Rehabilitation after a stroke takes on true meaning when it returns basic gestures of daily life.

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Rehabilitation after a stroke takes on true meaning when it returns basic gestures of daily life.

The co-founder and director of the European Center for Neurosciences (CEN), José López, emphasizes that neurorehabilitation "makes true sense" when the progress made in therapy translates into real improvements in daily life, returning to the patient the autonomy to resume activities as common as dressing, cooking, hugging, or rejoining work.

"Sometimes we can observe that a patient has improved gait, balance, or mobility and think that the goal has been achieved. But then that person has to face alone a sidewalk, a crosswalk, stairs, or an unexpected situation. Rehabilitation must seek that the recovered abilities are functional in real life," he has pointed out.

Coinciding with National Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Day and World Stroke Day, which are commemorated on October 26 and 29, respectively, the CEN focuses on the process of reconstructing the autonomy, identity, and confidence essential to navigate daily life after such injuries.

The naturalist, writer, and television communicator Luis Miguel Domínguez has provided his own testimony after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke and going through a prolonged coma, a stage in which he had to face physical sequelae, a strong emotional impact, and a new way of relating to himself and those around him.

From his experience, Domínguez invites not to fall, during recovery, into permanent comparisons with the person one was before the stroke. "What have I lost? What do I have left? What do I count on? That 'what do I count on' is, without a doubt, the most important, because from there you have to create a new narrative of your life," he has stated.

Sequelae and adaptation in daily life

Domínguez has detailed some of the changes he had to adapt to in his day-to-day life, such as learning to put on a t-shirt using only one hand or giving up sleeping on his stomach, since his affected left arm can get trapped when moving and cause him pain. With these examples, he illustrates how the consequences of brain damage manifest in everyday gestures that are difficult to capture in a simple clinical assessment.

At the same time, he has referred to the weight of emotions and fear. In his account, he explains that this fear can come to dominate even when, rationally, he knows he is accompanied and in a safe environment.

In this context, it highlights the value of human treatment during rehabilitation and defends placing the person at the center of attention and the recovery process. In his case, the support of professionals went far beyond purely physical work.

All this experience has been collected in the book 'Manual de instrucciones para personas de vida jodida', where he offers a look at how to be and be after a stroke and proposes keys to move forward, also addressing aspects such as identity, fear, emotional bonds, sexuality, care, or how to face life after a brain injury.

More than understanding recovery as an attempt to return exactly to the point prior to the stroke, his proposal involves identifying the capacities that remain, discovering new ones, and from there, building a new form of everyday life.