Janet R. Douglas, an occupational therapist at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London, shares her rehabilitation journey as a therapist turned patient after experiencing a massive stroke in her new memoir, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck.
She experienced the stroke while attending a wedding in her native England. After emerging from a coma weeks later at a Chicago hospital where she once worked, her left side was totally paralyzed, her eyesight and voice were impaired, and her memory and identity were lost, notes a media release from Archway Publishing.
Douglas is trained to treat patients following stroke and brain injury. Once she began her rehabilitation, however, it became evident that her training was not helpful because she denied there was anything wrong with her — which according to the release can be a common side-effect of stroke and brain damage.
In sharing her 10-year journey, Douglas offers hope, compassion and an increased understanding of the different ways people can be affected depending upon precisely where in the brain the damage occurs.
“There are millions of people living with brain damage as a result of stroke, gunshot wounds, service-related injuries and other kinds of trauma,” Douglas says, in the release. “I hope my book would give them, their families, and treatment providers greater insight into what it feels like to be that person and to adjust their approach accordingly.”
[Source(s): Archway Publishing, PRWeb]
