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own brain and body as she 
recovers from the stroke. She 
describes the results as noth-
ing short of miraculous.
“I was a mess,” she said 
about the ischemic stroke, 
characterized by a blockage of 
blood in the brain. “I was so 
afraid, but I was more afraid 
of not being able to function” 
than of losing her life to the 
stroke.
Rosenberg, 73, said the 
physical and occupational 
therapy she underwent only 
caused frustration and anxiety. 
“My brain only remembered 
the frustration, which led to 
anxiety,” she said. 
As someone naturally open 
to new experiences, including 
visiting the North and South 
poles on her own, Rosenberg 
felt it was important to try 
something unique to recover 
from her paralytic symp-
toms, which included slurred 
speech, drooping on the right 
side of her face, and the loss of 
control of her right arm, hand 
and foot.
Once again, connections 
led her to try three supple-
mental therapeutic modal-
ities to regain her mobility 
— the Feldenkrais Method, 
the Anat Baniel Method 
NeuroMovement and the 
MELT (Myofascial Energetic 
Length Technique) Method. 

She notes proudly that all 
three were created by Jewish 
individuals and focus on 
building the mind-body con-
nection to help with healing, 
increased strength and mobil-
ity. 
Rosenberg began using the 
alternative therapies almost 
immediately after she had 
her stroke, often doubling up 
on physical and occupational 
therapies with alternative ther-
apies.
After one session with a 
local Anat Baniel practitioner, 
her face no longer drooped. “It 
was a miracle,” she said.
 
WHAT IS A STROKE?
There are two types of stroke: 
ischemic, which entails the 
blockage of blood from a 
person’
s brain, and hem-
orrhagic, which can be 
described as a “brain bleed.” 
Rebbeca Grysiewicz, D.O., a 
neurologist and director of 
the Comprehensive Stroke 
Center at Beaumont Hospital 
in Royal Oak, said 87 percent 
of the general patient pop-
ulation in the United States 
have ischemic strokes while 
13 percent of patients have the 
hemorrhagic variety. Strokes 
can occur in many parts of 
the brain and, depending 
on where the stroke occurs, 
symptoms manifest them-

selves differently. 
“From a recovery and reha-
bilitation standpoint, it can 
be very different” for patients, 
Grysiewicz said. “In each 
case, early mobilization is 
important. We try to do that 
as quickly as possible.”
She mentioned that multi-
disciplinary care is required 
in whatever stroke situation 
occurs and that the stroke 
team at Beaumont consults 
with professionals in physi-
cal, occupational and speech 
therapy.
“We have to make sure 
the patients are safe and can 
do these therapies,” she said. 
“Usually within the first 24 
hours, we begin the process 
of rehabilitation. We want to 
make sure patients are able 
to return home and return to 
baseline functioning.”
Grysiewicz mentioned that 
physical, occupational and 
speech therapy are the pillars 
of therapy for stroke patients 
but that other alternative ther-
apies can help as well.
“There are a variety of 
treatment methods,” she said. 
“It’
s just finding what works 
for the patient. As long as it’
s 
something that isn’
t going to 
cause the patient harm, there 
is evidence for looking at 
alternative therapies.”

THE FELDENKRAIS METHOD
The Feldenkrais Method, cre-
ated by the late Israeli Moshe 
Feldenkrais, is a program of 
neural education via move-
ment by which practitioners 
help clients gain mobility 
or alleviate chronic pain 
by working with the brain. 
Feldenkrais, who earned 
degrees in mechanical and 
electrical engineering, as well 
as a doctorate in physics, cre-

“You know God will pay attention 

when Christian, Jewish and 

Muslim people are praying for this 

Jewish girl. Without the prayers, 

(my recovery) wouldn’t have 

been as fast.”

— BRENDA ROSENBERG

Health

Recognizing 
Stroke 
Symptoms

According 
to Rebbeca 
Grysiewicz, 
D.O., neurologist 
and director 
of Beaumont’
s 
Comprehensive 
Stroke Center in 
Royal Oak, stroke symptoms 
can be recognized through 
the use of the acronym 
FASTER:

• Facial asymmetry: Does 
one side of the person’
s face 
appear to be drooping?

• Arms: Is there weakness or 
“drifting” in a person’
s arm?

• Stability: Are there issues 
with stability?

• Talking: Is someone 
not able to talk or are 
they experiencing speech 
problems?

• Eye: Is the person 
experiencing loss of vision; 
experiencing vision loss in one 
eye; or do they have double 
vision?

• React: Call 911 as quickly 
as possible if you or are a 
loved one experience these 
symptoms. Don’
t attempt 
to drive to the hospital 
yourself, Grysiewicz says. 
By calling EMS services, 
they can contact the hospital 
in advance so medical 
professionals are prepared to 
help as soon as you arrive.

Rebbeca 
Grysiewicz

36 | JANUARY 30 • 2020