About Us

P.A.C.E. yourself because it can be a long recovery ...

H.O.P.E., Never let it go. There is always hope, stay positive and strap yourself in for the long run.

H.O.P.E. Healing On Positive Energy

P.A.C.E. Positive Attitudes Change Everything

Like the light house was to troubled ships at sea, saving them from unwanted peril and leading them back to shore ... so is H.O.P.E. Hope can take away despair and depression. Hope can take a person to new heights never imagined and bring the patient back to a healing frame of mind.

The H.O.P.E. for Stroke is a Foundation does the following:

Is a support organization for the stroke survivor, which encourages them and helps them through the length of stroke recovery
Teaches the stroke survivor and family about plasticity and how it works
Holds meetings and gatherings to educate the public about stroke
Holds inspirational meetings that will help the stroke victim and family get back on track
Helps out with handicap items not covered by insurance
Is a support organization for the families of stroke survivors, because they bear many burdens
Because of the two pre-eminent doctors, from Columbia Presbyterian hospital, on the Board of Directors, the foundation will be constantly updated with new and improved technology for surviving and handling stroke
Looks forward to working on projects such as extended physical therapy and helping out with bills related to stroke
Publishes a monthly newsletter on new stroke treatment frontiers and personal stories of encouragement

Please send donations to (this is not intended for stroke survivors or the families of stroke victims):

H.O.P.E. for Stroke 250 Duck Pond Drive
Wantagh, New York 11793

WHO WE ARE (Stroke Survivors)

by Peter V Cornelis

WHO ARE WE?.

by Peter V Cornelis We are one in 4.8 million survivors just in the USA and millions of others around the world, we are not alone. We may have difficulty walking or talking. Our vision or thoughts may be impaired. Our arms, hands and fingers may not work the way they used to. We may not be what other people consider normal. But what we are is a group of people, that if "normal people had to endure what the stroke survivor does, on a daily basis, the normal people may not be able to handle it. Take pride in what we are. A group of people that wake up every morning and face more challenges than everyone else. A group of people that works hard on getting better and learning to understand acceptance. A group of people that learn to deal with their abilities not their disabilities. A group of people that are bonded, not by race, religion, nationality, political affiliation or sex, but a group of people that are defined by their hope, strength, commonality and happiness. We are stroke survivors, people who earn their wings every day and meet a huge amount of challenges every day.We are not people who get upset about a hangnail, leaves in ones gutter or being caught in traffic. Be proud of who we are. We are a group of people that have mastered dealing with real adversity. We are stronger in spirit and commitment than most. We are the ones that would swim the English Channel with one hand. We are the ones who go the distance and then some on a daily basis. We are the ones that force our tears back and go forward. We are more human than most, stronger in character and we are not broken. We are the ones if you met us, would like us. We most of all are human beings, not a statistic or a person on disability. We care, we feel, we embrace life, we are a good person to know. We are the one! We are one in stroke! We are one in helping each other, for who knows us better than us. We are one. Join us. Catch the fever, we'll help you.

STRESS AND DEPRESSION FROM THE STROKE EXPERIENCE AND WHAT TO DO...by PETER V CORNELIS

I THOUGHT I HAD TO EAT THE WHOLE ELEPHANT!!!

Many times after a stroke both care givers and stroke survivors are faced with the unbelievable task of dealing with recovery or caring for the stroke survivor. It can and does cause depression in both parties. Stroke recovery can seem like an unending journey to no where with nothing ever happening. Care giving can seem like a marathon one never is prepared for.

There is a way to handle this somewhat monumental effort even just for depression. We have to take a lesson from the ant here.

The alert went up in the ant colony that there was fresh meat outside, an elephant. The first ant that came out of his ant hole ran back shaking like a leaf. He reported to the head ant that the elephant was too large a catch and that the elephant was beyond what an ant could move. The head army ant retorted, "we can move it" the other ant said "how"? In a blur of black the army of ants set to their task and in a day had managed to move the elephant to their storage area. The ant who questioned now understood, this was his first elephant. He did not know that by taking a little piece of the elephant at a time it would eventually disappear, rather than trying to figure out how to move the elephant at one time.

Stroke recovery is like that. When we look at the whole picture of recovery, the whole situation or the amount of depression we need to recover from... it is impossible and can definitely lead to further thoughts of being impossible. If we take little pieces at a time of recovery or just to focus on the one thing we are doing at that time as a care giver or try to concentrate more on the good things that happen and to look for the positive in any situation, the better the outcome. Anything we do, it should be little pieces at a time, the pile will eventually move.

If you need an ear and a friendly voice, feel free to contact us at Hope for Stroke at 516 804 8495.

ODE TO THE CAREGIVER
donations

by Peter V Cornelis

Here I wait in what appears to be a lonely room. I wait to hear of my loved ones fate. An article I tried to read while waiting held no interest at all. I wait for answers and hope and pray that my loved one will not leave me this day. What is going on, I wish I knew. Time is moving so incredibly slow. The door then opened as the Doctor came out flanked by others. It was the report I waited for but suddenly lost some hope. They tell me my loved one may not move, speak or think clearly. They tell me my loved one will need a great amount of assistance but what of I.

The care giver left to their own devices searches their soul and fiber of the strength they must command. To find out all these things and to only have two hands. The strength that they gather seems to come from a familiar source. It is love and caring and begging to hope. A hope to pray that the days to come will not be as hard as they seem. As insurance, logistics and gathering medical information as fast as one can. Surely this is God's joke I need another hand.

At home the care giver finds out there is more to caring for their loved one than ever before. The demands of the stroke survivor becomes unending. Those friends and relatives with a smile on their face that say "let me know if we can do anything" and disappear.and friends and family have run and scattered.

Doing all those things for us that we can no longer do for ourselves. We thank you emensly, all 4.8 million survivors in the USA, for all those things that you have done and are yet to do.

For those care givers that have taken to this call, again thank you one and all. If you need some help, someone to talk to. Please call us at 516 804 8495. All calls are confidential.

If you need to apply for disability go to http://www.ssa.gov/d&s1.htm

Thank you, in advance, for helping us help stroke victims and their families.

I remember there were times I felt like a two year old trapped in an adult body unaware of the personal effort I would have to make to get better.� If you want to learn how to get better too, call us!