"Living A Healthy Life" Spring 2011 Newsletter

The "Living A Healthy Life" program has released it's Spring 2011 newsletter and we are giving you a link to read, download and/or print it out.  Enjoy!

The uploaded file is in "Google Docs" in PDF format so if you have trouble with accessing the file please let me know. My e mail is garydotgray@gmail.com

Here is the link:  https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6aiexyJGOgWMTdmZDQ2MzgtNjdjMy00Yjg3LTg2ODMtOGI4M2E0NWQ2NWQ1&hl=en_US

or, to make it easy, you can CLICK HERE to get the newsletter. It is also online at: http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/DHW_LHL_Newslet.pdf

You can also visit the PEI HEALTHY LIVING WEBSITE 


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Wishing all stroke survivors the very best with your recovery and beyond!

Gary 
Stroke Survivor since 2011

New Website For "Canadian Best Practice Recommendations For Stroke Care"

Welcome to all of my PEI Stroke Recovery readers,

As a stroke community in Canada we have been long awaiting the 2010 update to the "Canadian Best Practice Recommendations For Stroke Care"

It was released on December 3rd 2010.

Click here to download your copy or just read it online. There are some pretty nifty additions. One in particular that I like personally is the use of  hyperlinks in the PDF.

O.K, I hear you "What are hyperlinks and what is a PDF?"

1. Hyperlink - A little piece of computer code that allows the reader to click in a blue underlined text link and then be taken directly to what is being talked about. Like the "Click here" up above to take you to the 2010 update.

2. PDF - Public Document File. Documents are able to be published electronically using the public document file format so that anyone with a computer and Internet access can either read to document online, download the document to their personal hard drive/memory stick or print the document using a local printer.

In order to open a PDF the user will need to have Acrobat Reader downloaded and installed on the computer that is being used. (most if not all newer computers usually have it on them)

Oh Yes! For a major announcement: The Canadian Best Practices has launched a new website. Click here to go there now.

This is an awesome website with the very latest information and links to stroke research reports and partners there. I encourage you to spend some time there checking out everything including the new "Transitions Of Care" links.

This amazing document and website is the result of a partnership of The Canadian Stroke Strategy, The Canadian Stroke Network and The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

I hope that as a reader of "Prince Edward Island Stroke Recovery" you will find the answers to your questions about stroke whether you are a survivor, a caregiver or a health care provider. I encourage you to tell me what it is you need by way of a comment  or contact me directly. All of my contact info is contained on my  web page. Simply click here to go there.

I will post again soon,

Gary

Nancy Mayo and Getting On With The Rest Of Your Life After A Stroke

Charlotte Comrie - Nancy Mayo - Gary Gray photo credit The Guardian


Hi to all of my stroke survivor readers

This post is for all of you as well as your caregivers and your families.

Being able to accept the abrupt change in your life that having a stroke can bring can be very difficult to come to grips with let alone manage your life after a stroke..

The health care system in North America and the world deals mainly with stroke from a clinical viewpoint So where does that leave you when you are discharged  from rehab and left to get on with your life after a stroke?

Dr. Nancy Mayo of McGill University in Montreal Canada is a true pioneer in this field of research.

I first met Dr. Mayo in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island in November of  2007 at 5 years post stroke. ( that was when the picture above was taken)

We were both in Charlottetown to attend the "Strategies for Stroke Recovery" conference that was being held there.

I gave an address on Friday Night that was titled "The New Normal" and Dr. Mayo gave the keynote address the next morning titled "Getting On With The Rest Of Your Life After Stroke". As I had been invited to attend Dr. Mayo's presentation I took along a recorder and recorded it. The recording is in audio only so you don't get to see the visual side. {the slide presentation)

There are many great points that Dr. Mayo highlighted in her presentation. As she was addressing a group of  health care professionals that day the first half hour is a bit dry with clinical background information. In the last half hour she begins to draw out the needs that are faced by a stroke survivor and family that is being discharged from rehab and facing life after stroke back in the community.

Since November 2007 Dr. Mayo  has developed a 36 page booklet called "Getting On With The Rest Of Your Life After Stroke" that is designed to assist stroke survivors and families to cope with life after a stroke.

In April of 2009 the Prince Edward Island government included in their annual budget announcement that Prince Edward Island over the next four years would be adopting an "Organized Stroke Care Model" to deal with the challenge of stroke within our province. (see my 4 page background report prepared and distributed to all of our provincial elected reps prior to the budget being announced)

In April 2010 the opening of both the Acute Stroke Care (Unit 8) and the Rehab Stroke Care (Unit 7) were announced for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. At the same time the announcement for the Secondary Stroke Prevention Unit for the Prince County Hospital in Summerside was postponed to October 2010.

I am going to stop there for today. There is more to this story and I will get into that another day as we continue to explore this journey of getting on with the rest of your life after stroke together.

In the meantime I welcome any stories and/or comments that you would care to share with me and all of our readers about your life after a stroke.

thanks!

Gary