Stroke & Depression:
A Woman's Story of Overcoming
D V 1 iUl *
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THE CHRONICLE
A recent study has found that depres
sion prevents stroke survivors from return
ing to work almost as often as disability.
The study, published in "Stroke: The
Journal of the American Heart Assocation,"
found, "Of those working six months after
stroke, 33 percent had post-stroke depres
sion, compared with 45 percent of those
who were not working."
Lucy Thompson didn't need a journal to
tell her depression can accompany stroke.
She learned that lesson the hard way.
"The depression is terrible," said the
61 -year-old mother of four. "You battle
depression every single day that you live.
You go through hurt and pain and you have
to learn how to deal with it."
Formerly an LPN, Thompson spent
much of her career caring for patients who
could not care for themselves. She never
thought she would someday be one of
them.
"I wasn't paying attention to my signs
and symptoms," she confessed. "You don't
think about being a victim ... because
you're a nurse."
The year was 1997. Thompson was
making her daily rounds at the Oak Summit
Nursing Home, never suspecting that they
would be her last. A persistent headache
had plagued her for several days, and she
says she began to feel peculiar.
"When 1 came out of one patient's
room, the room sort of went sideways," she
recalled. Attributing the strange occurrence
to fatigue as she was nearing the end of her
12-hour shift, Thompson continued work
ing.
"I started down the hall ... with my
insulins in my hands, thinking about my
patients, not thinking about me," she relat
ed. "One of the aides said, 'Somebody hglp
Ms. Thompson!' I didn't realize I was
falling; 1 couldn't feel my feet, I couldn't
feel my hands."
Already suffering from the disorienta
tion of her impending stroke, Thompson
went home to take a nap. When she awoke,
there was no denying that something was
seriously wrong. She called her daughter
Phoco by Layla Farmer
Lucy Thompson suffered a stroke in 1997.
and the two rushed to the ER.
"When we got to the emergency room, I
was full blown," she stated. "All of a sud
den, I had become confused and disorient
ed, 1 didn't know where I was ... my speech
was slurred ... 1 wasn't comprehending
what was going on."
As the minutes wore by, Thompson
became increasingly agitated. She tried to
talk to her daughter but her words came out
a garbled mess. Q
"I started crying for no reason," she
said. "I didn't know what an MRI was and
I'm a nurse."
Thompson would later discover she had
suffered a brain stem stroke.
"They said those are the kind of strokes
that you don't return from," she remarked.
"I am a walking miracle."
Though she says she now appreciates
every moment she spends on this earth,
Thompson's road to recovery was far from
smooth. She suffered from paralysis on the
left side of her body, and says she sank into
a deep depression.
"It was a miserable life and I would get
mad and just throw things," she said. "I
was such a shell of the person I once was ...
I secluded myself at home for about three
months - 1 wouldn't go anywhere, I would
n't say anything."
A subsequent stroke and the tragic death
of her son in a car accident compounded
Thompson's stuggle, but she continued her
dogged pursuit of mental and physical well
being.
"I've atjvays been a fighter," she com
mented. "I've never been one to give up
easily."
Today, Thompson is an active American
Stroke Association volunteer. She travels
around the sjat?, sharing her story of
strength and survival with others and work
ing to raise awareness about the risk factors
and warning signs of stroke. She credits
her spirituality and the support of her fami
ly for carrying her through to a brighter day.
"I look back on it, and I thank God that
I went through it with Him - He brought
me through," she declared. "I have a lot of
work to do; I'm not ready to go yet, and I
feel like He's not finished with me yet."
Grier
from page AID ,
black action films such as
"Foxy Brown" (1974),
"Sheba, Baby" (1975),
"Fridafy Foster" (1975) and
"Greased Lightning" (1975).
Then in 1997, she was tapped
by Quentin Tarantino to por
tray the title character in his
movie "Jackie Brown."
Considered by many to be
the best, work of her career,
the role earned her a Golden
Globe and a SAG award norti
ination. She was also nomi
nated for an Emmy in 2000.
Since 2004, Grier has
appeared as a regular on
Showtime 's "The L Word."
Previous RiverRun Master
of Cinema recipients include
Cliff Robertson (2005) and
Ned Beatty (2006).
