I had a hemorrhagic stroke in March this year due to an AVM bleed. Since the bleed I have suffered from issues with concentration, focus, awareness and occasionally issues with short term memory.... It's been pretty difficult to operate myself and maintain relationships with my family due to my personality changes since my avm bleed in the brain!!
I was wondering if anyone with an avm has critical illness insurance to cover such life changing events?
did anyone go back to work and found it difficult to operate as they did as before...???
Hi Bhav1973. I know it seems like at eternity but in terms of recovery…you are in the early days yet. When talking about recovery from a stroke…we are talking about years not months. The good news is that you no longer have to suffer alone. We will be here to listen to your fears and frustrations. We understand what you are going thru because we have been there too!
Like Barbara said you are still very early in the recovery process. It can be a long process but things do get better.
Short term memory problems are very common amongst those of us who have had bleeds. Although mine's not perect, it's a whole lot better than it was in the weeks and months after my bleed/crani.
I did attempt to go back to work a few months after I was released from the hospital and rehab unit. It did not go well for me. It was just too difficult to do the things I used to do with any kind of proficiency. My deficits make it nearly impossible to work (I'm on SS disabiity now)
I'm not trying to discourage you. Things may go very well for you. I just would recommend taking it slow and don't try to do too much too soon. You've been through a lot and your body and your brain need time to recover.
I also had a stroke due to my AVF in May, 2011. Every AVM recovery is different but in time it does get better. It has been a year and one month since my stroke and physically I am no different than I was before the stroke (I had to work hard to get to this point). However, I still struggle with aphasia and telling stories. But I feel in time, that will get better,too. Considering that I had to learn to speak again, I’ve come a long way. Don’t be discouraged, as others have said, it hasn’t been that long since your stroke so you will show improvement every day!
Hi, I have problems with evrything you said! I had a hemorrhagic stroke too. I also had mine in march, it was march 8th. I have not gone back to work yet, infact I know I am not realdy! I was uninsured when I had the bleed, so I do not know much about critical illness. I was able to get the charity case at the hospital. It was the only break I have gotten so far. It doesn't hurt to ask the hospital if you would quilfy. I wish you the best of luck! If you ever need to compare notes let me know, and I will give you the infromation I have been able to gather so far. This is a hrd journey! Figuring everything out just seems so overwhelming. My mom came from out of state to help me. If she was not here I would have no direction. If I could share anything that she has help me with, Iwould be happy tp do so! We are getting a game plan of this is where I am, and if this happens this is my next step. It is helping SO MUCH! Have you filled for ssi?
I had my hemorrhagic stroke back in February of 2011 and experienced alot of the exact same challenges as you are experiencing right now, however, please know that all of this does get better, with time!!! The hardest part for me was understand how they were going to treat the AVM (which I never knew I had until February, 2011) after I had survived the bleed so that I didn't have to worry about it happening again. I didn't have "cricital illness" insurance and am not sure I even know what that is but, luckily, I do have very good health insurance which minimized my out of pocket expenses over the 15 months of follow-up appointments and treatment of my AVM until I was told that I am AVM-FREE which was just this past May :)))!
I will also share with you that I was lucky enough to walk out of the hospital just 30 short days after my bleed with not one physical deficit - Thank God for that!!! And I did go back to work in mid-April, however, the stress level at the particular company was too high and made the decision to leave that company and look for another job. I ended up landing at another company and have been working since August, 2011. So, I guess you could say that I did find it difficult to operate as I once had ... given that I was always in high-pressured, stressful jobs and decided that this wasn't for me any more and was lucky enough to find something that was alot less stressful for me.
Hang in there and know that this will all get so much better with time and in the meantime, please remember to be "kind" to yourself!
Hi there, I too had a "stroke" / brain bleed with surgery and had to give up work i am 7 months post surgery and have been through several stages with personality, memory etc at the moment i am in a who am i going to be stage as I lost so much of who I was, so rather than get all down about what had changed and missing the person i used to be I decided that I could now become the person I want to be, some parts of the old me are still there I guess that was going to be there no matter what but I decided to change the bits i didnt like. Its very hard but I have made a false image of myself for other people i.e. I give my children lots of kisses and cuddles but in actual fact I cant even remember having them and the whole mother to child bond has gone. I guess what im saying is you know how your supposed to respond to people so to make life easier for them fake it and it might just become real. I can get heath insurance but its costs sooooooo much more and I have tried to go back to work (nail and hair tech) but my motor skills are not up to much anymore so cant do it plus im not allowed to drive so i cant get to clients
give yourself a break! sad fact is you may not be able to do the things you did or be the person you were before but you can now change anything you want to suit who you are now.
Dear all, thanks for your support and sharing of knowledge, if feels so nice that I don't suffer alone through this. To be honest since I had a stroke from my AVM my perspective of the world has been altered, i've also changed.... some ppl will like the new me, some ppl won't.. I just hope the second chance I have i do some good with this life!!
Hi Bhav1973 - I agree with most here - It's definitely frustrating yet, at the same time, a chance to re-make a start and make the most of what's new and what remains.
I'm unsure of what critical illness insurance is - where did you here about it and what is it?
Thanks for you're reply, it's really hard when the closest do not understand, what I went through and currently going through.... My changes in my mind, will not be fully understood or appreciated by them!!
Critical Illness Insurance is designed to pay out a lump sum if you go through a critical illness, but this depends as pre-existing conditions are not considered.
In simple terms if you have suffered from any of those listed medical conditions or any medical condition/symptom we consider has contributed to your current diagnosis (Brain Haemorrhage) prior to the date your cover started under the Critical Illness Scheme then it is unlikely your claim will be accepted. For example if you have been diagnosed with hypertension prior to your cover start date of 1 March 2011 then this is considered as an associated condition for contributing to a stroke.
We cannot list an exhaustive amount of conditions but those are the primary ones we are looking out for. As long as you have not had any medical conditions prior to 1 March 2011 that could be considered as being linked to your current diagnosis then all will be fine with the claim...............