A stroke occurs when there is a blockage of blood to or through a part of the brain and/or from a bursted blood vessel. The way that the blockage is induced it either through narrowing of the arteries, an increase in artery pressure, blood clotting, or a tumor in the brain. Now there are many reasons why a stroke occurs ranging from family history to drug use and bad health choices. After the stroke individuals can loose function to parts of their bodies, have difficulties with speech, memory and thinking clearly.
As I read through chapter 14 I was intrigued by the portion dedicated to brain damage and language, more specifically Broca's Aphasia. Broken down into a simplified definition individuals with Broca's Aphasia have difficulty speaking and problems with comprehending complex grammar. They do not speak with the use of what we would deem necessary for a full sentence. In the video below is a female named Sarah Scott who suffered a stroke at the age of 18 while in her english class. Take notice of her speech.
In the above video Sarah mention how everyday she goes to speech therapy. You will also notice that she has a pen and pad; with that I assume that she can write what she wants to say just can not speak it. So that you can understand the extent of work necessary to help with Broca's Aphasia I would like for you to watch the following video of Sarah three years after the one posted above.
I hope that you leave this blog more aware of the fact that such a thing that happened to Sarah can happen to us. Prior to reading Chapter 14 I quit smoking and I am working on getting out of obese territory. I hope that the link above and the following will make you more aware of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.
This has to be by far one of the most interesting blogs I've seen. The videos of Sarah were very interesting. It's shocking how someone as young as her had a stroke. I would imagine that the younger you are the faster your recovery period after a stroke, but after watching Sarah's video I see this is not necessarily the case. I thought that if someone was younger they were more likely to recover faster since their muscles and nerves are more active and young than someone who is in the late 60's. But, after seeing the video above I have got myself to think if it's possible for someone to have a full recovery after a stroke. It's sad how someone so young suffered a stroke, since she mentioned that she saw her friends a few times only after her stroke since she was not able to fluently communicate with them and that she wasn't able to attend a University. I can't imagine going through what she went through. I never stopped to realize what a person who had a stroke goes through until today, quite ironic since the valley is a stroke prone area.
ReplyDeleteI too was so intrigued by the story of Sarah Scott and even did my blog on her or better, Broca's Aphasia. It is a devastating disorder of language and to happen at such a young age is shocking to watch. What is so interesting about this disease is that the patients know what they want to say, they can even write it all down and they fully understand what the other person is saying, it is just the language actually verbally coming out from their mouth that is troubling. And the reminder to take care of yourself in a healthy manner is encouraging :-)
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