Effects of Stroke
The ability to define the world and our place in it distinguishes our humanity. Stroke or brain attack forever alters this world-making capacity. The stroke patient's world, once comprehensible and manageable, is transformed into a confusing, intimidating and hostile environment. The skills of intellect, sensation, perception and movement, which are honed over the course of a lifetime and which so characterize our humanity are the very abilities most compromised by stroke. Stroke can rob people of the most basic methods of interacting with the world.
The specific abilities that will be lost or affected by stroke depend on the extent of the brain damage and most importantly where in the brain the stroke occurred. The brain is an incredibly complex organ, and each area within the brain has responsibility for a particular function or ability. The brain is divided into four primary parts: the right hemisphere (or half), the left hemisphere, the cerebellum and the brain stem.
