When a therapist really knows the patient perspective

In Episode 55 we're joined by Michelle Ballasiotes, a pediatric stroke survivor and occupational therapist. Michelle suffered what is called a perinatal stroke which usually occurs between the middle of pregnancy and delivery. Her childhood consisted of weekly physical and occupational therapy for more than 10 years in order to gain mobility due to right hemiplegia, or paralysis on the right side of the body. She also has hydrocephalus, or an excess of cerebral spinal fluid, in her brain, resulting in having a shunt placed in her head at three days old.Some of the topics from our conversation:Surviving a stroke before birth and life with hemiplegiaLeveraging the patient experience to become an empathetic providerOvercoming the stigma & participating in adaptive sports The dating scene and intimacy as a young adult stroke survivorAdvocacy efforts with the International Pediatric Stroke Alliance Michelle also gets us thinking about starting a Pickleball for stroke survivors - you don't want to miss this one.To connect with Michelle you can find her on Facebook or Twitter.Learn more about the International Pediatric Stroke Alliance.Show Credits:Music intro credit to Jake Dansereau. Our intro welcome is the voice of Caroline Goggin, a stroke survivor and our first podcast guest! Please listen to her inspiring story on Episode 2 of the podcast.Be sure to give the show a like and share, & follow and connect with us on social or contact us to support us as a show sponsor or become a guest on the Know Stroke Podcast. Visit website to to learn more: https://www.knowstrokepod.com/Connect with Us and Share our Show on Social:Website | Linkedin | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

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