Stronger After Stroke
Peter Levine wrote a great book.
I am not saying this because he e-mailed me back and gave me a great website to browse nor would I say this only because he is a PTA who does research about stroke rehab. I am saying he wrote a book families and clinicians can read and understand easily and I appreciate that.
He did not advance me a copy with a fat check to endorse him either (although I am open to this). It took me about a week to read through the material and I thought "Wow." He is empowering families and survivors of strokes to ask pertinent questions about rehabilitation to their MDs and PTs.
He is directing and encouraging survivors to take charge of their lives and act on what the therapists and MDs have directed.
Since reading his book, I have changed the focus of how I interact with stroke patients. I use the term "you" more than "we" and I try to be up front with the families and the patients themselves to encourage them to take charge more.
The book also mentions the insurance factor, which I have rarely seen written so clearly. Basically it tells the patient their insurance will stop paying for rehabilitation if they do not progress and it encourages the patients to do as much rehabilitation as possible so they can progress.
The book is encouraging to patients and it allows the care to be focused on what they can achieve rather than what they are not able to do. My copy went to work with me and I encouraged others to read through it.