Tickets for "A
Conversation with Pam
Grier" are $15 each and are
available, along with all other
2008 Festival tickets, at the
Stevens Center box office (405
W. Fourth St.), on
www.riverrunfilm.com and
over the phone at 336-721
1945.
Obesity
from page A7
already! In order to encoi^r
age healthy eating and activity
in our children, we need to con
sider how our parenting can
impact these health behaviors.
Let's discuss feeding and how
to "make" our children eat in
healthier ways.
You have probably already
realized you cannot force a
child to eat anything. Try
some of the tips below and see
if you see some changes. It is
important to offer healthy
options, but also to eat together
as a family at a table with the
TV turned off. Establish this
ritual early and you will see
your family grow healthier -
body and soul. Research shows
this one step not only improves
healthy eating, but strengthens
family bonds that guide behav
ior choices in children and
teenagers.
One aspect of feeding chil
dren that is important to con
sider is Ellyn Satter's Division
of Responsibility. Her concept
clarifies that parents have the
responsibility to "provide
structure, support and opportu
nities". Our children then
"choose how much and
whether to eat from what the
parents provide."
Understanding that we are not
in control of every bite that
goes into our child's mouth is
significant. We are to offer
healthy options and the child
selects what goes into their
body. To say it again, Division
of Responsibility means that
"the parent is responsible for
what, when, where. The child is
responsible for how much and
whether."
When feeding your family,
also consider the 8 P's of feed
ing children.
When parents follow these
guidelines, children will adjust
their eating habits over time:
Patience: Good habits take
a while
Persistence: Offer foods
over and over (sometimes up to
15 times before the child will
eat it regularly)
Planning: Families are
busy- use strategies like meal
planning and making a grocery
list to be prepared each week
(80 percent of families don't
know what they are having for
dinner at 4 p.m. - that's why its
easier to stop for fast food)
Peaceful Meals: Meal
times should be happy
Parents Prove it!: Parents
model health eating- if you
don't eat it, neither will your
children
Proper Meals: All meals
and snacks at set times, at the
table, with the TV off!
Don't Push or Prohibit:
Pushing food too much causes
children |to not want it- pro
hibiting too much makes them
want it nfore.
My child eats well, but I
can't get her away from the
television or video games to
exercise. How can I help her
increase her activity level?
The same Division of
Responsibility applies to
encouraging our children to
move. Our job as parents is to
"provide structure, safety and
opportunities. Children choose
how much and whether to
move and the manner of mov
ing." We focus on providing
safe options for movement by
finding fun.cfamily activities
and encouraging active play at
home. Satter recommends:
Supporting activity is good par
enting. Parents' jobs include:
? Develop judgment
about normal commotion [Let
kids be kids. Tolerate some
movement and noise during
play. This is the natural work of
childhood.]
? Provide safe places for
activities the child enjoys
? Find fun and reward
ing family activities
? Provide opportunities
to experiment with group activ
ities such as sports
? Set limits on TV but
not on reading, writing, art
work, and other sedentary
activities
? Remove TV and com
puter from the child's room
Make children respon
sible for dealing with their own
boredom.
Once we've provided the
opportunities for healthy eating
choices and provided opportu
nities to be active, children will
follow through with their
responsibility to eat healthier
and be more active in their own
time. Each child is unique in
their food choices and enjoy
ment of different activities.
Keep up your end of the
process and you will see
changes. It is important to trust
your child to make good choic
es and support them when they
do so. Consider yourself the
coach rather than the judge for
this process. Cheer on the pos
itive changes you see, rather
than criticizing areas needing
improvement.
For a further discussion of
Ellyn Satter's Division of
Responsibility with Feeding
and with Activity, read Your
Child's Weight: Helping
Without Harming. For more
information on healthy family
meals and encouraging activity
in children, BestHealth at
Hanes Mall offers seminars and
cooking classes on these topics.
Please refer to their web site
www.besthealth.com for a cur
rent schedule of opportunities.
- Contribution by Dara
Garner-Edwards, MSW.LCSW,
Brenner FIT Family Counselor
For further information,
resources in your area, ques
tions or comments about this
article, call toll-free 1-877
530-1824. Or, for more infor
mation about the Maya
Angelou Research Center on
Minority Health, visit
www.wfubmc edu/minoritvheal
th.
