Stroke Rehab

In the U.S. around 70,000 people suffer a Stroke each year. Rehab is crucial to help the victims of Strokes cope with the effects of a Stroke and recover to a normal and healthy life.

How well a patient recovers from a Stroke depends on many factors. Minimizing brain damage during the Stroke will make Rehab faster and more effective. Rehab cannot cure the Stroke but can help in long-term recovery of the aftereffects of brain damage.

The first step would be to diagnose a Stroke. A number of tests may be done on the patient to diagnose the type of Stroke so that the professionals can determine a treatment and Rehab plan. This includes blood pressure, blood sampling, X-ray, E.C.G., Echocardiogram, brain scans such as MRI and CT scans, and Carotid Ultrasound scanning.

After the diagnosis the medical treatment begins. During a Stroke brain tissue is damaged by blood clots (ischemic Stroke) and /or internal bleeding (hemorrhagic Stroke). Various drug treatments must be started immediately to treat this condition. If used soon enough, they can help prevent damage to the brain.

These include-Anti-platelet drugs, such as aspirin, to prevent clotting, anti-coagulant drugs, cholesterol lowering drugs, and antihypertensive drugs. Some patients may go in for surgical procedures like stenting to clear the clogs and reduce the intensity of the Stroke.

Rehabilitation therapy begins in the emergency care hospital within 24-48 hours after the Stroke, once the patient has stabilized. Rehabilitation of Stroke victims is a difficult and time-consuming task. It helps the Stroke survivors to relearn skills that are lost by brain damage during the Stroke.

It also teaches new skills to make up for any disabilities and to practice and relearn communication, memory, and vocational and physical skills. Commonly people have a surge of recovery in the weeks following the Stroke, followed by a slower recovery in the next year or so.

Stroke can cause five types of disabilities: Paralysis, problems controlling movement, sensory disturbances including pain, problems using or understanding language, and emotional disturbances.

Paralysis is the most common result of Stroke. It causes problems of movement, posture and swallowing. Left-brain damage causes right-limb paralysis. Stroke victims may also experience sensory problems like pain, numbness and loss of feeling. Some may have aphasia, problems using or understanding language. People with Global aphasia may lose all their linguistic abilities.

Stroke can also cause damage to the parts of the brain related to memory, learning and awareness. Some also experience severe emotional trauma involving fear, anxiety, frustration and suicidal thoughts.

During the Rehabilitation process, physicians are responsible for the long-term care of the Stroke survivors, including neurologists who look after acute care and physiatrists who look after the Rehab program. Physical therapists help patients with mobility issues like walking, climbing stairs and maintaining balance. Occupational therapists teach them daily living activities like feeding, grooming and using the toilet. Speech therapists help with language skills and swallowing problems. Rehab nurses care for the patient and educate the family concerning how to care for them. Social workers help Stroke survivors and their families with counseling and community resources.

Stroke is a serious disease, rendering the survivor in a weak and delicate position. The need for aftercare and Rehab is high, as the aftereffects of a Stroke are numerous and interfere with normal life function in an unmanageable way. It is only with the help of this team of doctors, nurses and therapists that the patient can be Rehabilitated.

Alcohol Rehab provides detailed information on rehab, alcohol rehab, cardiac rehab, drug rehab and more. Alcohol Rehab is affiliated with Alcohol Rehabilitation Centers

The Importance of Drug and Alcohol Rehab

If you've ever had someone you love suffer with the problems stemming from alcoholism or drug abuse, you're not alone. In fact, about 43% of all adults have been exposed to a family member with alcoholism, with an additional few million added within the realm of drug addiction.

The statistics are staggering to say the least, both for the users of illegal dugs and alcohol and for those merely associated with them. For example, children (including teens) of alcoholics have a significantly higher illegal substance abuse percentage than those from non-alcoholic families. Reasons vary from added stress and decreased monitoring by parents (and the need for both attention and coping). These teens and pre-teens turn to negative peer groups for support. These groups tend to be more open to drug and alcohol use themselves.

From a violent point of view, alcohol and drug usage are associated with a substantial percentage of violent acts. Alcohol is a factor in 68% of all manslaughters, 62% of assaults, 54% of both murders and attempted murders, 48% of robberies and 44% of burglaries. 4% of all homicides in the U.S. last year were narcotics related.

