Physical Therapy for the Brain

By Stephen LaFave N.D.

Physical Therapy for the Brain is an easy read, which teaches you how to develop simple techniques for dealing with depression. This book is from the perspective of a stroke survivor who turned this negative experience into a positive and life-benefiting event. You will learn about mental bumper stickers (MBSs) along with other techniques to help overcome daily challenges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098021955

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Physical Therapy for the Brain

Dr. Stephen LaFave N.D.

Copyright © 2019 by Dr. Stephen LaFave N.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

My Stroke

Rewired

Beginnings

Preface

Shortly after writing this book, I discussed it with a friend, especially the section named Rewired. He pointed out to me that what I had really done was write a template on how to deal with depression. It occurred to me that Rewired actually can be used to help a person recover mentally no matter what the reason. I refer to my anger throughout the book; but looking back, I actually was dealing with depression.

I want to thank some very special people. First of all my wife, Darlene, who was my sounding board and a proofreader. Steve, who edited the book and made some great suggestions. Shari, who proofread and asked great questions, which forced me to think about how I wanted to say things. And most of all, God, who allowed me to survive my stroke; He provided me a path back and put these wonderful people in my life. Thank you!

My Stroke

The fact that you are reading this book says that you, or someone you know, is probably a life-altering-experience (LAE) survivor. LAEs are traumatic events that severely impact our lives. They could be anything from a health issue like a heart attack, cancer, etc. It can be any tragedy that we face. Thank you for looking into this booklet as a possible way to improve the quality of life for a person who has had an LAE.

For me, it was a serious stroke when I was forty-four years old. I believe the lessons and techniques I learned and developed can be beneficial to anyone dealing with any LAE. It is one hell of a group to belong to!

Those who have had stokes and have to learn to deal with its devastation seem to be growing.

Stroke Facts

The information below is from the US CDC website (November 9, 2018).

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, killing about 140,000 Americans each year—that’s 1 of every 20 deaths.

A stroke, sometimes called a brain attack, occurs when a clot blocks the blood supply to the brain or when a blood vessel in the brain bursts.

Someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds. Every four minutes, someone dies of stroke.

Every year, about 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes; 185,000 are recurrent strokes.

Stroke is an important cause of disability. Stroke reduces mobility in more than half of stroke survivors age 65 and over.

Stroke costs the nation $34 billion annually, including the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity.

Possibly the Stroke Survivor Club may be growing because of the ever-increasing age of baby boomers. It really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you, or someone you know, has survived a stroke, and we are both interested in making their recovery as complete as humanly possible.

Surviving a stroke can be compared to surviving a huge storm, like a tornado or a hurricane. After the initial storm passes, one has to face the devastation that is left behind. Dealing with the resultant damages can be worse and more difficult than the storm itself.

Like those storms, most strokes are beyond our control, and survival will depend a great deal on its location and severity rather than anything we can do. But in every case, the faster we can get qualified medical care, the better our chances are of survival and minimizing its effects.

We can prepare for a storm. Likewise, we can do a few things to help lower our risk of a stroke. A great deal of attention has been given to stroke prevention. That is a good thing. I recently watched a commercial that claimed eighty percent of strokes are preventable. I am suspicious of this number, however. I think their enthusiasm to sell a product may heighten their optimism.

Preventions in the form of products and practices are available but should be discussed between a doctor and the patient in the course of their annual care visit. However, much like a storm, once the stroke actually hits, there is little we can do but hope and pray. Far less is available on dealing with the after effects of the stroke. The physical damages to the brain will be what they are. This storm’s after effects in the areas of mental functioning and emotions are foremost in my mind as I write this book.

* * * * *

I’m a baby boomer, and I had my stroke at the age of forty-four. In retrospect, I had very few warnings of what I was about to experience, so I was completely caught off guard. I had some headaches the week before my stroke; but, hey, who doesn’t have one now and then? I never had a lot of headaches, but I really didn’t pay much attention to them. Especially because of how young I was, a stroke was the farthest thing from my mind when I had my stroke.

I use the term my stroke for a reason. I have learned that every stroke is different. There are different causes, different areas of the brain, and different severities. As I talked with fellow stroke survivors, I also learned that every one of them had struggled with emotional and psychological issues similar to the ones I’ve experienced. Again, I’m not a stats person, but I feel certain this similarity is more than mere coincidence.

I don’t profess to be an expert on strokes. In fact, through the years, I found myself having more and more questions. I can only tell you about the journey I have had and its impact on me and mine. I am sixty-two years old as this is written, eighteen years a stroke survivor. Now basically retired, I happily flee Wisconsin’s version of winter and spend over half of each year in Florida. I’ve become a true snowbird.

While in Florida, I live in a gated senior community; and as time passes, I have come in contact with a tremendous number of stroke survivors. Each has their own experience to tell, slightly different, slightly similar, and each with its own unique complications. Many of them have the same questions and concerns as mine. Through these countless discussions, the most profound question seems to be how their stroke will affect their lives and the lives of those around them.

It is my sincere hope that this book will help make it easier for stroke survivors to have a slightly easier journey. I have written this book in distinctly different sections so that you can choose to read one part at a time or the whole thing. Read it in any order you choose. Since stroke survival is an ongoing process, you will find yourself at different stages or at times when different emotions overlap. There will be better times than others, so read what you want when you want. Keep it for reference too. A section may seem a bit confusing until you (or the stroke survivor) is experiencing things discussed in that part. If this book helps even just one person, it will have been well worth the efforts and time writing it.

* * * * *

It was October 31, 2000. I was two months in as a brand-new school district administrator! I’d been a teacher, counselor, coach, and building administrator in other school districts. Not only had I no previous district-level experience, I hadn’t even started my class work to be an administrator. If this position had been considered a cakewalk experience, established administrators would have competed for it, but few did. I’d seen the job posting, and, well, I always felt that a person has to start somewhere. They obviously felt the same.

I’d just returned from having lunch and was sitting in my secretary’s office when I felt funny. I quickly