Lots of stroke survivors joined the stroke club due to high blood pressure. I'm one of them. The biggest challenge with high blood pressure is that it doesn't hurt. Most people will feel no symptoms unless something goes terribly wrong. Or they might learn they have the condition if they get an annual physical. Because of the danger of high blood pressure directly, and because of the danger of other conditions that manifest as high blood pressure, it's important to check it regularly, and that doesn't mean you have to go to the doctor every week. You can find home blood pressure meters all ove ..read more

Pain sucks. Chronic pain sucks even more. And for many stroke survivors, this is now their life. Actress, artist, documentarian, and stroke survivor Maggie Whittum explored the world of chronic pain with us in episode 38 and with Barbie dolls filled with nails or covered in suffocating clay. Other survivors have talked about living with pain, even when there is nothing "wrong" with the limb.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Maggie Whittum (@maggiewhittum) //www.instagram.com/embed.js And once you've lived with pain for several months you don't become accustomed to it. In fac ..read more

Tawnie the Neuro Mermaid bled into her brain for a week before the doctors in Ohio took her seriously. When the neurosurgeons began treating her they were shocked she was still alive. Still, the hemorrhagic stroke ended her dual career paths in in bar tending and special education. Naturally, Tawnie came up with an alternative. She became a mermaid, an entrepreneur, and an advocate and supporter of other members of the stroke community. In this long overdue Strokecast interview, Tawnie shares her story of trying to get treatment, how she got into mermaiding, her experience with cannabis, and t ..read more

Tawnie the Neuro Mermaid bled into her brain for a week before the doctors in Ohio took her seriously. When the neurosurgeons began treating her they were shocked she was still alive. Still, the hemorrhagic stroke ended her dual career paths in in bar tending and special education. Naturally, Tawnie came up with an alternative. She became a mermaid, an entrepreneur, and an advocate and supporter of other members of the stroke community. In this long overdue Strokecast interview, Tawnie shares her story of trying to get treatment, how she got into mermaiding, her experience with cannabis, and t ..read more

It's one thing to have a stroke in an urban center surrounded by hospitals and ambulances. It's another experience altogether when you're at a snowy ski resort in a remote Canadian town. You can't call the caretaker because you are the caretaker, and your only connection to the outside world is a Satellite phone you left in the office. That was June Hawkins' experience as the dark specter of high blood pressure unleashed a cavalcade on emboli into her brain. In this episode, she shares the details of her story and how she's been writing her way to recovery. If you don't see the audio player be ..read more

It's one thing to have a stroke in an urban center surrounded by hospitals and ambulances. It's another experience altogether when you're at a snowy ski resort in a remote Canadian town. You can't call the caretaker because you are the caretaker, and your only connection to the outside world is a Satellite phone you left in the office. That was June Hawkins' experience as the dark specter of high blood pressure unleashed a cavalcade on emboli into her brain. In this episode, she shares the details of her story and how she's been writing her way to recovery. If you don't see the audio player be ..read more

Andrew Stopps call stroke "The Gentle Assassin." Like many (but not all) of us, Andrew found it remarkable that stroke did not hurt. That's often the case with an ischemic stroke. Mine didn't hurt either, and I found it remarkable at the time. It was a profoundly interesting experience. Lack of pain doesn't mean lack of impact though. Andrew found his music career suddenly upended and his mosaic career suddenly suspended as his husband rushed him to the hospital. He lost (for now) the ability to play the clarinet. He discovered unexpected laughter and tears. And it redirected his life. Andrew ..read more

Stroke research is important, and there's not enough of it. Finding funding for small and medium sized projects is hard and getting wider awareness of them is even harder. Collavidence seeks to change that. It's a Kickstarter-like platform for medical research, with a focus on stroke. Research teams Post research projects they are developing, and the public can choose to back them. They also participate in working groups with other experts to further refine the projects as the y pursue results. Collavidence Chief Knowledge Office Dr. Aravind Ganesh joins us in this episode to talk about the pl ..read more

Stroke research is important, and there's not enough of it. Finding funding for small and medium sized projects is hard and getting wider awareness of them is even harder. Collavidence seeks to change that. It's a Kickstarter-like platform for medical research, with a focus on stroke. Research teams Post research projects they are developing, and the public can choose to back them. They also participate in working groups with other experts to further refine the projects as the y pursue results. Collavidence Chief Knowledge Office Dr. Aravind Ganesh joins us in this episode to talk about the pl ..read more

Success after stroke relies a lot on community. That's the case with today's guest Hub Miller. It's a story of knowing the FAST/BEFAST warning  signs of stroke because people talk about it. And it's a story of going through the worst moments of your life only to find yourself surrounded by loving family members and friends ready to share their strength with you. You can listen to Hub's story here. If you don't see the audio player, click here to listen to the conversation.   Click here for a machine-generated transcript Who is Hub Miller? Hub graduated from Mississippi State Universi ..read more