The affect of alcohol and drug abuse on family violence is another discerning topic, as addicted parents are raising a growing number of children in this country. More than one million children are confirmed victims of child abuse each year, with over half of these cases reporting to state child protective services and agencies that substance abuse was a key factor. Studies suggest that there are more occurrences of abused children among alcoholic parents.

Health risks for those addicted to alcohol or drugs are, of course, substantially higher than those who aren't dependant on such a means. Liver and heart problems are quite common, while damage to other major organs is more than possible. Ulcers and osteoporosis in is more common in women who are dependant on alcohol than those who aren't. An increased risk of different types of cancers, including those to the digestive track and breasts in alcoholics is another. Women who have abused alcohol for many years also have a much higher chance of developing hypertension, anemia, and malnutrition.

If rehab is not something that the addict wants to do for him or herself, they need to be aware of the statistics and get the help they need for the future generations. A lack of self-control by one individual is seen by dozens, and mimicked by those who look up to them. Rehab offers many options and specialized treatment programs to suit the needs of anyone, but these services are unable to help if they aren't contacted.

John Stoops recommends that you visit http://www.soberforever.net for more information on Drug and Alcohol Rehab

Do You Want To Sell Your Rehab Fast?

That's an obvious question - we all do! So what is the trick? So much time and money is spent on systems updates, roofs, and structural issues, that many times there's nothing left for what really makes the sale: what your potential buyers see. And more importantly, what they fall in love with.

People don't walk into your house, and say, "Wow, they have all new electric. Let's buy." That's just a core expectation. The trick to selling houses fast is to seduce your customers to fall in love when they walk through. It has to feel like a home to them.

The two most inexpensive yet surefire ways we have found to create this atmosphere is through color and through decorating.

A tastefully decorated house really stands out from the others. New house builders learned this a long time ago. Why do you suppose they hire interior decorators? But they have the advantage of creating one masterpiece to sell many. Rehabbers don't have that luxury. But we discovered that a house can be "staged" to feel like a lived in home. Staging is the art of artistically placing d?cor items around the house. Perhaps a colorful place setting on the kitchen counter along with open coffee beans for aroma, and an open recipe book turned to a colorful picture. Bathrooms dressed up with beautiful towels, sweet smelling soaps, and window treatments as shower curtains. Finally, fireplace mantels decorated as if the family was already living there.

But even staging doesn't create the ambience you need. It is the warmth that comes from color. You may have heard to use a white-on-white color scheme to remain neutral and not turn anyone off. The truth is - no one is turned ON either. Buyers aren't attracted to all white houses. At best, there's no emotion. With the use of contemporary designer colors, however, these same people fall in love with the home. That's the emotion that sells. When they love, they buy. And they fall in love with houses that are brought to life with full color.

Best of Success & Abundance,

Lou Castillo

Yours Free: 6 Full Months Of Specialized Real Estate Investing Strategies - Delivered To You By e-Mail, Audio and Teleseminar - All At No Cost To You... Go here right now--> http://www.freerealestatestrategies.com

Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early '90's, and now shares his vast experience with investors around the country. Unlike many of the speakers and mentors in real estate, Lou has both an undergraduate and a Master's Degree in Business and Marketing, and for 12 years he worked managing a 50 million dollar business for American Express.

He was on his way up the corporate ladder until he recognized that real estate offered a greater opportunity for financial freedom, and for the lifestyle he desired. Using his powerful formulas Lou was able to retire from his corporate job at age 37 and follow his passion - his first love - which is investing in real estate.

Lou has developed proven systems that create massive wealth through real estate investing. He has authored more than 7 books and courses on the subject focusing on the implementation of his techniques. His latest development 'The Investor Riches System' has been helping investors world wide achieve financial freedom through real estate. If you wish to talk to Lou you can e-mail him at Lou@InvestorRiches.com

Rehabbing a House

 

It is easy to be intimidated by the size of a rehab project, particularly if youve never tackled one before. This chapter breaks down the steps involved in completing a renovation from start to finish and removes some of the mystery, and hopefully some of the fear, surrounding a renovation. I hope you find it a useful tool when eyeing your next fixer upper.

