The Goodness of God Verses the Tragedies of Life”

www.strokecamp.org

http://www.unitedstrokealliance.org/

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Stroke Support Group Finder Link

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This week's blog is submitted by Phil Bell, retired pastor, University Baptist Church. He is a stroke survivor, and occasionally writes an article for the local newspaper. He permits us to post them, also.
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Street & Steeple for September 13, 2019 

“The Goodness of God Verses the Tragedies of Life”
By Phil Bell, retired pastor, University Baptist Church

Between Hurricane Dorian and mass murderers a lot of people are dealing with tragedy in their lives! Most of us probably believe in a God who is good. That may well be the first thing we were ever taught about God. That’s easy to affirm when things are going our way, like when a healthy child is born to us or when we receive a raise at work or win the Lottery! 

What about, however, when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer or we are treated unfairly or a loved one is killed! How easy, then, is it to declare, ‘God is good?!’ He still is, of course, even when our circumstances don’t seem to confirm it.

My wife, Nancy, and I find ourselves among the world of caregivers and stroke survivors. Stroke is never a good thing and has three different causes. God may, for a reason He probably won’t share with us, cause a stroke to happen. If He does, we are told in scripture, it is for our own good, as hard as that is to understand, or Satan may cause it with God’s allowance. More often a stroke is the result of Adam’s original sin and its penalty, which was that our bodies deteriorate!

In our world, God’s goodness is easy to affirm when I make significant progress toward recovery or Nancy gets an unexpected time to enjoy herself, getting a respite from my 24 /7 need for her care. Not so easy to affirm God’s goodness are times I end up on the floor or Nancy’s back hurts from transferring me or when my physical therapist asks me to do something which I simply can’t do! Just because God is good it does not follow that everything that happens is good of course, as I wrote, a stroke is never a good thing to us.

Also true is that God is unchanging, always good, the church word for that attribute being immutable. Some Christians greet one another by saying, “God is good” and receive the reply, “All the time.” God enables his children to get through every tragic period, even, often turning a bad situation to good! The best example of that we find in the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. Sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph sees them again when they come to him to buy grain due to a world-wide famine. When they recognize him and know he has recognized them, they fear reprisals for what they did to him.

In Genesis 50:20 we find he says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” He does that often, as I relate in the book I’m writing, “Finding Purpose in Pain.” Our world is filled with people suffering their own particular tragedies from Hurricane Dorian and the senseless violence which seems to have overtaken our country!

Should you be suffering your own particular tragedy, I urge you to remember that God is good no matter what your circumstances might tell you! Look for what he may be wanting to teach you by your predicament or what purpose(s) it might be achieving! Those things will help you reconcile the goodness of God with life’s tragedies!

Phil Bell, retired pastor, University Baptist Church

HELPFUL TIPS

www.strokecamp.org

http://www.unitedstrokealliance.org/

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Stroke Support Group Finder Link
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The following is from the fall Stroke Connection Magazine
http://strokeconnection.strokeassociation.org

HELPFUL TIPS FROM REED AND MARY HARRIS

When Reed Harris had a stroke at the age of 50, it left him almost completely unable to communicate verbally or understand what others were saying. He also had partial paralysis on his right side, profound apraxia, and anomia, the inability to recall or say the correct words. Reed also had some auditory processing issues, causing difficulty with how his brain processed what he heard. Reed and his wife, Mary, worked together on Reed’s stroke recovery and they share some of the most helpful things they’ve learned along the way:

Patience is a virtue 

The Harrises emphasize that it’s important to be PATIENT with all of the ATTEMPTS (successful or not). And remember, lack of speech does not mean there is a lack of hearing. 

Act with patience 

• Demonstrate: Show how to perform the task. 

• Break all actions into smaller steps. 

• Clarify the next step. 

• Repetition - Approach the 20th time as if it were the first. 

Communicate with patience

• SLOW it down. 

• E-NUN-CI-ATE. 

• Come close/make eye contact/touch. 

• Do NOT finish sentences unless asked to. 

• When questioning: MULTIPLE CHOICE is better than YES/ NO.

