we do a little contest like gratitude challenges and in December we do Karma Yoga, which is where I ask them to come up with a project to be of service to others.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 54:59
                                          People, and I’ll provide all the stuff but you got to figure out what you want to do. And so a popular project is to bring muffins to the neighbor, and they don’t even know their neighbor, which is a tragedy because you should know your neighbor. And so that’s an opportunity for them to I bring the muffins, they package them up, and they go and knock on the door, in a wheelchair, what however we get there, and they say my name is so and so. And I’d like to give you this for the holidays.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 55:31
                                          Now all of a sudden, they’re providing something to their neighbor. And we’ve just given away something good. And I’ve had two houses do this, where the neighbor then invites the residents to come over and watch football like there’s a connection now. There’s a purpose. And so it always kind of goes back to what are we here to do. And it’s not to gain flexibility touch our toes or look good in yoga pants.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 56:02
                                          But it’s to find I have purpose and value. And maybe I can move my arm a little bit with help or I bring a yoga strap and I tie it around this guy’s paralyzed arm and I say pull. Now suddenly he can pull his arm. Well, he didn’t know he could do that. And so now he has a skill that he didn’t know he had. And so there’s, you can just see confidence growing, and they come in eager every single week. It’s cool. It’s cool.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 56:31
                                          Yeah, it is cool. And even if you just teach them how to breathe, that is just the biggest giftBeforere we started the interview, I told you a little bit about my week and how I took a fall a few days ago, today’s Saturday when we’re recording this for me. And it was on Wednesday at around 3 pm. So what I do for a living is painting and maintenance. And we’ve got a business that paints people’s houses and I was climbing up the ladder of this scaffold. My left arm is my with deficits.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 57:07
                                          It’s the one that is numb and doesn’t feel things quite so well. And in the last 10 years, I’ve been up and down ladders and scaffolds a lot. It’s always a little bit sort of scary my balance the issue normally. And I’ve taken a climb up this ladder, I’ve only got two rungs up. And when I was about to get onto the third rung with my left leg, I went to grab the rung above my head with my hand, my hand rubbed that rung, but it let go. And sometimes my hand do that lets go of things and to stymie let go at the worst time.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 57:43
                                          And I took a tumble I fell backwards. And before I hit the deck, I I landed on a metal bar that was positioned horizontally, which was part of the scaffold, and I smashed my ribs, the back of my ribs on the right-hand side. And then I fell off the middle bar and then landed with my head on the deck. So I took two hits, you know, one onto the middle bar and one onto the deck.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 58:13
                                          So everyone who’s watching and listening, I am okay, but I am in a lot of pain, it has been tough to sleep the last three or four days. And it’s not going to get any easier for the next few days. But one of the things that I noticed the most is the inability because of the pain in my ribs and they’re not broken, I had it looked at, and they’re not cracked d, and there are no fractures or anything like that. A lot of bruising is the laughing, sneezing, coughing, clearing my throat.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 58:43
                                          That’s all difficult and taking big breaths is difficult. That’s impacted how my chest is feeling literally in three days because I haven’t been able to breathe properly. And I’m avoiding taking large breaths with my ribcage. And I’m trying to minimize the amount of the ribcage expands. And I just feel like from that, that lack of oxygenation, like I feel more lethargic or feel more tired.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 59:14
                                          And it’s probably also got to do with the injury and the fact that I’m not sleeping but everything has become harder. And what a gift. You know, giving somebody that gift of just being able to breathe more. Yeah. At yoga, what that does for energy levels, is their ability to feel like they can do something strenuous, better, their brain is better. The organs work better and r, and the digst, and gin work better. Everything works better.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 59:44
                                          Just by that what I’m trying to demonstrate to people watching and listening is just get onto YouTube, find a YouTube video that teaches you how to breathe, how to do deep breathing, and it hasn’t cost you a single thing you didn’t have to get anywhere and all you need to do is talk for five minutes a day, and even if you only do five minutes every second day, and you still get this amazing benefit, and then you take that benefit.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:00:08
                                          And then you do something with it, you pass it on, you let other people know what you did. If you take that to yoga, or adaptive yoga, or whatever you want to call it, it’ll just be an amazing thing that you learned that you didn’t think was that important, like I’m breathing all the time, but not really, some of us aren’t breathing all the time.

                                          Adaptive yoga and breathing techniques for managing stress and trauma

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:00:30
                                          And they say that like the average Yogi breathes anywhere from 20 to 24 breaths per minute. So we’re taking longer breaths, right? And somebody who, who doesn’t practice yoga is taking fast, quick, like, very fast, very quick, Swift breaths, because we’re gonna fight or flight, we’re panicking.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:00:56
                                          So we’re panting. And so if I can teach them to rise that elevator up and go slow, and to find a space between the inhale and a space between the exhale, where there’s just this micro pause, well, then we go back to Viktor Frankl who’s the greatest teacher ever, and says, between every stimulus and every response, there’s a space in that space, we get to choose and in that choice lies freedom.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:01:25
                                          So we get a trigger. If we have a micro space, we get to choose, am I going to react or am I going to respond? So if I can teach how to breathe in that way, like take a breath and hold it for a second, you just created a space. And the more that we can create space in our breath, that creates space in our body, then we can create space in our mind, we can access coping strategies we can stop before we yell at somebody. Now I have space in all parts of my being. And when there’s space, there’s clarity and peace.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:02:05
                                          And you’re responding instead of reacting.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:02:09
                                          Yes most of us live a stressful life. So we’re constantly reacting, then you throw in a neurological condition where you don’t feel like you have control, you don’t know who you are, you’re in pain you’re in, you know, fear what’s going to be my future. I’m 20 years old, and I got hit by a car and what you know, there, I’m here all the time, stress, fight or flight. And so even if for 45 minutes, we’re decompressing that and creating space.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:02:36
                                          And so I might, you know, guide the breath, we’re gonna breathe in for four, which is hard for brand new people, we’re going to hold it for two. Now breathe out for B without for two takes a while to get there. But they’re seeing that their physical body can do it. And then they’re seeing like, Oh, I feel like this, like a lot of them say like, Wow, I feel like I got a bus. I feel kind of good.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:03:04
                                          Oh, yeah. And then what’s happening to the chemicals in your brain? You’re like, oh, I can handle today because I feel good. So it’s all just, you know, another tool in their toolbox. And that’s where I tried to tell them, you know, I’m not going to teach you how to stand on your head or stand on your leg and look good in yoga pants. I’m going to teach you how to be the best version of who you are today. And then hopefully you’ll carry that into the next day.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:03:36
                                          Yeah, and that has a ripple effect that affects everybody in a positive way around you. So hopefully soon you’ll be back at it. How far off? Do you feel like you are now?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:03:48
                                          Well, I did a couple of houses yesterday one house was a female, all people, women with traumatic brain injuries. So it was good. It was hard. For different reasons. All of the women are my age. And that’s always a real eye opener to sit with other moms and grandma and just, you know, here I get the freedom to drive and to go about my life and they’re living in a home where most of them are in wheelchairs, and they rarely get visitors. It’s just hard. But it was good to be back.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:04:23
                                          And then I had an all-female house of older women with dementia. And I mean, I say this with the most respect ever, but they didn’t even know I was ever gone. So that’s okay. Like, they’re like, Oh, you’re here. It was so sweet. Like they didn’t know it’s been four months, but that’s okay. They were happy to see me and I’ll take it so it was good. And then next week, I start my full schedule back, and I’m ready. I like I’ve gained so much perspective, in my suffering with this hip stuff.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:04:55
                                          You know, I went in feeling the strongest physically that I’ve ever been in my adult Life, I was physically ready and emotionally ready. And then I get a lot of complications. I’m in and out of the hospital a lot. And I had to get humble and I had to, again, what am I going to do with this? How am I going to learn what’s made perspective, I was a girl who would track my steps, and I had to be it, you know, 20,000 steps a day, or I was not good. And I was lifting weights all the time.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:05:29
                                          And I don’t even care now, I don’t even care. And so that has been a huge lesson in me is how do I feel if I feel like walking, I’ll take a walk, I still use a cane, that’s okay. But I just think I’ve softened myself, I have very high standards for myself. And I’ve lowered them to where I am just happier. I’m not so rigid. And I have to I have to I have to I have to.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:05:57
                                          And, so I want to pass that on to my students to look at their own life, and what perspective have they gained in their own, you know, suffering, their pain, their discouragement, I’ve been very discouraged in my body’s ability to heal, and what do we do with it? You know, how can we be better, so I’m excited to share some of that and learn from them.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:06:23
                                          I mean, they’re the greatest teachers, their life’s been upside down, I just had a bad hip, but I would like to be able to receive some wisdom from them because I do feel, although I’m called the yoga teacher, I feel like I gained so much from them, that I take their lessons. And the gift that my intention is always is as I receive a lesson from them, their wisdom, their courage, my job, I believe, is to be a conduit for them.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:07:01
                                          And so with their permission, I often write about their story, I share their insights into their injury, on a blog or in a podcast, or however, I get a platform to do that, because they’re sitting in a house all day by themselves with no ability to share their story.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:07:22
                                          And if I’m so blessed to hear their story, I kind of have a divine responsibility to share that because I think we can all learn from them. I honor that, and I take it with a privilege to be able to share their story and, make a difference in people’s lives had no idea that even these things exist in the world, you hear about stroke, but unless you’re touched by it, what does that look like?

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:07:55
                                          Same with any other condition that people go through, right? You heard about what are hip surgeries like, so? Yeah, whatever, okay, they put a new one in your back, you’re good to go. That’s not what it means. I save. My growth came from helping other people with the podcast as well, and providing that platform so people can share stories, I didn’t realize how powerful it was gonna be.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:08:19
                                          But it was so powerful, and I got so much out of it. And then, and then I had another opportunity to grow, grow, and have some wisdom come my way when I was in a wheelchair for a little while when I couldn’t walk. And then I realized, for the first time, I realized, ah, people who are sitting in a wheelchair who can’t walk aren’t just sitting down. There’s way more to it than just sitting on their butt and getting through life with wheels instead of legs. And it’s like, okay, you were unwise to the world, you are naive.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:08:56
                                          And that’s okay. And it was okay that I was because I don’t know what people are going through. Unless you’re going through it. It’s very hard to put yourself in other people’s shoes, right? And life and see what it’s really like. But, you know, wisdom came from that. And every time I have a fall I try not to make it a very bad one or a deadly one or whatever. I try to avoid them.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:09:21
                                          But I learned something I learned that I am still not my old self, you know, the one that was able to feel everything on the left side and all that kind of and then I need to. It’s a reminder, to take care, and be patient. Slow down at the end of the day. You know, it was 3 pm it was in the day we’d been going all day.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:09:43
                                          And maybe I was tired, who knows. So I love the things you share today. Thank you so much for reaching out to be on the podcast if people want to connect with you. Perhaps find out about where one of your classes might be or invite You to their location, where’s the best place for them to go to connect with you?

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:10:06
                                          Probably, email is always great. So my email, I’m always on the email, and very responsive to that. And also my Instagram. Instagram has a little bit of my personal life too. It’s not just all business, I have a YouTube channel where I have a series of chair, and yoga classes that you can do at home, I have a dementia series, and I have an entire series on hip replacements because I think if we can teach what we know, and what we’re going through, it can empower other people.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:10:33
                                          And my slant on hip replacement has been to heal mindfully. And while the doctors give you great advice on the physical side, your self-care changes, your habits change, and your emotions change. And so I tried to provide how to have some mindfulness in the healing process.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:10:55
                                          So that has been so much fun to share that. So YouTube is a great platform, I have a lot of content that’s free. And you know, it might it might hit somebody’s hard. There’s a whole gratitude series 10 days of being grateful. And so that’s a great place, Instagram or YouTube or an email is perfect.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:11:13
                                          Excellent. We’ll all make sure that the links to all of your socials and all your contact details are in the show notes. For anyone watching and listening. If you want to connect with Stacie go to recoveryafterstroke.com/episode That’s where you’ll find a transcript of the entire interview. Plus, you’ll find the links to Stacie’s socials, Stacie Wyatt, thank you so much for being on the podcast.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:11:38
                                          Thanks for having me. It’s something I love talking about. So I appreciate all the great questions too. Nobody’s asked those things. That’s cool.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:11:46
                                          I’m glad I asked good questions all the best with the rest of your recovery and have a great start to next week and your new your next chapter in your yoga journey.

                                          Stacie Wyatt 1:11:59
                                          Perfect. Thank you so much. This was fun.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:12:03
                                          Thank you for being with us on today’s episode for further insights into our guests and access to a transcript of this interview, visit recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes. And to those who have already shared their feedback, your reviews are deeply appreciated. Your words not only sustain this podcast but also illuminate the path for others seeking solace and guidance in their stroke recovery journey.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:12:30
                                          If you’re yet to leave a review, consider sharing your thoughts on iTunes or Spotify. And if you’re watching on YouTube, drop a comment below, like this episode, and subscribe for future updates. Now if you’re a stroke survivor eager to share your story, know that you are welcome here. unscripted and unfiltered. Your experience holds the power to inspire and uplift others facing similar challenges.

                                          Bill Gasiamis 1:12:55
                                          And for those with innovative products or services geared towards supporting stroke survivors, there’s an opportunity to collaborate on a sponsored episode of the show as well. Simply visit recovery after stroke.com/contact. To explore this avenue further. Thank you once again for your presence and your support. Together, we navigate the journey of recovery one episode at a time until the next time, take care, and stay resilient.

                                          Intro 1:13:24
                                          Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals’ opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast or the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

                                          Intro 1:13:41
                                          All content on this website at any linked blog, podcast, or video material controlled by this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis, the content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice.

                                          Intro 1:14:03
                                          The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances, or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure, or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                                          Intro 1:14:18
                                          Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor, or your rehabilitation program based on our content if you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional.

                                          Intro 1:14:32
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                                          Intro 1:14:48
                                          We do not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content, you do so at your own risk we are careful with what we provide however third-party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                                          The post Adaptive Yoga For Stroke Recovery – Stacie Wyatt appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                          1 hr 16 min
                                        6. Recovering from a BRAINSTEM stroke – Jamie & Jessica Robinson
                                          Understanding Brain Stem Stroke: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

                                          Brain stem stroke is a serious medical condition that requires prompt attention and awareness. As a life-threatening event, understanding its nuances, symptoms, causes, and treatment options is crucial for both patients and caregivers. In this article, we delve into the depths of brain stem stroke, providing comprehensive insights to empower individuals with knowledge and resources.

                                          Unraveling Brain Stem Stroke

                                          The brain stem, situated at the base of the brain, controls vital functions like breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure. When a stroke occurs in this region, it disrupts these essential functions, leading to potentially severe consequences. Unlike other types of strokes, brain stem strokes can present unique challenges due to the intricate network of nerves and arteries in this area.

                                          Symptoms to Watch For

                                          Recognizing the signs of a brain stem stroke is paramount for early intervention. Symptoms may include:

                                          • Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body
                                          • Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
                                          • Vertigo, dizziness, or loss of balance
                                          • Impaired vision, double vision, or difficulty swallowing
                                          • Severe headache, often described as the worst headache of one’s life

                                            • Given the critical functions controlled by the brain stem, any suspicion of a stroke warrants immediate medical attention.

                                            Causes and Risk Factors

                                            Brain stem strokes typically result from a disruption in blood flow to the brain stem, either due to a blood clot (ischemic stroke) or a ruptured blood vessel (hemorrhagic stroke). Several risk factors contribute to the development of brain stem stroke, including:

                                            • High blood pressure
                                            • Diabetes
                                            • Smoking
                                            • Obesity
                                            • Family history of stroke or cardiovascular disease

                                              • While some risk factors are modifiable through lifestyle changes and medical intervention, others, such as genetic predispositions, require proactive monitoring and management.

                                              Diagnosis and Treatment

                                              Diagnosing a brain stem stroke often involves a combination of medical history evaluation, physical examination, and imaging tests such as CT scans or MRIs. Once diagnosed, immediate treatment is crucial to minimize damage and improve outcomes. Treatment options may include:

                                              • Clot-busting medications (thrombolytics) for ischemic strokes
                                              • Surgical interventions to remove blood clots or repair damaged blood vessels
                                              • Rehabilitation therapies to regain lost functions and improve quality of life

                                                • The effectiveness of treatment largely depends on the timeliness of intervention and the extent of brain stem damage.