Step One - Meet With Contractor and Define Job

When starting a rehab, the very first thing that I do is walk through and evaluate the project myself. Then I set up a meeting with my contractor to get his input and finalize my strategy including how to handle certain repairs and whether or not were going to make any changes to the basic layout of the property. Now that I work exclusively with one general contractor, my life is much easier since I only have to meet one person. He contacts everyone else and then relays the results of his conversations with them to me. As a result of my experience, Im becoming fairly adept at determining the best way to do the work. Therefore, my contractor usually winds up completing the projects in the way that I envision. However, he does offer advice and Im always open to suggestions as to better or cheaper ways to get the job done.

Step Two - Define Job and Buy Materials

Once we meet and determine the work we are going to do, my contractor and I put together a draw schedule. This is usually required by the lender and lists the order in which we intend to complete the work required. I like to shift things around to keep the cash flow coming from the lender. My contractor likes to do things in an order that makes his life easier. We usually settle on something in between.

Step Three - Phase One: Demolition

Through experience, I have finally learned to do my entire demo first. I used to get into my homes and start the jobs immediately. However, this meant we were constantly working around trash, having to haul trash away, etc. Now, I just get a dumpster or two at the very beginning of a job, bring in a crew, and begin to rip everything out. We clean out all the trash and tear out the kitchen, bath(s), drop ceilings, paneling, flooring, and anything else that might get in our way of completing the job properly and efficiently.

Step Four - Phase Two: Roof, Windows and Siding

The rest of the job typically begins on the exterior of the home. We start with the roof in order to ensure that the inside of the house stays dry, and usually, Ill have the windows and siding done at the same time. One reason I like completing the entire exterior rather quickly is that it starts to attract attention from the neighbors and people who drive by.

Step Five - Phase Three: Plumbing and HVAC

The next two items on my list are the plumbing and the heating and air conditioning system. In the past, I had contractors who didnt do the plumbing right away and it only led to disaster. After they hung, finished and painted all of the sheet rock in the home, they turned on the water only to find that there were pipes burst in the walls. Today, I ALWAYS make my contractor check out the plumbing first, including the sewer lines. It is important to have a working heating system in the home upfront so that much of the interior work, particularly the finishing and painting of the sheet rock, can be done. While the plumber is working, Ill have an HVAC crew installing a new heating system which consists of a new gas furnace and central air conditioning. I havent always replaced functional HVAC systems and even today, if the current system is fairly new, I will avoid it. Primarily, though, I always install completely new systems. Finally, if the electrical system needs to be updated in any way, I usually do this while the HVAC system is being installed. In many instances, if I am installing central air conditioning in a home that didnt have it previously, the electrical system will need to be updated to accommodate the central air. Other than this, which isnt always necessary, I rarely have to do any electrical work in my homes.

Step Six - Phase Four: Framing and Subfloors

Once the exterior and the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems are done, I begin to address areas such as rotten wood, tearing down walls and building new ones. Of course, if Im going to remove or build a wall containing plumbing and/or electric, then my crew has to do it before or during Step Five. I make an effort to finish the basement of every house that I renovate. It creates more living space, and for many of my buyers, my finished basement is the reason that they buy my home.

Step Seven - Phase Five: Sheet Rock (Drywall)

Once I have completed all of the major systems, then I begin to do my sheet rock (a.k.a. drywall). If at all possible, I prefer to just skim and patch the walls, but I frequently put a lot of new sheet rock in my homes. Hanging and finishing the sheet rock is something that takes a while, but it goes a long way toward making an old house look new.

Step Eight - Phase Six: Painting

Once all of the sheet rock is done, we get paint on the walls. First, well put a coat of primer or a light first coat of paint on the walls and then have the sheet rock crew fix any flaws, which wont show up until there is paint on the walls. As soon as the flaws are repaired, well put two more coats of paint on the walls.

Step Nine - Phase Seven: Installing New Kitchens and Baths

Once the paint is on the walls, we get our vinyl floors in the kitchens and baths before installing all the new cabinets, commode, vanity, etc. We usually take our kitchen dimensions to Lowes or Home Depot and have them design the kitchen for us. It makes my contractors life easier and we always get the right size cabinets with a good fit.

Step Ten - Phase Eight: Punch Out

Once the kitchens and baths are installed, we start to wrap everything up. Contractors usually refer to this as their punch out and consists of all the little details such as outlets, switchplates, and light fixtures. Many times, a homeowner will walk through and create a punch list with the contractor. Since weve worked together for so long, my contractor already knows what needs to be done and we dont need to do this. Sometimes it seems like the punch out is the hardest part of the whole renovation since it takes so long to complete everything on the list. However, this is also the part of the job that makes your renovation a good one or an excellent one.

