I’m 59 and my dear husband had a stroke at the end of September 2023 just shy of his 65th birthday. It was a very rare type - an Artery of Percheron stroke - up the centre of the brain in the thalamus. Most of his problems are cognitive, affecting executive functions, and visual - he can’t move his eyes up or down. As a result it’s hard for him to do many things he used to do. Either he can’t work out quite how to do them as he’s not able to sequence complex tasks, or he can’t see easily. He’s very content and not distressed by the changes. We are in for the long haul journey of recovery, waiting to see what will improve.
It would be amazing to connect with anyone who might have had this rare type of stroke. But also to hear from people who had improvement with executive functions.
@nadine.parkinson just popping by to say hi & welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear of your husbands stroke.
I’m not able to offer any advice about your husbands specific type of stroke but I can say that in time most of us experience improvements in both physical & cognitive functions. In stroke terms it is very early days for your husband yet and plenty of time for improvements to happen. My visual issues improved but they were different to the ones your husband has.
Hopefully he is getting some specialist input for his conditions.
I would like to write more, but I can’t, as I’m in a hurry.
My mother was very mentally ill after her stroke 2 years ago. She had a few cognitive issues, but it was more that she couldn’t think rationally about certain things (I can explain better later). She suffered from serious mental afflictions (emotional) like severe OCD, apathy, pacing, combative with father, etc.
A lot of people on here have serious physical issues. My mother, on the other hand, recovered very well from her physical issues related to her stroke.
I would like to talk more, as I can very much relate to your husband’s executive function and cognitive issues. Now, my mother had no issues with vision, balance, speech, hearing, muscles, etc. She had extreme apathy and wouldn’t initiate barely anything on her own. At her very best, she would make herself a cup of tea or a sandwich (she had good use of her hand), and try to dress herself, though, usually, she wanted my father to do pretty much everything, even though she was more than physically able.
I wish you the best. Stay strong. Some things may get a lot better, as stroke recovery is highly unpredictable at times. You just don’t know. It’s super hard what you’re living through, as I know all too well. Sadly, my mother died 7 months ago from hospital-induced sepsis. But she had no future from her stroke, as she clearly was not getting better – only getting worse.
Hi @nadine.parkinson and welcome and so sorry about your husband’s stroke I’ve no experience of that type of stroke either but there’s a lot of improvement to gained over the next 6mths after that it’s basically slow and steady and can take several years.
There’s a lot to be found on here about peoples progressions and if you have anything in particular you’d like to know either ask or have a search around by using the the spy glass in top right corner. Several members have also put together a post on “what we wish we’d heard at the start” which you can find here Welcome - what we wish we'd heard at the start which you might like to read at your leisure. And it does explain the first 6 months as many of us have experienced it, it’s also has a few tips and words of advice you may find useful. There are also some useful links to others posts on here which you might find useful.
But for now it’s all about rest, even when your husband is awake he may just be content to sit and just be! He’ll tire easily so no need to overwhelm him with visitors or trying to keep him entertained or over stimulated…so don’t needlessly overtax yourself or get anxious or stressed by his lack of interest or activity. His brain is in control and determines what he can and cannot do yet. Because the brain needs to conserve all his energy for the healing process.
Hello @nadine.parkinson
Sorry you and your husband have both had cause to join the ranks of our family of #StrokeWarriors - but welcome now you’re here; know you now have many comrades who understand the challenges and will give emotional support, practical advice and the benefit of our experiences that will show you you’re not alone
Stroke will affect you both in different ways. But the health profession is really only geared up to see one of the people now facing multiple challenges to battle everyday.
A really important consideration is that you reach out for help and take it wherever you can find it; because you are now a fulcrum for everything - bearing the pressure
You’ll find the pages on the forum have much wisdom hidden in plain sight that will be relevant to you. I say hidden in plain sight because the challenge is in finding information amongst the 100,000 posts or so and separating out the stuff that is relevant to others but not your case
The magnifying glass of the head of the page (slightly more info on how in the welcome post referred to above) will help you find info and so might some of our best posts
You might also find the appendix of Jill Taylor’s book about what she wanted to tell family and friends when she had locked in syndrome. Locked in syndrome as affected many people who have with hard work and battling the challenges - true stroke warriors - got back on their feet
Once again sorry you’ve had cause to join us. Keep reading and you will find many of the answers, that for the next few months and years life will present you both with the matched questions
I’ve no experience of that type of stroke either but there’s a lot of improvement to gained over the next 6mths after that it’s basically slow and steady and can take several years.
in top right corner. Several members have also put together a post on “what we wish we’d heard at the start” which you can find here 