BOOKS AND AIDS

I really wanted to know other people’s stories: from survivors, from carers and from doctors.  This selection of books was gathered based on the recommendations of me or my friends in the Young Stroke Survivors Facebook Group.

Let me know if there are any more good ones… otherwise, maybe we should write some?

If your country isn’t represented, the US has the widest selection but the UK has the best overall quality (in my personal opinion!).

FREE INFORMATION FROM AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

General Info About Stroke

• Info for patients/family from a stroke unit
• Stroke Association
• NHS definition
• Factsheets
• Recovery
• Aphasia
• Balance changes after a stroke
• Effects of a cerebellar stroke
• Depression after a stroke
• Coping in a time of major change

Vertebral (arterial) Dissection

• Vertebral dissection - what is it
• Vertebral artery dissection - info
• Another article
• And one more…

Warfarin

• Warfarin on wikipedia
• INR
• Anticoagulant on wikipedia
• Vitamin K on wikipedia

Help/Support After A Stroke:

• Stroke Association - general information
• Different Strokes Facebook Group - better than their website
• Young Stroke Survivors Facebook Group - really good – my favourite!
• Stroke Support Group (online) - useful
• Different Strokes - org for younger people (but website is ld-fashioned!)

Patient.co.uk has a diagram and a list that I liked, because most of the items on the list (bar the swallowing, understanding and emotions) applied to me:

BEST GIFT?  KINDLES

I asked the Young Stroke Survivor Facebook group about their favourite gadgets and gifts there. Those that can read all love their kindles.  This is why:

• you don’t have to balance a book
• you don’t have to turn pages
• you can get new books without leaving the hospital or house
• the battery lasts for ages
• you can change the size of the text on the screen

Kindles are listed in all the above AfterStrokeParty flag stores!

ESCAPISM

And I also needed some stuff that was completely unrelated to my stroke.  Now, note that I couldn’t actually read a book for weeks.  Audiobooks work for some people.  Dom recommends audible.co.uk while I got some from Amazon.  I guess you could use i-tunes too. It was weeks before I did TV or reading, instead I sewed.  Yep, never done that before either, but I could only get to one store, and they had the buttonbag kits below.  So just take your time on what you do… these worked for me!