                                                Empowering Through Education

                                                In the digital age, access to reliable information plays a pivotal role in healthcare decision-making. While websites like Stroke.org provide valuable resources, it’s essential to supplement such knowledge with diverse perspectives and expert insights. By leveraging reputable medical sources, educational materials, and professional networks, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of brain stem stroke and its implications.

                                                Conclusion

                                                Brain stem stroke is a formidable adversary, but armed with awareness, early detection, and comprehensive treatment strategies, individuals can confront this challenge with resilience and hope. By fostering a culture of education, advocacy, and support, we can collectively work towards reducing the burden of stroke-related disabilities and improving the lives of those affected by this debilitating condition.

                                                Through continued research, innovation, and community engagement, we can pave the way for a brighter future—one where brain stem stroke is not just understood but conquered. Let us embark on this journey together, uniting our efforts to create a world where strokes are no longer a threat but a conquerable obstacle on the path to health and well-being.

                                                Full Interview with Jamie & Jessica Robinson

                                                Jamie and Jessica Robinson joined me to discuss their experience with a brain stem stroke from the perspective of both caregiver and patient.

                                                Highlights:

                                                00:00 Introduction

                                                00:30 The first sign of brain stem stroke
                                                09:48 Being in the ICU for 25 days
                                                16:49 Waking up for the first time
                                                18:54 The deficits after the brain stem stroke
                                                27:04 Recovery, work, and voice challenges
                                                38:44 Setting recovery deadlines
                                                45:37 A piece of health advice
                                                50:35 The benefits of having a supportive family during a difficult time
                                                1:03:29 What’s next for Jamie & Jessica Robinson
                                                1:06:25 The three questions

                                                Transcript:

                                                Introduction – Brain Stem Stroke

                                                Bill Gasiamis 0:00

                                                Hello, everybody, this is episode 301. And my guests today are Jamie Robinson and Jessica Pope Robinson. The husband and wife team have been regular listeners to the Recovery after Stroke podcast and reached out recently to join me on the show to share their respective stroke stories after Jamie experienced a brain stem stroke, at age 49.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 0:23

                                                Jamie and Jessica Robinson, welcome to the podcast.

                                                Jamie Robinson 0:27

                                                Thank you. Nice to be here.

                                                Jessica Robinson 0:28

                                                Thank you for having us.

                                                The first sign of brainstem stroke

                                                Bill Gasiamis 0:30

                                                Lovely to meet you both I’m just trying to work out which way to go with this particular interview. But let’s start with Jamie. Jamie, tell me a little bit about what happened to you.

                                                Jamie Robinson 0:43

                                                Well, I think it was November 5, 2022. I woke up in the middle of the night at 5 a.m. with a severe leg cramp and ended up having a stroke in the process. So she called 911. And a few months later, I woke up in the hospital.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:15

                                                Wow. Okay. So you recall having a leg cramp? Is that what woke you?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:20

                                                Well, that’s what she says I don’t remember anything.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:25

                                                So do you know that you were having a stroke? Do you know anything?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:31

                                                No, I just know that I was getting ready to get up for the morning and get ready to go to work. And then I woke up a few months later in the hospital.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:43

                                                Talk about dramatic. How was that for you? Jessica, you woke up, was he looking like he was waking up? How was he acting?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:54

                                                No, it was about 20 minutes before his alarm would go off at about 5:30 in the morning. And I was dead asleep. And he screamed the weirdest scream I’ve ever heard he screamed cramp. But it was just he screamed it in the sight of just a horrible way.

                                                Jessica Robinson 2:12

                                                And I woke up and turned on the light and looked at him, and I kept yelling at him to wake up and he wasn’t waking up. And he was shaking violently. And he has a kind of foam coming out of his mouth. And I called 911 as I was kind of screaming at him the whole time. And then I just kept screaming at him to wake up while we were waiting for the ambulance to get here.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 2:42

                                                Were you trying to get him aroused? Was it working? Was it doing anything?

                                                Jessica Robinson 2:46

                                                It wasn’t doing anything at all.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 2:50

                                                How long did it take for emergency services to arrive?

                                                Jessica Robinson 2:54

                                                Out 10 minutes.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 2:56

                                                Okay. So then there’s a whole bunch of time you go to emergency services arrive, and then from there, did you guys end up in hospital quickly? Is it near home? Where is that?

                                                Jessica Robinson 3:10

                                                Yes, the hospital is about five minutes from our house. So they were there pretty quickly. But actually, I was trying to get my keys and all that kind of stuff and let our daughter know that we were leaving. And when I got outside the ambulance had just pulled away which to me seemed odd because it seemed like it had taken a long time for them to leave. But now I know that it was because they were intubating him in the ambulance before they left.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 3:45

                                                Okay, so they’re going through the whole process. Already his respiratory system is not working properly, things are going wrong. And you’re waiting, thinking, Well, what’s going on? What are they doing? Why aren’t they moving?

                                                Bill Gasiamis 4:03

                                                That’s pretty normal. Because what you’re thinking is that just the hospital is where you need to be and everything will be fine. So you guys arrived at the hospital? And then what? What happens then and how do they keep you in the loop? How are you being communicated with what happened?

                                                Jessica Robinson 4:21

                                                So he has been taken aback. I’m still in the waiting room for about 10 minutes. Then they come out and they get me he’s in a room in the ER with probably, I don’t know, probably 15 people in it. I couldn’t even fit in and I sat on a chair outside the waiting room. And this lady who turned out to be the chaplain I did not know did not introduce herself as she was sitting next sent me the whole time with a box of Kleenex.

                                                Jessica Robinson 5:03

                                                And she kind of when they moved him to do surgery and things she sort of followed and my brain just couldn’t quite grasp what was going on. And I kept thinking, Well, I don’t think this is good that this woman won’t leave me alone. Which was very nice. But I just kept thinking that I’ve been in the hospital many times, and this has never happened before.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 5:28

                                                We’ll be back with my guest in just a minute. But first, let me tell you about my new book about stroke recovery. It’s titled The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened: 10 Tools for Recovery and Personal Transformation. within its pages, you’ll discover the journeys of 10 remarkable stroke survivors. Each story illustrates how through resilience and perseverance, they turned their stroke experience into a catalyst for profound personal growth and transformation.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 5:58

                                                This book delves into various aspects of recovery, including nutrition, sleep, and exercise in managing the emotional aftermath of a stroke, as well as providing invaluable tips and tools for maintaining mental well-being. To learn more visit recoveryafterstroke.com/book. And if you’re eager to get a copy, simply search my name Bill Gasiamis on amazon.com. So you just think she’s a weirdo, admit it. Okay, so she’s the chaplain, you find out later, but she’s just trying to make sure you’ve got somebody next to you the whole time.

                                                Jessica Robinson 6:38

                                                Yes, exactly. So I called one of our older kids who worked nighttime. And he got off about seven. At this point, I was about seven, and I let him know what was going on. And he came to the hospital with me. And then, at this point, they had figured out that it was a blood clot. And it was, at this point, I didn’t know where it was located. But they just told me he had a stroke, and it was a blood clot.

                                                Jessica Robinson 7:09

                                                He had a mini-stroke in 2020. And they have put him on blood thinners. Because he was on those blood thinners. They couldn’t do the drugs to break up the clot. So they had to take him up and do surgery. So we went and sat in the waiting room up there, my son and I and his girlfriend, and the doctor came in and said they were gonna go back and do surgery. And they told me that his exact words were that it was in a very bad spot in the back of his brain. And it turned out it was on his brainstem.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 7:57

                                                And what surgery did they do? How did they retrieve that?

                                                Jessica Robinson 8:02

                                                That’s a great question. I’m not exactly sure. I know they just I think where they went up the leg and up there and they were not able to get all of it. But they got most of it. And then when the doctor came in the waiting room, he said that they had saved as much of his brain as they could, which I did not think was a very good sentence.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 8:36

                                                Although they’re trying to tell you, we’ve managed to save some of it. And that’s a good outcome you’re going that means there’s probably a lot that hasn’t been saved.

                                                Jessica Robinson 8:47

                                                Right? Yeah, exactly.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 8:50

                                                So all of this happened. It sounds like this is all the first 24 hours. Okay, and then he comes out of surgery and he’s taken to is it the ICU. Where does he go first?

                                                Jessica Robinson 9:04

                                                He is in the ICU. He was in the ICU for about 25 days.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 9:13

                                                Okay. Now I’ve had the difficult task of being in the ICU with a friend of mine whose daughter had a brain hemorrhage. And it’s not fun, because the condition of the person that you’re seeing is not responsive. You know, there’s a lot of stuff going on in there’s machines everywhere. It’s just an intense place, but it’s a really special place as well. Because if you’re going to be unwell from something like this, it’s the best place to be in for your potential recovery.

                                                Being in the ICU for 25 days after the brainstem stroke

                                                Bill Gasiamis 9:48

                                                And I want to go back to Jamie for a second. In the first 25 days. Do you have any more recollection whatsoever? Is there any time when you felt maybe you saw the lights, as in the lights of the room, not the other ones? Did you have any idea that you were in the hospital and something was going on?

                                                Jamie Robinson 10:14

                                                It was so weird because I could hear conversations that were going on around me. I could follow what was happening in people’s lives. But it just kind of blended into the dream that I was having. Because for the whole time, I was in ICU. I was unconscious as far as I know. And I was having a dream where I was living a whole nother life. And day by day I listened to the stories that other people told, listened to stories about my mom needing an internet. And it just all blended in.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 11:01

                                                Okay. So you had some kind of awareness of conversations happening around you people turning up and things getting done and things happening around you. Jessica, were you guys telling him the stories of what his mom needed and all that type of stuff?

                                                Jessica Robinson 11:21

                                                No, his mom would just be in the room telling me what was going on. Because she just moved into a house and we’re just having kind of conversations. And apparently, he heard them.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 11:33

                                                Yeah, they didn’t say anything nasty, did they?

                                                Bill Gasiamis 11:41

                                                Well, we know better from now on never to do that in the ICU. Okay, so it kind of blends all in. And there’s no real understanding of how long you’re in there of really what’s going on what day it is, you just know that you’re somewhere else and something is happening around you. And you’re able to track it. Are you do you have any concerns? Do you feel, any feelings? Are you worried? Is there any other of that stuff going on? Or is it just not there?

                                                Jamie Robinson 12:13

                                                It’s not there. Like I said, during the whole time that I thought I was unconscious, I was having a dream, where I was living in another reality. But she says it now and then I come to and communicate somehow. But I don’t remember any of it.

                                                Jessica Robinson 12:37

                                                He was never unconscious after he got into the ICU, like when I got in there to visit him. He was awake, and they had told me when they came to the waiting room that the next 24 hours were key and that he hoped he wake up. And by the time I got into the ICU, he was awake, his eyes were open, and he was able to follow basic like, you know, squeeze my hand with all your toes kind of directions.

                                                Jessica Robinson 13:15

                                                His left side was affected. So that wasn’t as good as the right side. But he was able to follow those sorts of directions. So he was never really unconscious. I mean, he was intubated. Still, he was intubated for a very long time. So, they had him on medication. So they make him comfortable.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 13:39

                                                Okay, so it’s important, of course, after the surgery to work out, that he’s come good and that Jamie is there and things are working amongst other things that are not. But then at the same time to allow for the situation to continue in the process of recovery to continue to occur. He was intubated so that he didn’t have to worry about doing things like breathing, etc. And then he was sedated to just keep him comfortable and keep him healing. Then when long enough time passed, he could be sort of woken back up completely.

                                                Jessica Robinson 14:28

                                                Right. So they had him intubated for just the first day I think and then they took the tubes out and he had about 24 hours without them he could breathe on his own but he couldn’t cough. So fluid was building up and he was very, very weak and so his coughs were very, very, very weak.

                                                Jessica Robinson 14:54

                                                And he just couldn’t keep the fluid down. So they went ahead and put the tubes back in. And then he was intubated for another, about two weeks. And then they told me that they were going to have to, they took the tubes out again and tried for another 24 hours, and he could not do it. And they told me they were going to have to put in a trach.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 15:23

                                                In those 25 days, what are you guys doing? Or what is your routine? Like? How are you managing your day?

                                                Jessica Robinson 15:33

                                                It’s pretty much just at the hospital all the time, we have three teenage girls. So there was a lot of, you know, them staying at my parents or my parents staying here with them, or, his mom was in town, so she would spend the night at the hospital occasionally.

                                                Jessica Robinson 15:53

                                                And then if she wasn’t staying the night, I would stay the night, when we got to probably about three weeks or so after the stroke, we would go a night or two without staying the night. But not the first few weeks and they took good care of it. him it was just very hard to leave him.

                                                Jamie Robinson 16:12

                                                So we had really good doctors.

                                                Jessica Robinson 16:16

                                                And nurses, the nurses, and all the staff. Amazing. Yeah.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 16:21

                                                Yeah. They certainly do look like they did a good job because you guys are both here on the podcast talking about it. So let’s say, Jaime, are you able to tell us anything about those first few days after the sedation is sort of starting to decrease? And then all the breathing tubes are removed? Are you able to have any memories of that?

                                                Jamie Robinson wakes up in the hospital for the first time

                                                Jamie Robinson 16:47

                                                Well, when I woke up, I went and had a stroke on November 5. I woke up on December 17. And I couldn’t move my left arm, I could barely move my fingers. I could barely move my left leg. And I was trying to figure out what was going on. I was just why am I in the hospital. I’m trying to figure out why is everybody here. And I wasn’t scared. I was just confused.

                                                Jamie Robinson 17:24

                                                And then I started to get more and more information from family members. And my son was a little freaked out. He’s tudies up on everything. He gets introduced to something, he finds out everything he can about it. So he was very concerned. And then when I woke up, he was very relieved. So it was a challenge but not scary It was just like, what’s going on? The confusion.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 18:01

                                                And how did the family take it Jessica when he’s awake? And he started to communicate?

                                                Jessica Robinson 18:08

                                                Oh, it was a lot of relief. Just to know that he was still in there. And although he’s still, you know, couldn’t talk well, at first because of the trach and everything. Um, you know, he still had a sense of humor, he still was very similar to himself, our daughter mentioned that when she got to the hospital that first day everybody kept telling her that he was going to live.

                                                Jessica Robinson 18:40

                                                And she said I kept thinking, Oh, well, that’s great, but I don’t want to just live I want him to be my Dad, is he gonna be my dad? And so she was very relieved that she could see that. Although there have been some changes he is still himself.

                                                The deficits after the brainstem stroke

                                                Bill Gasiamis 18:54

                                                Yeah, personality-wise and the way that you go about talking and thinking, etc. Okay, so what is different? We know the left sides have been impacted. To what extent is it still impacted?

                                                Jamie Robinson 19:12

                                                Well, I don’t have full control of my left arm yet, but I do move it quite a bit. Now. I can walk by myself without a cane. But I take a cane just in case. My mental faculties are there. But now and then I have a loss for words like now and then it’s just like, it’s on the tip of my tongue. I just can’t think of what it is. It should be something dumb like yellow.

                                                Intro 19:49

                                                If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be. You’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. How long will it take to recover? Will I recover? What things should I avoid? In case I make matters worse, doctors will explain things. But, if you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask.

                                                Intro 20:14

                                                If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com, where you can download a guide that will help you it’s called Seven Questions to Ask your Doctor about Your Stroke.

                                                Intro 20:33

                                                These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery. Head to the website now, recoveryafterstroke.com, and download the guide. It’s free.

                                                Jamie Robinson 20:52

                                                I seem to be a little more patient with my kids. I used to be a real hardass, I used to be a little more stubborn and demanded more respect and now it’s just like they get away with everything.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 21:17

                                                Yeah, I wonder why I’ve been there. I know what that’s like, it’s settled to sort of take the edge off that kind of shitty part of your personality and to just settle it down a little bit. You don’t know when you’re doing it at the time. But it is, you know, grinds people the wrong way.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 21:40

                                                And it just makes things a little bit uncomfortable on that. And then you realize, okay, maybe I can just settle down and just be a little less dramatic about things. So it was about 25 days, all up in the ICU. How long were you in rehab? Did you come home quickly? Or were you in rehab for an extended amount of time?

                                                Jamie Robinson 22:05

                                                25 days in ICU, about a month, and immediate care. And then about a month in rehab.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 22:17

                                                Wow. So isn’t it strange, like that day is supposed to just be a normal day? Everyone wakes up and goes to work. And then like three months later, that day still hasn’t ended? It’s just still, yeah, we strange thing that’s just working one day you wake up, and then three months later, you’re in this completely different place? How quickly did the time go by Jessica?

