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The Loss Of A Stroke

Decent Essays

About three years ago my grandfather had a stroke. When we were at the hospital, the nurses told my family that it was not a very serious stroke compared to how serious it could have become, and that the likelihood of his recovery would be very promising. Seeing him in the hospital impacted me greatly because my great-grandfather died of a stroke. I was taken back by the paleness of my grandfather’s skin and his weak ability to talk or move his left side immediately after. Now he appears to be able to function at almost the same rate he used to. I believe that having a stroke instilled a fear in my grandfather that will forever change his attitude toward enjoying life and doing the things he used to. Since his stroke, he refuses to hunt, fish, or do many of the tasks he was used to and instead watches television and stays close to home. “Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and adult disability in the U.S,” (National Stroke Association). Stroke is known as, “the death of nerve cells caused by an interruption of blood flow to a region of the brain,” (Goodenough, 138). When a section of the brain is shut off, neurons cannot receive enough oxygen and glucose that they need and die. The seriousness of the stroke depends on where the interruption of blood flow took place. The destruction of neurons in certain regions of the brain can cause the, “abilities controlled by that area of the brain such as memory and muscle control are lost,” (National Stroke Association). There

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