Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 21)

got to the next city—a two-hour ﬂ ight away. At the hospital, he was given ﬂuids and sent on his way. But when he awoke the next morning still nauseated, stuttering and unable to hear out of his right ear, he knew something was really wrong. “I ﬁ nally got an MRI, and the doctor diagnosed me with a stroke. He also said I had bleeding in the brain,” he says. “I knew it was bad when I was told my basketball career was probably over.” Hawkins spent the next year and a half working to prove them wrong. He got help from speech and physical therapists and his wife, who is a schoolteacher. She helped him relearn the alphabet as she was teaching their three daughters their ABCs. “I didn’t know the difference between a circle and a triangle, and my memory was affected,” he says. “I had to relearn the basics, to talk without stuttering. I didn’t feel like I was going to get better.” But he did get better. Two years after his stroke, he won a championship with the Los Angeles Lightning in the International Basketball League. Nowadays, when he’s not shooting hoops, he hosts youth basketball camps through his foundation, Hawk Hoops, and makes sure the kids walk away knowing a thing or two about stroke prevention. His upcoming book, The Stroke of Grace, and his role as an ambassador for the American Stroke Association are just two more ways he’s trying to help others learn from his experience. * REMEMBER: “A stroke is a condition that can affect anyone at any age—babies, children, even infants who haven’t been born,” Matarese says. Spot a stroke by memorizing the acronym FAST: F is for face. Is one side drooping? A is for arm weakness. S is for speech difﬁculty. T is for time. If you experience one or all of these symptoms, it’s time to get help— even if, like Hawkins, the symptoms subside. QUIZ Assistance After a Stroke Just think how technology has changed your cellphone. It even has a new name, a smartphone. Stroke recovery devices have come just as far, giving new hope to survivors. Wayne Feng, MD, a spokesman for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, explains the three most common. Functional electrical stimulator. This can be used to improve motor function in many parts of the body, including the hands and feet. Small electrodes deliver a shock to the targeted area, triggering the nerves and causing the muscle to move. Body weight-supported treadmill system. Used in physical therapy, this device can hold up to 100 percent of a person’s weight. It allows stroke survivors to relearn to walk, starting with little weight and working up to their full body weight. Robotic devices. A number of gadgets use robotics to help stroke survivors regain their mobility. A walking and balance system, for instance, allows patients to experience real-life movements, such as climbing stairs, while protecting them from falls. Robotic hands and legs, meanwhile, can strengthen the weakened side. How Stroke Savvy Are You? See if you can recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Visit strokeassociation.org and take the quiz under “Warning Signs.” SUMM ER 2013 21 http://www.strokeassociation.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
What’s New?
Walk This Way
The Ultimate Back-to-School Checklist
Join the Movement
Stroke Stories
5 Steps to Better Bone Health
Gut Instinct
Morgan Freeman
Prostate Playbook
The Main Ingredient
Looking Ahead
Read Up
Pedal to the Mettle
Community Health
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2013 - Parrish Medical Center