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Episode 73: We’re excited to continue our partnership with Vivistim as part of a  Know Stroke Podcast spotlight series for May! Today's  interview  is with Tim Blinten, a young stroke survivor from Massachusetts who shares his story and a #strokethriver and real world experience with Vivistim.

In our first episode of this series we spoke with Teresa Jacobson Kimberley, PT, PhD, FAPTA. She walked us through the science behind vagus nerve stimulation and her research findings with the Vivistim Technology.

Thank you again  Vivistim for your support  in this stroke awareness month spotlight series!

You can get in touch with Tim here:

• Email – tblinten@starsofma.org
• Instagram – @timblinten

Disclaimer: “The MicroTransponder® Vivistim® Paired VNS™ System is intended to be used to stimulate the vagus nerve during rehabilitation Therapy in order to reduce upper extremity motor deficits and improve motor function in chronic ischemic stroke patients with moderate to severe arm impairment. Do not use if you have had a bilateral or left cervical vagotomy. Risks may include, but are not limited to pain after surgery, hoarseness, bruising, swelling, coughing and throat irritation. While not observed in the Vivistim studies, infection leading to explant is a risk associated with any device surgery. For full safety information, please see www.vivistim.com/safety. Individual results may vary.”

Regulatory note: In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved paired vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for patients with moderate-to-severe upper extremity motor impairments following chronic ischemic stroke.

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Show credits:
Music intro credit to Jake Dansereau. Our intro welcome is the voice of Caroline Goggin, a stroke survivor and our first podcast guest! Please listen to her inspiring story on Episode 2 of the podcast.

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David Dansereau Know Stroke Podcast

The Know Stroke Podcast is presented by co-hosts Mike Garrow (stroke caregiver) & David Dansereau (stroke survivor). Listen back to Episode 1 of the podcast to hear our personal stories of how stroke impacted our lives and sparked a mission to amplify the voices, contributions, and achievements of change makers in stroke care.

Our Mission: Empowering stroke survivors and their care teams to take control of life after stroke.

Co-Hosts Profiles:
David Dansereau is a stroke survivor and the founder of Know-Stroke.org - a community for patients with stroke and PFO. His story was featured in the NY Times.
A licensed physical therapist, nutritionist, and clinical PT consultant, David has a keen interest to explore the intersection of stroke rehabilitation and digital therapeutics to expand the reach of post stroke therapy and improve patient outcomes. He is a CAPS (Certified Aging in Place) certified specialist and is the founder of SmartMovesPT a digital health and rehab tech consulting company based in Rhode Island.
David is also an Amazon best selling author with the publication of his preventive medicine book, Body in Balance.
Michael Garrow grew up as a caregiver for his mother who had a stroke at age 28. He earned his graduate degree from Griffith College Dublin and spent the early stage of his career in Dublin, Ireland working in the health tech space as a market research analyst and then moving into a wellness start-up. Michael currently resides in NYC working as a Senior Digital Product Manger with CVS Health.