Podcast appearances and mentions of alison shapiro

Speech Language Pathologist Lauren Schwabish reached out to me on Instagram with a few questions. I answer them in this episode. If you  have questions you’d like me to address, you can email Bill@Strokecast.com or message me on Instagram where I am Bills_Strokecast. Do you have tips on what education was most effective for you, or your survivor community? One of the first places I went was to podcasts. I found the Enable Me show from Australia and the aphasia-centric Slow Road to Better first, but not much else. It’s why I eventually started the Strokecast. I wanted it to be the podcast I wished I had found when I was in the hospital. Now, of course There are a lot more. If you want to hear more stroke related podcasts, visit http://Strokecast.com/StrokeRelatedPodcasts I also learned a lot from books. The first two survivor books I read were My Stroke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and Healing into Possibility by Alison Shapiro. I’ve also learned a lot reading memoirs from Strokecast Guests Christine Lee, Ted Baxter, Marcia Moran, Julia Fox Garrison, Janet Douglas, and Debra Myerson. You can hear my interviews with them and the stroke adjacent authors I’ve interviewed here. I also learned a lot diving into books about neuroplasticity and anatomy reading The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doidge, Rewire Your Brain by John Arden, and Anatomy and Physiology Made Easy by Phillip Vaughan. If you use a Kindle or other eReader, be sure to check with you local library’s website because you may be able to check out eBooks without ever leaving the house. And, of course, doctors and therapists are a great resource. Ask them lots of questions to learn more. Most of them love talking about this stuff. What educational opportunities helped you the most as you left the hospital? What didn’t? Creating my own content was quite helpful. I began posting detailed descriptions of stroke stuff to Facebook. One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. It reinforces the details, and it also helped me realize when I didn’t understand something and needed to ask more questions. Plus it engages other parts of the brain. It’s one thing to take in information, but then to teach it you have to route that information to the motor functions of the brain so you can type and the language center so you can choose the words. Support groups in the pre-quarantine days were also a fantastic place for more information. Plus you’re among people who get it. At a support group, folks understand what you’re going through. While staying inside, you can also join several of the dozens of stroke related Facebook groups. Be sure to search for them. These groups may have a few members or thousands of members. The leadership and members will have a huge impact on the character of the group, so try a few to find the ones that best mesh with your personality. Finally, check out #Stroke and #StrokeSurvivor on Twitter and Instagram. I’ve found that Twitter is likely home to more professionals whereas Instagram is more about the journeys of individual survivors. I’m preparing a lecture on how to best advocate for yourself when communicating with health care providers. Any hot takes? First of all, you have to advocate for yourself. Ultimately you are responsible for your own recovery and getting the support and care that you need. When you go into the doctor’s office, remember they are getting paid to provide the care. This is a business meeting. Like any business meeting, that means you need to prepare in advance, take notes during, and follow up on your activities afterwards. Prepare ahead by assembling key information like: Blood pressure readings Symptoms List of medications Questions you want answers to. You can even provide this information ahead of time to help them prepare. During your appointment, feel free to take notes. You can also bring a partner with you to help retain information. You can even ask if you can record the appointment. They might say no,  but you can still ask. You also need to recognize that the medical field is highly silo’d. By that I mean they are experts in their narrow field, but they may not be as familiar with other fields. That means you may be relaying information from one provider to another. You may be teaching your primary care physician about stroke or carrying information from a neuropathologist to a ph6ysiatrist. Finally, if you’re not comfortable with a specific provider, get a different one. Hack of the Week Patricia Geist-Martin (from Falling in Love with the Process Part 2) shared another technique that Bill Torres (from Falling in Love in the Process Part 1) used to deal with spasticity in his hand. He piled books on top of his hand while watching TV. Straightening out his finger and then putting weight on top was one reason his hand is no longer locked in a fist. Links Bill on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bills_strokecast/ Lauren Schwabish on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lauren.schwabish/ Stroke Podcasts http://Strokecast.com/StrokeRelatedPodcasts My Stroke of Insight https://www.amazon.com/My-Stroke-Insight-Scientists-Personal/dp/0452295548/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3AWMWJDQM5DKB&dchild=1&keywords=my+stroke+of+insight&qid=1601626888&s=books&sprefix=stroke+%2Cstripbooks%2C213&sr=1-1 Healing Into Possibility https://www.amazon.com/Healing-into-Possibility-Transformation-Lessons-ebook/dp/B002E6IJWE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YJ807S2LJYSX&dchild=1&keywords=healing+into+possibility&qid=1601626934&sprefix=healing+into+po%2Cstripbooks%2C205&sr=8-1 Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Everything-You-Dont-Remember/dp/0062422154/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Tell+Me+Everything+You+Don%27t+Remember&qid=1601627035&sr=8-1 Relentless https://www.amazon.com/Relentless-Massive-Stroke-Changed-Better/dp/1626345201/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=relentless+baxter&qid=1601627079&sr=8-1 Stroke Forward https://www.amazon.com/Stroke-Forward-Become-Healthcare-Advocate/dp/1733258701/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=marcia+moran&qid=1601627118&rnid=2941120011&s=books&sr=1-1 Don’t Leave Me This Way: Or When I Get Back on My Feet You’ll Be Sorry https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Leave-Me-This-Way/dp/0061120634/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EBCQJ5YKLB92&dchild=1&keywords=julia+fox+garrison&qid=1601627161&sprefix=julia+fox+%2Cstripbooks%2C206&sr=8-1 A Wonderful Stroke of Luck: From Occupational Therapist to Patient and Beyond https://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Stroke-Luck-Occupational-Therapist/dp/1480866008/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Janet+douglas+stroke&qid=1601627279&sr=8-1 Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke https://www.amazon.com/Identity-Theft-Rediscovering-Ourselves-Stroke/dp/144949630X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=debra+meyerson&qid=1601627357&sr=8-1 The Brain’s Way of Healing https://www.amazon.com/Brains-Way-Healing-Discoveries-Neuroplasticity/dp/014312837X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Brain%27s+Way+of+Healing&qid=1601627463&sr=8-1 Rewire Your Brain https://www.amazon.com/Rewire-Your-Brain-Think-Better/dp/0470487291/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=rewire+your+brain&qid=1601627511&sr=8-3 Anatomy and Physiology Made Easy https://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Physiology-Concise-Learning-Fundamentals/dp/1534635319/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2ACPD89D15QHF&dchild=1&keywords=anatomy+and+physiology+made+easy&qid=1601624433&s=books&sprefix=anatomy+and+physiology+made+%2Cstripbooks%2C207&sr=1-4 Author Interviews on Strokecast http://Strokecast.com/Authors Instagram #Stroke https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/stroke/ Instagram #StrokeSurvivor https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/strokesurvivor/ Twitter #Stroke https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Stroke&src=saved_search_click Bill Torres on Strokecast http://Strokecast.com/BillTorres Patricia Geist-Martin on Strokecast http://Strokecast.com/Process Where do we go from here? If you have questions you’d like me to address, email Bill@Strokecast.com or message me on Instagram where I am @Bill_Strokecast Share this episode and answers with someone else by giving them the link http://Strokecast.com/Listener Subscribe to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app so you never mess an episode Don’t get best…get better Strokecast is the stroke podcast where a Gen X stroke survivor explores rehab, recovery, the frontiers of neuroscience and one-handed banana peeling by helping stroke survivors, caregivers, medical providers and stroke industry affiliates connect and share their stories.

