Stroke Survivors (JOSSEY BASS/AHA PRESS SERIES)

Stroke Survivors gives first-hand, intimate accounts of the terrifying experience of having a stroke and the complex and challenging process of recovery. Based on an extensive three-year study of seventy stroke survivors, the book gives voice to the stroke survivors as well as to health care professionals, caregivers, and family members, revealing how survivors faced the daunting task of reclaiming their lives after a stroke.

At the heart of the book is coauthor Rod McLean's personal journey from despair to triumph. At age twenty, he suffered a massive stroke, underwent brain surgery, and drifted in and out of a coma for twenty-one days. The professionals predicted that McLean would spAnd the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair with limited ability to move or speak. But, he refused to let the so-called experts'' dictate his future. Twenty-five years later, Rod McLean lectures in classrooms around the country about his experience of being a stroke survivor.

McLean's profound story and the stories of other stroke survivors recount the agonizing process of relearning how to talk, walk, make love ... and live. After a stroke, as survivors struggle to recreate their self-image and feelings of self-worth, the quality of life is forever changed. Survivors and their often fatigued and distressed caregivers are sure to gain a new understanding and appreciation of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary to emerge from the life-changing stroke experience.