Stroke is a very relevant health issue for us as 1 in 6 people will suffer from a stroke in their lifetime. Yet despite its prevalence, stroke is a health issue of low priority for government.

The Stroke Foundation is attempting to address this imbalance by offering funding to scientists who seek to undertake research into stroke and its complications.

This year, the Stroke Foundation awarded Mardee Greenham with a $20,000 grant supporting her research into social competence and adjustment in children following early childhood stroke.

Childhood stroke is a leading cause of death in children, more common than childhood brain cancer. It adversely affects developing brain networks, placing children at greater risk of impaired physiological and social skills. In turn, this can result in increased risk of mental illness and potential long-term problems with anti-social behaviour.

Mardee’s research is aimed at improving quality of life for survivors by investigating the impact of stroke in children and identifying the factors that contribute to their social impairment. Her findings will provide important information to health workers, and to families who deal with the ongoing difficulties experienced by children following childhood stroke, like Adam’s family.

Adam hadn’t even been born when he suffered a severe stroke. His parents, Darren and Sally, knew something was very wrong with their baby from the start. Because childhood stroke is so poorly understood, they had to fight for months to get Adam the care he needed.

When discussing the benefits of her research, Mardee says “The impact of childhood stroke can have lifelong implications. By funding research into the condition we have an opportunity to provide important information to healthcare professionals, families and children to improve the quality of life for those who experience long-term effects”.

The Stroke Foundation continues to fund life changing research programs and we thank all of the donors who have contributed to this. Rest assured your donations are making a positive impact on the lives of families like Adam’s.

Visualisation: Use your imagination (e.g. pleasant daydreams or memories) to will yourself into a relaxed state. Start by getting comfortable, scanning your body for tension and relaxing the muscles. Select a favourite place in your mind which is real or imagined. Focus your imagination using all five senses, then use affirmations such as repeating ‘I am letting go of tension: or I am feeling peaceful.

Practise using visualisation three times a day for a few minutes or longer. Eventually, with practice you can use visualisation in everyday situations when feeling uptight. Its effectiveness requires evaluation. Note the physical, mental and behavioural signs of stress each time and try different strategies and see which works better.

Slow breathing: Proper breathing habits are essential for good mental and physical health. First, focus on your breathing pattern. You need to identify whether you breathe mainly through the chest or through your stomach. Short, shallow breaths from the upper chest should be avoided. The aim is to breathe deeply and slowly through the nose. You should feel greater movement in the stomach than the chest as you inhale d exhale. Practise breathing exercises everyday. Learn to apply slow breathing as needed e.g. when feeling stressed, angry or anxious.

Progressive muscle relaxation: Learn to identify muscle groups and the difference between tension and relaxation in the muscles.

Focus on the four main muscle groups:

1. Hands, forearms and biceps
2. Head, face, throat and shoulders
3. Chest, stomach and lower back
4. Thighs, buttocks, calves and feet.

Tense muscles for 5 to 7 seconds and relax for 10 to 15 seconds. Time to master: 1 to 2 weeks, 2 x 15 minute sessions per day.

This story was first seen in the Synapse bridge magazine Vol 7

When Maryanne Kimpton answered the phone on a Saturday morning in October 2006, it was a friend telling her to take warm clothes when she headed off to a party in Woodend, country Victoria, because it had just started to snow there.

She wanted to tidy up before she left, thinking that she might stay the night in Woodend, about an hour away from her Westmeadows home, rather than drive back in the dark. This is what she told her husband, who was away for the weekend, when she spoke to him. She only had herself to get ready.

Maryanne knows she must have been ahead in her chores that morning because she remembers mowing the lawn. She remembers coming inside the house from mowing the lawn and remembers the time – it was about 10.30 - but doesn’t remember undressing for the shower, although she must have.

The reason she remembers these small details is that they are the last memories she has of her life before stroke. The following night, about 36 hours later, she was discovered on the floor of her bedroom by her husband and her father.
“I came in from mowing the lawn at 10.30 and I had planned to leave for Woodend at 12.30,” Maryanne, an accomplished hockey player, says.

“Some time in there I collapsed and when I was found the next night I apparently looked like I had been heading for the shower but the last thing I remember is the time it was after coming in from the garden.”

She spent two weeks at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she had a carotid artery bypass, and five weeks in rehab. At first Maryanne, who fortunately did not lose her speech or use of her arms, could not walk at all. She took her first unaided steps post-stroke on her 40th birthday on 1st December 2006.

“Mum was there, crying,” Maryanne says.

While she was in hospital she met Lyn, a 35-year-old who had suffered a stroke. Lyn was a member of the Young Victorian Stroke Survivor Group and Maryanne went along once – and kept going.

