stroke

well, i'm recovering from a stroke and a massive heart attack. it happened 10/08. then i had the heart attack. i'm a walking miracle. i started going back to work in january 09! its still a long road ahead, but every day it gets better. when i started working , i couldn't remember passwords, phone #'s etc., ; now, 8 mo later , i remember almost 99%! keep the faith! question - is this the norm?

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi Shirl,
I must CONGRATULATE you on the fast recovery. It is an achievement. I can’t tell you how happy I am to answer this post. Believe me it is very disheartening to see people suffering from health problems. Stroke recovery does start immediately even as the patient is in the hospital. There are many phases of recovery and the patient begins to regain the skills very soon after the stroke. Recovery depends on the patient’s will power, general health, nutrition and level of mental and physical activity. Since you seem to have wonderful energy, enthusiasm and a zeal to overcome all hindrances, your recovery has been commendable. Your continuous efforts to remember phone numbers, passwords and other mental activity has helped you a lot in recovering fast. It is absolutely normal to have this type of recovery but it is seen very rarely because almost all patients suffer from depression as soon as they realize their physical and mental incapabilities resulting from stroke. This delays the recovery. I would like everyone on this forum especially the patients and relatives of the stroke patients to read  your post and benefit from it.   Congratulations once again. Please continue your physical and mental activity and you will have a good health. I wish you a wonderful life ahead !! Hope this answer helps you . Take care and regards!