I had an interesting chat with Entrepreneur and stroke survivor Tom Hannon. Tom had his stroke about two years ago due to a vertebral artery dissection and has made a remarkable recovery. His background as a triathlete certainly helped from both a physical and a mental perspective. He lives on Cape Cod, outside of Boston in the US. One of the first things you'll notice is that he has a New England accent. Of course that also brings out my New York accent. It's funny out that comes out when I talk with some else who speak with a similar accent.   Tom Hannon is a serial entrepreneur who has started, bought and sold 12+ businesses during his 30+ career. Most of those businesses focused on magazines, advertising and magazine distribution.   He also helps entrepreneurs learn to effectively sell their businesses when the time is right. You can visit Win Your Exit for more details on that program. He is also a sales and marketing educator who with his wife Linda has now launched a financial educate class called, 6 Steps to Mastering Your Money and Creating a Path to Financial Freedom on www.realfamilyfinance.com. Tom is also an avid baseball fan who owned a historical baseball website and once built a replica of the Brooklyn Dodgers former home, Ebbets Field.   He was also an avid triathlete and while training for the epic Ironman triathlon, he suffered a verbal artery dissection, which caused 6 mini strokes. So he can now add stroke survivor onto his resume. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife Linda.    Tom has taken approaches to his recovery that go beyond traditional medicine. He shifted to a plant-based diet. He's gone for myofascia treatments. He uses biofeedback that reads his brain waves. What I like about Tom's approach to things like this is that he doesn't insist this is a cure-all for stroke conditions. These are things he has used in his own recovery, with which he's gotten good results. And that's how he tells the story. We also talk about the importance of goal setting and knowing what you are working towards. This is a common theme among many of the survivors and medical professionals I talk with on the show. It's also something I talk about extensively over at 2-Minute Talk Tips. So…there's a lot of stuff here. Hack of the Week Tom's hack is to listen to your body. It's something he didn't do pre-stroke, but is helpful as he continues his recovery. If you focus on what your body is telling you, you'll be in a better position to know when: You're pushing too hard You're not pushing hard enough You need to drink more water You need to get more sleep …and so much more But you have to listen. Links Tom Hanon on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasphannonjr/ Tom on Twitter https://twitter.com/winyourexit Tom on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thannonjr Tom on Email tohannon@aol.com Tom's Consulting and Training Program http://winyourexit.com/ Tom and Linda's Financial Education Program www.realfamilyfinance.com My Stoke of Insight by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor http://mystrokeofinsight.com/ Healing Into Possibility by Alison Shapiro http://healingintopossibility.com/ Myofascial Therapy https://www.myofascialrelease.com/about/definition.aspx   Where do we go from here? What do you think of Tome story? Let us know in the comments below. To connect with Tom and explore the resources we talked about, check out the links above. Share this episode with someone else today. Just give them the link strokecast.com/Tom Don't get best…get better