                                                Jessica Robinson 22:44

                                                Oh, gosh, um, in some ways, I think it felt like it went by fast. Because it just felt like it was just one very long day. I mean, it just woke me up. It was kind of like Groundhog Day, you just wake up and do the same things over and over again, you know, took an I took a leave from work and so it was just getting up, go to the hospital.

                                                Jessica Robinson 23:10

                                                And you know, and there were quite a few times when we got thrown off like after he was in an intermediate care, I forgot the ICU, everything was going better. And then he had a pulmonary embolism. So we had to deal with that. And that was scary. And then once he got to rehab I think it went faster because you can see the the improvement every day.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 23:42

                                                So how did the pulmonary embolism come to be?

                                                Jessica Robinson 23:46

                                                So well, that they had they put him back on life and put him on blood thinners a few days after his stroke. And then, um a week or so later, they felt like something was wrong. So they did an MRI and he was bleeding where his stroke was. So they took him off the blood thinners.

                                                Jessica Robinson 24:11

                                                And then he developed a DVT and that ended up being a pulmonary embolism. Multiple pulmonary embolisms as they said but they were able to just dissolve on their own. So then it was very scary because they came in and said we are worried that if he put him back on the blood thinners that he will bleed we are worried that if we do not put him back on the blood thinners that he will develop clots because he’s prone to clots.

                                                Jessica Robinson 24:51

                                                So there was I mean I had teams of doctors in the room talking to me different teams and The stroke team said we think he will be okay on the blood thinners, the hematology team so we don’t want to put him back on the blood thinners. And then they said, you have to make a choice.

                                                Jessica Robinson 25:14

                                                And that was probably one of the scariest moments of my life trying to figure out, you know, having somebody else’s life basically in your hands, not knowing if you’re going to make the right choice. But the stroke doctor convinced me that he thought we try the blood thinner and check him for blood bleeding. And because at this point, it had been about a month almost exactly since his stroke.

                                                Jessica Robinson 25:40

                                                And he thought that he was strong enough at that point, that the bleeding would stop that the blood thinner wouldn’t cause the bleeding, I should say. So. And that that did it they he went back on the blood thinners and he’s been on him ever since. So there was no bleeding.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 25:58

                                                I love the passing of the buck routine. There are medical professionals, they’ve got, you know, probably 1000s of years of education and schooling and experience in that space. And they go you know what, let’s just give it to somebody who doesn’t know anything about strokes. Like the decision.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 26:18

                                                I mean come on guys, I get what they they just sort of saying like, Wait, somebody has you have to guide us, you have to probably do the what are they thinking is maybe you’re going to do the what is your family members? The most likely response going to be? What would they want? And they’re hoping that you guys can guide and advise.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 26:46

                                                That’s interesting that they do that, that they make your decision, they should be able to just make the decision and then come to you with a suggestion. The most likely outcome in this scenario is the most likely outcome in that scenario. We are going to go with this. Do you agree with us?

                                                Bill Gasiamis 27:04

                                                Yeah, so, Jamie, what’s it like when you realize you can’t move your left side properly? And it’s not working? And then how to your, what are your thoughts about what’s next going to be necessary to get you back on your feet? Again? How are you thinking about all of those things?

                                                Jamie Robinson 27:31

                                                Well, the initial thought was, man, this sucks. I tried to lift my hand from the bag and put it on my leg, and then just wouldn’t move. So it’s just a battle of wills, almost a test. If I just give my hand to the rest of my leg, I’ll be good to go. So then at that point, I started realizing it was just day by day. If I can’t do it today, I’ll do it tomorrow. And now a year and a half later, I’ve been blogging for the most part, I walk around the house with no support. And it’s just taking time and it’s a struggle, but it’s it is a challenge. But it’s worth it.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 28:24

                                                What kind of work were you doing before?

                                                Jamie Robinson 28:28

                                                Before the stroke, I was in grocery pricing. I was a pricing manager for grocery and so I’m the one you blame for probably stopping being too expensive.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 28:45

                                                Okay, I know where to send the rage. Okay, so you’re it’s an administrative type of job sitting down at the computer, looking at spreadsheets or that type of thing. Where are you at with work? Are you in any situation where you’re able to go back to work or do work like that?

                                                Jamie Robinson 29:07

                                                Well, I had I had just come up and come away from cancer. And so I was still on. I still had some time left for Medical Necessities for that. So whenever I had a doctor’s appointment or something going on, they were charged against the FMLA time the light left. So when I had the stroke I had a good strong support team in the office with me I was worried about that. And then the stroke in the hospitalization ate up all the FMLA time and then I was terminated.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 30:00

                                                What is FMLA? stands for?

                                                Jamie Robinson 30:02

                                                Family Medical Leave Act.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 30:06

                                                And you had a cancer scare. So what was that all about? When did that start?

                                                Jamie Robinson 30:14

                                                What was it in September?

                                                Jessica Robinson 30:16

                                                It was in like, May of 2022.

                                                Jamie Robinson 30:21

                                                They found a cancerous node on my lung and then wound up doing chemotherapy, and they cured it.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 30:31

                                                Okay. Were you a smoker?

                                                Jamie Robinson 30:36

                                                30 years.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 30:38

                                                Okay, so I guess you’re not a smoker now?

                                                Jamie Robinson 30:42

                                                No.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 30:46

                                                I can’t believe you had to point to her. She shouldn’t be the one who’s like smacking you on the head with a wooden spoon to make sure you stop smoking. What you’re telling me is that it was one of those things that you did, which is quite enjoyable, which you liked doing. Didn’t bother doing it right?

                                                Bill Gasiamis 31:08

                                                I know that feeling because I enjoyed smoking too when I was smoking. And of course, that one had to make me stop after the first brain hemorrhage I just stopped. But I know what you’re saying. I mean, it’s not that you’re being forced to stop. It’s that you’ve finally become aware of how bad it can be.

                                                Jamie Robinson 31:30

                                                Well, I know it’s bad. I know it helped cause it.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 31:42

                                                So tell me about your voice. It sounds like it’s a little bit labored. Is that a result of the tracks? Why does that sound like that? And is it very different from what it used to be?

                                                Jamie Robinson 31:57

                                                Yes, it’s different, but it’s not so much forced is just, that I’m getting used to it, the muscles are growing back and getting stronger. So I’m getting back in shape as far as that goes. For a while when I woke up, I couldn’t speak at all, at the trachoma through sign language and communicated with writing stuff on paper. And I couldn’t even drink soda. I could, I had a hard time swallowing. So if I had a cheeseburger or something, I had a chance to choke. So all that’s been gradually getting better. And now I’m having a soda. I opened Oh cans and drank away now. I graduated from speech therapy. Did all these speech practices for me, and I just kept working on it. It’s my voice getting better. It’s much better than it was back in the day, but it’s nowhere near what it was before the stroke.

                                                Jessica Robinson 33:20

                                                He had he couldn’t swallow for well, from ICU up until like, probably the middle of rehab. So two and a half months, he was on a feeding tube and couldn’t swallow. Then they did testing and everything and they put him on by the time he left the hospital. He was on a solid food diet, a normal food diet. Yeah, normal food diet, but he had to have all of his drinks thickened. And he had to have all the strings sticking up until September 2023. And that’s when he was able to start drinking normal liquids.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 34:09

                                                Okay, so it’s been a gradual improvement, slow, but gradual, and then eventually you’ve achieved some decent outcomes. Do we know why the blood clots occurred? Like what is the underlying cause? Is he susceptible to them? Why is it? Do we know?

                                                Jessica Robinson 34:31

                                                They don’t know he didn’t have a, he had a spleen removed when he was like seven. And they told me in the hospital, they went back and forth for a long time trying to find a cause. They finally thought that because he had his spleen removed because his blood cells are kind of an odd shape and the spleen would eat them. Mopping it will make it enlarge.

                                                Jessica Robinson 35:02

                                                And they finally decided that maybe the disease he has makes them that odd shape. Might also be very rare though they don’t know a lot about it, it would also possibly make them sticky and sometimes cause flooding. That coupled with the chemo, because he had just finished chemo in August. And after he finished chemo, he had so much swelling.

                                                Jessica Robinson 35:32

                                                He had a doctor’s appointment. Gosh, like, he had a stroke on a Sunday, and he had the doctor’s appointment on a Thursday for the swelling. And she had a CT scan done. And she sent him a message on his Follow My Health that I received while he was in the hospital, on his app that the CT scan looked good. And he was okay to just continue what he was doing. And I sent her a message back and I was like, well, he had a massive stroke. And he’s in the hospital ICU. So I don’t know, but it didn’t seem like it went that well.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 36:21

                                                Poor Doctor. I mean, she was beside herself thinking what? What am I? Yeah, but as far as she was concerned, everything else went to plan. Yeah.

                                                Jessica Robinson 36:36

                                                And at least he did have that moment where we know that there wasn’t something we should have done differently. You know, like, Oh, if you’re just seeing a doctor before this happened, at least we know that we did. You know, well, yeah.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 36:54

                                                Somebody’s getting tired.

                                                Jessica Robinson 36:57

                                                My legs are starting to hurt a little bit.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 37:00

                                                So we’ve got everything’s sort of going well, making a lot of progress. Worked out a lot of things and resolved a lot of issues. Your 49 When it happens, when was your 50th?

                                                Jamie Robinson 37:17

                                                I got released from the hospital. And was it February? And my birthday was in June.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 37:25

                                                June the what? June 19. On June the eighth. Oh. And I’ll be 50 this year. Oh, how good was it to get to 50 why it was

                                                Jamie Robinson 37:42

                                                it was very enjoyable. I had a lot of friends over. And we had a big party. And I was stuck in a wheelchair at that time. But it was a very fun event.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 37:57

                                                Yeah. So what’s it like now, for you, Jessica, have you been able to get back to work is everything kind of settled down with that side of it?

                                                Jessica Robinson 38:06

                                                Yes, I’m back to work. He still needs 24/7. More of a supervisor than a care but 24/7 supervision because he is still stroking. He’s still a choking risk. Sometimes he’s still choked. So someone has to watch him when he’s eating. And then he’s also still a bit of a fall risk. So someone has to be 24/7. So my parents come during the workday when I’m working and stay with him.

                                                Setting brainstem stroke recovery deadlines

                                                Bill Gasiamis 38:44

                                                He’s high maintenance. Jamie, what’s the deal? Might, how long is it going to be before? Do you feel like I know you’re improving and you’ve hit all these milestones? How long do you feel before? And this is not a goal that you have to sit in and hit I’m just sort of seeing where you’re at with it. How long do you feel before you can be fully independent and you don’t need the babysitting, so to speak?

                                                Jamie Robinson 39:11

                                                Well, everything is going according to plan so far, but I don’t know. It’s just I still can’t walk very well. I still have problems with my left arm. I still have stuff I’m working on. But I was told that while I was in the hospital, I was told that for every day that you’re in the hospital imagine three days of recovery. So according to that, everything went fine. By about the time I had three days of recovery, for every day I was in the hospital was up. About nine months, 10 months, I was doing much better. I still think I’ve got probably a year to go before I can get back to work and start being, “normal” again.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 40:31

                                                Yeah, whatever that means. Okay, it was a trick question. I mean, I knew there wasn’t going to be a solid answer. But there’s a reason for that. Because there’s a lot of people listening, who will have kind of deadlines set on I need to get back by this day, or this is the day or whatever. And usually what happens is recovery doesn’t go like that. And it takes a bit longer. Sometimes it could take less, but it might take a bit longer than what we want it to.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 41:00

                                                And people get disheartened. They feel a little bit kind of, you know, like, oh, man, I’m gonna be here all the time. And you know, they might start thinking like that. You seem to be taking it all in your stride. Have you always been chill like that? It seems like you’re very relaxed and chilled about it. Jessica’s shaking her head, and you’re nodding your head. So somewhere in between is the truth. How have you responded to adversity in the past?

                                                Jamie Robinson 41:33

                                                Usually, I’m like a crisis manager, I see the crisis. And I tag it head-on, whether it be strategically or forcefully, or just whatever is going to get me through it. Nowadays, like I said, it’s day by day, if I can’t do it today, just wait tomorrow and try again. The three days per recovery, three days recovery for every day, is more of a benchmark than anything.

                                                Jamie Robinson 42:15

                                                Just look at it, I want to be better by this time. And then you look at your progress up to that point. And you can push yourself to do better. And then you know where you’re at, and how much gotta work to get further. Me. I know I’m not ready to be on my own. I know I need people to help me. I know I need people to watch me that’s okay. , I go to the gym three times a week. I walk on the track in the gym three times a week. And when I say a walk in the gym, I’m carrying my cane not use not holding on to, to the guide rails just had their writing experiences, just the case. And I pushed myself to go for a mile. And I think it’s working out well.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 43:16

                                                Yeah. Sorry to interrupt you.

                                                Jamie Robinson 43:22

                                                That’s okay.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 43:24

                                                Yeah, you’re going well. So you’ve just sort of focused on the improvements that are happening, rather than how much improvement you want to see by a certain day.

                                                Jamie Robinson 43:37

                                                Right? Am I doing better than I did yesterday? Yes. Okay. I’m on the right track. Am I doing better than I did yesterday? No, I need to work harder. That’s all about day by day. What can I do the day? How much can I push it for tomorrow? How Where do I see that little bit of improvement? And that little bit of improvement every day will add up. I started doing a row machine that uses just your arms. Started at 90 pounds. That’s pretty good. I’m now up to 125. And it’s every day every time I go and try it. I add five pounds. And there’s too much that’s okay, our with what I’m used to. And I’ll just keep working it keep working. Just keep trying to do better.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 44:40

                                                So you’re getting stronger. You’re getting more resilient, you’re able to get through more effort. Are you noticing fatigue, does that sit in does that cause a little bit of a backstep

                                                Jamie Robinson 45:00

                                                I don’t see it as a challenge. That doesn’t affect me as much. One thing that I’ve heard from a lot of people, doctors, patients, everybody is that they have a lot of pain or are very tired. I got lucky. I don’t, I don’t notice it. I’m not in pain. I’m not tired unless I push myself. But I’m just very lucky where I’m at right now.

                                                A piece of health advice for faster brainstem stroke recovery

                                                Bill Gasiamis 45:37

                                                You’re looking for ways to improve all the time and you’re making big progress and you’re overcoming things. In our conversation, I noticed something that you’re doing that’s interfering with your recovery you want to know?

                                                Jamie Robinson 45:59

                                                Please share.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 46:01

                                                Drinking sodas.

                                                Jamie Robinson 46:03

                                                Okay. In my defense, it’s sugar-free.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 46:10

                                                Even then.

                                                Jamie Robinson 46:16

                                                I started when I was young drinking Mallow Yellow, I then moved on to Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew has like 75 grams of sugar with, whatever. And it was ridiculous. I changed from that to Pepsi. As that cut down quite a bit more since I’ve been able to drink soda again, I dropped down to zero sugar and started to lose weight, but it’s not helping a whole lot because it tastes good.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 46:55

                                                Yeah. I know it’s always about the taste. That’s the only thing that I could say to you, you know, that Sunday, that’s not going to cost you extra, it’s going to make a massive difference to your blood. Instead of drinking a soda if you drink water, or bubbly water, like mineral water or soda water, you know, the flavors are different squeeze some lemon in there, squeeze some orange in there, anything just to get you that feeling that sensation of you’re doing something similar that that will help.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 47:29

                                                It’s just there are too many chemicals in those diet ones, and they don’t have a positive impact. They may have a negative impact, but they certainly don’t have a positive impact. Drinking water is going to have a positive impact and help thin your blood naturally. And just take out some extra stuff that your blood doesn’t need to have. So anyway, that’s my 10 cents worth that’s your nutritional advice for the day.

