Stroke

[funnymummy]

. He had to make certain mouth shapes corresponding to speech sounds.

After one of Cains speech therapy sessions last year we drove home, practising some of the new actions & sounds.
I was a lovely hot sunny day, so had the windows all open....
Sat at traffic lights I suddenly realised Cain had gone quiet, He was waving at the man in the car next to us, who was staring at me bewildered, obviulusy thinking I was complelty bonkers, pulling stoopid faces & making 'Monkey' noises!!

 

[soulful dog]

+1 for speaking to the medical staff. As has been said, every individual case is different. Patience and understanding while the person is recovering (and possibly learning how to do things again) is important and the medical staff caring for your father are the best people to do that.

3 people in my family have had strokes, one didn't fully recover but went on to live for another 30 years, one recovered with slight side effects but that apart is probably fitter than before the stroke, the most recent has since sadly passed away. The key difference with the latter was he lived on his own, and the quicker the person can get treatment after suffering a stroke, the better the chance of full recovery.

 

[HLaB]

Not a proper experience, but my Dad had a mini stroke in one eye, he had a blind spot for a while but touch wood he's back to normal now. I hope it works out for your Dad PaulB.

 

[marinyork]

I would reiterate what others have said about medics are the best people to deal with it, perhaps a lot of speech therapy and physio if needed and that it's down the pot luck. I've known three people who've had strokes, one as a teenager and was made what people would term 'heavily disabled' and had to undergo extremely intensive physio and speech therapy just to get what outsiders might call small improvements, a great aunt who it really did not look good and died two days later and another great aunt some time later that seemed the same yet was somehow hospitalised for a month and then through some combination of medication and care now lives out her days in nursing home much the same as before but a bit on the frail side.

 

[funnymummy]

Just thought i'd add....

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[ufkacbln]

Martin Stephen is an author whose "Henry Gresham" books I enjoyed tremendously.

He suffered a stroke at the age of 56. His book "Diary of a Stroke" is a book that is not easy to read, but does put across wonderfully the victim's concerns, anxieties and is enlightening in that aspect.

If you want to understand a little more, it may be worth a read.

 

[summerdays]

My Dad had a TIA (Transient ischaemic attack) which is described as a mini stroke a few years ago (well 4 now). They were eating their tea at home and my mum noticed he was putting food in one side of his mouth and it was falling out the other side and my Dad had no idea it was happening. She drove him (I know should have called an ambulance!) to hospital where he was for a few days.

Those first few days whilst we were waiting for results and initial assessments were very stressful - I remember riding my bike around aimlessly trying to take my mind off it, and it probably took a month in total for them to feel that they had understood what was going on. Once he was out he was extremely tired and had weakness on one side and his speech was difficult to understand. Six months later he was back on the golf course and seems to be fine, maybe a little slower though frequently has blood tests to monitor the drugs he is on.

The next few days will be difficult for both you and your father as you wait for test results, and for medications and physio to be put in place. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[PaulB]

Well, we've seen him again today and it wasn't spectacularly good news. He is off the drip and can swallow but expects to be going home tomorrow! He won't be. He looks at you and begins a conversation and loses his thread very early on and puts his hand up in front of his face as if to say, 'talk over'. His brother today was extremely patient and took a lot of time encouraging every word out of him no matter how long it took. My wife was all busy busy busy nursey and constantly going to the nurses station offering advice on how they could improve the outcome. I don't know if that was received well but it's her job and she knows what she knows. So that's the latest news on what I suspect may be a long journey.

 

[Archie_tect]

Sounds like your dad has wonderful people around him with you, your wife and his brother pushing .... hope his recovery rate continues to improve- all the best.