When disability after stroke (and every other kind to tell the truth) comes into being it is new for everyone. For a person affected, for his/her caregivers. For friends. It also brings an important question:
should we help a person with a disability with everything?
The answer is super easy: NO. If the stroke survivor has contact with the world and has any possibilities to move (even in a limited range): DON’T DO THAT.
If you want to help a stroke survivor to recover, don’t.
I admit. Sadly, this issue is not easy for both sides. To some extend it is easy to serve, feed, put in a fix, open the bottle, move in a wheelchair, yes. But on the other hand, such help doesn’t give any possibility to the sick person to mobilize to the painful process of recovery.
Look at hospitals – the hospital bed tables are usually placed on the affected side of the body of a Strokie. It is about encouraging the patient to do things himself… To tell the truth, I’m not sure whether it works that well. In a first hospital, I was placed after stroke, I tried to use my right hand anyway (my right side was affected). Always. I even got a bit cunning. For a few weeks I was laying next to the window, so I used a windowsill as my additional table and storage area. In some hospitals (later on), nurses would scold me for that, but in the first one, I don’t think so (i don’t remember for sure, though). Continue reading