                                                Jamie Robinson 47:56

                                                That’s quite alright, Jess has been trying to get me to drink more water for years.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 48:05

                                                Yeah, well, we, you know, if it helps, you know, what you do, is you get a water filter, you filter out all the stuff that you don’t like in the flavor of water from the tap. And then you just add, like I said, a little bit of lemon or orange or lime or anything in there just to help you make a tasteless water, boring, I don’t know, whatever it is, it’s the most important thing.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 48:31

                                                Because you can extract you know, with blood cells that are differently shaped they need water, they need to be hydrated in different ways. You know, they don’t need to be hydrated by beer or sodas or anything like that. They need they need water especially since you know you’re still not active, very active, and that you need to help your blood circulate as much as possible so that you don’t develop DVTs or any of that stuff from sitting down.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 49:14

                                                Because I know that there’s a risk of sitting down a little bit too much, especially then when we’ve been unwell after a stroke, you know, so just consider it and maybe you know, cut down from whatever you’re drinking now to half of that and then see if you can make your water tastes a little better and then go from there. And you’ve also been through cancer.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 49:37

                                                You know, you want to give your body the best opportunity to repair itself and heal itself. And Jessica he’s very high maintenance, like we said, but he also needs a lot of attention by the sound of it. He’s doing all this getting attention. Oh my God. Is there any opportunity for anyone else in that house to get a little bit of life? How have the girls been I hate teenagers can be completely annoying at the teenage stage.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 50:13

                                                I had teenagers when I was unwell. And they were just painted as they were meant to be. And it didn’t make it easier. But I was also able to just chill out and say, look, they’re just being normal, and they won’t understand and I shouldn’t expect them to understand. But I used to get a little bit upset when they were a bit too loud.

                                                The benefits of having a supportive family during a difficult time

                                                Bill Gasiamis 50:35

                                                And I had to tell them multiple times, or when they wouldn’t help out around the house, and I needed help because my wife went back to work. So if they were around and causing a mess, or creating you know, a nightmare in the kitchen, you know, I needed them to be on top of sorting out their stuff. And Sometimes they wouldn’t how the girls respond during this time.

                                                Jessica Robinson 51:00

                                                They’ve responded pretty well, I’m there’s that there’s, you know, messes and, and things like that. But for the most part, they’ve been very helpful.

                                                Jamie Robinson 51:13

                                                They have I’ve got two 15-year-old twins, who are very helpful. They still complain when we ask them to do something. But they get it done, they’re trying to be as helpful as possible for me. And my 18-year-old daughter is still living home washers in high school. And she’s studying EMT right now. And she’s wanting to be a physical therapist. So she’s gotten a lot out of this negative experience.

                                                Jessica Robinson 51:55

                                                Yes.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 51:56

                                                Did she want to be a physical therapist beforehand? Or did it sort of start to give her some idea of what a good career might look like?

                                                Jessica Robinson 52:08

                                                No, she, I don’t think she had any idea. I mean, she was kind of considering the medical field of some sort. But I don’t think she had any idea about therapy really, at all. Until she saw firsthand. I mean, he had, gosh, like five months in home therapy when he got home. And when he got home, he was in a wheelchair and could only transfer with the sitting board. And we had all those therapists and all the time, and she got to see all that firsthand. And I think that made a huge, huge difference.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 52:43

                                                Your life is on hold, Jessica. How’s that been? Now? Is it Have you been able to sort of transition back to a routine? Do you feel comfortable? Being? Not around as much? What’s that, like, on your mindset?

                                                Jessica Robinson 52:59

                                                That’s a good question. Ah, yeah, I think getting, you know, back to work normally, and all that was, is helpful. And we’ve been able to get on a fairly good routine. I mean, it helps that nal personality is easygoing, and things like that. And we don’t have you know, a lot of issues. I know, sometimes that stroke, kids have a rough part of the brain. And sometimes people get kind of short-tempered and things and that that didn’t happen. So yeah, I think we’ve gotten back to a pretty normal routine.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 53:43

                                                Yeah. And what does that look like for you to work in the morning? How does that go?

                                                Jessica Robinson 53:48

                                                I go to work at nine. My parents used to get here about four 845 in the morning, I only work a block and a half away. So I go to work. And then I come home for lunch at noon, and I have an hour’s lunch, and then I go back to work and I come home at 4. Yeah, it’s perfect.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 54:12

                                                And do Mum and Dad live close by?

                                                Jessica Robinson 54:15

                                                They live about half an hour away. Okay.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 54:19

                                                And are they retired?

                                                Jessica Robinson 54:21

                                                They are.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 54:23

                                                How good are the inlaws? You probably never expected them to come and be your babysitter.

                                                Jamie Robinson 54:32

                                                They’re very good. They’re very attentive, they take care of me, they get me to the gym, and they take care of me when I can’t take care of myself. When I got home. I was in cognitive and had other problems and they were there still to help me get dressed, help me change clothes, just everything they’ve been very good people.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 55:08

                                                That’s one son-in-law who can’t say negative or bad words about your inlaws you are not allowed my friend, you cannot say anything. It’s so good that you guys have that ability to have your family close by and being surrounded by them was one of the benefits. That’s what we had. My brother lives 10 minutes, in one direction my parents live 10 minutes in the other direction.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 55:38

                                                My sisters-in-law, everyone’s kind of within 10 minutes of each other. So every time we needed something all we had to do was reach out or people would die all the time and help out. And it’s just such a benefit. Every once in a while you hear people and you know, being nearly 50 people asked me like, Where else have you lived and I’m like, I haven’t lived anywhere else.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 56:04

                                                I moved three kilometers away from my original home to my current home. I’ve done it my whole time. And the same with my family, no one’s moved anywhere. Everyone sort of stayed nearby to where they grew up. And their families. And it’s just been a bit of it’s been a blessing because we don’t have those villages anymore. I barely know my neighbors I’ve been I’ve been here for 20 years, they switch in and out.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 56:32

                                                So you don’t often get to meet everybody and create a relationship with them. So even though I could be I do feel like I could go to a neighbor and say, Hey, can you help out with something for a minute, I know that I would probably get that help. But I didn’t need to because everyone else was around me. And then a lot of stroke survivors don’t have that benefit.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 56:53

                                                But it says something about, you know, finding a place and putting your roots down and then just sort of staying there. I think getting to know the community in my local cafe, for example, when I go there, I know everybody, and they know me. And they would even be the type of people who would help. I remember during lockdown in Melbourne, Australia, we had the worst lockdown in the world.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 57:15

                                                During COVID, we weren’t allowed to leave the house if we thought that we had a cold, the COVID or whatever. And, to do the right thing and make sure that they were able to keep their Cafe open and keep it running. Keep serving the community. If we thought we had COVID, all we had to do was send them an SMS and say Hey, can you bring us four coffees, some croissants, etcetera.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 57:43

                                                And that would walk the 700 meters down the road and bring it to us. So you know, there are a few people like that. But with our family, we were able to rely on, we’re able to rely on them for everything. And I got driven around and I got all those favors done. And it’s just it takes one of those layers of the difficulty of strike like it sort of just takes it away. Gets rid of it. Were you both insured? Did you guys have health insurance at the time when you went through the cancer and the stroke?

                                                Jamie Robinson 58:26

                                                Yeah, I had insurance through my work. And it was a really good insurance. So they covered the cancer very well. But when I when I had a stroke, they wind up coming in very handy. And we’re thankful very much we had it. And we got.

                                                Jessica Robinson 58:54

                                                We had a critical care, policy so that helped out a lot where he had a critical care policy on his insurance.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 59:02

                                                I hear a lot about insurance where it’s supplied through the employer. And often when people become made unemployed, their insurance lapses. Is it too expensive to buy insurance? Just on your own and have your insurance policy? Do people do that?

                                                Jamie Robinson 59:26

                                                Yeah, you can. You can even find a cheap and expensive policy that’s just saying 10 bucks a month. But the ones offered through work. You don’t have to shop around and it’s taken out of your paycheck so it’s easier.

                                                Jessica Robinson 59:46

                                                And a lot of the cheaper policies aren’t going to cover that you’re gonna if you have an if you have an emergency like this, you’re going to be in trouble because they’re not going to cover it very well. Um, now when he Even his employment was terminated. Then we had to do what’s called Cobra. So you have your insurance, but it’s, um, you have to pay, you’re paying it yourself.

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:00:16

                                                So you’re paying your employer’s part of it as well. And it’s extremely expensive. But we did keep that for about six months, even though it was about $1,000 a month. But we kept that for about six months because it was its pay it pretty much covered everything.

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:00:37

                                                And he, we were would have been able to get onto a state insurance policy, which is what we ended up doing. But the state wouldn’t have covered the home health care that he had. So we kept it until he went to outpatient therapy, and then we were able to switch to that and not have to pay anything.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:00:59

                                                Do those work policies cover the family as well for other medical conditions? Or is it just a person who is employed?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:01:08

                                                In our case, you can get it so that they cover the whole family. In our case, we did not do that we had a a different policy through the government, for the family, because it would have cost quite a bit more. So, his policy by himself was just 200 hours a month while he was employed there. So

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:01:32

                                                okay. So you had the benefit of coming out of the hospital and not a massive bill that some of the American Stroke Survivors talk about that ridiculous they do to people after they’re unwell and not able to work and go home with a six. It’s ridiculous. So what’s it like now, being able to I imagine, Jamie’s still not receiving any income, it’s been a bit of a juggle is it changed the way that you guys have to go about living your life, expenses, everything’s going up, how’s that?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:02:16

                                                He’s on disability now. So he does get some income through that, but it is quite a bit less than what he got when he was working. So yes, we have had to, like, cut down on some expenses and just change the way we spend.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:02:38

                                                Yeah, we were the same. I mean, my wife was working three times a week when I wasn’t able to work. And I haven’t been able to work properly for 10 years. Because of all of the stuff that I had to go through, and then to get back to work, and then COVID, lockdowns, and all that type of thing. So it’s a massive adjustment.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:03:00

                                                We’re not going without anything, but still being super cautious of over-committing to something that we don’t 100% need or you know, we can do without it’s interesting stroke takes a lot of time for things to settle down, and get into return. And then for some people that return often then doesn’t involve doesn’t involve employment.

                                                What’s next for Jessica & Jamie Robinson

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:03:29

                                                So it’s a very different experience to what we used to previously. So what’s next for you guys? where to from here? Jamie, what are you thinking? I know you gave yourself about a year or so. But what else is on your mind? What else would you like to accomplish and achieve?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:03:54

                                                Physically as far as physical therapy, I had certain goals that I was trying to meet. And I want a meeting. One of my goals was to climb stairs by going into a friend’s basement. And I made that goal possible. And I’ve been able to do it. So because of that. I go and hang out with a friend every week.

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:04:23

                                                So my son comes over picks me up, and they will draw to a friend’s house just hanging out for a couple hours. And that is it’s feeling like I’m getting back to normal. As far as about a year from now. I’m dying to get back to work. I just want to get out of the house away from Netflix. Just do something. I want to go back to stockings back to a mind-numbing and no-thinking job. So that’s what I want to do.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:05:00

                                                That’s a good one. For about three years I went back to a mind-numbing, no-thinking job as well. Everyone had it all sorted for me to do this. Once you’ve done that, let me know. And do this. Oh, man, that was so good for a little while. Until then eventually, I realized I had recovered enough. And I was beyond that because then it was mind-numbing was annoying to me.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:05:24

                                                And I was complaining because it was mind-numbing, oh, this is boring. But it took about three years to get there. And having somewhere to go and interacting with people was good, especially regularly in the office, that type of thing. That was good. What about you, Jessica?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:05:50

                                                To see him keep getting better, I think I’d like to see him be able to drive at some point. I don’t know if that’s in the cards, but it’d be something that I think would just be important for him. But, I mean, to be honest, I never imagined we would be here. It was too hard for me to see beyond where we were at the time to see that this was possible. So I’m just ecstatic about where we’re at.

                                                The three questions

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:06:26

                                                Normally, I don’t ask caregivers, because they’re very rarely on my podcast, I don’t ask them this question. But I’m gonna ask you both the same question, see if you can give me your version of the answer. So, Jessica, what’s the hardest thing about stroke for you as a caregiver?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:06:43

                                                I think the hardest thing for so long was that I felt alone. Just he was he wasn’t the same, he wasn’t able to, you know, make decisions. I’m we were always a team, and we always made all of our decisions together. And having to make all the decisions without him being able, to help was very difficult. That has gotten a lot better. And you know, still not, you know, 100%. But it’s, it’s a lot. It’s a lot closer to what it was.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:07:29

                                                Jamie, what’s the hardest thing about the stroke?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:07:33

                                                Well, I think it’s the fact that everything changes. One minute, I’m perfectly fine. And everything’s going good. I’m walking like normal talking like normal, playing video games. And then the next day, I can’t do any of it. So it’s just that gradual getting back to how it was before the stroke. That’s the hardest. Just have to deal with the “disability” that I have. I’m not disabled, but I can’t move my arm, I can’t move my leg, I think right. Just getting back to how I was, it sucks.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:08:29

                                                Jessica, what is something that you’ve learned too, because of this stroke journey?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:08:41

                                                I think one of the things that I learned is gentleness. I mean, I’d like to think that I’ve always been a very kind person, but I haven’t always been the most gentle person. And I think that’s really what I’ve learned the most is how important it is and how not important some of the things that I used to think were important were.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:09:10

                                                Old habits die faster, don’t they? I mean, I had all of those awarenesses about stuff and it’s like, Alright, you’re being ridiculous. Again, you’re complaining about something you should be complaining about. You find yourself there, you’re human, right?

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:09:28

                                                And you’re still a married couple and you still have the same dramas and even though you promise I swear once everything gets back to normal we’ll never argue. You always go back there sometimes, but it’s alright. I’ve learned that you can go there and then just become aware of it quickly and then go okay, out of there. Get out of there. What about you, Jamie, what’s something that you’ve learned because of the stroke?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:09:56

                                                Probably taking it day by day Instead of planning for the future, just get through the day you’re in, whatever challenges come up, take them on one day at a time, whenever you can do plan the next step, just one step at a time. And don’t be a pessimist just keep going. I can’t do it right now. That’s okay. Maybe tomorrow I can, and then just keep going. Just keep working harder. So day by day.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:10:43

                                                Jessica, what’s something that you would like to tell perhaps another caregiver who might be listening to this, like a little bit of wisdom or some advice or something that might help them in their journey, especially if they’re just starting theirs?

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:11:02

                                                Ask for help. You feel like you’re going to be a burden on somebody, but people do want to help. They just don’t know what to do. So if you know, dinner will help just ask someone to bring you dinner. If you can think about food, then that’s something you know, just ask for what you need. Because people want to give it to you. They just don’t know what to do. So they just sometimes don’t do anything.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:11:34

                                                I think that’s great advice. And it’s not doing anything that looks like they’re being not nice, or they’re being insensitive. But it’s not there, since they don’t know how to do it. And then I suppose the only other piece of advice I could offer with regards to asking for help, and specifically dinner, is, to make sure you ask somebody for dinner who can cook properly.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:12:01

                                                Be a bit picky with who you’re gonna ask for dinner. What about you, Jamie, what do you want to tell other stroke survivors who have maybe just got out of the hospital got home, and, you know, sort of getting used to things the way that they now are, instead of the way that they were what’s a little bit of advice?

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:12:24

                                                Probably the same thing, ask for help. You just got out of the hospital, you had a life-changing event, you cannot do what you used to do. And that’s okay. You’re going to need help walking, you’re going to need help getting up, you’re gonna need help reaching for this.

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:12:47

                                                Day by day, it’ll get easier, day by day, you’ll get better. But right now, you need help. That’s what Jess is, therefore, she’s here to help. So your wife, your husband, your caregiver, whoever it is, tell them what you need. Be honest with them. Don’t rely on yourself as much. You’re not going to be able to do it yet. And it’s always a yet you won’t be able to take care of yourself, but not right now. Ask for help.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:13:29

                                                It sounds like you’ve written part of the first chapter of my book because that whole attitude of I can’t do this yet is in my book exactly what you said. And adding that word into a sentence makes a massive difference. So what it does is tell the brain that I’m not doing it now, but I might be able to do it in the future. And that kind of takes some of the anxiety and the stress off of the fact that you’ve lost that function for now.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:13:59

                                                So that’s really good advice. Hey, guys, I appreciate you reaching out and asking to be on the show. Thank you so much for doing that. It’s lovely to meet you. I appreciate you sharing your combined journey because stroke’s never alone. Stroke survivors never do it on their own. There are always other people around who are also going through their stroke journey with their loved ones. And I wish you well. And I hope that in 12 months, there’s been improvement again.

                                                Jamie Robinson 1:14:32

                                                Yeah, thank you we appreciate you Bill, and your show.

                                                Jessica Robinson 1:14:35

                                                Thank you.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:14:37

                                                Well, thanks for being here with us and joining us in today’s episode. I do hope that you got a few gems from the conversation. If you’re interested in learning more about stroke recovery, make sure to check out my book available at recoveryafterstroke.com/book for additional insights into our guest’s stories and access to resources, like their social media links and interview transcripts visit recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:15:02

                                                A big thank you to everyone who has already left a review. Your feedback is incredibly important in helping others on their recovery journey. If you haven’t yet, consider leaving a review on iTunes or Spotify. And if you’re watching on YouTube, drop a comment, like the episode, and subscribe for more content.

