"I need your help..."

View the video presentation of Founder Amy Edmunds at the Quarterly Meeting of the Eastern North Carolina Stroke Network in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

YoungStroke, Inc. is collecting 500 word essays written by young stroke survivors and/or their caregivers about any aspect of their post stroke experience who have survived 10 years or more from around the world. Entries will be featured on its website (www.youngstroke.org) throughout 2012 in celebration of its founder's Amy Edmunds 10th anniversary as a survivor since January, 2002. "It's going to be extraordinary!" says Edmunds.

For more information about submitting your entry, contact ale.youngstroke@gmail.com, Attn: 10th Anniversary Project

Getting Back to Work

Many young stroke survivors are eager to return to work after stroke. However, few understand available special accommodations or how to overcome barriers of disability discrimination adequately to advocate their own needs.

Jan Harper, HR Director, of Georgetown Hospital System, was a featured speaker during the YoungStroke Expo 2011 held in Litchfield, SC. His presentation addresses these issues in two parts:

Youtube Video #1
Youtube Video #2

Please offer your comments on the content of this presentation via Facebook.

NCPAD's 14-Week Program
to a Healthier You

NCPAD's 14-Week Program to a Healthier You is your answer to reaching your physical activity and nutrition goals! The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability is offering a free, web-based physical activity and nutrition program for people with chronic health conditions, mobility impairments, and physical disabilities. By registering, you will gain exclusive access to exercise and nutrition experts who can provide you with personalized guidance along the way. To sign up anytime for NCPAD's 14-Week Program or for more information please visit the website and click "join" in the upper right hand corner of the screen.

To watch an advertisement about the 14-week program please visit the Youtube website.

If you have questions, contact a NCPAD 14-Week coach at 1-800-900-8086, ncpad@uic.edu, or via live chat.

The goal of the Young Stroke Project is to document the experience of young stroke survivors living in South Carolina's Stroke Buckle. On this map, this twenty-eight county region is colored red.

For this health communication research study, young stroke survivors are defined as those who experienced their first stroke between the ages of 18 and 64. By administering a satisfaction survey, we seek to identify opportunities to improve community services and to remove messages barriers hindering successful community reintegration. Learn more by clicking on Research.

Life was good now. I was working for one of the biggest and best law firms in America, was in the shape of my life, ran marathons and just won a squash tournament which catapulted me to No. 7 in the US in my age group.

On this dreary November morning 2004, I got up and asked myself: "What shall I wear today? Yes, the blue suit," I thought before stepping into the bathtub to take my morning shower. Why am I so terribly dizzy? I better sit down. Fortunately, I did, because all of a sudden, I loose control over my body. My arms and legs shake profoundly, hitting the tub. Please, somebody help me! It hurts so much. Thank God, my wife is here. "Help me!" I want to shout, but out comes only an unintelligent noise. Essay continued here.

"You're too young to be having a stroke. We're sending you home." It was a Wednesday afternoon, mid-November when I had a stroke that I was "too young" to have. I was forty years old. I'd just returned to my desk after an afternoon spent in business meetings. I stood at my desk while I picked up my voicemail. As I was dialing my access code, my right arm fell to my side. I looked at my hand, confused by it just hanging there. Try as I might, I could not make it go back to the phone. Essay continued here.

From where I sit...
by Harriet Faris

As a social worker at Waccamaw Rehabilitation Center, one of my job responsibilities is to provide a discharge plan for patients. Many come to rehab after experiencing mild to severe strokes, ranging in age from 40 to 90+. Today, I am discharging a 45-year-old woman renamed Jo for this article.

Jo had a severe stroke several weeks ago. This patient is a single mom with two young children. Prior to her stroke, Jo was working full time, caring for her children and maintaining their home. During rehab stay, Jo worked three hours a day with a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and a speech therapist for more than a month. Despite her efforts, Jo continues to experience difficulty walking, slurred speech, and weakness in her left arm and hand. Essay continued here.

It's a Winner!

"When I took this picture, I knew everything was going to be all right," stated young stroke
survivor Ralph Preston, first place winner of the YoungStroke Art Competition held at
Litchfield on May 21. "There is Always Hope for the Future" is the title of this print.
View more of Ralph's work at his photo gallery.

Second and third prizes were won by entries submitted Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation
Hospital of Greenville for works including sterling silver jewelry, stained glass,
and collaborative painting.

Join You're the Cure Network

You or someone you know may have a reason to care about saving lives touched by cardiovascular disease or stroke. Join the American Heart Association's You're the Cure network and click on the links they send to make your voice heard and help drive policy change. Please repost this on your own page, and ask your friends to support the effort too. Policies should be shaped by the people they touch. It's easy...click here.