I'm nearing nine years after my stroke and I have that many years in discovering how strokes are in each person's life and the number of other people it affects! When you think you are the only one with a problem all you need to do is read some of the members blogs!! We are all in the same boat and the problems are more for some and maybe less for others but overall we are going through the same hoops dealing with recovery of a stroke and giving care to the survivors around the world!

Being a survivor is a challenge being a care giver is also a bigger challenge to care for that individual since we all have different problems yet nearly the same in some cases! When you think about it the doctors have different opinions and will quickly tell you not all strokes are the same yet they will use one set of circumstances to diagnose another case leaving the care giver very confused on the kind of treatment the survivor really needs right now!!

I have been on site long enough to see so many newbies asking for help in caring for a stroke survivor and not knowing where to start in their care and it can and does get confusing at times and what type of therapy will work best in each case!! We all know what works for one with the same kind of stroke may not work for another survivor with the same kind of stroke!! It really boils down to the health that person was having prior to the stroke!!

In many cases high blood pressure and high cholesterol are the main culprits while others may be from smoking or over weight!! Then there are so many different strokes and conditions where some survivors have little or no paralyses for very long!! Still others can't walk, can't talk and will need months and years of recover and still not recover enough to care for themselves!!

I think that's why so many therapist will tell you they can't say how long, how much or when that person will get back to be like they were prior to the stroke!! We all will wonder if another stroke will follow that first one so in our minds we are always wondering for quite some time about having another stroke!!

When each member joins here I learn something new about stroke survival and recovery they are not the same but normally the survivor will have problems long after they recover from the stroke enough to care for themselves and perhaps return to being employed!! We just can't say for each person that will be the end results!! I hope all of us will continue to read around the board learning all we can about strokes and recovery because they all seem to be different no matter where we live!