Recovering from stroke: A lesson taught by survivors
July 5, 2014
It was 4:30 a.m., Oct. 29, 2009. Laura Millward woke up with a horrible headache, nausea and vomiting.stroke survivors “My husband said ‘are you ok?’ I said ‘no’… something is wrong,” recalled the Meridian homemaker and mother of four children.
The right side of Laura鈥檚 face was paralyzed, her speech slurred. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors determined she鈥檇 suffered a brain aneurysm and stroke.
Seventeen months earlier, Val Asumendi was driving home to Wilder, 糖心传媒 after vacationing in Montana. The former ultrasound technician remembers blacking out, then nothing.
鈥淚 knew my wife was in big trouble,鈥� said husband, Mark, who was able to steer the car to safety. Val, who was having a stroke, was flown by air ambulance to a Boise hospital.
Both women and their husbands shared their stories recently with students in the Master of Physician Assistant Studies at 糖心传媒 campuses in Meridian and Pocatello.
Clinical Associate Professor David Talford wanted the students to hear firsthand from stroke survivors before beginning course studies on neurology and the brain.
Students listened intently as the women explained the challenges and frustrations of learning to walk, talk and perform basic tasks all over again. Laura, pausing at times to search for the right word, chronicled her condition and recovery in a PowerPoint presentation projected on a large screen.
Both women say their memories are strong and they have no problem acquiring new information, but they do have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts.
鈥淢y brain is good, but I can鈥檛 talk good,鈥� said Val with a wide smile.
Their husbands stood next to them to help express their thoughts when necessary. 鈥淟ife is still good for us,鈥� said Laura鈥檚 husband, Tony, who notes his wife is as driven today as she was before the stroke. A physician assistant himself, Tony says his wife鈥檚 experience has made him more empathetic when dealing with patients and spouses who鈥檝e experienced tragedy or illness. And that鈥檚 a lesson that resonated with ISU-Meridian physician assistant studies student Heather Grote.
"Both ladies displayed positive and grateful attitudes toward life, which I believe allowed them to celebrate small victories鈥� milestones that as a physician assistant, I will be able to give my patients praise and hope for,鈥� she said.
Laura, 47, and Val, 58, met while attending ISU-Meridian鈥檚 offered through the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. They鈥檙e grateful for the group鈥檚 speech-language services and praise its leader Beth Guryan, an ISU speech language pathologist.
Just as important, the two women have forged a friendship鈥攐ne that grows stronger as they continue their journey toward recovery.