Stronger After Stroke, Second Edition

I can't say enough about how Stronger After Stroke has influenced my life after my stroke four years ago. This isn't just a book about stroke recovery. It is stroke recovery in microcosm, an essential part no less important than any activity you'll ever do or piece of equipment you'll ever have. Every stroke and every stroke victim is different, but each stroke victim can come away from this book understanding what stroke recovery is, able to tailor their own unique start point for recovery or able to carry recovery on through to completion once begun. Only some of the highlights I've gleaned are:

Recovery is hard work. That's the overriding theme of this book and the author hammers away at it relentlessly, using such phrases as "Challenge Equals Recovery" and "Push the Issue" He understands far more than anybody else what stroke recovery really means and what it requires. I was in the Army infantry and involved in sports all my life, but recovery is the very toughest thing I've ever done. Beginning stroke recoverers need to be prepared for what's coming and informed that anything less than full commitment is really just a waste of time. Stronger After Stroke does that, and that alone is a crucial service.

Background concepts and latest research findings. Neuroplasticity is the foundation behind stroke recovery and its effect on the medical and scientific worlds is nothing less than revolutionary. The author explains neuroplasticity clearly and completely, interspersing examples of it throughout the text along with many other vital concepts such as synergistic movement, spasticity, learned nonuse and the 4 phases of recovery. The reading may flow easily but you'll come away with a comprehensive understanding of stroke recovery thinking and terminology. Also, here is where the major revisions of this new 2nd Edition really make a difference over the 1st Edition. Thanks to neuroplasticity stroke recovery is changing fast, but Stronger After Stroke has been thoroughly updated to relay new findings and take advantage of incoming developments.

New therapies, new methods, new equipment. There's so many. Stronger After Stroke covers mirror therapy, induced constraint therapy, mental practice, virtual reality, electrical stimulation, bilateral training, music and rhythm, gyms and home set-ups, a ton of equipment and the list goes on. The value of this material to me is its usefulness as a reference guide. Stroke recovery is so complex and so long with so many pitfalls, twists and turns you'll be returning to this information time and again for new ideas and suggestions. Believe me, recovery is above all else sheer monotony and mind-numbing repetition. Your program must stay fresh and varied to keep it going (see the section on "Therapy Soup: Mix and Match"). Again, the newness of the 2nd Edition really helps. With the new "Get Your Hand Back" section my hand is once again showing noticeable improvement.

Safety. Take it from this bull-headed idiot personally, this is the Stronger After Stroke subject you should consciously elevate to the top of your priority list, as emphasized by the author repeatedly. I didn't and learned the hard way that while mind-blowing agony from injury is great for increasing body sensation, recovery stops cold, and it really stops if you're dead. There's a "What Precautions Should Be Taken" part in every section, as well as a full chapter on "Safeguarding the Recovery Investment" and individual safety tips throughout where appropriate.

Strategy and tips for recovery. Stronger After Stroke provides an invaluable and endless array of ways to plan, individualize, and most important, maintain your recovery program. Task-specific training, for one example, will make it meaningful, measuring your progess will evaluate it, the recovery calendar will structure it and the stages of recovery glimpses its future. Eating habits, sleeping habits, lifestyle, work schedule and a myriad of other details are all examined for their impact on recovery and how best to blend them into your program. All of this matters; exactly how much you make it matter will determine exactly how well you recover (the author calls this "Living Recovery")

Although Stronger After Stroke is fantastic as a reference, it is an integrated whole. It really is a complete map for a successful journey of recovery and, as such, no aspect of it can be readily ignored. Miss something and that may become the point where your recovery stumbles or dead-ends. Here I would like to urge readers to pay special thought and attention to two sections I think fundamental to recovery, the chapter "Motivation: The Recovery Fuel" and the section "Keep the Core Values Close". This is unbelievably essential stuff.