• BE specific. Allow time to respond.

Long-haul tips 

For couples new to stroke recovery and aphasia, Mary says, “Reed and I resoundingly respond together with the words, ‘Never give up!’” Through their own experience and that of so many people they have come to know, it’s critical to:

• Be creative and customize the plan for recovery. Everyone is

  different. Remember that even a conversation with a pharmacist

  can be a source of motivation and speech therapy!

• Be persistent in the endeavor to recover. 

• Celebrate the tiny steps of progress. 

• Life is the best therapy, so live it!

PATIENT PERSPECTIVE CONTINUED 

“THE EXPERIENCE OF 

STROKE AND RECOVERY 

HAS ENRICHED US AS 

INDIVIDUALS AND AS 

A COUPLE”

Lastly, Mary shares that the day of Reed’s stroke, “…changed the entire course and purpose of our lives. But we go on. We have learned to adapt. While our lives are forever changed, we feel that the experience of stroke and recovery has enriched us as individuals and as a couple. The stroke was our mulligan, our second chance. Our lives are enriched and fulfilled, and we have a greater sense of purpose.”

REED AND MARY HARRIS 

Excerpted and adapted from “Caring for a Survivor with Aphasia,” Stroke Connection® Fall 2016. 

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At United Stroke Alliance we urge you to Be-Faster!
If you have detected the following stroke symptoms, don't wait.  

BE-FASTER!

Don't wait, be Be-Faster to save someone's life. Awareness is critical! What if you could help save your life or someone else’s by knowing the signs of stroke? Once a stroke begins to present itself, BE-FASTER and dial 911 immediately - the more time that is wasted, the more functioning you could lose as a result – up to 1,900,000 brain cells a minute or worse - death. Act FAST when stroke strikes. Be aware of the signs of a stroke and how to act:

BALANCE
Sudden loss of balance

EYES
Sudden blurry or loss of vision

FACE
Sudden numbness, one side drooping - can you smile?

ARMS
Sudden weakness in arms - can you raise both?

SPEECH
Slurred or mumbling speech

TIME
CALL 911 NOW
EMERGENCY
ROOM
Get to the ER by ambulance they know what to do FASTER!

COMMUNICATION AND COGNITIVE CHANGES

www.strokecamp.org

http://www.unitedstrokealliance.org/

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Stroke Support Group Finder Link
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The following is from the fall Stroke Connection Magazine
http://strokeconnection.strokeassociation.org

COMMON COMMUNICATION AND COGNITIVE CHANGES AFTER STROKE

The brain controls your ability to use language. Speaking, listening and understanding are complex processes. Each involves different parts of the brain. The location of the stroke injury controls the type of communication problem.

Aphasia 

Aphasia is a common communication problem after a stroke. There are three types: expressive, receptive and global. 

• People with expressive (non-fluent) aphasia know what they want to say but have trouble saying it. They can’t find the right words or have trouble “getting the words out.” Or, they may use the wrong words or leave out words without knowing it. 

• People with receptive (fluent) aphasia have trouble understanding words other people speak. They may not understand the order of the words or the relationship between the words. 

• People with global aphasia may be unable to speak, name objects, repeat phrases or follow commands. They also have a hard time understanding what others are saying.

Dysarthria 

Dysarthria affects control of the muscles in the face, tongue and mouth. People with dysarthria may know exactly what they want to say. But they may speak slowly. Their speech may sound slurred, muffled, hoarse or nasal.

Apraxia 

Apraxia of speech affects the ability to speak. People with apraxia have trouble connecting speech messages from their brain to their mouth. Apraxia of speech may affect more than the power to speak. It often affects reading and writing as well.

Aphasia, dysarthria and apraxia do not cause a loss of intellect. Even though it’s difficult for a survivor to speak, it’s not because of a lack of intelligence.
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MEMORY AND COGNITIVE CHALLENGES 

Different parts of the brain control specific types of thinking. Depending on where stroke happens in the brain, problems with certain types of thought may occur. Stroke survivors can have trouble with memory. Planning, organizing ideas or making decisions can also be hard after stroke.

