Stroke victims have rights. When they are most vulnerable right after the stroke, friends and family need to make sure your loved one is allowed to fight the battle to regain their lost abilities. They may not be able to talk or to swallow, they may be completely paralyzed on one side, they may have some temporary memory or emotional issues, and even their eyesight may be affected for awhile.However the majority of stroke victims want to fight to regain what they have lost, they want to have the chance to return to their former life or a facsimile of one. They might even be satisfied to return to a different life where running marathons is not required.Many stroke victims who where the most severally disabled and suffering from all the indignities of the disorder reclaim most of their prior skills and add a few new ones. Their mental powers of thought and personality are usually less affected than their obvious physical losses. It is those mental powers that create great authors and advocates for the disabled. They know exactly what it felt like being encased in a body that didn't respond to their commands, to not have a voice and no way of communicating their thoughts. They are the ones that eventually write the most absorbing stories and biographical novels on their struggle to return to a life - maybe a different life but one that with an impact on other's lives from their insight.This book was written to expose the patients rights, what the family/friends can expect, and to let you know there is a life after stroke. A handicapped person can be an inspiration to others who don't understand why someone would want to live with a disability. You first need to fight back, to work hard to regain your physical attributes through intense therapy and rehabilitation. Then make a new life for yourself as an inspiration to your family, your friends, and the public as you show them you not only are alive, but you still laugh, you still have future dreams, and you are still the person inside that you always where.
About the Author: Marlys J. (Launspach) Waters was born and raised on a farm southeast of Nemaha, Iowa. After graduating from Crestland Community School (Early and Nemaha) in 1963, she attended Iowa State University and Drake University, and stayed thirty years in the Ames and Des Moines area. Marlys returned to her hometown of Nemaha, Iowa in 1993 to care for her parents. She now manages two online bookstores, runs a used book and music store, hosts local websites, and writes books. Steven Lee Hatch, was three years younger than Marlys and their family farms were only four miles apart. The pair finally connected 40 years later -- a friendship that spanned twelve years and was comprised of hobby farming together with a variety of livestock, assorted antique farm machinery and tractors plus harvesting Steve's large garden. Steve's death shortly after his stroke was the motivation for the publication of this book that speaks for the person who was silenced and to promote a better understanding of strokes and recovery. Post-stroke life can return to normal with a willing invalid and his companion to make it happen. But Steve wasn't allowed to choose his care nor his caregiver.