COMEBACK: The Story of My Stroke

This is a bi-partite combination of the last two books dealing with strokes covered here, Douglas Ritchie's personal account of his Stroke (Doubleday, 1961) and Dr. Irving Page's excellent symposium on Strokes (Dutton, 1961). As the No. 3 killer today, the stroke is also a very common disabler and any and all information on adjusting to the many handicaps it imposes will be valuable to those affected (and their families). Van Rosen was in good health in 1959 when he suffered a stroke which left him wondering whether he would walk or talk again. In the first half of this book, he discusses his rehabilitation both in the hospital and at home until three years and $10,000 later, with a still lifeless right arm, he was able to work again. The second half is a discussion of the mechanism of the stroke, its causes, danger signals, diagnosis, and aftercare. A clinical, candid- not always to his advantage (somehow Mr. Ritchie elicited greater reader sympathy) account- with a good many practical pointers on how to accommodate to everyday life in later months and years.