Ok, here goes! This is Bren’s response to his dad’s Stroke on 7th February 2017. He put it on his FB to tell the world. I hope it doesn’t offend anyone.
God, I love the NHS!!!!
My lovely dad had a stroke last night. My angel. My complete inspiration. The kindest man that I've ever met. The man who showed me how to be compassionate. The best teacher of love on the planet. My evangelist. My hero.
Of course, it's broken me into pieces.
But, I have hope.
My alarm went at 5:30am to get me ready for work and I checked my phone. My brother had texted to say that he was on his way. I had missed calls from my mam. I listened to the answer phone. And it dropped me like a stone as I couldn't adore my father more.
My brother had driven through the night from Devon to pick me up and by 10am we were by his side. He was a sorry sight.
His face sagged to one side. His speech was understandable but slurred. He was slouched in his bed. I've never seen him look worse.
Luckily, my mam spotted the stroke in the first minutes of him having it, and got him an ambulance really quickly. That probably saved his life. It certainly improves his chances of recovery.
He lost all movement on his left side and he lost some speech. And his eyesight was seriously affected. He couldn't raise his left arm with much control.
But so much of that has now recovered.
Slowly throughout the day he recovered some of his functions.
At one point, the physio and occupational health nurse came to see him. I was devastated to watch how much it had affected him. My hero was in bits. They managed to get him to sit up, but with a lot of assistance.
Later, a few hours later, he needed to sit up again, and he went to edge himself up. I said to take things one step at a time. Don't rush. Trying to protect him, I said that he should take it easy. He looked at me and said "that's not in my vocabulary".
Slowly he forced himself up. I could see the effort. He sat up as if to say, "there you go".
Just before I left him at 9pm, he had a glass of water. He went to reach it with his affected left side. I knew that he'd spill it. And said that he should drink with his right, and practice with an empty glass first before he tried his left hand.
He just looked at me and passed the glass from one hand to the other and defied my wishes perfectly.
It might not sound like much. To watch your dad drink water with his left hand. But I can honestly say that I've never been prouder. His resilience. His determination. I adore all of him.
The staff on the ward. And by all accounts, the ambulance crew (I didn't see that bit) have been stunningly beautiful. They've treated us all with tenderness and compassion without any parallel. I want to hug them all. It's certainly a plan of mine tomorrow.
My dad... he's on the mend. But it's early days.
He has a deep faith in god, so I'm sure you'll understand what prayer means to him. If you could please send your prayers and duas, or whatever else you have that is positive energy, I know it will be appreciated.
He's going to be ill for a long time still. But thankfully our NHS was there for him.
If today has taught me ANYTHING,
It's FIGHT FOR OUR NHS. It's so important.
Big love to my dad. If you want to send a card to him, or whatever, just pm me and I'll give the address. Duas and prayers are all that he needs though. Much love ❤️️
THANKS AND LOVE
I just wanted to say a few words of thanks to the many people who sent their prayers, duas, and wishes to me and my family over the last couple of days. My dad suffered a stroke almost 48 hours ago now, and the consultant has said that he has suffered significant damage (whatever that means), but he’s on the mend.
We’ve been overwhelmed by positivity and love. In texts, messages, and comments below the posts, our family and friends have been incredible. Some of the most positive messages have been about hope, of stories of people who have been through this. And hope is so important. We have hope, thank you so much.
I’m sorry that I haven’t replied to everyone, but it’s been a tough and busy time, as I’m sure you can imagine.
He’s taken a few small steps today, and he’s visibly improved. But there seem to be some other minor changes that I’m hoping are temporary. He doesn’t seem to be quite the same guy, and he’s a bit confused. But, it’s still early days, and we’re hoping for him to be back to himself soon.
When I first saw him yesterday, he could barely move. Today he was walking. Only a bit, but he’s doing it!
I hate seeing my dad like this. It feels like there’s a hole in my chest. The hurt seems physical, I can’t describe it. But watching his resilience is beautiful and fills me with pride.
I would like to repay your kindness with one piece of advice:
You never know when things will change, so please think of a loved one. One that you’d be broken if you lost, and call them. Tell them that you love them, and what they mean to you. You’ll never regret showing love!