The group, which has about 20 members, meets somewhere central in Melbourne once a month for coffee and activities and is intended for stroke survivors aged 18 – 35.

“It isn’t exclusive but we found there really is a need for younger people to have their own support group,” Maryanne says.
“There can be different social issues having a stroke as a younger person.”

Maryanne is back at work and still lives in her Westmeadows home. Apart from some pain she experiences in her right foot, she has fully physically recovered from her stroke.

You can email MaryAnne info@yvssg.org.au

Young Victorian Stroke Support Group www.yvssg.org.au

A major stroke in July 2011 stopped Ade Djajamihardja and his partner Kate Stephens in their tracks. The couple from Melbourne had been running their own successful film and television production company since 2007, with work that took them around the world. When they weren’t travelling their lives were just as hectic: 12-hour working days and longer were a regular part of their life.

Ade had suffered a stroke in 2006. It left no permanent damage to his body but it was, the couple says, an unexpected wake-up call. Ade’s blood pressure was dangerously high and his lifestyle, he says, “could have been better”. With no permanent damage Ade and Kate set about making significant changes to their lives: exercising, losing weight, eating better and stopping smoking.

The slip in efforts came gradually, Kate says, and by the time of the stroke last year Ade was the heaviest he had ever been, the most stressed he had ever been, and bad eating habits had developed again. We had not had a holiday in six years and Ade had no idea what his blood pressure might have been. It was high, they found out later.

Ade spent six months in hospital, with a great deal of time spent in intensive care. He was not expected to survive. He underwent brain surgery to reduce the swelling in his skull and was placed in an induced coma for some weeks. It was a long haul back to the couple’s home in beachside Melbourne but after a stint in rehabilitation, Ade was home.

On 10 December, on Ade’s 43rd bithday and on his first day leave from hospital, Ade and Kate married on the front porch of their small flat near the water - Ade in a suit, tie and wheelchair and Kate in a simple and elegant dress.

“It was just so important to us both that we were able to be home together again, that was all that mattered,” Kate says.

Since coming home with complete hemiplegia on the left side of his body, Ade can now walk 15 metres, assisted. This has been the result of extensive home and centre-based physiotherapy and many hours of hard work by Ade, as well as Kate, and much of it paid for privately.

“Getting even this far has been a full-time job,” says Kate, who is now a full-time carer.

“But we have been lucky because our love is so strong and that has sustained us. That and Ade’s sense of humour. He didn’t lose one ounce of his humour.”

It will be some time before the wheelchair is put away completely, but the couple is hopeful that Ade’s recovery will keep progressing, Ade and Kate believe that a positive attitude and belief can make miracles happen. They are working on a media you-tube channel which will focus on health and well being.

Ade has a renewed passion and purpose for his life, Ade and Kate are both keen to use their media skills and passion to inspire others.

Image Via printerinkcartridgesblog.printcountry.com

The link between osteoporosis (where the bones become fragile and brittle and more prone to breaking) and stroke is still not entirely clear but we know that people affected by stroke have a higher risk of developing osteoporosis than people of similar age without stroke. Bone loss after stroke is often rapid and more pronounced in the side of the body that was affected by the stroke. Although the cause of bone loss is unclear, the amount of bone loss experienced by people with stroke appears related to the length of time they are immobile, the extent of muscle weakness and atrophy (shrinking muscles) and reduced weight bearing activities (like walking) and fitness.

Associate Professor Julie Bernhardt, who is a member of the NSF Clinical Council and a specialist in stroke rehabilitation, says research is continuing into the best way of preventing osteoporosis after stroke but stroke survivors should be careful to reduce their risk of falling.

She recommends that you:
1. Reduce risks of falls by having an assessment of your home environment completed; this may include checking lighting, floor coverings and bathrooms.
2. Hand rails in some rooms may be useful
3. Make sure that your medications are monitored regularly (drug interactions and sleeping pills can increase your risk of falls)
4. Take part in regular exercise to help maintain your mobility, strength and balance.

Falls are common both in hospital and out. Therapy and nursing staff are particularly concerned about people affected by stroke having a fall and they may require that someone is with the person at all times when they walk, particularly in the early phase of rehabilitation. Not all falls lead to injury however, so it is always the case that the rehabilitation team weigh up the need for the stroke survivor to have independence (and practice being independent), with the possible risk of falling. Something that should be covered in a rehabilitation plan is teaching the person how to get up again if they fall but are not injured. This can be a really helpful thing to learn!

There is still a lot we need to learn about the link between stroke and bone loss and the most effective ways to prevent or slow it. There are a number of researchers around Australia interested in this issue and they hope to answer some of these questions in the coming years. In the mean time, be active and exercise as much as you can. It seems to be a promising intervention to help general well being and health as well as your bones.