Rehabilitation following a stroke: A participant perspective

Abstract

Following a stroke in January 1996 the author, a college lecturer, kept notes of his feelings, perceived treatment, and other people's responses to him. This paper reports these especially as they relate to the experience of illness, disability and rehabilitation. Areas covered include the experience of the stroke itself, perceptions of the process, reactions to disability and therapies, and the experience of trying to return to a ‘normal’ life. No claim is made for the uniqueness or significance of this account. It is simply offered as a contribution towards a better understanding of the patient's perspective on disability and rehabilitation.

Key Words:

• stroke
• rehabilitation
• disability
• patient's perceptions

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robin Cant

It is with great sadness that we have to inform the readership of the Journal that shortly after completing the final editorial work on this Special Issue, Professor Kalman Jacob Mann was seriously injured in a car accident and subsequently died.

Professor Mann was responsible for establishing the two Hadassah Hospitals and Community Health Centres in Jerusalem and for the past 20 years headed the Presidium of Yad Sarah, Israel's largest community based, volunteer operated organization which provides a spectrum of free or nominal cost home care services nation-wide.

We offer our condolences to his family and friends, and trust that this Special Issue stands as a testament to his work in the field.