Striking Back at Stroke: A Doctor-Patient Journal - Hardcover

"A first in resiliency books! Cleo Hutton's heroic, inspiring story shows how to go beyond stroke recovery to reach a better life..." "The third-leading killer as well as the leading cause of disability in the United States, stroke is not limited to older people; Hutton was a 43-year-old mother of three when she experienced her first severe stroke, leaving her disabled and unable to communicate. Although she had been a nurse, she didn't recognize the warning signs that had begun five years earlier. This book is a joint patient-doctor account in which Hutton and neurologist Caplan alternate voices, with Caplan contributing solid medical information and Hutton recounting her personal experiences before, during, and after her stroke. Caplan explains the two types of stroke and clearly describes how, depending on the location, they can affect the brain. He also explores the physical, mental, and personality changes that can occur. Hutton, meanwhile, powerfully conveys the emotional and financial impact that the stroke had on her family, revealing that her husband broke under the strain and ultimately requested a divorce. Families and caregivers of stroke patients should read this work for its medical expertise and coverage of the emotional issues. For most consumer health collections.""Library Journal

At age 43, Cleo Hutton awoke to a frightening and completely unfamiliar world. In the prime of life, she experienced a devastating stroke. Suddenly unable to speak, understand or even walk, Hutton found herself struggling first to survive and then to regain her physical skills and her independence. "Striking Back at Stroke" is Hutton's personal journey of this trying time, detailing her hard-won success rebuilding a life in ruins and overcoming difficulties she never imagined confronting. Using a tape-recorder and a notebook by her bedside where family, friends and hospital staff could write messages, Hutton kept a record of the day-to-day emotional, physical and financial trauma of her condition. Hutton's account of her experiences is interwoven with medical and scientific commentary by Louis Caplan, MD, who explains Hutton's case in terms of what scientists and doctors have come to know about strokes. He documents in a clear, concise manner what actually happens before, during and after a stroke - as Hutton in turn lives and documents her experience. Caplan also focuses his observations on how the medical system served her, as well as on the shattering effects a stroke can have on the families of patients. Both authors give valuable advice - about home care, emotional support and physical recovery - from the frontlines of the battle against stroke. These two wise and experienced voices make "Striking Back at Stroke" a wrenching and inspiring personal story as well as a useful guide for anyone enduring the cataclysmic changes that a stroke can bring to a life, a family and a sense of self.