Reducing the risk of a second stroke

Dr. Wong is thankful that he did not have many residual effects from his stroke, but he is determined to avoid having another stroke. “A second or third stroke can be devastating,” he says. “I realized that my diet and the stress set me up for my first stroke.”

Despite feeling healthy before his stroke, Dr. Wong realized there were more lifestyle changes he could make to help prevent another stroke. “I don’t eat anything with sugar, stay away from red meat, and keep my weight down,” he explained. “My blood pressure is under control.”

Dr. Wong has always prioritized staying active. Even before his stroke, he swam regularly. Now, he continues to make exercise a key part of his routine, with exercise equipment set up at home to make sure he doesn’t miss a workout. He also began focusing on managing his stress levels. He took a stress management class, and through that, he feels he has learned to manage his stress and delegate more at work.

“You don’t have to rush to do things,” he says, having learned more about how stress can increase the risk of stroke. “You really realize that every moment is precious.”

Understanding the patient experience

Dr. Wong’s experience with Kandu has helped him understand the complexities of being a stroke survivor. Through his conversations with Puja, Dr. Wong recognized he could still learn more about the patient experience.

“There’s a lot that you don’t realize when you’re taking care of stroke patients,” he remarked. Meeting other survivors and hearing their stories has changed how he thinks about patient care and what it means to be a stroke survivor.

These days, Dr. Wong is delegating more at work and continues to manage his stress. He’s also traveling with his wife. “I just recently came back from London. I went back to the original hospital where I studied 54 years ago,” he shared. This time, instead of researching stroke, he returned as a stroke survivor. “It was very illuminating.”

He is thankful for the role that Kandu continues to have in his recovery. “After you’ve had one stroke, you realize that every moment is important. Kandu has empowered me to slow down and to look for more meaning in my life.”

Discovering a sense of belonging through Connect Groups

There were moments when Laura was having symptoms that felt odd, and she didn’t immediately attribute them to her stroke. “I told my husband, I don’t know why I’m doing this or that,” she says. Then, she would look up the symptoms on the Kandu app. “And lo and behold, they show up as a condition of a stroke patient.”

She was always relieved to find out she wasn’t alone. “I’m not going crazy,” she says. “It made me feel pretty good to know that other people have the same problems I have.”

Even though Laura no longer meets with her navigator regularly, she still spends her Wednesday nights connecting with other stroke survivors in a Connect Group. “They have helped me so much,” she says. “I can’t begin to tell you how much they help me.”

Finding joy through caring for others

As she continues to recover from her most recent stroke, Laura remains committed to serving her community and caring for others, often expressing her care through the joy of baking.

Laura finds happiness in making her special butter rum raisin cookies. “I also make a 7UP pound cake everyone loves,” she says. “I can’t stop making them. As soon as I stop, they want another one.” She even delivers her treats to her neighbors.

“Laura is such a generous person. She’s always caring for those around her,” says Melanie, Laura’s Navigator. “She took advantage of everything Kandu offers and is back doing many of the things she loves, including caring for her neighbors and family. It’s been incredible to see the progress she’s made.”

Laura says Kandu is a gift to all stroke survivors. “It opens up a world of teaching us how to cope with everyday life,” she says. “It’s amazing.” She says she doesn’t want to think about what would have happened if it hadn’t been for Kandu. “I don’t think I’d be doing half the things I’m doing right now,” she says.

“I’m going to still try to do everything I did before my strokes,” Laura says. “I’m not going to give up.”

Rachel, Tracy’s care partner, also found the partnership with Melanie really valuable and took advantage of Kandu’s care partner resources. Rachel was on calls with Melanie and Tracy and attended a care partner support group.

Rachel also met with Melanie individually when she had questions or needed support. “There were times when Rachel was perceiving that I was being non-compliant,” says Tracy. “Melanie was able to talk her through that and how to approach it.”

Care partners often need guidance on how to best support their partner through their recovery journey. “Stroke also impacts care partners and we want to be able to provide them with resources and support to help them care for their loved ones,” says Melanie.

Kandu offers a customized plan for recovery

Halfway through Jason’s five-day hospital stay, his care team told him about Kandu. “At its core, the biggest thing that I focus on is how much everyone actually cared about my situation personally,” says Jason. “And Puja is no exception.”

As Jason’s Kandu Navigator, Puja met with him weekly. She was a resource and his point of contact as he worked through the 90-day program. Puja provided Jason with the tools and encouragement he needed to navigate the complexities of post-stroke life.

Returning home, Jason was confronted with a new reality. “It was hard to do everything,” he says.

Despite the challenges, Jason took advantage of what Kandu offers stroke survivors, including a Survivor’s support group each week. “Jason was committed to the support groups,” says Puja. Jason didn’t miss a Wednesday meeting, even if it meant calling in from the hockey rink.

Jason found the information in the Kandu app helpful. He took advantage of the educational material to learn more about what to expect in his recovery. “I was reading every day,” he says.

The importance of early support

Jason is back to doing many of the things he did before his stroke. These days, he’s not playing hockey. But he is spending a lot of time at the rink, watching his son play.

He is thankful that Kandu could meet him where he was in his recovery. “It was just a great resource for me to recover,” Jason says. “I could really hone in on what I needed at the time.”

During the program, Jason’s navigator spent time helping him understand his Employee Assistance Program benefits for counseling or insurance-covered mental health platforms. Another important resource that Jason took advantage of was Expressable, a virtual speech therapy platform, to tackle his aphasia.

“Jason’s entire life changed when he had a stroke,” says Puja, “But he’s utilized Kandu resources to take control of his recovery, even after the formal Navigator program was done.

The Kandu program lasts 90 days, but Kandu Navigators are always available for post-program support. Jason reached out to Puja after graduation, and she was able to provide him with support and resources. “He leans into Kandu when he needs support to take action,” says Puja.

Jason acknowledges the ongoing nature of his challenges and the need for self-compassion. “It’s not a marathon,” he says, thinking about his recovery. “There’s no end to the game, no conclusion to the period. It’s a journey for me.”

Leaning into the Kandu program

“I loved the name,” Kathy says, reflecting on her first impressions of Kandu. Once they started the program, they were all in. “I think that just gave us both the feeling that somebody was there who understood all this,” she says.

Bob was committed to taking control of his health. “I wanted to learn as much as possible about what was going on with me and understand how to prevent it from happening again,” Bob says.

Once they joined Kandu, Bob says he immediately received support. He appreciated the on-demand education and resources available in the app. “I didn’t have to wait for anything to happen before I could get more information,” he said.

Bob is thankful for the support he received from his care team in the hospital, but he left with more questions than answers. “The doctors were good,” he says. “But I needed to have more conversations to understand what might be going on and talk about my specific issues.”

Kathy felt like Kandu filled that gap after Bob was discharged. “When you go home, Kandu can pick it up and take it from there– I think that’s exceptionally important,” she says.