How do we connect with and support those who have survived a stroke on the long road to recovery?
On today’s episode, career development coach and author of Stroke Dialogues: Conversations with Dad Jeri Goldstein discusses how she cared for her father after his stroke, how her memoir came to fruition, and how her background informed the way she approached his recovery.
“It’s also the enthusiasm with which the patient comes to the process. So if the patient is dependent on everybody else to do everything else for them, and they don’t take ownership of the recovery process. And so that’s why I made it a part of our process that Dad took ownership of how he wanted to recover.” (22:59)
As she worked with her father on strengthening his communication and motor skills, she collected a series of intimate, endearing, and generally valuable exchanges with her father that became the basis for her memoir.
“It was when I was home in Virginia that I was remembering all these conversations… I remembered, you know, words and who said what, and I thought, ‘I gotta write this down,’ because this was really fascinating to me.” (29:14)
While she breaks down what worked for her and her family in her father’s recovery journey and the specifics of his condition, she also shares how her hopeful attitude influenced both her mindset and his.
“I came up with a little tongue twister for him to work on his ‘P’s, and it was like ‘When you are positive and patient, when you are persistent and practice, full recovery is possible, and anything is possible.’” (46:56)
In This Episode
(1:33) Jeri recalls her father’s stroke in 2012
(4:18) First conversations after the stroke
(6:53) Jeri’s background and her father’s career
(12:39) Lingering deficits and mobility development
(14:51) Understanding neuroplasticity, repetition, and accountability
(24:11) Her father’s improvement during recovery
(28:36) The inspiration behind Jeri’s book and what readers can expect
(33:38) Memory challenges after the stroke
(34:36) A unique method of communication
(37:44) Exercising patience and watching her father’s communication skills develop
(42:39) A cautionary tale
(46:16) Jeri, Pete, and Henry’s hopeful last thoughts
Our Guest
Jeri Goldstein is a career development coach and author of Stroke Dialogues: Conversations with Dad, a powerful memoir on her dad’s recovery journey after his stroke in 2012, the battles she faced as his caregiver trying to cope with his hindered communication due to Aphasia, and all that she learned from the experience. She relocated to Florida to take care of her father and still lives in the Delray Beach area.
Resources & Links
Henry Hoffman on LinkedIn
Pete Durand on LinkedIn
Saebo
On YouTube
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
Saebo’s Stroke Caregiver Support Group
Saebo’s Stroke Survivor Support Group
Jeri Goldstein’s Stroke Dialogues: Conversations with Dad
Stroke Dialogues Website
