This story was generously contributed by Wendy Crouch on 29 December 2017
Age at time of stroke – 63 years
Occupation prior to stroke – Office Manager
Type of stroke – left CVA
Date of stroke – 19th May 2014
PSE treatments – 18th September 2017 and 25th September 2017 (2 treatments)
Number of years between stroke and PSE treatments – 2.5 years

How the stroke affected Wendy
Initially when Wendy had her stroke, her family were told that she would not improve and how she was, was as good as it was going to get. At this point Wendy was in nappies, she had virtually no speech, she needed to be hoisted for hygiene, and she couldn’t feed herself and had very little understanding of anything. She was also confused and very angry.
Wendy was relocated from Hervey Bay Hospital to Greenslopes Hospital in Brisbane. She had previously been a patient in that hospital in 2008 when she underwent neurological surgery for a meningioma. She was there for approximately 3 weeks, before we made the decision to take her closer to home, to Maryborough for rehabilitation. During this time Wendy went from eating a liquid diet to a normal diet and swallowing was not an issue. She attended physio and OT twice a day, as well as regular speech sessions which she struggled with. She was able to mobilise with a single point cane to walk short distances but primarily used her wheelchair to mobilise.
Wendy had right sided hemiparesis, moderate aphasia, cognitive issues, depression and chronic pain and fatigue.

Improvements following Perispinal Etanercept (PSE) treatments
Following the PSE treatments, Wendy’s fatigue levels improved considerably. Her pain became much more manageable and her speech and comprehension also improved. The levels of sensation have increased down her right side.
Due to her increased energy levels on her return home, she was able to attend intensive rehabilitation for 4 weeks as an inpatient. This has enabled her to mobilise over a short distance unaided and become more independent, learning how to do day to day tasks for herself.

The difference this has made to Wendy’s life and that of her family
Wendy has become more positive and a lot happier due to her new found independence, which has in turn improved everyone’s lives and made things a little easier.

Dr Tobinick and his team changed our lives.

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