Jennifer Drawdy Shares Her Stroke Testimonial

Did Jennifer notice that a stroke was about to happen to her?

No, it was early in the morning. She had been reading in bed and had made herself a cup of coffee. She had just got up to let her dogs go pottie and was  getting another cup of coffee and going back to her reading.

The lesson here is that Stroke CAN strike ANYWHERE and at ANY TIME.

How many stroke signs did you notice?

1 Numbness on the Left side of her body
2 Paralysis to the point of collapse and unable to get up.
3, One side of her face drooping.
4, Passing out.

Did she know what was wrong?


No, She didn't recognize the signs of stroke.

Did she call 911?


No, she called friends and family.

Would you know what to do?

Would you call 911?

Learn the SIGNS OF STROKE and if you or someone near you is showing any of the signs, CALL 911

STROKE is a  MEDICAL EMERGENCY.(knowing this basic information could save the life of you or someone you love)

5 warning signs of stroke 

If you or someone near you experience
- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Numbness, weakness of face or limbs.
- Bad Headaches
- Difficulty walking, loss of balance
- Difficulty speaking or understanding speech - Call 911!!!

Stroke is a medical emergency...

Being The Best That I Can Be... My New Normal!

Stroke Survivor Gary Gray in the Community

I would like to share with you a series of videos that will help you to learn about Stroke.
You may not be familiar with stroke, what causes it, how it manifests itself, the damage it causes and how someone who has survived a stroke can relearn to do basic skills that were damaged and/or destroyed by the stroke.

 The series will also help you understand how a survivor can rebuild a life. (always different and often better than our pre stroke life)

Video # 1:  Understanding Stroke



Video # 2: Risk Factors Of Stroke




Video # 3: Symptoms Of Stroke





Video # 4: Preventing Stroke







Video # 5: Effects Of Stroke (Stroke Recovery #1







Video # 6: Recovering Mobility After Stroke (Stroke Recovery # 2)





Video # 7: Recovering Emotions After Stroke (Stroke Recovery # 3)







Video # 8: Recovering Cognition After Stroke (Stroke Recovery #4)





Thank you for taking the time to watch these videos so that you can become  better educated and more aware of Stroke.


A survivor has a lot of work to do. By working with a therapist the survivor moves toward the goal of independent living. Independent Living can be broken down into three areas.


1. ADL Activities of Daily Living: Through use of Physio and Occupational therapy a survivor can relearn to carry out the tasks of daily living like housekeeping, food preparation, eating, bathing, dressing, laundry etc.   

2. Socializing and community living: Through use of Physio and Occupational therapies as well as speech a survivor can relearn to carry out the tasks of daily living within the community such as walking, talking, driving, grocery shopping, eating out and spending time with friends.


3. Returning to meaningful productivity within the community: Through use and by expanding the use of skills learned in numbers 1 and 2 a survivor can relearn to become a productive member of the community once again. Whether it be going back to do paid work or doing volunteer work, the survivor can relearn the skills that are needed to become a valued productive  member of their community.


The one option that is NOT an option is staying in bed and/or not leaving the house. Survivors need to get up and get going. Our communities need to support survivors to achieve their goals.


Lets consider survivors that have made the efforts  required and have been given the support required to accomplish their goals. Everyone has been rewarded with success. We are all winners!


First visit "My Life After Stroke"  to read many stories of how survivors have been successful.


Then if you are a Caregiver or family member of a survivor you might like to visit "Strokecaregivers"


In order to really help people everywhere begin to understand STROKE, why it happens, who is at risk, how to get help F.A.S.T., what are the effects and the possibilities we are working on telling "The Stories Of Stroke" 


This will be released at a future date so if this is something that interests you please become a friend, fan or follower to receive further information and releases.


If you liked this post why not share it with your friends. TOGETHER, WE CAN STOP STROKE!


Gary Gray
Stroke Survivor since 2002

STROKE IS AN EMERGENCY!

Emergency Medical Technition - EMT

The Question: by Mary Runnalls - When you had your stroke how long did it take for you to get to the hospital? Do you think there were consequences because of that or not?


The Answer: by Gary Gray - Thanks for your question Mary. My first indication was when I went to order a coffee at a local coffee shop and I had no voice, none, nada. Next, Left side weakness. Fortunately they called 911 and EMT's arrived within 10 minutes. I blacked out before they put me in the ambulance. Even though there was a hospital only 5 minutes away I would be transferred twice and go to a special brain unit. Over 6 hours would elapse before they did the first cat scan. It confirmed a bleed deep in my brain. Family and friends were with me around the clock. After four more days they took a second cat scan. Then, the next day (6 th post stroke) I was transferred to an acute care hospital. On the 10 th day post stroke I was transferred to a rehab unit and suffered another episode during the transfer. It took me another 12 days before I came out of my coma. A full 22 days post stroke. I guess all things considered I am fortunate to be as good as I am. I spent another 60 days post coma in rehab and acute before I was released to live with my caregivers. There were still lots of issues to work through and another 9 months before I moved to the apartment where I continue to live a basic Independent life. Being able to drive and do some volunteer work came back about 12 months post stroke.Apparently stress was the main cause that made my BP go through the roof and cause the bleed. There have been others in our community that have had this happen to them. Unfortunately I can't talk to them because none of them survived. They say 20% survive. that's 1 in 5 or 2 in 10. It looks like I was the 1 in 5. What more can I say. : ) - Gary


Want to see more answers to the question? Cilck Here to read more and visit the "Stroke Survivors Who Love Life" page

Stroke Education And Awareness Events Being Held

As part of the Public Awareness and Education connected with June being Stroke Awareness month I attended an information session at the Montague Rotary Library on Wednesday.

