Stroke Recovery Carer’s Handbook
The Carer is the Vital Factor in Stroke Recovery
“Imagine it’s 4.00am. Your partner has had a Stroke and you are in emergency wondering ‘What’s next’? What you are about to realise is that two people have been affected by the stroke – your partner and you – and both of your lives have been changed forever! You will probably become your partner’s carer – a role you have had little or no training or experience to prepare you for.”
The ‘Stroke Recovery Carer’s Handbook’, was written by Dr Tom Crow, an engineer and project management consultant, in association with the Stroke Recovery Association and Royal Rehab Centre Sydney, to assist families and carers to navigate this complex process. Tom is the husband of a Stroke survivor, and designed this Handbook to provide information, practical advice and hope to family members and friends of someone who has had a Stroke.
The Handbook will assist new carers to find their way through the complex system of medical, rehabilitation, financial and other support services and provide a roadmap along the first 18 months to recovery, first to get their partner home from hospital, and then to give him or her the highest quality of life possible.
In the booklet, Tom recalls sitting stunned in hospital emergency desperate for information about Stroke and Stroke recovery after his wife, a fit and active woman, had had a sudden, seriously disabling Stroke. His search for information and for sources of assistance, and his experience in ‘project managing’ his wife’s long periods of hospitalisation and rehabilitation, have enabled him to produce a Handbook that is a very comprehensive resource for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
“The outcome was very positive. After 29 weeks in four different hospitals, five major operations and rehabilitation therapy for 2 to 3 hours per day in the later weeks, she was able to come home – and two months later we sold the wheelchair! This was not just a random lucky outcome, but the result of my wife’s determination and managing the process, which can be replicated by others. One wonders how many Stroke survivors are unnecessarily nursing home residents.”
Key messages in the Stroke Recovery Carer’s Handbook are:
- There is hope – with treatment and much assistance available.
- There is a vital role – for the carer as a patient advocate.
Information about Stroke prevention, Stroke recovery, and the Stroke Recovery Carer’s Handbook are available from the Stroke Recovery Association. To order your copy of the Carer’s Handbook just give us a call on 1300 650 594 or email admin@strokensw.org.au.
