'If only I manage to get home I'll get better'--interviews with stroke patients after emergency stay in hospital on their experiences and needs.

Objective: To find out about the experiences of stroke patients concerning their falling ill, their stay in hospital, discharge and homecoming.

Design: Qualitative methods using in-depth interviews.

Subjects And Setting: Nine strategically chosen patients and in five cases near family members were interviewed in their homes four months post stroke and following care at the Stroke Centre, University Hospital of Northern Sweden, Umeå.

Results: Three main categories with subcategories were brought to the fore from the interviews: 'Responsible and implicated', 'Depersonalized object for caring measures' and 'The striving for repersonalization and autonomy'. The patients got the most important insights and understanding about their state and the consequences when they came home.

Conclusion: The three main categories that were found mirror the crisis which becoming ill entails and the process gone through when the individual takes control again of his or her life. The patients saw coming home as an important factor for their recovery and rehabilitation. The health care system needs to develop strategies to make use of the power of this attitude with the patients and to use the patients' own milieu in rehabilitation after stroke.