Career Change!

Well not necesarily a career change (still a non-profit geek) but a change in organizations.

After much soul searching, I have made the tough decision to move on as Executive Director of the Greater KC American Diabetes Association. I start as Executive Director of the American Stroke Foundation next week.

I love the ADA and believe they have (and will continue to do so) done more in the war on diabetes.

However, the ADA is a large organization and I feel I can make big difference in the lives of others with the American Stroke Foundation. The ASF is only 10 years old and is the only non-profit organization that provides post-rehabilitative services to stroke survivors. The goal is to build the ideal model in the KC metro and then use this model to build similiar sites across the nation.

I still have a passion for people with diabetes and, unfortunately, diabetes and stroke seem to go hand in hand. 2/3 of people with diabetes will die from a stroke or heart attack!

So wish me luck in my new endeavor and feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions about strokes (prevention, rehab, rights, etc...) or diabetes for that matter.

Here is the link to the organization's website. Check it out
http://www.americanstroke.org/

Did you know that every 45 seconds, another American suffers a stroke -- about the same amount of time it took you to read this post. Will the next victim be your friend, mom/dad/brother/sister,etc... or some other loved one!?!

Good luck and best wishes
Non-profit huh?? I admire you!!

Why'd you switch, Part?

Tired of nickels:)

The ASF is a relatively new organization -- I can make more of an impact in te near and distant future. The services they provide are not being duplicated anywhere else.

To be honest, I never heard of the organization (and I do keep my ear to the ground in most non-profit's in the KC area) One of my ADA board members also serves on the ASF board (actually it's President). They started courting when the previous ED left. Who know's maybe we wil soon come to a town near you with a similiar organization. Hell, maybe GF III would have been better if Michael did not have his "diabetic stroke"

Coolio. Good luck with that, Part.

Much respect and good luck to you!
My Mother and my cousin have diabetes and the hospital i work in has a specialist stroke ward so i appreciate the work you do

I was having some blood pressure issues two years ago and ended up in the hospital for a week... after a battery of tests they told me I had a stroke. I was dumfounded (figuring that anyone who had one was incapicated for a long time and took months of rehabilitation). So much for my mistake and poor understanding of this.

Anyway, Good Luck to you, Part!

Good to see you still remember this site.Good luck Part.

Part,

Let me also wish you good luck on your career change. Your heart is obviously into these nonprofit organizations and I know you'll do your best in whichever one you choose. They are lucky to have you.

Best of luck to you

TIS

Best of luck to you in this important endeavor.

Good luck Part!

Good luck, Part! You deserve it!

Go Part go! Good Luck. My dad had a very debilitating stroke at 59 yrs old. We knew nothing about strokes and the after affects; speech problems, paralysis, etc. You learn fast when a family member has one. It's very stressful on the surviving spouse. My mom was great with giving care and understanding - true love. Educating the family of stroke victims should also be high on the list of "things to do."

Take the stroke awareness quiz!


http://americanstroke.kintera.org/faf/qu...&game=awareness

I'm glad for you Part. Best wishes for your new career!

When are you going to move up to the big bucks and accept that job as the Executive Director of the KC Masterpiece production plant?

LOL Kansas City is the king of BBQ (I know those in Memphis or Carolina may take exception to that) KC Masterpiece is probably my 15th fav BBQ Joint in KC, so I could not lower myself to be the CEO of the Masterpiece. Now Gates or Jack Stack???? -- I'm there!!!

In reality, it was hard enough working for the ADA the last 2 years as I gained 20 pounds -- imagine a position with one of my favorite BBQ joints?!?!?! Obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart attack here I come!

So right you are. We have some sessions specifically for the caregiver's as well, support groups for family memebrs, etc....

Stroke 101

Stroke Risk Factors
Several factors increase your risk of stroke. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of having a stroke. Some of these you can’t control, such as your age, your family health history, race and gender. But you can modify, treat or control most risk factors to lower your risk!

Risks that you cannot control:
Increasing age
Male sex
Race
Family history of stroke

Risks that can be controlled with Medical Treatment & Lifestyle Changes:
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Cigarette smoking
TIA (Aspirin)
High blood cholesterol
Obesity
Heart Disease

Symptoms of Stroke
If you believe you or someone you know is experiencing any of these signs do not hesitate to call 911 for immediate treatment!

Suddenly feeling weak in an arm, hand or leg
Cannot feel one side of your face or body
Suddenly cannot see out of one eye
Suddenly have a hard time walking
Cannot understand what someone is saying
Feeling dizzy or losing your balance
Having the worst headache you have ever had


How to Recognize a Stroke
If you think someone is having a stroke, remember the 60 second test:

1. Ask the individual to smile.

2. Ask him or her to raise both arms.

3. Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like "It is sunny out today."

IF THE INDIVIDUAL HAS TROUBLE WITH ANY OF THESE TASKS, CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY!

Effects of Stroke
Motor impairment and loss of sensation often on one side of the body
Difficulty with speech
Limited visual fields and trouble with visual perception
Loss of emotional control and changes in mood
Cognitive deficits
Problems with memory
Problems with judgment
Problems with problem solving
Or a combination of all of these

Reduce your Risk of Stroke
Annual physicals
Healthy diet
Be aware of your family history
Maintain a healthy weight for your body type
Quit smoking
Get regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks
Exercise
If diabetic, manage your blood sugar levels
Take your medications accordingly

How are you liking your new job Part?

Very rewarding!

Hi Part!!

Thanks for the signs of a stroke. It is so important to know some of these things as to avoid panic should a loved one suddenly get the symptoms.

Good luck to you!!!!