                                                Bill Gasiamis 1:15:26

                                                To all stroke survivors out there if you want to share your story and inspire others we’d love to have you on the show. No need to prepare anything just come as you are. And if you have a product or a service that supports stroke survivors, let’s explore that opportunity for a sponsored episode of the show reached out to me via recoveryafterstroke.com/contact for more details. Once again thank you for your support. Looking forward to connecting with you on our next episode.

                                                Intro 1:15:54

                                                Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals. The opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast are the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

                                                Intro 1:16:11

                                                All content on this website and any linked blog, podcast, or video material controlled by this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis the content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice.

                                                Intro 1:16:33

                                                The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances, or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure, or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                                                Intro 1:16:48

                                                Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor, or your rehabilitation program based on our content if you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional.

                                                Intro 1:17:02

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                                                Intro 1:17:18

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                                                The post Recovering from a BRAINSTEM stroke – Jamie & Jessica Robinson appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                                1 hr 18 min
                                              • Multiple Ischemic Stroke Recovery – Bear Herbert
                                                Multiple Strokes: Understanding Causes, Risk Factors, and Prevention
                                                Introduction

                                                Multiple strokes, also referred to as recurrent strokes, represent a critical health concern demanding thorough comprehension and proactive preventive measures. In this guide, we delve into the intricate facets of multiple strokes, elucidating their causes, risk factors, and effective prevention strategies.

                                                Understanding Multiple Strokes

                                                Multiple strokes, characterized by the occurrence of successive cerebrovascular events, present distinctive challenges compared to isolated stroke occurrences. A comprehensive understanding of the underlying factors contributing to multiple strokes is imperative for devising targeted prevention strategies.

                                                Causes of Multiple Strokes
                                                1. Underlying Medical Conditions

                                                Multiple strokes often stem from untreated or poorly managed underlying medical conditions, including:

                                                • Hypertension: Uncontrolled high blood pressure significantly increases the risk of multiple strokes by predisposing individuals to vascular damage and clot formation.
                                                • Atrial Fibrillation (AFib): Irregular heart rhythm associated with AFib enhances the likelihood of blood clot formation, leading to recurrent strokes.
                                                • Diabetes Mellitus: Poorly controlled diabetes contributes to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis, exacerbating the risk of multiple strokes.
                                                  • 2. Lifestyle Factors

                                                  Certain lifestyle choices elevate the susceptibility to multiple strokes:

                                                  • Tobacco Use: Smoking exacerbates vascular damage, promotes a prothrombotic state, and amplifies the risk of recurrent strokes.
                                                  • Physical Inactivity: Sedentary lifestyles are associated with poor cardiovascular health and increased incidence of multiple strokes.
                                                  • Unhealthy Diet: High consumption of saturated fats, sodium, and processed foods contributes to atherosclerosis and elevates the risk of recurrent strokes.
                                                    • 3. Medication Non-Adherence

                                                    Failure to adhere to prescribed medications, such as anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents, and blood pressure medications, increases the likelihood of multiple strokes. Consistent medication adherence is pivotal in preventing recurrent cerebrovascular events.

                                                    Risk Factors for Multiple Strokes

                                                    Identifying and addressing key risk factors is instrumental in mitigating the recurrence of strokes:

                                                    • Advanced Age: Aging is associated with an increased risk of multiple strokes due to cumulative vascular damage and comorbidities.
                                                    • History of Stroke: Individuals with a prior history of stroke are predisposed to subsequent cerebrovascular events.
                                                    • Gender: Men tend to exhibit a higher incidence of multiple strokes compared to women.
                                                      • Prevention Strategies for Multiple Strokes
                                                      1. Medication Adherence

                                                      Strict adherence to prescribed medications, including anticoagulants, antiplatelet agents, and antihypertensive drugs, is paramount in preventing multiple strokes.

                                                      2. Lifestyle Modifications

                                                      Implementing healthy lifestyle changes significantly reduces the risk of multiple strokes:

                                                      • Smoking Cessation: Quitting smoking mitigates vascular damage and reduces the risk of recurrent strokes.
                                                      • Healthy Diet: Emphasize a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins while limiting saturated fats and sodium intake.
                                                      • Regular Exercise: Engage in regular physical activity to enhance cardiovascular health and lower the risk of multiple strokes.
                                                        • 3. Management of Underlying Conditions

                                                        Effective management of underlying medical conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation, is essential in preventing multiple strokes. This may entail medication optimization, lifestyle modifications, and regular medical monitoring.

                                                        4. Education and Awareness

                                                        Raising awareness about the signs and symptoms of stroke, as well as the importance of early intervention and adherence to preventive measures, empowers individuals to take proactive steps in preventing multiple strokes.

                                                        Conclusion

                                                        In conclusion, multiple strokes pose a significant health threat, necessitating a comprehensive approach to prevention and management. By addressing underlying risk

                                                        Full Interview with Bear Herbert

                                                        Bear Herbert is a stroke survivor with speech challenges and surreal out-of-body experiences, offering unique insights into his journey.

                                                        Instagram

                                                        Highlights:

                                                        00:00 Introduction

                                                        06:36 Nonverbal communication and stroke recovery
                                                        12:59 Neurological disorder and its effects on life
                                                        17:43 Cryopyrin-associated autoinflammatory syndrome (CAPS)
                                                        20:06 Managing symptoms through dissociation and spiritual practices
                                                        27:57 Synesthesia and mystical experiences
                                                        32:22 What is synesthesia
                                                        44:36 Say yes to the mysteries of life
                                                        52:54 Spirituality, mysticism, and visions
                                                        59:35 Trauma, abuse, and mental health
                                                        1:08:56 Why the need to connect?
                                                        1:10:24 Emotional recovery and warrior heart concept introduced
                                                        1:14:08 Spirituality, consciousness, and personal growth
                                                        1:21:33 The three questions

                                                        Transcript:

                                                        Introduction – Bear Herbert


                                                        Bill Gasiamis 0:00
                                                        Hello, everybody, this is episode 300. And my guest today is Bear Herbert, who experienced multiple strokes has suffered from spontaneous bouts of being unable to speak, and has experienced out-of-body experiences where he can observe himself from a different perspective. Bear Herbert, welcome to the podcast.

                                                        Bear Herbert 0:23

                                                        Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure and honor.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 0:30

                                                        My pleasure. Tell me a little bit about what happened to you Bear.

                                                        Bear Herbert 0:37

                                                        It is quite convoluted. However, I had been going non-verbal since quite young, and probably seven was the first time and gone through those things my entire life. My parents would take me to the medical facilities, and they would do testing and say that I was emotionally and mentally fatigued.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:05

                                                        And as a seven-year-old, I’m just thinking, I can’t talk what’s going on here. Fast forward to 2015. Me and my family were back in Central Oregon. And I had a massive stroke and went to bend Regency. I was diagnosed with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, at that time, a clotting disorder, also known as Hughes disorder, a sticky blood disorder. And then fast forward to 2002.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:45

                                                        I went catastrophic, which means producing blood clots, and three or more organs in my body at once. And to that point, for seven years, I had just been spitting up blood clots like Doc Holliday, almost. That’s when I got diagnosed with caps, which is a rare neurological disorder in the demographics are so small, that there is almost none available. And it helped me understand I’ve been having strokes, my entire life of sub different sizes.

                                                        Bear Herbert 2:22

                                                        And when I went catastrophic, they, I’m able to see things in my way. I’m very much ethereal like we all are, but I understand who I am and where I’m from. And the doctors, I saw their hearts in the way that I can see. And they all viewed me as their kid brother. And so I thought, well, even if they don’t know what they’re doing, they’re not going to try to kill their kid brother.

                                                        Bear Herbert 2:49

                                                        So I said yes to what they wanted to do. And they saved my life. And when I was in there, I had hundreds of heart attacks. I have a bicuspid valve in my heart, so my heart doesn’t close all the way. Also, the doctors came in, and I told them, I was having a stroke right now. And they told me no, you’re not your face isn’t draping, none of that stuff. And I said trust me, please.

                                                        Bear Herbert 3:22

                                                        And they left and came back 20 minutes later and put me in the MRI machine. I was in there for an obnoxious amount of time. I can’t remember how long he said but it was like six hours or something. And I kept having why they kept me in there so long as I kept having just hundreds and hundreds of 1000s of small strokes everywhere. They weren’t able to pinpoint them or account for them so they told me that I’ve had an innumerable amount of strokes at this point.

                                                        Bear Herbert 3:54

                                                        And that’s kind of how things got more formulated to what’s happening. And I’ve been working with the ability tree. They are an independent company here and Bend Oregon helping disabled people stay independent. And the worst part of my journey was being in convalescent centers and not being with my family. Also being nonverbal in those centers and the bad things that happen from the staff to nonverbal people.

                                                        Bear Herbert 4:28

                                                        They think they’re just invalids, I guess. And so, right now I’m on a great adventure. I have a gift of foresight I’ve always had and we are going to be producing facilities in Cook County, Oregon. And they’re going to be 3d printed with hempcrete. I have one of the people that I’ve known in the past who does that.

                                                        Bear Herbert 4:58

                                                        And we’re going to print the Is buildings and there’s going to be a healing and recovery center for families to be able to go and recover if they want together as a unit. And then also there’s going to be a Vocational Center attached to that. That is going to teach basic skills of all the different things I’ve done through my different stroke recoveries, that have helped me.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 5:26

                                                        We’ll be back with my guest in a minute. But first, let me tell you about my new book called The Unexpected Way That A Stroke Became The Best Thing That Happened. 10 tools for personal transformation. it tells the story of 10 stroke survivors and the steps they took, that got them to the stage in their recovery, where from a personal growth perspective, stroke transformed into one of those life experiences that on reflection was filled with many opportunities for growth and personal transformation.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 5:56

                                                        In the book, there are chapters on nutrition, sleep, exercise, how to deal with the emotional side of stroke, tips and tools for mental well-being, and much, much more. To find out more go to recoveryafterstroke.com/book, to grab a copy from Amazon, in your part of the world, just go to amazon.com type my name Bill Gasiamis into the search bar, and you will get results for delivery to your place from wherever you are in the world.

                                                        Nonverbal communication and multiple stroke recovery


                                                        Bear Herbert 6:27
                                                        And in the healing center, there’s going to be a lot of frequency devices and harmonic harmonic healing. So it’s the kind of thing that used to be considered woo-woo, not so long ago. But now the science is catching up mainstream to understanding what’s happening and needing a Vel Walker. That’s why I consider myself leaving this human suit so many times, but coming back to it, I have access to the other realms.

                                                        Bear Herbert 6:57

                                                        And so I’ve seen these frequencies and different lights and things that I knew would heal me. And so in 2015, I tried to find some, and I found some, they were red light machines. But I ended up getting an itera care device from Price International. And I use that on myself. And yeah, so that’s kind of what it is.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 7:27

                                                        All right. So your experience with being nonverbal. You were nonverbal until the age of seven?

                                                        Bear Herbert 7:37

                                                        No, I was verbal, I was talking at a very, very young age, and it kind of scared my parents. Because I was talking at a very young age, and I told them things and things I saw. And because I’m this way, as born in 83, as a dead baby to a lupus patient with the cord wrapped around my throat preemie. And so I’ve always had this way of being and it freaked my parents out when I was younger, saying things and telling them what I was, who I was talking to, and all those sorts of things, you know, I can imagine, really just disorienting from them.

                                                        Bear Herbert 8:16

                                                        But Wednesday the seventh, was the first time I went nonverbal because of some sort of physical injury. I was riding in the front of the four-wheeler with my cousin, and another cousin came over the hill, and we had on and my knees were in the middle. And I just couldn’t talk for about three weeks. And then I started talking again, and everybody’s talking about I’m just a drama queen.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 8:48

                                                        Uh-huh. So then it became just something that happened, something that you did rather than something that happened to you, and then you were better for quite a long time? Did you have any situations where things went off track after that?

                                                        Bear Herbert 9:03

                                                        There were a lot of times that I had things happen that I went nonverbal sense them through childhood, but as always I was going into the hospitals and then doing tests and saying that I was just mentally and emotionally fatigued. And that’s crap. And then so when I was an adult, I made my living in the oilfield drilling gas holds for assholes and kind of the funny vernacular, but I was doing that and operating cranes and heavy equipment and stuff.

                                                        Bear Herbert 9:42

                                                        And my boss came in one day to the field and picked me up and looked at me and said, I don’t know what you’re doing. But then keep talking on the phone and you won’t answer me. And I answered him, and he’s like, you know, words are coming out of your mouth Bear. And it just shocked me, because I was talking to him on the phone, and he hung up on me. But I was 32 at that time, and I went to the emergency room.

                                                        Bear Herbert 10:16

                                                        And they did the same thing. They did a bunch of tests and stuff. And they said that I was just emotionally and mentally fatigued. And so, at that time, I kind of had to stop working for other people. And so I, this shirt I have on his shirts, decorative concrete, I ended up building for businesses and years. And just every time I go through a stroke, I get on a different savant. Something comes to me in the Val, and I have to know all I can understand about it, or else my spirit isn’t satisfied. And I’ve done all sorts of dogma studies and different things, and blah, blah, blah.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 11:04

                                                        So just before we go there, before we go there, let’s go back to your employer. Did your employer go and get you checked out? To see why somebody said you were nonverbal? And you thought you were responding, and they couldn’t tell that you were responding? Did you go to the hospital? Yeah, go through that process?

                                                        Bear Herbert 11:30

                                                        Yeah, that’s where he took me to the emergency room. And it was Christmas Day.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 11:37

                                                        Were you aware that you weren’t talking at that time? And did it come and go?

                                                        Bear Herbert 11:44

                                                        No, I thought words were coming out of my mouth. And then I looked at myself talking to myself in the mirror, and my mouth wasn’t even freaking moving.

                                                        Intro 11:45

                                                        If you’ve had a stroke, and you’re in recovery, you’ll know what a scary and confusing time it can be, you’re likely to have a lot of questions going through your mind. Like, how long will it take to recover? Will I recover? What things should I avoid in case I make matters worse?

                                                        Intro 12:13

                                                        Doctors will explain things. But, if you’ve never had a stroke before, you probably don’t know what questions to ask. If this is you, you may be missing out on doing things that could help speed up your recovery. If you’re finding yourself in that situation, stop worrying, and head to recoveryafterstroke.com where you can download a guide that will help you.

                                                        Intro 12:35

                                                        It’s called seven questions to ask your doctor about your stroke. These seven questions are the ones Bill wished he’d asked when he was recovering from a stroke, they’ll not only help you better understand your condition, they’ll help you take a more active role in your recovery, head to the website. Now, recoverafterstroke.com and download the guide. It’s free.

                                                        Neurological disorder and its effects on the life of Bear Herbert

                                                        Bear Herbert 12:59

                                                        So there’s a weird disconnect with my nervous system and everything is just as pulled away from myself. And it happened again when I was doing my decorative concrete stuff. I was doing proxies. I got USDA approval for indoor labs, horticultural centers, and clean rooms. So I got picked up by the cannabis industry and stuff. And I have researched plant-based medicines.

                                                        Bear Herbert 13:35

                                                        And it was a selfish kind of a deal, what I could do to help little kids like my little brother and I have to go through the things we went through with our parents if we went unknown, and so we ended up getting cannabis legal agents in the state of Utah for medical use. And then I was doing some floors at home and went nonverbal. And I call my little brother and just kind of web lead out a whimper and he says, Oh my God, give me a pen where you’re at, I’m gonna come help you.

                                                        Bear Herbert 14:09

                                                        So I did, he showed up. And he had a whiteboard with him. One of the markers. As crying little tears were coming out of my face. And he says we can do this buddy, remember Legends of the Fall? And He curled his face up and writes fuck, and starts laughing and I started crying. He’s like, don’t cry, man. Just write down what you need me to do. And we’ll do this. And so we got these floors done and stuff without me being able to even talk. And that happened quite a bit.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 14:47

                                                        That happened quite a bit. So at what age was that?

                                                        Bear Herbert 14:53

                                                        That was starting when I was 32. I ran my businesses for three or four years and kept having more strokes and more strokes and just weird things happening.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 15:07

                                                        Did anyone ever diagnose a stroke during those nonverbal episodes?

