May 30, 2024 By Kristin Emery 4 min read

When Kim Keenan’s 86-year-old mom, Joan Wright, had a stroke last fall, she feared the worst.

“The nurses were trying to explain to me that it wasn’t bad, that she didn’t have anything paralyzed,” remembers Keenan, a Houston resident. “It was mostly coordination, strength. The worst is the double vision.”

Joan has been gradually improving and can now walk with the help of a wheeled walker.

When her friend’s father also suffered a stroke, both were looking for resources and input to help their parents’ recovery. They started attending the monthly Stroke Support Group meetings offered by Washington Health System. The group resumed meetings again in January for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and now meets the second Thursday of every month from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center in South Strabane. The meetings are offered free of charge and can be a lifeline for emotional support and advice for stroke survivors and caregivers.

“Our hardest things are navigating health care, getting the resources for our loved ones, getting the monetary resources for them that you know are out there,” Keenan said. “I’m trying to get my mother VA benefits since my father was in World War II.”

Keenan lives in a split-level house and turned the downstairs into an efficiency apartment for her mom, but she’d like to install a stair lift to allow her access to the entire house.

“I have been a caregiver for young and old for 30 years, so I know how to set up a house, but I didn’t realize everything was out of pocket,” said Keenan. “All the paperwork, phone calls, red tape, you know. That’s the most stressful part.”

She said the support group has been helpful in offering contacts and resources for everything from transportation and meal assistance to contractors willing to do things like installing grab bars in bathrooms and other home alterations.

Lisa Pareso, manager of Washington Health System’s Rural Health Model, leads the stroke support group.

“Part of the Rural Health Model initiative is to find innovative care delivery systems,” said Pareso. “I work with all areas of the hospital to be innovative and to improve our care and, in turn, reduce people coming to the emergency department or coming back into the hospital.” Pareso started doing post-discharge follow-up calls for stroke patients and learned what questions or support issues they have after suffering a stroke. From making sure stroke survivors know what medications they are on to helping prevent another stroke to recommending dietary changes (such as lowering sodium intake), the support group acts as another resource to help former patients and their family members or caregivers get answers, assistance and support.

“We had a meeting this morning and the social worker was crucial,” said Pareso. “She was able to give advice on finding resources. Insurance may only pay for maybe a walker or shower chair, but they need grab bars and a chairlift. They need all kinds of things. Having them try to navigate that is very frustrating. It’s like another job really.”

A representative from the American Heart Association has been attending support group meetings to teach members how to use a blood pressure monitor and give other helpful information regarding hypertension.

A recent meeting also stressed the importance of respite care for caregivers.

“We really stressed the importance that they need to take care of themselves in order to take care of their parents,” said Pareso. “We reinforced and gave ideas of how they could get someone to help with care so they could get some respite.”

For Pareso, the topic hits home. Some of her knowledge comes from personal experience after her husband had a stroke at age 45.

“I didn’t have a stroke support group, and this was 10 years ago,” she said. “I didn’t have any kind of support like this. I remember one day being in the laundry room and just crying because I didn’t want him to see me upset. I was just tired, frustrated, scared. This is just me helping others so that they don’t have to go to the laundry room and cry.”

For more information on the WHS Stroke Support Group, call 724-229-2160.