"Services for stroke survivors
Wednesday, June 15th at 2:30 p.m. June is Stroke Month. Judi Gosbee (Physiotherapist-Home Care), Anna Nabuurs (Team Leader-Home Care), and Joan Watson (Occupational Therapist-Home Care) will be at the Library to deliver an information session on services available to stroke survivors and answer your questions. This discussion would benefit stroke survivors, their family members, and caregivers. All are welcome!"


Unfortunately I was the only one who showed up for the event. (I guess stroke survivors and their families in Eastern PEI are being well cared for and didn't see the need to find out what services are available to them)


Melysia LaFrance  was also there from The PEI Heart and Stroke Foundation. Melysia brought along some copies of the booklet "Getting On With The Rest Of Your Life After Stroke"


I met Judi Gosbee a new home care Physiotherapist for the first time and she introduced me to a new product called the "Dictus Band" for drop foot.


I personally found the hour spent there to be beneficial and would recommend for stroke survivors, caregivers and family members  to attend similar events that may be held in your local area.

My Life After Stroke

Gary Gray living "My Life After Stroke"

Hello to all Stroke Survivors, Family members, Caregivers and Stroke care professionals,

I have a simple question: How has your life been touched by stroke?

Let me guess. You or someone that you love has had a stroke, In my case it was a classic case of a bolt out of the blue. I couldn't speak and I was experiencing weakness in my Left side. Fortunately I was in a place where I received help right away. Within a few minutes I lapsed into a state of unconscious.  Due to my blood pressure being unusually high that morning I had a bleed in the middle of my brain and my brain cells were being destroyed by a tiny pool of blood that was flooding through my head.

To tell my story and the stories of other stroke survivors we have created a small community that is dedicated to helping both we stroke survivors and others come together, learn and share just what it is like to experience stroke, survive and recover to a point that we can live a satisfying and productive life after stroke.

Our community is made up of  three main social media tools.

First is our Facebook Fan Page: "My Life After Stroke" by clicking the "Like" button on this page you will be added to our Facebook followers and you will receive in your news feed any posts that are posted on our wall. You can also join the conversation by posting a link to our wall or commenting on our post.

Second there is our Blog: "My Life After Stroke" this is where we will post interesting and informative information about living our lives after stroke. There could be articles, webpage links, mp3s or videos or even podcasts and webinars. You can even publish your own posts on our blog as a guest blogger.

Third is our Twitter Feed: "After My Stroke" this is where we can interactively post short (140 character) bits of information and links that we would like to share about our lives after stroke.

These three social media sites are designed to work together as place for members of our stroke community to learn and share about living our lives  after stroke. These are simple uncluttered pages where a survivor can feel comfortable spending time reading, watching, listening or interacting with other survivors, family members, caregivers and health care professionals.

We warmly invite you to come, join in our conversation and learn more about My Life After Stroke.

We can also be contacted by email if you prefer either  mylifeafterstroke@gmail.com or garydotgray@gmail.com

Smiles :o)

Gary Gray 
Stroke Survivor since 2002  

Pass The Salt!...Interesting Research Results

Image by http://www.jwatch.org

Hi to all of our PEI Stroke Recovery followers,

I just listened to this interesting fifteen minute podcast from  "Journal Watch" about salt and the effects that salt in our diet can have on our health. I thought you might like to listen too.

This post is for information only and we are NOT promoting it's content as something that you would want to follow personally. We just thought you might find the content interesting.  It does raise the point that ongoing research can produce interesting results.

After you have had a chance to listen to the podcast, we invite you to share with our followers  by posting  a comment on what you thought of it. Thanks!.

Click the link to go to the podcast page then click on the podcast to listen Podcast 120: Pass the salt!

We will post again soon,

How To Beat The Risk Factors Of Stroke

photo credit - Health PEI

Hi to all of our Stroke Recovery readers.

To help people just like you get help quick in the event of a stroke we have highlighted the "5 Warning Signs Of Stroke" and explained what to do if they are happening to you or to someone around you.

To help people just like you become aware of what the 8 modifiable risk factors that can cause stroke are we have highlighted "The 8 Modifiable Risk Factors Of Stroke"

BUT! -  Until now there has not been, in one convenient place, concise information about how to manage those risk factors. What the bench marks are for each factor to maintain our health and avoid having a stroke.( This includes secondary stroke for people who are living with some of these very risk factors)

NOW! - we here at Prince Edward Island Stroke Recovery are pleased to be able to share with you,  a new publication from Health PEI called "Passport To Health".. It highlights 9 risk factors  to health and explains how to manage each one of them, in cooperation with your health care professional..

Get your copy of the "Passport To Health" publication here.

With the information contained in this publication, along with it's tips, tools and Internet links we can target our risk factors that effect us personally. We can set goals to manage or eliminate those risk factors and enjoy the freedom, of living a healthy life.

We challenge everyone, who reads this post, to obtain a copy of this publication and use it to build your road to a healthy life.

If you live in North America the odds are that you have at least 1 risk factor and the possibility is great that you have more than one. Even people who live in other parts of our world in all likelihood have at least 1 risk factor.

We here at Prince Edward Island Stroke Recovery are working on the "Contract To Health" which should be available in the very near future. It is a contract that you make with yourself to either manage or eliminate all 9 risk factors from your live.

This is doable and now we have the tools to get it done.

Wishing everyone better health and remember that WORKING TOGETHER through education and awareness WE CAN STOP STROKE!!!

We will post again soon,