                                                        Bear Herbert 15:12

                                                        No, not at all. That’s the part that made me so apoplectic. I was just completely beside myself. And so when I got here to Oregon, again, I’ve lived half my life in Central, not central, but Northeastern Colorado, not sorry, Utah, on the reservation and half my life here in Central Oregon. And there are better facilities here and a lot better-trained staff, I believe. And that’s when I got diagnosed with antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. I was able to understand what was happening.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 15:54

                                                        Was that a good diagnosis? From the perspective of Aha, here we go, we’ve got something to work with, or we’ve got some kind of an answer. And does that make you feel like perhaps it explained some of your childhood and some of the things that you experienced maybe from a medical perspective when you were younger?

                                                        Bear Herbert 16:16

                                                        It didn’t as far as flesh things out from my youth, that was still that part was still an enigma to me and every facet, however, and I got some basis to understand things and what was going on with my blood and blah, blah, blah. But in 2002, when I went catastrophic, that was the real Keystone for my understanding.

                                                        Bear Herbert 16:46

                                                        When Dr. Carr came in, and told me, This is what’s going on, I believe, he started asking me questions did I have a memory of extremely high temperatures, or fevers when I was a kid, have I ever gone, had a bad infection and different things, and my appendix was ruptured for seven days, my senior year of high school, and I didn’t get my antibiotics after I got out. And so my stomach opened again. So there were a lot of things that he could check, check, check. Oh, my God, this is what’s going on. And when I got that caps diagnosis, that is when clarity came to me, I’m like, Whoa,

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 17:31

                                                        What are the caps again?

                                                        Bear Herbert 17:35

                                                        I had a bunch of stuff pulled up so I could read it all to you. But I’m disheveled. And I haven’t been able to right now.

                                                        Cryopyrin-associated autoinflammatory syndrome (CAPS)


                                                        Bill Gasiamis 17:43
                                                        Let me see if I can find it, so is it an acronym C.A.P.S?

                                                        Bear Herbert 17:48

                                                        Yes. It’s a neurological disorder that expresses itself sporadically. And the doctor that I saw he’s seen two of us.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 18:02

                                                        Let’s see if it has a description, CAPS neurological disorder, Cryopyrin-associated autoinflammatory syndrome.

                                                        Bear Herbert 18:22

                                                        There you go.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 18:23

                                                        Whatever that means. Cryopyrin-associated autoinflammatory syndromes. And what does CAPS do to somebody? Do you know that?

                                                        Bear Herbert 18:41

                                                        For me, I have a super esoteric soul because of what I’ve been through and the bell so much. But what it does to me is there’s a phenomenon in the UF ology world, that’s called a pythium, the apothem effect. And that’s really what it does to me because I feel like my whole life I’ve lived in this mystic prelude of this grand mystery of creation. And I’ve been an intimate orchestrator of set events in my life.

                                                        Bear Herbert 19:23

                                                        I feel and understand that I’ve been there and done these things. So for me, I get a disconnected feeling from my body, and I’m here at my neurokinetic therapist’s office right now. I’m going to help him do some stuff in a minute. But that was a key for me and my healing was this neurokinetic therapy.

                                                        Bear Herbert 19:44

                                                        Because I was pissed when I first came because he put me squarely back in my human suit for the first time in my entire life. Because I spend most of my time in the ethereal realm just having fun without filling my body. be okay. And I knew I had to sell my body to heal. And I was like, Oh, no.

                                                        Bear Herbert managing symptoms through dissociation and spiritual practices

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 20:06

                                                        Okay, so let’s break this down. So when I searched for caps the symptoms were nowhere there Bear doesn’t say you have out-of-body experiences, or you’re living in the ethereal realm, what it says is periodic episodes of skin rashes, fever, and joint pain. It says these episodes can be triggered by exposure to cold temperatures, fatigue, or other stressors, or they may arise spontaneously episodes can last from a few hours to several days.

                                                        Bear Herbert 20:45

                                                        So my whole body looks like I’ve been burned excessively, all over my skin. And that’s when a flare-out happens, and they get big giant welts on them. And it’s very painful.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 21:04

                                                        And they just occur?

                                                        Bear Herbert 21:07

                                                        Yeah, and my eyes. Another thing is my eyes, whenever I’m at CAPS flare, my eyes get bloodshot and painful. And I guess I told you a little bit more than I needed to or should have about how I experienced stuff.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 21:23

                                                        No, no, you didn’t I understand what’s cool. What’s cool is that now because I’m such an expert in diagnosing people and all these things, to me what it sounds like, to deal with such what seems like you know, very dramatic, physical experiences and feelings.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 21:49

                                                        You’ve become good at disassociating yourself, from the physical experiences in a way to manage pain, and you, you go out of body, and you go to this other place where you can exist, and you can coexist with your physical self, and not experience what most people would probably have a very uncomfortable time experiencing. So, do you feel that maybe it’s a, perhaps an ability that you had, that you’ve been able to develop? And you’ve been able to get good at? Because you’ve had to deal with caps for such a long amount of time in your life?

                                                        Bear Herbert 22:37

                                                        Yes, and no, I didn’t develop it. I was born having this ability. Yeah. But what’s been hard on what I’ve had to work on, mentally, is the key that I got to put into my head, you got to be in this human suit. And that’s the bottom line. I realized, that when 2016 When I had those strings of strokes, I went completely white, my hair and my face, everything was white, like I was 115 years old.

                                                        Bear Herbert 23:11

                                                        And now my hair’s got color to it, and stuff again. But the reason why that happens is that when you’re in your Merkabah, your human Sue white body, there’s no light in your human suit to nourish it. And you can’t do that you’ll atrophy in one way or another. That’s what I was doing and happy to do so. But now I realize I’ve got a mission, and you better get your ducks in a proverbial roll young man, or you’re not gonna succeed.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 23:53

                                                        Are you stepping into your body more often permanently? How do you experience, your day? How do you do that? Not how do you specifically do that? But how do you spend time in one place or another place? Or have they combined?

                                                        Bear Herbert 24:10

                                                        The craziest thing ever is, since I’m very very olfactory driven, and after those first sets of strokes, I was living in a neighborhood and I don’t know how people know things or whatever understand. But anyway, the human suits we have been hacked or DNA for profit. And every race has its proclivity to certain neurotoxins, as far as laundry soaps and detergents.

                                                        Bear Herbert 24:45

                                                        And at that time of that stroke event, when I got out of the nursing homes and stuff, I’d go walking down out of my house and I would start having seizures because everybody’s long Read detergent stuff. And so now how I found my neuro kinetic therapist, he’s across the thing from a nail polish place.

                                                        Bear Herbert 25:10

                                                        I came with my elderly neighbor because there’s a dentist there too to help her support her to get her dentures but then fingernail polish triggered me and I liked it’s I’ll I was in the Val I could see colors and different energies and I walked by this office neuro kinetic therapy, and it says multi-dimensional healing neuro kinetic therapy and strength training.

                                                        Bear Herbert 25:37

                                                        And I went open the door like four times and talked myself out of it and walked away about the fifth time the gentleman opened the door and he was biting. So I’m like, Are you a stroke fisherman I kind of cocked my head like a dog 20 degrees to kind of get a different view, you know? And he’s not but he has archeological issues as well. But smells are what will trigger me to just get out of my body whether I want to or not, and I have no control over it.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 26:06

                                                        And when you’re out of your body, what do you experience that’s different? So are you in your body now or out of your body now?

                                                        Bear Herbert 26:12

                                                        I am in this human suit. I’m very aware of my nose on my face. And I can see you I can see my hands. When I’m out of my body. It depends on where I’m at. I got diagnosed as a cataplexy tick in 2002, as well. I got into a head-on in 2001, I got this little teeny cut underneath my eyelid. And I had a head-on with the 2000 Peter bill and smashed my skull and my sinus cavities in.

                                                        Bear Herbert 26:45

                                                        And I have not slept but one or two hours a night since then on average. But now I’m able to do more because of all these beautiful things. But when that happened when the doctor diagnosed me with cataplexy, they asked me he said, Do you sleep Ababa? We’re talking about it. And I told them, I’m not even here. Yes. What do you mean, you’re not here? And I pointed back up to my right shoulder.

                                                        Bear Herbert 27:15

                                                        And I could see myself sitting up there watching. And he looks up. And he says, What the hell are you looking at? And I said I’m looking at me talking to you. And he had something spilled on his shirt. And I could see it from up there. But I couldn’t.

                                                        Bear Herbert 27:33

                                                        I wasn’t in my body to see what was on his shirt. But I told him, he had some mustard or whatever. And he’s like, this is creepy Bear. I’m like, sorry, I don’t mean to freak you out. Just, I’m trying to answer your questions. I don’t understand my reality either. And I’m comfortable. Making love to the mystery, of what all this is.

                                                        Synesthesia and mystical experiences of Bear Herbert


                                                        Bill Gasiamis 27:57
                                                        I love it. I love that you’re comfortable with that. Because I believe people when they tell me that they have these experiences, I don’t mind. I don’t get it. I don’t know what it’s like, but I’m cool with it. If that’s what you’re having no problem with. The cataplexy is the sudden loss of muscle tone while a person is awake. So, you’re in your life, you have these interesting things that happen.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 28:25

                                                        One of them is you go nonverbal, and there’s you’re not you don’t know your nonverbal and you try and communicate and it’s you think you’re communicating but the other person can’t hear you. You also have cataplexy sudden loss of muscle tone while you’re awake. So is cataplexy something that you are aware of you know that it’s happened? How does it affect you? Are you not able to stand up? Are you not able to walk? How does it work?

                                                        Bear Herbert 29:00

                                                        That’s usually when I disassociate is when that happens. And that’s how that whole apothem conversation and why starting God on was because that’s the closest thing I can relate it to that people might understand to grab a hold of, but I just go away from myself, but I’m also hyper, hyper-aware, I have, I have these glasses that I had on my face, and I took them off.

                                                        Bear Herbert 29:32

                                                        If I have my glasses on, everything is clear to me because they’re prescription glasses. If I have them off, everything is a little bit fuzzy, and I don’t get hyper-fixated on things. And I’m able to have a conversation with people. So when I go into a business or a doctor’s office, I take my glasses off so I can instead of just zoning out on the details of their face As in the colors of their eyes, and just going off on some weird tangent in my soul.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 30:05

                                                        Bear. This sounds like a mushroom trip.

                                                        Bear Herbert 30:08

                                                        It feels quite like one.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 30:11

                                                        Okay, because I’ve had the pleasure a few times, right? So then what that reminded me of was when I’ve had some mushrooms, what it’s done is made me hyper-aware of things, and looking at myself in the mirror is quite an experience. Now, some people listening to this podcast have never heard me talk about this kind of stuff before and they might be going, Whoa, who is this guy? I’m not anyone that I don’t have a lifelike bear. But I have had a curiosity, since the stroke about what life is what else is possible, and what else we can see.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 30:49

                                                        And let me tell you that mushrooms, a small amount of mushrooms from the right person, and all that kind of stuff in the right setup, and the right location, which usually is in a dark room in my house. Reminds me of what you’re saying. It makes me see colors and sounds and faces and voices and things that aren’t there that I experienced that are pleasant to experience.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 31:21

                                                        Because it’s in a controlled environment. I don’t have to explain it to anybody. And, it’s quiet. Man, it’s like holistic in that you feel your body, your spirit, you know, all your senses. Everything is having the experience. It’s just not my imagination. Do you know what I mean? It’s beyond my imagination.

                                                        Bear Herbert 31:46

                                                        I live in that place.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 31:48

                                                        Okay. All right. So I understand you. Okay, cool. Well, that’s what I’m trying to do understand you. So it’s not an imagination thing. It’s an actual full experience. It’s physical, it’s emotional. It’s spiritual. It’s everything.

                                                        Bear Herbert 32:05

                                                        Are you familiar with CS Lewis, and his writings? Chronicles of Narnia, or any of that stuff.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 32:17

                                                        Oh, okay. Yes. Okay. I understand I know that book and movie.

                                                        Bear Herbert 32:22

                                                        Yeah, he, was an author at the same time as Tolkien. And they were both theologians. And that’s what they were doing writing allegories, and all this stuff. And he’s got a great book, it’s called Into the Awe. That’s where I live. I live in this mystic moment. And have my whole life. And another cool thing. My oldest daughter when she was in high school, did a presentation for whatever it was in school, but I have synesthesia as well, but not classical synesthesia.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 33:03

                                                        One second. One second, we need to explain that I’ll bring it up.

                                                        Bear Herbert 33:08

                                                        I’m a case brother.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 33:10

                                                        You are man, it’s such a bookcase from my perspective. I don’t know what it’s like to be. Okay, great. That’s excellent. So synesthesia is when your brain routes sensory information through multiple, unrelated senses, causing you to experience more than one sense simultaneously. So to give people who are listening an understanding.

                                                        Bear Herbert 33:38

                                                        Ratatouille, the about the rat? That’s synesthesia. When he’s tasting the food and seeing all the colors and all it’s the closest way I can touch it with somebody that Oh, and if they don’t know the movie they watching. Damn, that’s pretty fun.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 33:58

                                                        Yeah, so will they get the experience of a sense of taste? And they experience it also in colors and movement and perhaps even in sound? And in a different feeling? Beyond just the flavor, it’s beyond the tongue. It also happens elsewhere.

                                                        Bear Herbert 34:18

                                                        In the spiritual realm,

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 34:19

                                                        yeah. Okay. Sometimes people come and have synesthesia where they were a feeling an emotional feeling beyond an emotional feeling. It has a color, it has a sound, it has a whole theatrical experience that goes with it.

                                                        Bear Herbert 34:43

                                                        The coolest thing I’ve ever experienced in that same phase of discovery and recovery, my daughter took me to the Central Oregon Symphony. And it was just the most emotionally, mentally, physically spiritually elating almost orgasmic experience, because every sense that I have in my body and I have a little bit more extra than most was just completely elated.

                                                        Bear Herbert 35:23

                                                        It was the most beautiful thing. And we came out and there were big giant snowflakes and the snowflakes were falling with the music I was just experiencing. So it went with me for about four hours into the rest of my evening when we left.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 35:40

                                                        Did you pay extra for that event? Because you sound like you should have paid extra.

                                                        Bear Herbert 35:46

                                                        I feel like I should have. But it was a free cool thing that my daughter was able to get in for us. And it was pretty, pretty enjoyable.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 35:56

                                                        All right. I know we’ve like gone off the topic of stroke. But we’re gonna get back there I promise we’re going to talk about stroke. But this is way more fun for right now. So how old are you now?

                                                        Bear Herbert 36:11

                                                        I just turned 40 Last April 29. This April 29. I’ll be 41

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 36:17

                                                        Do you have a family? What does the family situation look like?

                                                        Bear Herbert 36:21

                                                        I have one son, but that’s not any part of my life, unfortunately. And I have four daughters. And two of them are out of the house. And I had the pleasure of enjoying my first granddaughter in November. My oldest daughter graduated from COCC Community College with a degree in automotive. And she’s a lead mechanic for the city. And then my 18-year-old is at home with me and my 14-year-old.

                                                        Bear Herbert 36:58

                                                        My 18-year-old is going to COCC for aviation. So she’s flying around right now. I enrolled at COCC myself to get my GED and also to explore things that I know way more about than most human suits just because of who I am and what I’ve been through, like stones talking to me and all this weird stuff. But I want to learn from the professionals so I can hone my speaking abilities and understand when I need to just shut up and listen and the things I need to say and not say that’s my next goal in life.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 37:40

                                                        Okay, I love that. So I was going to ask you about how your life has been. Because I imagine that most people are not as receptive to your stories about what you’re experiencing as I am. And some people might even think that you need psychological or mental counseling or therapy. So that’s why I asked you about your family. Is there anyone else in your family that has some of this experience that you have? Or are you the only one?

                                                        Bear Herbert 38:15

                                                        Just me.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 38:17

                                                        Have you ever met anyone that’s like you or similar to you in the world, that you bumped into down the road somewhere? And then they said, Hey, man.

                                                        Bear Herbert 38:27

                                                        Somewhat, I’ve got this way of being like I said, and I am a creator’s noble heart for whatever that means to anybody. And so one of my jobs, I had my own business. And as going out the door late for work, was my schedule. So I’m only one new as late putting boots on jumping out of the, you know, into my truck. And there was a vehicle running off the road down the road, he was trying to run people off.

