To meet with a stroke: patients' experiences and aspects seen through a screen of crises

The aim of this study was to elucidate the experiences of stroke victims during the course of disease and the first few months after discharge. Ten individuals, recently having suffered their first manifest stroke with lasting neurological symptoms, narrated their experiences and gave their views at two different appointments during the first few months after discharge. A deductive approach was applied, on the basis of the theory of developmental crises. The analyses of the interviews were performed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method inspired by the philosophy of Ricoeur. The analyses disclosed phenomena signifying developmental crises in all the cases, though the crises profiles were marked by the sequelae the individuals suffered after stroke and by the age-specific stages of which they were in the middle. The solution of the crises was from being reached within the period of data collection, as the interviews were performed relatively early after home-coming and the individuals were in the middle of grasping their new situation. The phenomenon "to meet with a stroke' seems to challenge the whole of the individual's being. The study calls attention to the need for awareness of this matter, which should be indicated to a much greater extent in nursing care and education than has been done until to date.