How to support someone recovering from a stroke

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
How to support someone recovering from a stroke]

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[Text on screen: Matthew Gusler, DO
Osteopathic Physician
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center] 

Matthew Gusler, DO: If your friend has had a stroke and you are wondering how you can support them, there's a couple practical tips. The first step is to just be there and listen. A stroke is a life-changing event. Even if interacting with them looks different than it used to, remember that your friend is still your friend. 

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Your support for them is meaningful and they want that now probably more than ever.

The second thing is offer practical, useful help to the survivor or to the caregiver. Things like driving the survivor to doctor's visits, picking up groceries, cleaning up the house. Anything you can do to take things off of their plate is very helpful.

The third thing is to provide space for the caregiver. The stroke is a life-changing event, not only for the survivor, but often for the spouse or caregiver. Things you can do would be to one, recognize the effort and the love that person is showing, and two, step up to give space to that person so that they can take care of themselves and encourage them to do so.

Lastly, work to adapt the survivor's hobbies so that they can do them now. Again, even if they cannot interact with you or do their hobbies in the same way, they're still the same person 

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and you know what they like and they probably still like those things, so work to adapt them so that they can still do them.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: wexnermedical.osu.edu/stroke]

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