                                                        Bear Herbert 38:59

                                                        And I asked the creator and my guides to give me some advice here. And that’s what I always do. I never get scared. I’ve never gotten scared. But I’ve been very concerned a lot of times. And that’s what I do. I asked my guides and creator to put wisdom in me or angelic human suits that have angelic hosts in my path to help me and that’s what happened. But in this particular event, I got in front of the vehicle and was able to stop him and he ran into my truck a few times.

                                                        Bear Herbert 39:34

                                                        But when I stopped him and got out to talk to him, I could tell he was having a massive stroke. Because my mom had strokes her whole life. My grandpa had stroked his whole life. So I’m very very adept at it. I watched my mom get resuscitated 14 times before I was 14 years old. And this man became a great friend I saved his life and he and my family went on this great hunt and did all this beautiful stuff. So I run into stroke patients all the time. That’s divine appointments.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 40:07

                                                        Did you say your mom and your grandfather had strokes? Same condition?

                                                        Bear Herbert 40:11

                                                        My grandpa had lupus. And my mom did.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 40:16

                                                        Okay. All right. So that makes sense. So you have experienced that side of stroke regularly in that you know what to say, You know what, to what it looks like, you know how to potentially visualize it and diagnose that somebody is unwell. Being unwell in that particular way might be a stroke because you’ve seen it so many times. Were they heavily impacted by what the strokes did to them with a disability? Or did they have deficits that they lived with?

                                                        Bear Herbert 40:50

                                                        My mom did, my mom ended up with kidney failure, and with the lupus and on dialysis and stuff, my grandfather lived to be 92 years old. And he was the roving mechanic for northeastern Utah. And he was just a billy goat and a wonderful individual.

                                                        Bear Herbert 41:13

                                                        And he’s had deficits and stuff, and I just thought it was grandpa through the years, you know, but I understand now after having so many strokes, myself, and what that looked like for him, you know, makes me have a lot more empathy for, and also empathy and encouragement for the tenacity that my grandfather had. And just the sheer grit of that bastard was just absolutely amazing.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 41:48

                                                        Those old-timers are a different breed. And let me tell you,

                                                        Bear Herbert 41:52

                                                        Yeah, they’re pretty amazing. All my grandfathers, they always called me sweetheart. And they came to me in the hospital when I was catastrophic. And, before that, I can get my blood drawn out of my main vein without passing out because of the pressure differential, I can taste it and fill it. And I just saw that I worked with psychologists for years to start taking blood draws without passing out.

                                                        Bear Herbert 42:23

                                                        And then when I went to into the hospital, that was what that was for was to prepare me for that because I had four IVs, going 24/7 for two and a half months. But I was there the reason why I was there was to be kind of a minister to the disembodied human suits because it’s disorienting when you lose your life to trauma.

                                                        Bear Herbert 42:49

                                                        You don’t know what to do. So I was able to be there and help people understand if you want to travel on, feel free, but if there’s something you want to stay here for, you’re more than welcome to come back. And that kind of lets people pass with a lot more dignity. I think, just being the weird person I am.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 43:11

                                                        Yeah. You’re a minister for what? For the disembodied human suits. Okay. So where are you doing this work?

                                                        Bear Herbert 43:20

                                                        It was at the hospital, I was actually on the I was on the cardiac arrest unit floor. And that’s the most traumatic floor of the hospital. And my window was ace feasting window. So the sun was coming up in my window, and the helicopter would land and the ambulance would show up to unload people. But as they were showing up, I would see their light bodies just poof.

                                                        Bear Herbert 43:49

                                                        And I’m like, oh my god, this is why I’m here. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this. And then when they came to me, my highest self and my grandfather’s that going on towards the last days before I started having more of those strokes and getting the MRI machine. They told me the reason why you couldn’t hear what we said was trying to tell you would use going to face when he’s driving here was because we got to work on you.

                                                        Bear Herbert 44:16

                                                        And we need you to participate in it. I said what do you mean? And they said, Well, I’ve had cluster migraines my whole life since a child and they said, We’re going to take these migraines away through some of these strokes, but we need you to participate. And like okay, what does that mean?

                                                        Bear Herbert 44:36

                                                        They said, just let your body do what it normally does when you start feeling these odd feelings and work with us. And so I did, and I don’t understand it. But I said yes to the mystery of it all. That’s the key to a successful life and a human suit. Saying yes to the mysteries of life. And it was rewired. I have had no Oh, no cluster migraines since that day.

                                                        Say yes to the mysteries of life – Bear Herbert

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 45:03

                                                        I love that. That is really good advice, regardless of which realm you live in. It’s like, say yes to the, what was it to the? The mysteries and the opportunities? Yeah, yeah. That’s another way of saying a bit curious and go with your curiosity and discover and learn and find out about things. Now. Your comments earlier, you’ve had many, many, many strokes in the form of small blood clots, etc.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 45:34

                                                        And I’ve had three brain hemorrhages. And when I tell people, they look at me, and they go, Oh, you don’t look like you’ve had a stroke. Or, you look great. And all that kind of stuff that you don’t look like somebody who’s had multiple, many, many, many, many, many strokes. So why is that? Why don’t you look like a normal? Suppose a stroke survivor has a deficit. Who has been challenged with things? Why is that? You know, why can anyone tell you why

                                                        Bear Herbert 46:09

                                                        I can tell everybody why, but whether, they choose to believe it or not, that’s up to them. It is because I know who I am. And I know where I’m from. And I don’t want to get all esoteric on you. Because there’s no point in all of that, however, it’s because of my soul, and where it’s from, and what my mission is. And I am here to there are a lot of Val Walkers ambulating the face of the earth right now, avail Walker is a person who has lost their life and the human suit, and come back to the same human suit.

                                                        Bear Herbert 46:47

                                                        There’s more of us right now on the face of the earth than any other epoch of humanity. And why we are here specifically at this time, is because of this great ascension that is happening in the cosmos that is affecting the human suits on a water planet, and human suits are made of water. We are dipole antennas, for Spirit. Therefore, we are here to help the human students ground themselves and get in touch with sources as much as they can to cleave the things that are going to help us progress as a species.

                                                        Bear Herbert 47:28

                                                        And there’s been four bifurcations, that’s happened in the last eight years that I’ve seen and tasted happening. And what that all means for us right now is the old things aren’t going to suffice. And ambiguities, misleading things, half-truths, that shit is gone.

                                                        Bear Herbert 47:52

                                                        And what’s going to happen is people that are ambulating with a proper heart posture of truth, clarity, and as almost what you do when you ambulate with a heart posture, you almost and you will ultimately end up activating your clairvoyant mind because we all have clairvoyance, see with us and within us.

                                                        Bear Herbert 48:22

                                                        And that was part of the strokes. When I thought I was talking, I was communicating with everybody. But they didn’t have the same bandwidth to do the telepathy thing. And so that’s why I was so befuddled by it all. Sorry, I talk in circles, but they all come together.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 48:40

                                                        They do. You do talk in circles. It’s interesting to hear. So. Okay, so then that’s a cool explanation as to why you don’t look like you’ve had a stroke. But then you know that you’ve had a stroke? or multiple strokes? Do any of those multiple strokes affect you with the standard face-arm speech type of symptoms?

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 49:09

                                                        Do you know that it’s happened? When do you become aware of it? And then how do you take action around there since you know about stroke, and you’ve seen people have strokes, your grandfather and your mother? But how do you experience a stroke?

                                                        Bear Herbert 49:27

                                                        My big one is in 2016 sort of side years after I felt like my face was this right side of my face was a melted pepperoni pizza just dangling. And I’d look at myself in the mirror, shake my face, and see that it wasn’t there. But I would fill it with my hand and I could fill the drippy cheese and all this weird stuff. And now, the whole right side of my body is completely numb. I can’t feel my right side.

                                                        Bear Herbert 50:00

                                                        My body period. And I’ve had to learn how to walk and talk multiples upon multiples. I’m going back to school now. And so I’ve had to have been forced to start writing again. And the first time I started writing left-handed to try to do that, but it didn’t work. Now I’m just doing it with the math and stuff. And for the first two weeks, it looked like I was writing some sort of Egyptian glyphs of some sort. It didn’t even look like words or letters.

                                                        Bear Herbert 50:38

                                                        I don’t understand why. But once I started doing it and the teacher, I was open with her and what I was going through. And she’s like, Well, I’ll try to write this. And I look at her like, Are you freaking kidding me? And she looks at me like, Yeah, I’m not kidding.

                                                        Bear Herbert 50:55

                                                        And so I try it. And I’m like, Whoa, and I have a mental palate. And when I do it the proper way, what she was telling me, I can feel and taste those new neurons, neuro pathways connecting, and it’s like electricity going right through my hand and everything.

                                                        Bear Herbert 51:13

                                                        And I’m like, This is my num hand, too. I’m like, and I’ll just Woo and she looks at me like, What am I sorry, I just got a job. You got to have fun with life. And we can be crusty crabs, or we can put it on the light side of life and try to laugh through I’d rather laugh than cry. I’ve done too much crying in my wife.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 51:35

                                                        So are you on any medication for the conditions that you’ve been diagnosed with? Especially the sticky blood, I imagine doctors would want you to want to get a blood thinner.

                                                        Bear Herbert 51:48

                                                        They I had been on Eliquis for years. And then the doctor went to refill them. And he told me I had to go on warfarin. I said I can’t go on warfarin. He said, why? I said because blood will squirt out of my belly button. He said, That’s impossible. And I’m like, Well, I’m not doing it. They said, Well, I’m not filling your meds. And so I took steps to go to the doctor anymore for seven years.

                                                        Bear Herbert 52:20

                                                        And that’s how I went catastrophic. Okay, and so when I went to the hospital, they put me on more friend, and one of the nurses, the nurse, nurse audiologist, came into the room, I pushed the button in the bathroom. So I need to talk to you to show you okay, I said yeah, just need to come in here she came. I said, brace yourself. She just said what’s going on? I stood up and opened my hospital gown and blood squirted out of my belly button, and squirted all over her and she almost passed out.

                                                        Spirituality, mysticism, and visions

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 52:54

                                                        And why was that happening?

                                                        Bear Herbert 52:57

                                                        Because Warfarin is a rat poison. That’s what it is. That’s how it thins your blood. They use it for rat poison because that’s how it kills rats. After all, they bleed to death inside. And I’m just this weird ass amalgam of the human spirit that works way differently than most.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 53:19

                                                        But how did you know it was gonna bleed out of your belly? And then how was I heard out of your bag? I had

                                                        Bear Herbert 53:24

                                                        no idea other than the fact that I’ve seen it before. And I don’t know when and how if it was in a different life, or I have no idea. I don’t know how to get congruently in these things. That’s the biggest frustration for me is experiencing the mystic all the time, but not having any congruence in it to be able to explain it to other human suits to grab a hold of as a tangible container for them to understand it.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 53:54

                                                        Human suits you describe us as human suits. You don’t see yourself in the same way. How do you see yourself and how do you see other people like me?

                                                        Bear Herbert 54:06

                                                        I am a human suit. I am completely anchored in this thing again because of Dave Edlund. But to answer your question more poignantly we are all spirit 100%. And if and spirit has no color. And so in one of my last lives, I was a black woman. And when I was a little kid, I had to drag around this little black baby naked baby doll and my parents would say, Who is that? A said that’s me.

                                                        Bear Herbert 54:40

                                                        And they’ll Haha No. And they didn’t believe me. And then I found a picture of it and the album’s the other day. I’m like, Oh, my God, I remembered it just like it’s like, Highlander scene from the Highlander movies. It’s a quick I mean, you just, you just get the memory and the light memory of that time and place and so if Bill had his whole Majesty in that beautiful human suit you were around, you cannot hold it, you would burst asunder is too much plasma too much light, you couldn’t be able to anchor it in your body.

                                                        Bear Herbert 55:20

                                                        So you’ve got a seventh of Your Majesty within your human suit. Also, the solar flares, are plasma from the sun. And they update us as human suits when the people tell you don’t give them the sun because it will cause cancer and all this stuff. That’s not necessarily the truth. However, the things they sell you to put on your skin are toxic to you, and the water you go in is not good for you.

                                                        Bear Herbert 55:53

                                                        And so, if also, if the world had more human suits that were fully activated, that’s what I do now, I go around activating people, I have a proclivity for Hazel-eyed brothers and sisters because I feel like we have a deeper sense of soul. And so when I talk to people on their Hazel alive, I can start talking to them.

                                                        Bear Herbert 56:15

                                                        And when I start talking to them, the hairs on my arm will start standing up. And that is a spiritual response to something resonating with your spirit. You have muscles in your skin called erector Pillai muscles. And so when things ping on that your spirit goes, whoa. And so I start talking to these hazle-eyed Brothers and sisters and telling these things, and then they start looking at their skin and it’s doing that.

                                                        Bear Herbert 56:44

                                                        And what I do, I said, can I touch you? And if they say, Yes, I grab their hands. And I tell them, whatever made you feel this way, right now, cleave to that, that is what ignites your spirit, that’s what’s going to make you the human suit, angelic hosts you need to be to help the people around you. And that’s kind of how I live my life.

                                                        Bear Herbert 57:08

                                                        And if all the human suits were completely awake and engaged, the Earth could handle it, the Earth would burst asunder because there’s just too much light energy just for through our bodies. So everything is imbalanced as it should be. Whether it sounds crazy or not, it just is what it is. And I’m just grateful to be part of it. And be able to see these experiences and taste them in such lavish, robust ways.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 57:50

                                                        You’ve always explained in our conversation, you’ve always explained these things as particular. You know, they seem to be quite positive experiences, does the taste ever become not nice? Do you ever have experiences where the visions or the visual aspect of it and the synesthesia is a not pleasant experience?

                                                        Bear Herbert 58:14

                                                        Yeah, it’s not good. It’s not good at all. It’s, it’s like all that embodies the thought of what evil might be shows up. And the worst part for me was in the convalescent centers being completely nonverbal and having the staff molest and rate me and stuff. Because I was just invalid, that kind of talk from their viewpoint.

                                                        Bear Herbert 58:44

                                                        And when those things were happening to me, it was the most disgusting, terrible taste on the mental palate you could imagine. It was the closest I could imagine because what it tasted like physically was the second time my appendix hole ruptured all of those things that I experienced these times were the same, they had that green, yellow, moldy, putrid flavor. On the mental palate, it’s like your soul has been raped. I do a lot of advocacy for human trafficking stuff too, because of the way I see things and all that stuff, too.

                                                        Trauma, abuse, and mental health

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 59:35

                                                        Were you a kid when that was happening to you?

                                                        Bear Herbert 59:38

                                                        No, that was actually as an adult, young adult, here in Central Oregon.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 59:44

                                                        So you had been nonverbal a few times.

                                                        Bear Herbert 59:48

                                                        Yeah, a lot of times.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 59:51

                                                        And that those times, always ended up in hospitalizations.