TIS

Many years ago my mother-in-law, while at the family cottage, shouted out that she couldn't feel her legs, and felt dizzy. We all panicked,had her sit down. It soon passed, within a couple minutes. She went to the doctor who couldn't pinpoint what it was. She died some 10 years later or so from a stroke. Although the memory of that day is now kind of hazy, I often wonder (and really think), it was a stroke (if only a mild one) that she had back then. Of course, if so, why wouldn't the doctor know? Anyway, that was years ago, and I am sure that modern medicine has come a long long way since then.

TIS

A Stroke Survivor's Bill of Rights

From Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a trained and published neuroanatomist, specializes in the postmortem investigation of the human brain. But as irony would have it, on December 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor woke up to discover that she was experiencing a rare form of stroke, an arterio-venous malformation (AVM). Jill now sings about the brain in an effort to educate the public about strokes and aphasia. Note: Many survivors that cannot speak words, can sing them!


What I Needed Most from My Family, Friends and Myself

1. I needed you to treat me like I was going to recover completely. It might take two years or five years or a lifetime, but I needed to be treated like I was going to recover completely.

2. I needed you to honor the healing power of sleep. The brain is a brilliant machine that processes trillions of bits of data every moment. The brain uses sleep to shut down incoming stimulation and create order out of the day's events. In the beginning, my brain wanted to sleep a lot. I believe that it was partially because we honored the healing power of sleep that my brain recovered so well.

3. I needed to challenge my brain systems immediately. I understood that connections in my brain had been broken, and it was critically important that I challenged the system before more cells had a chance to die. When awake, I was always given choices - did I want this or that to eat, did I want to do this or that. I was forced to answer questions that made me think, instead of yes/no questions that required nothing from me.

4. I needed you to love me - not for the person I was before, but for who I might become. The woman I had been died that morning. With my left hemisphere no longer functioning, I needed people to love me for who I had become. I might have looked the same and sounded the same, but I was different - and that had to be OK.

5. I needed to define my priorities for what I wanted to get back the most. I lost my ability to speak and understand language, to walk and drive, as well as all my science and math abilities. Because I had very limited energy, I had to focus my time. I realized that I night never be a scientist again, but I had a message to communicate about the beauty and resiliency of the brain. I chose to focus my energy on public speaking. Because speaking on the telephone was an obvious energy drain for me, my family protected me by not letting me speak on the phone. That was a lot of help.

6. I needed you to focus on my ability, not my disability. I needed to celebrate everything. If all I was doing was breathing, then we could celebrate that I was alive - and breathe deeper together. If I stumbled, then we could celebrate when I was upright! If I was drooling, we could celebrate my swallowing! It was way too easy to focus on my disabilities because they were vast, I needed you to celebrate my triumphs every day! My successes, no matter how small, inspired me.

7. I needed to allow myself to receive support, love, help. It would be at least two years before we really knew how extensive my recovery would be. I needed to get out of my own way. I needed to stop beating on myself for being less. I needed time to let my brain heal. I needed you to cut me some slack and not be so heavy all the time! I was not less, I was different, and it's OK to be different.

8. I needed to divide every task into smaller and simpler stages or steps of action. Instead of rolling over, I might rock. Instead of standing up, I might sit and rock. Just because you could not see that I was trying, it did not mean that I was not trying. Sometimes when I was tired, I just needed to sleep, and I needed you to just accept that.

9. I needed you to assume that I knew nothing, I had, after all, lost my mind. Pieces of information did not fit together anymore in my brain; for instance, I might not know what a fork was. I might not know what a shoe was -much less that my socks went on first and why. As my caregiver, you were my teacher. It helped when you talked to me, repeated yourself and didn't act like I was stupid if I didn't get it the first 20 times! Raising your voice did not help you communicate with me. I was not deaf, I was wounded.

10. I needed you to come close and not be afraid of me. I needed you to touch me, stroke my arm, my hair, and wipe my face if I was drooling - to be kind to me. What you said was not as important as how you said it. What you did was not as important as how you did it. It helped when you came close and enunciated clearly. If you brought your best self forward, my spirit would greet you - only when I trusted you as a caring giver would we heal my brain together.

Partagas -- Good Luck and Good Skill with the ASF! You've already made an impact by immediately sharing what you've learned with the gangsterbb community.

It's always nice to see a familiar poster's name, even if it's only for a periodic update on their lives. Thanks for visiting!

tony b.

Sounds like you had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) - sometimes referred to as a warning stroke.

I think a more proper name for "stroke" is "brain attack"

Here is a video clip our stroke survivors developed

"10 Guidelines for interacting with stroke survivors"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP61Wr4U1tI

Thanks for sharing that Part.

Part,

Thanks for the video. As you know my younger brother had a stroke in March (age 52). The doctors said it was in the most dangerous/serious part of the brain. As some may remember, we all really thought we lost him.

I am so pleased to say however, that my little brother, Paulie, has none of these symptoms that are shown in this video. Well, at least not to the noticeable extent as shown in the video. He is still off work, and does have a lightheadedness that he says is gradually going away. He was using a walker, then a cain, but no longer. He will be done with his physical therapy next week and has completed regular cat-scans.

While he has not been released to go back to work, he seems so normal as far has his thought process, speech, memory goes. When I called him recently he said he just did the yardwork. He said he tires quicly and couldn't move quit as quickly but felt he was improving each day.

I don't know whether or not the fact that he was already in the hospital when he had the stroke (they originally thought it was infintigo when he was in the hospital), or the fact that he was only 52 (I'm guessing young for a storke?), but my entire family AND the doctors say it's remarkable. I can only thank God he's still here. I am forever thankful to have him around, corny jokes and all. He's "our" little cornball.

TIS