Step Eleven - Phase Nine: Carpeting

Since we dont want workers ruining the new carpet, this is the very last thing we install. We usually put new wall-to-wall carpeting throughout.

Step Twelve - Phase Ten - Clean Up and Landscaping

At this point, the home should be finished and well begin the clean up. Since you want your homes to stand out, it is important to get them clean and looking like a million bucks. If Im going to do any landscaping, it is usually done here as the last thing.

Step Thirteen - Phase Eleven - Marketing

Once the home is complete, I immediately begin marketing it. If the area is hot and the home is going to move quickly, then sometimes Ill start marketing before completion, but most of the time I prefer to have the entire job done before allowing people to see the home.

Step Fourteen - Phase Twelve - Final Repairs Required

Once the home is under contract with a buyer, they may select to use a home inspector and their lender will order an appraisal. As a result of the inspection or appraisal, you may need to do additional repairs. Then the inspector or appraiser will reinspect the property to make sure the repairs have been done before issuing their final approval.

James OKeefe is the owner of My Millionaire Friend, www.mymillionairefriend.com, offering FREE articles, tips, hints, and real-world advice on how to make money with your website. Visit his site or join his FREE newsletter by sending a blank email to mailto:newsletter@mymillionairefriend.com.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Rehabilitation

Just what is addiction, you asked? Addiction is a physiological dependence on something, and is both physical and psychological in nature. When a person is addicted they literally need to feed that addiction constantly. Addiction is a traitor it sneaks up on you. People who are addicted often do not recognize that they have a problem, they think that the problem is with everyone. Addiction is different from abuse, a person can abuse drugs and not be addicted. The two most vital factors in determining addiction are tolerance and physical dependency. Addiction is very destructive, and most of the time people who are suffering from it end up hurting themselves and their love ones. It is hard to overcome but once the person began to see addiction as a problem in their life they can immediately seek alcoholism treatment or addiction treatment.

Teens partying late at night and imbibing drugs and alcohol for added fun, often dominated the silver screen. Quite a pretty picture isn't it? Oftentimes teens see it as an epitome. Although Hollywood does its part to show a different side of alcohol and drug addiction with movies like "Trainspotting" and "Girl Interrupted", the character still ended up being glamorous and ideal in nature and often overshadows the dark side of addiction. It is important to look at this depiction with a cynic eye. Movies are after all for entertainment purposes only, and there is nothing remotely entertaining about the reality of alcohol abuse and drug addiction. Addiction can be hell on earth and life in an Alcohol rehab and Drug Rehab can be a nightmare.

Illegal drugs and alcohol are addicting. Records show that the younger you are when you experiment with illegal drugs or alcohol you are more prone to become an addict in the future. Addiction often runs in families; you do not choose addiction, addiction chooses you. Experimenting with drugs and alcohol is a gamble, and the stake is your life, your personality, and your future.

Individuals often hide their drinking or deny that the fact that they have a problem. Signs of a possible alcoholism include having friends or relatives express concern, being irritated when people comment on their drinking, feeling guilty about their excessive alcohol consumption and thinking that they should moderate it but finds themselves unable to do so, or needs a morning drink to steady their nerves or relieve a hangover.

On the other hand, drug dependence often begins with the misuse of legal drugs like prescription drugs and inhalants. Inhalants are legal substances that becomes illegal when use in a manner that causes a person to get high. These also include aerosol cleaners, gasoline, cleaning fluids, butane, and acetone. These things are legal to sell or buy however, they are not controlled substances and they are relatively cheap when compared with drugs.

People with addiction work hard to resolve them, and with the support of family members and friends they are able to recover on their own. However in most cases, people they usually cannot stop drinking or using drugs by willpower alone. A lot of them require outside help, mostly from Alcohol Rehab or Drug Rehab. Alcoholism treatment and addiction treatment may need medically supervised detoxification to avoid possible life-threatening withdrawal symptoms such as seizures and convulsion. Once they are stabilized, they need help resolving psychological issues associated with their problem drinking.

There are numerous methods available for treating alcohol problems and substance abuse. For a free professional consultation to get help for yourself or a loved one call 800-559-9503 anytime day or night. Or you can visit these sites for more information:

http://www.helpaddicts.com
http://www.drugrehabcenter.com
http://www.dual-diagnosis.net
http://www.detox-center.com