Mount
from page X7
assess the NIH effort to reduce and ulti
mately eliminate health disparities. Mount is
also a faculty affiliate in the Hypertension and
Vascular Research Center at Wake Forest
University School of Medicine and has an
associate appointment in pathology in the
Department of Comparative Medicine.
Mount received his bachelor's degree from
Alabama State University, Montgonfcry, Ala.,
and his master's and doctoral degree^ in psy
chology from Argosy University, Atlanta.
Prior to completing his pre- and postdoc
toral work at the University of Missouri,
Columbia, Mo., Mount received neuropsycho
logical training at Atlanta's Shepherd Center
rehabilitation hospital and at the Cognitive and
Behavioral Neurology Program at Emory
University.
A rendering of the HanesBrand Theatre.
Submitted image
Sawtooth
from page A10
impressive and effective
team.^Tfttre is no doubt in my
mind that we will achieve our
goals and that this campaign
will be considered a major
milestone in the arts and cul- ,
tural history of Winston- I
Salem and Forsyth County."
Janie and J.D. Wilson, of
Excalibur Enterprises and
civic leaders, are serving as
co-chairs of the campaign.
Honorary Co-Chairs are Bud
Baker and Zanne Baker,
Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian
BurkeT Copey Hanes~and
Earline 'King. Nearly 100
business people and civic and
political leaders comprise the
Campaign Cabinet. Aurelia
Gray Eller and Redge Hanes
are Co-Chairs of the Honorary
Cabinet.
Hanesbrands CEO Richard
A. Noll presented a $2 million
ceremonial check at the kick
off event on behalf of the
company's 3,400 employees
in Winston-Salem and Forsyth
County.
"Hanesbrands is proud to
support the performing arts in
our community. Our company
is a major charitable gives in
the community, and our
employees have a long history
of supporting Arts Council
programs," Noll said. "We
are delighted to be able to add
to our employees' generosity
by making this pledge for the
construction of the new the
atre."
Noll pointed out that from
1911 to 1926, the Sawtooth
building was the site of a
Hanes Hosiery mill.
Hanesbrands Theatre is
expected to open in 2010, a
century after the Sawtooth
building opened as a men's
sock production plant.
"Hanesbrands Theatre will
help keep Winston-Salem and
Forsyth County as a national
leader in the arts," Noll said
"We're pleased that our gift
will make it possible for the
I Sawtooth Building to undergo
a transformation that will
-extend its usefulness and con
tributions to the community
for another century and
beyond."
The main entrance to the
Downtown Center for the Arts
"will be relocated to the Spruce
Street side of the building. A
drive with covered portico
will be located directly across
the street from a parking area
with about 150 spaces recent
ly acquired by The Arts
Council
The west front of the new
Downtown Center for the Arts
will be covered with a dramat
ic glass "skin" that will con
tain stairwells, elevators and
walkways. Space in the
Sawtooth Building previously
used for restaurants will be
converted to a pottery and
sculpting studio for Sawtooth
School, and galleries and pub
lic areas will be greatly
enhanced and expanded.
Mayor Allen Joines
described the campaign as "a
major step forward for The
City of the Arts." Joines said,
"As we work to promote
Winston-Salem as a premier
destination for arts and cultur
al activities, having an arts
center in the midst of our revi
talized downtowh will be a
tremendous boost. The cam
paign includes funds for an
aggressive branding and mar
keting program that will bene
fit not only the arts communi
ty, but the entire economy of
our area."
'Romantic
(Nights
The Winston-Salem Symphony
ROBERT MOODY, Music Director
PRESENTS c
Romantic Nights
Guest Artist ^
Carlos Rodriguez, Piano v
It's spring and romance is in the air! To Celebrate, the
Winston-Salem Symphony presents a concert for lovers
and lovers of romantic music, Enjoy this passionate
performance with someone you love!
Danielpour
Toward the Splendid City
Falla
Nights in the Garden of Spoi^
Rachmaninoff
Symphony no. 2 in E minor, op. 27
APRIL 12, 13, & 15, 2008
at the Stevens Center of the NC School of the Arts
Saturday 7:30 p.m. Kicked-Back Classics Series
Sunday 3:00 p.m., Tuesday 7:30 p.m. Classics Series
Tickets from $15 to $50
For more information, call 336-464-0145 w-r, io-4?
or visit www.wssymphony.org.
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