Hi all. Happy Easter! I don't know where to start really so apologies for the randomness. My mum had a stroke last Sunday and now in hospital. She had a clot affecting the left side of her brain so she cannot move her arm, hands and leg on the right side of her body. Her speech is also a little slurred and she cannot remember words but is slowly putting sentences together. With the restrictions in place we cannot see her so are video calling her twice a day. The Easter break has meant the therpaists and doctor visit are minimal. We are just so keen to maintain any exercises or lessons she has been taught so she doesnt regress. She was talking more in the early days (we showed her a pineapple and she said pineapple!) but in the past few she is only saying yes as she has said she does not like to talk. I am just feeling a bit helpless and putting my faith in the staff at the hospital. Any advice on what I can do on the video calls to help encourage her to speak would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, your mum's stroke is only very recent and I can imagine she is still feeling very 'out of things'. After my stroke (left side) I could talk, but couldn't tolerate much conversation. It was enough to lie there and rest. What I really appreciated was the obvious love I got from my partner and friends and the care I received from the hospital staff. Medical staff will begin to establish her needs and sort out support when they understand what parts of her brain and body have been affected.
Might I suggest the most important thing for your video calls is to show love and reassure her that she will come home and start to recover. Recovery will take some time, so it's baby steps to begin with. Take care.
Sorry to learn of a stroke getting your mum.
our wise friend John has mentioned very true things.
during your video calls, be as calm and reassuring as you can.
not having any visitors does have a plus side. The staff do not have to spend time on visitors, leaving them more time for mum. I asked my wife to read, go for coffee etc as conversation was too much for me to handle. My brain was too busy trying to work out what was going on. I did not appreciate other visitors, it was too much.
At that early stage, when anyone spoke to me, it was an overwhelming noise. I had to take in the words, sort them in to order, try and grasp what was meant and then make a reply. You need to give mum a lot of time for her to process the simplest conversation. the staff were great at conversing. They knew what to say, whereas visitors do not.
the loss of speech is known as aphasia. It lasted a good three months, slowly improving every week.
i did not want to know "news" . Just that all is well at home. Her brain is boiling like a cauldren. Trying to sort out the best way to work around the damage. Medical term is neuroplasticity. It is a very very slow process.
just being there for her is the best thing.
the medics will be doing lots of checks, scans and so on. And working towards a time when they can pass her as medically fit. I was let home after a week, but that was unusually fast. Stroke survivors are vulnerable for about a month.
anything you want to know, just ask. Lots of us are on this forum ready to help mum and in the meantime ready to help you.
I was in Colchester hospital. A really good stroke unit.
Do read the stroke association leaflets. They are good. They explain that the clot will leave a damaged area known as an infarct. Part of the infarct is dead and part is damaged.
best wishes
colin
Thank you John that is really helpful :)
That is a really helpful insight Colin and is reassuring to hear, I really appreicate it. Thank you