Stroke of Luck: NOW! Fast and Free Exercises to Immediately Begin Mastering Neuroplasticity Following Stroke – Righty Now!, by Bob Dennis, (2019). Also, there is a Kindle version with activated links; in fact, this book is a paper version of the Kindle book.
First, a little bit of background information.
The book is based upon the author’s personal experiences. He’s 54 and has suffered two strokes so far. The first was misdiagnosed! Now he is recovery from both. He is a biomedical engineer and his work colleagues are neurophysiologists, so he was able to get good advice quickly. Please take note that strokes are affecting people at a much younger age than you would think; 10% of people affected are below the age of 50.
Strokes happen, more often than not, without warning and produce either an obstruction in a blood vessel to the brain, or a vein ruptures, and, the longer a person is without oxygen to the brain, the greater the risk of lasting damage. An MRI scan will determine which is causing the stroke, and most are blood clots.
On a personal note, I recently learnt that an elder cousin suffered a massive stroke and was only found 6 ½ hours later, and with fractured bones as a result of a fall. She was too old and had too many other internal problems that she could not be operated upon to set the bones. In fact, she was in a coma from which she did awake, but she was found too late and has too many internal problems to cope with. As a result, she is now in an ‘end of life’ care home.
If it is possible to get help within 3 hours of the stroke occurring then emergency medication can dissolve a blood clot which will prevent further damage to the brain.
As far as symptoms go, and according to Dr Mercola’s website (where I first learnt about this book), a lack of oxygen to the brain is characterised by symptoms such as:
sudden numbness and weakness, typically to one side of the face, arm, or leg – such as face drooping or arm weakness,
sudden confusion, or misunderstanding,
sudden vision problems,
sudden trouble walking, loss of balance or co-ordination, or dizziness,
sudden severe headache, nausea, or vomiting with no known cause.
Also, these symptoms may last for only a short time, hardly noticeable – these are known as mini or micro-strokes. A build-up of such micro-strokes can cause serious effects if not caught and acted upon quickly.
If a person experiences any of the above symptoms it is important to get them checked out fast. If a clot occurs it is possible to get medical care, in the form of thrombolytics which will break up blood clots, provided that the stroke is not caused by bleeding within the brain.
Following a stroke, it is important to engage your neuroplasticity (through learning new things) to regain lost function – brain training and physical exercises – to develop alternative pathways to bypass the damaged areas (where you knew what to do, yet have difficulty doing after a stroke, and need to relearn). The sooner it is started the more effective it will be after damage. The author was able to do this, and went from not being able to stand, walk, or talk to being able to move at the end the first day following his second stroke.
My father only had rudimentary therapeutic care after he out of hospital, following a stroke, his speech really suffered and it was sad to see him struggle to communicate, to be understood, and to see his self-esteem and dignity gradually disappear. He never recovered for the rest of his life.
Neuroplasticity naturally kicks in following a stroke. There is a brief period - a few months, six – when immense neuroplastic activity is available. For maximal recovery, it must be used effectively and sustained by exercise and lifestyle changes. And, with the right approach neuroplasticity can be extended and sustained for longer, for a better recovery. This book is primarily about what to do to make use of this time, and, the exercises given are simple and free. The author states that it is possible to achieve more than 100% recovery in many cases.
The author states that it is key to start straight away even if it is something as simple as talking like a baby – this can be done even before the medical staff start assessing you. As he points out in the book, the key is to do novel things, to keep moving, to keep learning, to keep doing things, to keep challenging yourself.
Due to the importance of the information contained within the book, for immediately dealing with a person who has suffered a stroke, the following extract is quoted, with the permission of the author.
The author mentions life changes too. One of which is partaking in intermittent fasting, as has been discussed on the Forum.
Recommended reading for all, or just accessing for possible future reference/use.
First, a little bit of background information.
The book is based upon the author’s personal experiences. He’s 54 and has suffered two strokes so far. The first was misdiagnosed! Now he is recovery from both. He is a biomedical engineer and his work colleagues are neurophysiologists, so he was able to get good advice quickly. Please take note that strokes are affecting people at a much younger age than you would think; 10% of people affected are below the age of 50.
Strokes happen, more often than not, without warning and produce either an obstruction in a blood vessel to the brain, or a vein ruptures, and, the longer a person is without oxygen to the brain, the greater the risk of lasting damage. An MRI scan will determine which is causing the stroke, and most are blood clots.
On a personal note, I recently learnt that an elder cousin suffered a massive stroke and was only found 6 ½ hours later, and with fractured bones as a result of a fall. She was too old and had too many other internal problems that she could not be operated upon to set the bones. In fact, she was in a coma from which she did awake, but she was found too late and has too many internal problems to cope with. As a result, she is now in an ‘end of life’ care home.
If it is possible to get help within 3 hours of the stroke occurring then emergency medication can dissolve a blood clot which will prevent further damage to the brain.
As far as symptoms go, and according to Dr Mercola’s website (where I first learnt about this book), a lack of oxygen to the brain is characterised by symptoms such as:
sudden numbness and weakness, typically to one side of the face, arm, or leg – such as face drooping or arm weakness,
sudden confusion, or misunderstanding,
sudden vision problems,
sudden trouble walking, loss of balance or co-ordination, or dizziness,
sudden severe headache, nausea, or vomiting with no known cause.
Also, these symptoms may last for only a short time, hardly noticeable – these are known as mini or micro-strokes. A build-up of such micro-strokes can cause serious effects if not caught and acted upon quickly.
If a person experiences any of the above symptoms it is important to get them checked out fast. If a clot occurs it is possible to get medical care, in the form of thrombolytics which will break up blood clots, provided that the stroke is not caused by bleeding within the brain.
Following a stroke, it is important to engage your neuroplasticity (through learning new things) to regain lost function – brain training and physical exercises – to develop alternative pathways to bypass the damaged areas (where you knew what to do, yet have difficulty doing after a stroke, and need to relearn). The sooner it is started the more effective it will be after damage. The author was able to do this, and went from not being able to stand, walk, or talk to being able to move at the end the first day following his second stroke.
My father only had rudimentary therapeutic care after he out of hospital, following a stroke, his speech really suffered and it was sad to see him struggle to communicate, to be understood, and to see his self-esteem and dignity gradually disappear. He never recovered for the rest of his life.
Neuroplasticity naturally kicks in following a stroke. There is a brief period - a few months, six – when immense neuroplastic activity is available. For maximal recovery, it must be used effectively and sustained by exercise and lifestyle changes. And, with the right approach neuroplasticity can be extended and sustained for longer, for a better recovery. This book is primarily about what to do to make use of this time, and, the exercises given are simple and free. The author states that it is possible to achieve more than 100% recovery in many cases.
The author states that it is key to start straight away even if it is something as simple as talking like a baby – this can be done even before the medical staff start assessing you. As he points out in the book, the key is to do novel things, to keep moving, to keep learning, to keep doing things, to keep challenging yourself.
Due to the importance of the information contained within the book, for immediately dealing with a person who has suffered a stroke, the following extract is quoted, with the permission of the author.
The author mentions life changes too. One of which is partaking in intermittent fasting, as has been discussed on the Forum.
Recommended reading for all, or just accessing for possible future reference/use.