Stroke survivors: program rehabilitating at home

Roy Ferguson’s life has taken him around the world. He worked as an engineer on board trading ships and was a committed cyclist. He loves reading and watching informative YouTube videos in an effort to continuously learn. But he never expected to learn so many things over again.

“I was with my son-in-law fishing in Waterton and I got the first kind of indication,” said Ferguson. “I thought for a moment that my lips felt funny. Then of course my first thought was ‘Oh God this can’t be happening to me’.”

Four months ago, he suffered a stroke. Tasks he performed on a daily basis now had to be relearned and assisted.

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Luckily, a province-wide ‘Stroke Action Plan’, developed by Alberta Health Services, launched in Lethbridge this past June, and has since been making a difference in the rehabilitation of mild to moderate stroke survivors. The program uses a mobile teams of experts to support survivors in their own homes.

“The ability to practice on their own stairs, cook in their own kitchen, do what they need to do in their own bathrooms, makes the practice more applicable to their real life situation,” said Karen Perry, the program’s team lead.

The rehabilitation program is based around the individual. Each survivor chooses five goals they would like to accomplish, from being able to dress themselves to more ambitious tasks.

“If it’s meaningful to them we try to accommodate that,” said physiotherapist, Cindy Nyhoff. “We can break down the activity into certain steps and make sure they are safe and able to accomplish them and build on that.”

Following his stroke, Roy Ferguson couldn’t stand or speak clearly. Now he is moving, laughing, building strength daily, and even doing yoga.

“You think about something, then all of a sudden you realize you can do it, and then you do it. And that’s tremendously uplifting.”