Larry had a hemorrhagic stroke caused by ruptured blood vessels in his brain. When it happened, the right side of his body went numb. He was placed in intensive care for three days and his speech, vision, and motor skills on his right side were affected. Through exercises at home, he was able to regain most functions on his right side, though he still limps. The class helped the author better understand that Larry's high blood pressure from years prior contributed to his ruptured blood vessels and stroke.

1. Strokes
Ricky Powell
University of Chicago

2. My Story
Right after we got married, my husband had a stroke.
He was working in a trailer plant where he painted the
trailers. The place was not ventilated as it should have
been, so my husband was breathing in a lot of the paint
fumes. My husband also had had a wreck about 10
years prior to the stroke. The wreck had broken his
neck and he had four smashed discs at the top of his
spinal cord. My husband, Larry, was also experiencing
some very bad migraine headaches.

3. My Story Continued
When it happened, his right side of the body went
numb. I had to call his dad to help me get him to the
hospital. They placed him in intensive care for about
three days. He flat lined once while they were trying
to bring down his high blood pressure. By the time
that I finally got some medical help for him, it was too
late for rehabilitation. My husband did his own
rehabilitation exercises at home. He gained back his
speech, vision, and most of his motor skills on his right
side. He still limps but considering, he did an amazing
job at regaining all of the body functions.

4. What is a Stroke?
If a stroke happens
in the left side of the
brain, like it did in
my husband’s brain,
the right side of the
body is affected by
it.

5. What is a Stroke? Cont.
A brain attack (stroke) happens when the flow of blood
to the brain is disrupted (Overview, 2014). This
disruption could occur when a plaque piece or a blood
clot blocks a vital brain blood vessel (Overview, 2014).
kidshealth.org

6. Functions of Nervous System that are
Apparent and/or Impaired
The brain is compromised so a stroke affects the nervous
system (How Does, 2007-2014). The brain does not fully
recover in some cases (How Does, 2007-2014). Nerves get
damaged and sometimes are unable to continue sending
signals that are accurate to the body to tell it to react or
move (How Does, 2007-2014).
The parts of the nervous system that were affected by the
stroke my husband had were speech, vision, and most of his
motor skills on his right side. Larry had numbness, tingling
in his right arm and leg, and pain. Although we could not
afford the rehab that he was supposed to get within the
first 3 months after his stroke, he did exercises at home and
regained the usage of his right side of his body.

7. Parts of Nervous System Affected by
Stokes
People who have had a stroke usually have:
• Problems with their sensations and movement,
• Problems with their vision,
• Problems with no feeling in one side of their body
(my husband had no feeling for a while in his right
side of the body),
• Problems with their thinking and their language, and
• Problems emotionally (Stroke Health, 2005-2014).

8. A Better Understanding
This class helped me to develop a
better understanding of strokes. I
have learned there are two kinds
of strokes: ischemic and
hemorrhagic (Mason, 2014).
Until I took this class I did not
realize which type of stroke my
husband had. He had a
hemorrhagic stroke. This class
taught me about hemorrhagic
strokes. This type of strokes is
caused by ruptured blood vessels
(aneurysms) that occur in the
brain (Mason, 2014).
Mass general.org

9. A Better Understanding, Cont.
I learned that my husband’s blood pressure was a
factor that contributed to his hemorrhagic stoke.
Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a major risk
factor for developing an aneurysm (Mason, 2014).
One last thing this class made me aware of was if there
are no doctors around, do not give Larry blood
thinners. Since Larry had a hemorrhagic stroke, blood
thinners could prevent a clot that might be blocking a
bleed in his brain (Mason, 2014).

10. References
How Does a Stroke Affect the Nervous System? (1997-2014). American Speech-Language-
Hearing Association. Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://www.asha.org/
Mason, P. (2014, May). Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life.
University of Chicago. Chicago, IL. Retrieved July, 6, 2014, from
https://class.coursera.org/neurobio-001
Overview of Stroke. (2014) University of Miami Health System. Retrieved June 14, 2014,
from http://uhealthsystem.com/health-library/neuro/disorder/stroke/overstk
Stroke Health Center Stroke Rehabilitation-Overview. (2005-2014). WebMD, LLC.
Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/brain/default.htm?names-
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