Recovery After Stroke

What do you do when rehab ends but your brother still can't be understood - and nobody offers you a single tool to help? Robert Schmidtbauer is a care partner from Tomahawk, Wisconsin. His younger brother lives with ataxia, and a stroke six years ago made his speech so unclear that strangers understand only 60–70% of what he says. After years of being the "go-between," Robert used AI to build Larr...

A doctor ran a reflex test and told the patient they would never walk again. That same day, a physical therapist walked in, and the patient walked 70 feet. Dr. Kory Langwell is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with over 15 years of experience helping stroke survivors recover at home and online. In this episode, we break down what physical therapists know about walking after stroke that most doctors do...

What if falling after a stroke wasn't something you just had to accept? Associate Professor Kate Scrivener is a stroke rehabilitation researcher at Macquarie University whose work is rewriting what we know about falls, walking, and long-term recovery. In this episode, Bill and Kate revisit her HiWalk study, a high-dose walking program showing real results for chronic stroke survivors, and dive int...

Someone asked me recently whether there are natural compounds that can actively support brain healing, not just manage symptoms, but work on the recovery side of the equation. The answer, according to multiple clinical trials, might surprise you.

When a stroke hits one person, the whole family absorbs the impact, and in this episode, for the first time, the whole family tells that story together. Kathy Cunningham spent her career in healthcare, caring for others with skill and dedication. When stroke entered her life and her household, she was forced to become the patient. Her sons, Sean and Paul Monahan, join her in this episode to share...

Most stroke survivors are told to exercise, but almost no one explains how adding oxygen can multiply what that exercise does for your brain. In this episode, Bill speaks with Brad Pitzele, a recovering engineer who battled significant health challenges before discovering Exercise With Oxygen Therapy (EWOT). After conventional medicine ran out of answers, EWOT became the turning point in his recov...

Plastics found inside carotid artery plaque. A 4.53x higher risk of stroke, heart attack, or death. Here's what the landmark 2024 NEJM study means for your brain and what you can do about it. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: • What the 2024 Marfella et al. NEJM study actually found inside human carotid artery plaque • Why 58% of surgical patients had detectable polyethylene, PVC, or polystyrene in their arterie...

François Couillard is the CEO of Optometry Canada the national body representing every optometrist in the country. When he had a stroke, his symptoms were dismissed at the ER. He walked home alone in the middle of the night. He woke up the next morning having lost the right visual field in both eyes permanently. What followed was a masterclass in adaptation: riding 100km on his bike one week post-...

In this episode, Bill Gasiamis speaks with Greg Graham, an AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation) stroke survivor who lost nearly everything: his health, his independence, and the life he had built. Greg shares the raw reality of spending six weeks alone in recovery, navigating profound loss, and eventually finding a path to rebuild on completely new terms.

Can GABA supplements actually improve sleep after a stroke or brain injury? This evidence-based review explores six clinical studies, the blood-brain barrier debate, and the gut-brain connection to help you understand whether GABA has a legitimate role in neurological recovery and restorative sleep.

Dr. Robert Hedaya is a psychiatrist, functional medicine practitioner, and founder of the Whole Psychiatry and Brain Recovery Center. In this episode, he explains how QEEG brain mapping combined with transcranial laser therapy (photobiomodulation) is helping stroke survivors recover lost functions, including speech, cognition, and facial recognition in ways conventional neurology rarely offers.

New Griffith university etanercept trial results offer hope that healing after stroke is possible even years later. Watch the full breakdown here.

"My brain is finally back." Five years after two strokes during heart surgery, Cecy Galvan's story will redefine what recovery looks like.

CoQ10 is one of the most researched supplements for brain health — and also one of the most misrepresented. This video walks through the peer-reviewed evidence: the mechanism, the human clinical trial data, and the honest limitations. It's designed to give you what you need for an informed conversation with your doctor, not a reason to buy a supplement.

Stroke in young adults is rising. Dr. Guilherme Dabus explains thrombectomy, BEFAST, and why calling 911 fast can restore full brain function.

Bill Gasiamis sits down with Jack Clifford to explore EECP therapy, a TGA-approved cardiac treatment that may stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. Together, they examine the emerging research on angiogenesis, arteriogenesis, and whether this off-label approach holds promise for stroke survivors seeking to improve blood flow to the brain.

Bill Gasiamis examines near infrared light therapy after stroke - including the real biological mechanism, what peer-reviewed research says, and why consumer devices may not match clinical trial results.

She self-diagnosed her own stroke while driving with her daughter. Four years on, she's still discovering what recovery really means.

Maggie Whittum had a brainstem stroke at 33. Eleven years later, she's making a film about what recovery really looks like. This is that story.