                                                        Bear Herbert 59:56

                                                        99% of the time.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:00:00

                                                        And then were there was anyone ever able to intervene during those experiences where other people mistreated you? Did those things get sorted and resolved, people get taken.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:00:20

                                                        Now, nobody came to task for any of those things. One of the first ones I was an adult, considered an adult, and they put me in a rehabilitation center right here by this building I’m in. And it was a wonderful place, and they had a Zen garden outside and all this beautiful stuff.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:00:42

                                                        But four patients were in there too. And they were all women. It wasn’t the staff that did that, but it was the patients themselves. And they had come into my room and did those things to me. And then when I got out of those situations, I was a ward of the state and considered they put me in adult foster care.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:01:08

                                                        Were you nonverbal as well as catatonic or what was your state?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:01:13

                                                        Sometimes it comes in and vacillates.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:01:17

                                                        Okay, so people to take advantage of a situation like that you’d have to be not able to defend yourself. Is that a state in which you’re unable to defend yourself?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:01:27

                                                        Completely catatonic.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:01:28

                                                        Just okay. All right. So you’re talking about this very matter-of-fact? Is it a matter of fact, are you okay talking about this? Have you dealt with this kind of stuff?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:01:45

                                                        I’m cool talking about it, people need to know, the knees, there needs to be a picture that’s properly painted, especially for this center that I’m about to embark in. For people to understand what the reality could be without having something like this east of the Cascades.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:02:05

                                                        Do people find it difficult to hang around with you? Because your conversation goes to so many places, you’re the kind of guy, in Australia, we’ve got this thing that we do, right, which is, when you ask somebody, Hi, how are you? You’re not interested in their answer. You just say hi, how are you? And the other person says, Good. And then they say, how are you? And you say, good.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:02:31

                                                        And then that’s considered like a long-form greeting, right? But you seem like the kind of guy if I said, Hey, Bear, how are you? If I asked you that question, I’d get a 10-minute answer. Are you as a result of that? Are you difficult to hang around with? I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to hang around with you or whatever. But I find that many people because I’ve asked you questions I’ve tried to make this conversation about stroke.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:02:58

                                                        It’s not going to be about stroke. And I’m cool with that.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:03:02

                                                        I’m sorry. Thank you.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:03:03

                                                        Yeah, that’s all right. And then it’s like, how do people interact with you? Do people interact with you? Do they struggle to interact? Because I imagine that most people are not prepared to go down this path with you. How do you interact with people? It’s so interesting.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:03:26

                                                        A poignant answer is the way forward for us now, understanding that and therefore, the people that are close to me in my life like my family and stuff. I wear them thin, quick. However, out in public and stuff, I’m just a magnet to other people. I mean, people come up to me and start telling you some of the most outlandish stuff that’s personal to them that they are going through have been going through.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:04:01

                                                        Because I am that dipole antenna and my energy is very enveloping, and I am a spirit of unconditional love. And a lot of people get it twisted in their constructs and their own mental space. Some people think that I am an entity that wants to be with them and stuff intimately. And it’s like, you know, I just love you and whatever you’re going through, I’m here for you as much as I can be.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:04:38

                                                        But that’s where it stops. So in public, I do very, very well, especially with my devices. I kicked open the door in the ethereal realm again to start the Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness group here in Central Oregon. And I wear a necklace on my neck that has Essential Oil and that’s overwhelming to my factories so I don’t mess up.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:05:05

                                                        But there are people more sensitive than me. So I need to charge my ozone machine and wear it around my neck so that way I can be buffered from all these smells. But still not push other people over the edge. I’m a very considerate motormouth, I guess you could say.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:05:26

                                                        So you consider yourself a motormouth. And that’s probably the terminology that somebody might use to describe. Bear that Motormouth Edge starts talking anyway and never ends this type of situation. I’ve heard it a lot. Okay, okay. All right. So you’re very aware of yourself, you are quite familiar with how you are experiencing the world by other people, etc. Now I relate to something that you just said, I relate to being in the street, it’s a lot of people.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:05:56

                                                        And then it’s like, I get picked out or singled out by the homeless person, and they make a beeline for me. And they say to me, have you got some change, and there’s 1000 people around me. And I’ve it’s happened once or twice, and I didn’t think anything of it. But it happens all the time. And I’ve started to notice a pattern.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:06:16

                                                        And of course, I always go into the central business district with change, because I now know that I’m going to get asked, and if somebody asks, I want to be able to give somebody three or $4, to buy a coffee or whatever, or to add to the collection of coins so that they can achieve what they need to achieve for that particular day. And also, you’re the kind of guy that I run into a lot. And I’m not saying that.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:06:47

                                                        And I say that because I will stop, something will stop me or I’ll have an interaction with somebody that seems benign. And then I’ll be going into places with them after I’ve just met them that I shouldn’t have ever expected to go. And when requires having conversations about things that we should never have expected. So I can relate to that part. And I get rather than try and wrap people like you up, wrap you up and say, Well, I’m done. I’ve gotta go.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:07:21

                                                        Or I’m not interested in that. I am curious about what they have to say where and where they’re at and what they’re talking about. And you’re not the first person I’ve come across who has told me about these types of conditions or since they are I call them conditions for lack of lack of me being able to describe them.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:07:21

                                                        But synesthesia and all these experiences and other realms and out of the body and in body and crossing the boundaries between the two. And then you said something else that’s interesting. Which are Hazel-eyed people why Hazel-eyed people why not blue why not green? Why Hazel? And do you know what color my eyes are?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:08:08

                                                        I’m assuming they’re Hazel, but I don’t know.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:08:10

                                                        Well, there’s a bit of green in the middle. And they’re hazel, and they change but mostly, if you look at my eyes, you think they’re Hazel or brown people will describe them as brown. If you go be closer you get to see the green tinges so why Hazel?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:08:30

                                                        That’s the part of the question. And I’m saying that I will go break into deep esoteric.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:08:43

                                                        Narrow it down, just give me the because answer or the very simple one. Like you said, Why not blue? Why not green? Why not black?

                                                        Why the need to connect?


                                                        Bear Herbert 1:08:56
                                                        The Hazel is more anchored into the great root race that hasn’t been truly activated on this plane yet. Has nothing to do with color or ethnicity. It’s a spiritual place where it’s from.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:09:14

                                                        Okay, I don’t know what that means. And maybe we shouldn’t go into it. But like, I had to ask that something was making me ask. That’s cool. So why did you feel the need because you seem like you’re very able to be adaptable, you’re very able to come to terms with things that are going on that have happened to you that you’re experiencing. Why did you feel the need to connect with a group of people on an Instagram page, which is about recovery after a stroke? What drew you to there?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:09:56

                                                        Everybody who’s been through a stroke is just an inspiration to all of humanity, whether humanity wants to realize it or not. But each one of us is a major asset to the whole of humanity because we’ve been to places that are darker and more disruptive to the soul than 99% of the human suits ambulating the face of the earth right now.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:10:20

                                                        Wow.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:10:23

                                                        That’s the short answer.

                                                        Emotional recovery and the warrior heart concept introduced

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:10:24

                                                        I can relate to that. I know what you mean. Okay. So what do you feel like a kinship with people who have had a stroke?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:10:35

                                                        One more time, please.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:10:36

                                                        Do you feel a kinship with people who have had a stroke?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:10:41

                                                        Yes, absolutely. I feel like they’re my brothers and sisters on different levels and other people can’t possibly comprehend.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:10:50

                                                        Okay. I was going to ask you, are they the people you relate to the most?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:10:57

                                                        Yep.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:10:58

                                                        Okay.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:10:59

                                                        I get it. Because usually, we’re the most looked down on in society as well. Just how things happen, I don’t understand it, but I see it and I taste it and with me, how I understand how I affect others, I can feel and taste their energy. And if people are more attracted and want to talk to me, I can feel and hear it a block away. And I’ve had a choice in the past part of my life to where I could run away from it and I have, and they always find me anyways.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:11:34

                                                        So I have decided to stop running from anything. And I needed to know, I know, I’m about to, you’re the springboard for me into what I’m walking into. Now, I appreciate this opportunity more than I can properly convey.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:11:51

                                                        But I am about to enter a phase in my life of international speaking engagements of different kinds and sorts when I needed to break this ice for myself and my consciousness to say, you can do this. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be a scary bear. But be that warrior heart that you are, and faith with integrity, and poignancy, and please don’t walk in circles there, but I did.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:12:29

                                                        The warrior’s heart is an interesting term that you use to tell me what is a warrwarrior’srt. One of the things that stroke survivors miss in their recovery is doing the work that’s related to the heart, the heart, the emotional work. So what they do is because we’re such a head-based society, we all do the head-based recovery, it’s like, well, we have to fix the brain because the breaks brain has been damaged, which I agree with, it’s perfectly fine.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:12:59

                                                        We get stuck there. And often then people who can’t walk or move one of their limbs, go into a physical recovery. But very rarely do I come across stroke survivors who have had an emotional recovery or heart-based recovery and in my book, there’s a chapter called The Heart Brain Bear. So tell me why. Why the warrior heart how did you come up with that term? What does that mean? The warrior’s heart.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:13:29

                                                        For me, personally, the most poignant I can put it without going into all the rabbit trails that need to be gone into to flesh it out properly. William Wilberforce is the original abolitionist in the modern era. He is the English Parliament Terry that got the abolishment of the clamp, transatlantic slave trade.

                                                        Spirituality, consciousness, and personal growth after multiple strokes

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:14:01

                                                        I am a complete abolitionist at heart. So I have to feed my heart properly to be able to properly ambulate my mission and cute and execute my mission in this human suit because I’m done. I’m not reincarnating in this place again. So I’ve got things I have to get done. And that puts a lot of fire in my soul and still into my words.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:14:46

                                                        Your experience, you’re out of body out of the human suit experience that you have. Is that a heart-based experience? If you can associate it with intelligence in your body is a heart-based experience because we have neurons in our gut, we have neurons in our eyes, we have neurons in our brain, and we have neurons in our heart. There are neurons throughout our nervous system.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:15:22

                                                        And I consider them intelligences. The eyes, for example, are part of your brain, and they are the external part of the brain, they are part of the brain that has evolved to be outside of the head to bring in information and allow us to transverse the planet. And to get around and to be safe and to avoid obstacles and all that type of stuff to give us information. So your out-of-human-suit experience is what kind of experience can you associate it with in the human realm?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:16:02

                                                        It is connected to the heart, but it is completely other than the heart. People that are very religiously dogmatic, understand it to a very, very, very fine detail because of their dogmas and the different rituals, and the different relations they get from their different religious practices. So it’s pure, an unbridled spirituality.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:16:38

                                                        For me, it’s just I’m living my naked self, my soul bared to the universe, and my heart is on fire, just doing battle in the angelic realms. And that’s who I am. I’m a warrior. And I imagine when I was a black woman, I was probably a beautiful Amazonian warrior as well, I’m assuming because that’s my soul. You know?

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:17:11

                                                        Why not? What do you hope to speak about when you get to the stage?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:17:24

                                                        The enlightenment that needs to come to humans suits their development, and treat each other the way it needs to be done. None of us are more important than the other. We’re all super interconnected, possibly way more than we can imagine.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:17:44

                                                        We are the universe expressing ourselves through these human suits. And once we grab a hold of that, literally in our minds and souls, that is when the biggest shift for humanity is going to anchor in and new days are on the way. I just need to figure out a better way and polish myself enough to not do my rabbit trail job or drabble that makes people nauseated by talking to me.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:18:19

                                                        Yep, that’d be part of your training, you’re gonna have to come up with a script. Practice that script, memorize it, you know, have an opening, have a middle part, have a conclusion, and stick to it. And then just practice and practice and practice and get to the point where you can just get that out.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:18:41

                                                        Make sure it delivers the message. And then leave it at that because, you know, those spaces are always limited for time. Deep dives into these types of things are not always possible, but it’d be very interesting to hear you deliver such a well-structured.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:19:07

                                                        I’m interested to see what it’s going to sound like too. I’ve never shirked away from anything in my life. The things scare me I jump in. As an adult, I worked on the drilling rigs, I was scared of heights, but I always worked on the Derrick’s 300 feet above the ground when things were moving and made to sway because I was scared of it. I’ve always been scared of snakes. I catch every snake I can see so I’m not scared of it. I was scared of public speaking. And so here I am talking to Dill. Doing the damn thing.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:19:43

                                                        Yeah, it’s good. This is a gentle way to get into speaking publicly because it doesn’t have to be too structured. We can go all over the place that doesn’t matter. Right? But on a stage, you have to be a little more restricted in the way that you go about, which is cool.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:20:01

                                                        I noticed when you answer a lot of my questions, you look up and your eyes kind of tend to tuck back behind your eyelids is that something that allows you to access the areas or the places where you need to go to get answers? Or is that just a human physical trait that you just have?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:20:26

                                                        No, I’m getting memory and pulling my memory answers down out of my database, because we’re all human computers whether we realize it or not. So I look up to grab my information to come back to you.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:20:45

                                                        That’s pretty common because people do that. Most people access their memories, either by looking up to the left or up to the right, most people will look up into the left. But you’re just more obvious, you have a very prominent way of going there, you go there with both eyes, and it’s almost straight up rather than up into the left and you spend a lot more time there than most people.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:21:12

                                                        I taste it. That’s I think that’s why I’m lingering because I’m getting the flavors and the textures of everything I talk about are so deep and so beautiful. And trying to put that into poignant words is tough, especially for such an elaborate soul as mine.

                                                        The three questions for Bear Herbert

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:21:33

                                                        Okay, I get it. So, we’re going to ask you the three questions a lot of people get asked in the podcast for stroke survivors as we wrap up the episode. What is the hardest thing about a stroke for you?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:21:54

                                                        The lack of empathy the world shows stroke patients is what burns me worse than anything.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:22:03

                                                        Or enough. What has stroke taught you?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:22:09

                                                        Resilience? Tenacity.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:22:18

                                                        And what do you want to tell other stroke survivors? Allow yourself to go beyond the two-word answer for this next question, which is, what do you want to tell other stroke survivors who are going through something similar? That we’ve been through or just on their journey or they’re a little bit confused, they’ve found this podcast they don’t know how to deal with it, or what do you want to tell other stroke survivors? What would be your words of wisdom?

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:22:52

                                                        Not only are you important, but you’re an inspiration to this world. And to another human suit that has no comprehension of what you’re going through. And the lack of empathy that they show you should help foster and grow tenacity in your soul to be able to articulate properly, the depths and beauty of your soul to the world around you. Because you are an asset to this world. Like no other. You got this shit, you’re an inspiration to all of us. Kick ass!

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:23:38

                                                        That’s awesome. Bear thank you so much for joining me on the podcast.

                                                        Bear Herbert 1:23:43

                                                        Likewise, brother, I appreciate it.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:23:46

                                                        Thanks for joining us on today’s episode to get a copy of my book about stroke recovery go to recoveryafterstroke.com/book. To learn more about my guests, including links to their social media, and download a transcript of the entire interview, go to recoveryafterstroke.com/episodes.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:24:06

                                                        Thank you to everyone who has already left a review about the podcast on Spotify and iTunes, it means the world to me. Podcasts live and thrive because of reviews. And when you leave a review, you’re helping others in need of this type of content to find it easier. And that is making their stroke recovery just that little bit better.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:24:29

                                                        Go ahead and leave a review and a few words about what you think the show means to you on iTunes and Spotify. I would deeply appreciate it if we wouldn’t have been able to get to episode 300 If people hadn’t supported the podcast in the way that they do by sharing it, commenting on YouTube videos, and leaving reviews on iTunes and Spotify.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:24:52

                                                        So I appreciate it. If you’re watching on YouTube, and you comment below the video you’ll get a response from me if you’d like to like this episode that helps as well because YouTube then makes sure that other people get to see these videos. If you’re a stroke survivor with a story to share about your stroke experience, come and join me on the show. Interviews are not scripted, you do not have to plan for them.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:25:18

                                                        All you need to do to qualify is be a stroke survivor who wants to share your story in the hope that you are going to help somebody else going through something similar. If you have a commercial product that you would like to promote that is related to supporting stroke survivors to recover, there is also a path for you to join me on a sponsored episode for the show.

                                                        Bill Gasiamis 1:25:40

                                                        For anyone interested in reaching out to me go to recoveryafterstroke.com/contact fill out the form explaining briefly which category you belong to, and I will respond with more details about how we can meet via Zoom. Thank you again for being here and listening. I appreciate you. So you’re on the next episode.

                                                        Intro 1:26:01

                                                        Importantly, we present many podcasts designed to give you an insight and understanding into the experiences of other individuals’ opinions and treatment protocols discussed during any podcast or the individual’s own experience and we do not necessarily share the same opinion nor do we recommend any treatment protocol discussed.

                                                        Intro 1:26:18

                                                        All content on this website at any linked blog, podcast, or video material controlled by this website or content is created and produced for informational purposes only and is largely based on the personal experience of Bill Gasiamis. The content is intended to complement your medical treatment and support healing.

                                                        Intro 1:26:35

                                                        It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health advice. The information is general and may not be suitable for your personal injuries, circumstances, or health objectives. Do not use our content as a standalone resource to diagnose treat, cure, or prevent any disease for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for the advice of a health professional.

                                                        Intro 1:26:56

                                                        Never delay seeking advice or disregard the advice of a medical professional, your doctor, or your rehabilitation program based on our content. If you have any questions or concerns about your health or medical condition, please seek guidance from a doctor or other medical professional if you are experiencing a health emergency or think you might be, call 000 if in Australia or your local emergency number immediately for emergency assistance or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

                                                        Intro 1:27:20

                                                        Medical information changes constantly. While we aim to provide current quality information in our content. We did not provide any guarantees and assume no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the content. If you choose to rely on any information within our content, you do so solely at your own risk. We are careful with the links we provide however third-party links from our website are followed at your own risk and we are not responsible for any information you find there.

                                                        The post Multiple Ischemic Stroke Recovery – Bear Herbert appeared first on Recovery After Stroke.

                                                        1 hr 28 min

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                                                      A Community And Podcast For Stroke Survivors And Carers

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