Nora is 22 years old and lives in a traditional Balinese compound with her parents, younger brother, grandparents as well as three of her uncles and their families. Nora graduated from high school and worked at a little restaurant for about three years to help pay for her younger brother’s school fees. However, in August 2017, she had stroke-like symptoms due to an ateriovenous malformation that hemorrhaged. She was taken to the hospital. where she stayed for 5 weeks before returning home. She now has right-sided paralysis. Nora continues to go weekly for physical therapy at the local hospital, even though this is not easy for the family due to financial costs and the time involved. This whole ordeal has been a financial burden for the family as her father is a construction worker, usually building homes, and her mother works in the rice fields. But they have been very supportive of Nora’s recovery and resourceful to find ways for her to get the treatment she needs, including selling Nora’s motorbike to help pay for hospital fees.
When we met Nora in January 2018, she could walk a little bit, but had decreased strength, coordination, difficulty in speaking, and memory loss. We gave her a wheelchair to improve her mobility and safety around her house. This was especially needed since the portion of her skull the doctors had to remove has not been replaced yet, putting her at a high risk for further brain injury if she was to fall since she does not wear a helmet.
Nora is making good progress and we continue to visit her to progress her exercise program and encourage her to use her right hand for all her daily tasks.