You could put your head in the sand and sing along with the nuns; How do you solve a problem like Maria.
Or what should have been done 50 years ago.
Patients should have gotten right in their doctors face and demanded what the doctor was doing to get them back to 100% recovery. Screaming in their face would have concentrated the mind and maybe led the doctors to actually get their doctor and stroke associations to actually research stroke rehab.
But alas, it wasn't done and 50 years were lost.
It still would be cathartic if you were to do this today. You can tell them Dean has already done all the hard work - identifying possibilities - They can read my blog, all 4300 entries, it will only take 2 weeks.
That's the slow way, the faster way would be to have the board of directors have an intervention and replace the existing staff with survivors who will actually do something.
The creation of a great stroke association means the weak will not survive.
Carnage, blood in the water; lots of cheering.
You don't follow what being done today in the pathetic stroke associations, its not working and it won't work. Can't anyone see what failure looks like?
Well, Dean, I think the chances of existing stroke associations including survivors in any meaningful, non-token, way is nil. However, I am somewhat familiar with the world of severe mental illness, and in that world, the main association is NAMI, comprised of family members of people with SMI and mental health practioners. In response to a perceived lack of input from actual people with SMI, consumer (equivalent to survivors) led organizations were formed in many states. While these consumer-directed organizations don't have the clout of NAMI, they do give a voice to those directly affected by severe mental illness. So maybe it's time for a survivor-directed, national nonprofit stroke association to rise up and challenge the entrenched interests. If a passionate, driven, knowledeable individual came forward to lead the charge, I imagine there are law firms and public-relations companies out there that would provide pro-bono services for such an endeavor. Now where to find such an individual to lead the effort......
ReplyDeleteJim, I agree : Dean is the perfect person to do that. Amy could, but she uses too many swear words.
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