Stroke Awareness Month - Brian's Story

June is Stroke Awareness Month. Each year, Joseph Brant Hospital admits over 250 patients with a stroke. A stroke happens when blood stops flowing to any part of your brain, damaging brain cells. The effects of a stroke depend on the part of the brain that was damaged and the amount of damage done.

Brian was a stroke patient at Joseph Brant Hospital (JBH) in 2021 and here is his story.

It was because Brian’s wife recognized his stroke symptoms that she was able to call 9-1-1 and get Brian to the hospital quickly for testing and treatment that he is here with us today.

When someone is having a stroke, every second counts. The FAST acronym is an easy way to remember the signs of stroke:

Face – is it drooping?

Arms – can you raise them?

Speech – is it slurred or jumbled?

Time – time to call 9-1-1

When ambulance attendants arrived, they confirmed he was currently having a stroke and brought him to Joseph Brant Hospital’s Emergency Department.

“The ambulance attendants were great. My thoughts were all over the place, but I wasn’t incoherent and they made me feel like everything would be ok. I knew I was in capable hands.”

Upon arrival to JBH, Brian was taken for testing including: checking his vital signs, bloodwork, an electro-cardiogram, a CT scan as well as a head to toe stroke assessment.

 “A lot was going on when I got there because COVID-19 was still rampant. However, nurses would regularly check on me and I never felt like I was neglected.”

Once testing was completed, Brian was admitted to the Integrated Stroke Unit, a unit at JBH that provides acute care and rehabilitation to patients who have had a stroke. While he was admitted, he underwent various testing, assessments and treatments to help him on his road to recovery.

After a short stay as an inpatient in the unit, he was discharged and referred to Wellness House, an outpatient care facility that is operated by JBH.

“I had a great experience at Wellness House during my recovery. My Occupational Therapists (OT) and Physiotherapists (PT) were outstanding. They went above and beyond when they didn’t need to. ”

While at Wellness House, Brian received support from PT and OTs in order to relearn any skills he lost following his stroke. This includes restorative strategies that work on: functional mobility, balance and stability, postural control, coordination, strength, endurance, range of motion, cognition, perception and sensory retraining.

The goals of stroke rehabilitation at Wellness House are to enhance a client’s wellbeing, re-learn valued activities, improve quality of life and optimize level of independence and function.

“There is no doubt that because I attended Wellness House that I was able to recover as quickly and as well as I have.”

His stoke left him unable to walk, and with the help of various teams at JBH, along with the time he spent at Wellness House, he was able to relearn how to walk and now enjoys going out and about daily, including walks through the Royal Botanical Gardens.