There's so much more, but I have one more comment. Back in the those first dark days of life as a stroke victim Stronger After Stroke gave me hope when nobody and nothing else did. My own doctors and therapists had me relegated to a wheelchair the rest of my life, and they did it with all the nonchalance and carelessness of a remark on today's weather. Those were the people I entrusted my life to. But this book told me I was in charge of my own recovery, that the way my life went now was my responsibility. It would take an unbelievable amount of hard work but I could do it. It was all up to me. I took that message and held onto it for dear life. I'll never let it go.

The results? Four years that seemed so long at times are now gone and I walk normally now, albeit only a few dozen yards at a time. That will improve with time and effort. By the end of the year I fully expect to walk along our beautiful redwood trails and sandy beaches just as I would have before that fateful day in June, 2009. I'll begin running. My arm is at full strength and I can draw again, crudely. I owe all this, my recovery, to one book and its author, Peter G. Levine. I cannot thank him enough.

In January 2010 I had a brain abscess. Twelve months later, after a cursory exam, the doctor who had been assigned to me announced "Well, let's see what neuroplasticity does." In other word, you're at the end of the line (the traditional 12 months) and nothing else can be done with you. But even I knew that somehow you had to prime the neurological pump, so to speak. It just didn't happen on its own. I canceled my next appointment with her and referred to her as "Dr. Donothing."

Initially, I looked for information on brain abscesses, but discovered very little that I could understand or was helpful. I realized that the symptoms were very similar, if not identical, to stroke. So I made believe that I had had a stroke. The literature was more abundant, but filled with strategies on how to adapt to your new condition. I didn't want to adapt.

Then I encountered "Stronger after Stroke". The message was simple and not sugar coated. Basically, repetitive action and massed practice and six to eight hours of exercise each day. The book was filled with helpful techniques and strategies. I became obsessed with it.

When I left Dr. Donothing's office I had a "chicken wing" right arm. I couldn't raise it above my shoulder and I couldn't stretch it out. Now I use my affected hand and arm to retrieve and return items to the kitchen cabinets. I shampoo my hair with my affected arm only, and so forth. I now have essentially full range of motion.

Recently, I saw a neurologist who gave me a complete neurological exam. She reviewed Dr. Donothing's final evaluation. She was floored by the progress I had made. This book has changed my life. I'm not exaggerating. There is still work to do, but I feel very hopeful. And that what this book also gives you. Hope.

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This book is simply the best guide available out there to help you navigate through the recovery process. It has everything from which Doctors you should have on your recovery team all the way to the latest and most effective therapies. It's written in a straight forward easy to comprehend way that won't overwhelm you. As a caregiver who is ushering a husband through recovery this book has been instrumental in our success. I have been recommending it to all who find themselves in the same situation.

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We appreciate this resources as my mom is recovering from a stroke. I hope it helps her and will use the tips.

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I didn't think Pete Levine could improve his first book, but I love what he has added to this revised edition!! So many doctors tell stroke survivors we get about all we're going to get back in 6-12 months, which is not true! Levine begins this book explaining neuroplasticity. This book defines what's needed to drive neuroplasticity change. In other words, it tells survivors what we have to do for recovery! Pete talks about the super survivor who is motivated and willing to work hours every day, which is necessary for recovery. The brain needs repetition to reroute and it can take a long time BUT there is hope because our brains can reroute and change until the day we die. We aren't done unless we quit trying!! How motivating is that!! And the book filled with strategies of recovery in all areas. It is the most inclusive book I have ever read concerning strokes. Every survivor ( and doctor) should read this book. It's an easy read, includes a glossary, and offers information on what other helps are available. I am a survivor who has gotten almost full recovery by doing the constant repetitive tasks, working 6-7 hours every day, seven days a week for 27 months and it was worth every minute of it. Pete Levine has given us all the best advice you will ever get ,in this book and I thank God for people like him who have dedicated their lives to helping stroke survivors!!

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