How stroke affects memory 

Many stroke survivors face memory challenges. But not all memory problems are the same. A stroke survivor may: 

• Remember for only a short span of time. For instance, they might remember only two or three steps in a set of instructions. Or, the person might forget whether they have taken their medications or eaten a meal. 

• Have trouble absorbing new information. The survivor may need to have things repeated over and over. 

• Have problems transferring learning from one setting to another. For example, in the hospital the survivor might be able to safely transfer from a wheelchair to a bed alone. But at home, the change in setting may make the person unable to do the same task. 

• Mix up the details of an event. A stroke survivor might confuse when things happened or who was there. For example, he or she might think a family member visited in the morning instead of the evening before.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At United Stroke Alliance we urge you to Be-Faster!
If you have detected the following stroke symptoms, don't wait.  

BE-FASTER!

Don't wait, be Be-Faster to save someone's life. Awareness is critical! What if you could help save your life or someone else’s by knowing the signs of stroke? Once a stroke begins to present itself, BE-FASTER and dial 911 immediately - the more time that is wasted, the more functioning you could lose as a result – up to 1,900,000 brain cells a minute or worse - death. Act FAST when stroke strikes. Be aware of the signs of a stroke and how to act:

BALANCE
Sudden loss of balance

EYES
Sudden blurry or loss of vision

FACE
Sudden numbness, one side drooping - can you smile?

ARMS
Sudden weakness in arms - can you raise both?

SPEECH
Slurred or mumbling speech

TIME
CALL 911 NOW
EMERGENCY
ROOM
Get to the ER by ambulance they know what to do FASTER!

Stroke's Common Physical Changes

www.strokecamp.org

http://www.unitedstrokealliance.org/

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Stroke Support Group Finder Link
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The following is from the fall Stroke Connection Magazine
http://strokeconnection.strokeassociation.org

COMMON PHYSICAL CHANGES AFTER A STROKE

Physical changes that follow a stroke are the result of injury to the brain and may include one or more effects.

Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body

If the stroke occurs on the brain’s right side, the left side of the body and face will be affected. It’s the opposite for a stroke that occurs on the left side of the brain.

Fatigue

After a stroke, it’s common to feel tired at some point. This is known as fatigue. Fatigue often starts to lessen a few months after the stroke. But for some people, tiredness may continue for years. If you’re experiencing poststroke fatigue, talk to your health care team about ways to reduce it.

Spasticity

When you try to move a limb, the muscles contract (shorten or flex). This creates stiffness and tightness, which is referred to as “spasticity.” Spasticity also causes the tendons and soft tissue around the muscle to become tight or stiff. This makes stretching the muscle much more difficult. If not treated, the muscle can freeze into an abnormal and often painful position. If you have spasticity, talk to your doctor about the best treatments for you. Physical therapy and medications can help.

Seizures

Seizures are brain malfunctions that alter a person’s awareness. A seizure may last only a few seconds or minutes. It may trigger involuntary body movements, strange sensations or blackouts. Studies vary greatly about how often seizures happen after stroke. Seizures are painless. But they can be upsetting and disorienting. Often, seizures can be treated with medications. If you think you may have had a seizure, let your health care team know.
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At United Stroke Alliance we urge you to Be-Faster!
If you have detected the following stroke symptoms, don't wait.  

BE-FASTER!

Don't wait, be Be-Faster to save someone's life. Awareness is critical! What if you could help save your life or someone else’s by knowing the signs of stroke? Once a stroke begins to present itself, BE-FASTER and dial 911 immediately - the more time that is wasted, the more functioning you could lose as a result – up to 1,900,000 brain cells a minute or worse - death. Act FAST when stroke strikes. Be aware of the signs of a stroke and how to act:

BALANCE
Sudden loss of balance

EYES
Sudden blurry or loss of vision

FACE
Sudden numbness, one side drooping - can you smile?

ARMS
Sudden weakness in arms - can you raise both?

SPEECH
Slurred or mumbling speech

TIME
CALL 911 NOW
EMERGENCY
ROOM
Get to the ER by ambulance they know what to do FASTER!