Dolan Das shares
her family experience of stroke and how that has led her to raise awareness of
stroke and stroke risk in India
Before the stroke did you have any idea that your
father was at risk of stroke?
Partly. Because we
did know that my father was suffering from high blood pressure.
When and how did you realise that your father was having a stroke?
On that very day, my father felt weakness in his
left arm and with passing time he was having difficulty talking. Later,when he
was consulted with a local physician he suggested a CT scan and it revealed
that my father had suffered an ischaemic stroke.
Can you tell us a little about life before you father's stroke?
My father was the single earning member of our
family. My mother was a house wife and me and my brother was busy with our
studies then. When my father had his first stroke it was not so very severe. We
consulted a stroke expert after getting the CT scan report and my father was under
his treatment. As he was recovering from the first attack of stroke, however,
he suffered from a recurrent stroke. This was 5 months after the first one and
this time it was a severe one. He lost his cognitive power and his left side
was paralysed. He was then admitted to a government hospital under the care of
a stroke expert. At first acute treatment was given and then rehabilitation
started. He was released from the hospital after 3 weeks. But now my father’s whole
life as well as that of all of our family members was changed. My father was
very active and busy with his office. My mother handled all the household work.
But now my father had to depend on someone for his daily life and my mother had
to play the role of caregiver while simultaneously taking care of the
household. Life became hectic for us all, both economically and physically.
How has life changed since your father’s stroke?
Our life was changed after my father suffered from
stroke. As he was the sole earning member and worked in private sector, we had
to think about the financial part of our family. Moreover, my mother’s health
became an issue with the increasing pressures on her and her workload got
increased. She had to manage the household works and my father’s care also. Me
and my brother tried to help her but we also had our own studies at that time.
What steps do you take now to prevent stroke? How are you working to reduce
your specific risks?
We have become more aware about the risk factors
and burden of stroke. I personally have become associated with the Stroke
Foundation of Bengal and take part in their different programmes to make people
aware about stroke. I personally tell my friends, relatives and neighbours
about the risks of stroke and make them aware about the signs and symptoms so
that they can easily identify stroke and take proper care of the individual who
suffers from stroke.
What would you say to other people to make them take stroke prevention
seriously?
Be aware about the sign and symptoms of stroke. I would
tell them about FAST:Face drooping; Arm weakness in any one side
or both; Speech problem in talking or understanding; and Time is
brain, not to waste time and immediately take the patient to nearby hospital or
stroke care centres.
What is your reason for preventing strokes?
I know personally how stroke
changes one’s life, so I try to make people aware of the risk factors, especially
high blood pressure, the single most important cause of stroke. By knowing your
risks, following the precautions and modifying life style one can easily
prevent stroke.
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