skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Election 2024 - close races to decide control of US Congress; Alabama felony voting ban leaves thousands disenfranchised as polls open; Glynn County under watch as key Election Day player; PA voting report: Strengthening election integrity amid potential disruptions.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Philadelphia's District Attorney says the city is prepared for any election violence, doctors advise about how to handle Election Stress Disorder, and Oregon has a high number of women in government.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A Cambodian poultry farmer who lost his livelihood could be a hero for others, rural Montanans are anxiously awaiting a court ruling over a climate lawsuit brought by young people, and Northeast states say more housing for working families could boost jobs.

Doctors: Stroke Rehab Designed for Each Individual Yields Best Results

play audio
Play

Monday, September 30, 2019   

SEATTLE – The effects of a stroke are different for everyone, and that's why medical professionals say it's crucial to tailor rehabilitation to each individual.

Seattle resident Courtney Wilkins in 2010 suffered a stroke in her brain stem at age 30. Afterwards, she couldn't walk, use her right hand or sense pain or temperature on the left side of her body.

Wilkins stayed in inpatient rehabilitation for a month and then moved back to Arkansas with her parents for another four months of outpatient rehabilitation, where she was told she would never live on her own again.

But Wilkins is proof sticking to therapy is worth it.

"After about 18 months, [I] was able to take my first steps unassisted and now I walk with one forearm crutch,” she relates. “I had gone from being in the chair primarily for three years to being on two forearm crutches to now one forearm crutch."

Wilkins eventually moved back to Seattle, learned how to be left-handed and started a career as a data analyst.

Nearly 800,000 people have their lives changed by stroke every year.

The most rapid recovery typically occurs in the first three to six months after a stroke, according to health professionals. But Wilkins notes that doesn't mean people stop getting better after that.

Even now – nine years after her stroke – she continues to make progress.

"It's slower but it is still possible, and some of the progress is not even so much that you have to have the use back exactly the way you had it before, but with some creativity, there's very little that you can't find a way to do one way or another," she states.

The American Stroke Association has tips for stroke survivors and caregivers.

It suggests asking your doctor for an assessment of physical and cognitive challenges and how to address each challenge, managing risk factors to prevent another stroke, talking with your health care provider about financial constraints and following up with your doctor regularly.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Some organizations point to low pay, racial bias in school systems and retention challenges as the biggest obstacles to recruiting more Black men into teaching. (RDNE/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

In a country where Black men make up less than 2% of the teaching workforce, a program in Jacksonville is working to shift the balance by recruiting 1…


Social Issues

play sound

By Jabari Gibbs for The Current.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection reporting for the Rural News Network-Public News Serv…

Social Issues

play sound

It is Election Day and Maine voters are weighing the future of the state's extensive trail system. If passed, the Maine Trails Bond would inject …


More than one of every 10 voters in today's general election is expected to be Latino, a 20.5% increase from 2016, according to the NALEO Educational Fund. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Election Day is finally here, and this year more than 17 million Latinos are expected to cast a ballot. The National Association of Latino Elected …

Social Issues

play sound

A package of New York City bills can help preserve affordable housing. The Community Land Act creates more pathways for communities to purchase and …

More than 36,000,000 Latinos nationwide will be eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential election - an increase of four million voters since 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Lourdes Medrano for Yes! Media.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Arizona News Connection reporting for the Yes! Media-Public News Service …

Social Issues

play sound

A nonprofit report aims to build trust in Michigan's voting system by explaining the safeguards that ensure fair and free elections. The report …

Social Issues

play sound

Wyoming's secretary of state is asking county clerks to report non-citizens who try to vote, although cases of that - or any other - kind of election …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021