Chapter 10: It’s Not a Competition

THE TAKEAWAY

1.       Never allow your stroke survivor to compare their recovery with that of another stroke survivor. There are too many factors that influence the speed of recovery, so focus instead on the motivation required to get those 10,000 repetitions completed.

2.       Immediately after someone has a stroke, you as a caregiver will almost always struggle to understand accurately what is going on in their mind. Work at sharpening your empathetic accuracy.

3.       The following is a list of common worries experienced by stroke survivors:

·       I don’t know the correct advice for improving my physical recovery.

·       Am I eating the correct foods?

·       Are people laughing at me?

·       I am disabled, not stupid.

·       Am I worthy of respect?

·       It’s not me choosing to be stressed with you, my caregiver.

·       I feel useless and unworthy.

·       I fear being left disabled.

·       I don’t want to burden you, my caregiver.

·       Stroke fatigue makes me incredibly tired and exhausted.

·       I worry about you having to assume the responsibility of your new role.

·       I can’t remember how to do things.

·       I worry about being required to go to a day center.

·       I can’t come to terms with the shock of what has happened.

·       You are trying to help me without me knowing, but I know.