Different Strokes for Different Folks: An Adventure in Stroke Recovery

By Amy Finger Ziegler

Many younger people (in their 30s and 40s) are having strokes and are stuck in a rehabilitation process designed for eighty year olds. I was a dedicated runner and professional outdoor sports enthusiast when I had my stroke at age 47. I had to be creative and forceful in my rehab to take advantage of my youth and strength. I was seriously debilitated (paralyzed from my face to my toes on the left side), but my vision, speech, and cognitive areas (memory, reasoning, geographic orientation) were largely left intact. Exercise was already a daily habit easily replaced by dedicated physical therapy. After the first very hard month in the hospital, I had to push my therapists to give me more than their established routines. I had to insist with my family that I was capable of doing more than the doctors said I could. I took risks that might have proved fatal to an elderly stroke survivor but they enabled me to regain my former life. This is my story, its not a model rehab program. It might be just what you have been craving to hear is possible in stroke recovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475966152

Amy Finger Ziegler

With a University of Colorado geology/climatology degree, Amy studied in Peru and Mexico as mountain guide and horse trip expeditions leader. She heads a search/rescue team, manages Colorado’s Bear Basin Ranch and Adventure Specialists - horseback, trekking and adventure therapy programs. Amy lives on the Ranch with husband, Gary and Great Dane, Yorik.

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Copyright © 2013 by Amy Finger Ziegler.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-6613-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-6615-2 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 12/18/2012

CONTENTS

Author’s Foreword

Part 1 First Year

Chapter 1

My Stroke

Chapter 2

Rehab Begins

Chapter 3

First Month

Chapter 4

Spasticity (Tone)

Chapter 5

The Time It Takes To Recover

Chapter 6

Pain, Drugs, And Acupuncture

Chapter 7

Struggling To Get My Life Back

Chapter 8

Survival Inspired Stroke Therapy

Chapter 9

Reflexology And Weird Side Effects Of Stroke

Chapter 10

Driving And Independence

Chapter 11

Back In The Saddle Again

Chapter 12

Bioness And Other High Tech Aids

Chapter 13

Traveling Abroad

Part II Second Year

Chapter 14

Argentina Adventure Therapy

Chapter 15

Value Of Massage

Chapter 16

Discharge, Home Therapy, And Ci Therapy

Chapter 17

Getting Married

Part III Year Three

Chapter 18

Alter G And The Treadmill

Chapter 19

Adventure Therapy Peru

Chapter 20

Emotional Relapse

Chapter 21

Work On The Arm And Biofeedback

Part IV Forth Year

Chapter 22

Sailing Adventure Therapy

Chapter 23

Chiropractic Care

Chapter 24

Argentina On My Own

Chapter 25

Jorden And The Saeboflex

Chapter 26

Breast Cancer

Chapter 27

Neuro Feedback

Part V Start Of Fifth Year

Chapter 28

Reclaiming Life

Chapter 29

Conclusions

Glossary Of Terms

Glossary Of Acronyms

List Of Primary People

Bibliography

TIMELINE AND TOPICS

The book does not flow in a straight timeline from when I had the stroke to now.

I organized the story like this:

The book is sectioned into Chapters by topic to enable the reader to use the table of contents to go to the specific topics they are interested in. Most of the topics span more than one year of recovery. I describe how I started with something and then how it ended up helping me (or not).

The book is also sectioned into Parts by years. I put the topics in the year I first started dealing with that topic.

Timeline of therapy:

First year:

8/8/08-stroke occurred-went to Pueblo Hospital

-8/9/08—Mayo Clinic

-8/15/08-Memorial Hospital inpatient rehab

-9/15/08—moved in with Mom and started outpatient rehab at TLC in Canon City.

-summer 2009—moved home to the Ranch and started therapy at Pueblo Life Care Center and home therapy with the Maddens

summer 2010—did CI Therapy and got married

winter 2012-started Chiropractic, Saebo

fall 2012—finished all formal therapy.

The adventure trips described in the book are in the order they took place:

First Year:

-Oct, 2008 Sailing the British Virgin Islands

-April, 2009 Horse Trip to Peru

-May, 2009 Horse Trip to Spain

Second Year:

-March 2010 Adventure Therapy trip to Argentina

Third Year:

-April 2011 Adventure Therapy trip to Peru

-Oct 2011 Florida trip and sailing in the Bay of Florida

Forth Year:

Feb 2012 Argentina Horse Trip with me as guide

-April 2012 Sailing Adventure Therapy Trip to Fort Jefferson

First year trips are about my own struggle as a stroke survivor traveling abroad on adventure trips. The following years’ trips are about me organizing and guiding adventure therapy trips as well as my return to guiding international horse trips. Each trip built upon the last to give me the confidence to get back to work.

AUTHOR’S FOREWORD

Dear Reader,

Many younger people (in their 30’s and 40’s) are having strokes and are stuck in a rehabilitation process designed for eighty year olds. I was a dedicated runner and professional outdoor sports enthusiast when I had my stroke at age 47. I had to be creative and forceful in my rehab to take advantage of my youth and strength. I was seriously debilitated (paralyzed from my face to my toes on the left side), but my vision, speech, and cognitive areas (memory, reasoning, geographic orientation) were largely left intact. Exercise was already a daily habit easily replaced by dedicated physical therapy. After the first very hard month in the hospital, I had to push my therapists to give me more than their established routines. I had to insist with my family that I was capable of doing more than the doctors said I could. I took risks that might have proved fatal to an elderly stroke survivor but they enabled me to regain my former life. This is my story, it’s not a model rehab program. It might be just what you have been craving to hear is possible in stroke recovery.

My attitude was upbeat, I refused to get depressed or discouraged, I believed in my personal power to heal myself. My motto was Mind over grey matter. Trying, with positive energy, was the key.

I don’t want this to be a self help book. I want to tell my story. Like some great authors before me, Jill Bolte and Mark McEwen. I want to tell the real life adventure story and at the same time I want it to give hope to stroke survivors, particularly younger, active people who find themselves brain injured.

This manuscript could serve as a resource for brain injured people, their therapists and caregivers worldwide who are searching for different ways to inspire recovery. I have spent more than four years in rehab from a severe stroke-induced brain injury. I have met incredible people to help me and I have tried every rehab method I heard about. I hope to tell what did and did not work for me for people to evaluate what more they could be doing for themselves in addition to traditional therapy.

Beyond that, this book is a personal adventure story. I make a living taking people by horseback on cultural tours in places like Peru, Argentina and Spain. When I woke up in the hospital paralyzed, I thought I might never do it again . . . however, I did manage to get my life back . . . its been a challenging, adventuresome process.

A WORD OF CAUTION:

I would