Alison Shapiro was a successful business woman and a visual artist when she was hit by 2 devastating brain stem strokes in 2002 at the age of 55. This life changing event turned her into a leader, an author and educator in the stroke community. Alison not only recovered from the injury but published her inspiring book, Healing into Possibilities and her DVD, What Now?: Sharing Brain Recovery Lessons. A strong believer of neuroplasticity, Alison runs a website healingintopossibiliy.com and provides coaching information to people who are interested in leveraging mindfulness to recover from stroke. Alison is the cofounder of Strokefocus. In Sept 2012, Daniel suffered a brain stem stroke. Through the internet, Daniel found Alison who has been mentoring and coaching Daniel ever since. Daniel recovered remarkably well from the injury. In order to turn their experience into something that can help many people, Alison encouraged Daniel to start Strokefocus in 2014. Alison has been involved in a number of recovery focused research projects. She created a successful stroke recovery training program which she teaches in California and Virginia.

Strokefocus and its podcast, Hand in Hand is today's topic. In this episode, Cam interviews Nancy, Alison and Daniel to understand how Strokefocus started. Strokefocus started as Wohaula. In 2012, Daniel suffered a brainstem stroke before turning 41. Two fellow survivors made a tremendous difference to his recovery. One was Alison Shapiro. In 2002, Alison survived 2 brainstem strokes. Through her own remarkable recovery, she discovered that survivors could significantly improve the recovery outcome by effectively engaging themselves. She developed a program to help survivors. Daniel found Alison through the Internet. Alison coached Daniel in the most critical stage of his recovery. They never met in person. Yet the support significantly changed the course of Daniel's recovery outcome. Inspired by their own experience, in 2014, Daniel, his wife Hong, Alison and some friends started Wohaula, which meant I have survived in Mandarin. It is also known now as Strokefocus. In building Wohaula, Daniel found Nancy Weckwerth, who is a caregiver and author. Nancy devoted 26 years to take care of her husband John, who suffered a massive stroke at the height of his musical career. The team discussed their journey, Strokefocus and its unique philosophy. They also talked about its podcast program the Hand in Hand Show. Listen to episode to find out more...

We must turn to ourselves, not away to maximize our healing. Alison Shapiro shares why.

It is very important to stay safe for stroke survivors. Alison Shapiro discusses how to stay safe for all survivors.

Most stroke recovery happens after rehab. It is essential that we take care of the process. In this episode, Alison Shapiro discusses the importance of post rehab recovery and how to manage it.