WARNING ! Not positive story . šŸ¤

Hi Daphne , cerebal is that similar to cerebellar? I was 61 & now 2.5 years on . My FATIGUE is Terrible, mobility not good, normally last couple of hours, then struggle to process or answer appropriately. Just upset my sister on telephone by saying something wrong ! She has told my wife, she is furious, ( slightly, over reaction. ) My wife in process of sending her apologies by email. Explaining sometimes my brain struggles with saying best answer, when tired. People just DONā€™T UNDERSTAND, actually OK with that though :grin: . Good talking David.

Hello @AnneC, all I craved after discharge were salads. Even now, I make myself a huge bowl of tuna salad while the rest of my family eat pizza. I like playing memory games, and you can get Bible memory card games quite cheaply which are good for working the brain and should be of his interest. The game I play is called Match A Leaf, as I have interest in trees. You can play them by yourself or with another person. Audio books are great, as too podcasts, so much interesting stuff is out there. Quizzes are fun, if they relate to a topic he enjoys. Is he able to cook? @John_Jeff_Maynard bakes some amazing cakes, I always, enviously, enjoy the pictures of his results.

Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately, Colin hates any salad or leafy veg. Heā€™ll have corn and peas, full stop! and the odd piece of carrot or squash I can hide in his food or grated carrot in bolognese; mushrooms are okay with him. He canā€™t get into the kitchen even if he wanted to cook. He does use audiobooks and I am getting him registered at the local library for their audiobooks too.
Quizzes he canā€™t do as he canā€™t read. Picture card games might be an idea. Online? His memory is not brilliant but could do with stimulation. He manages podcasts if I can find him appropriate ones but he canā€™t read what the titles are - e.g. on Youtube. He flicks through Netflix by the picture to choose something. Iā€™ll look for the card games ideas. Thanks

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Hi David3 yes being stroked messed up all our plans? Had put useful timber aside for heavens knows what . Got heap of old garden tools to re handle. As we live in tied accommodation when I finally retired we were moving into our own property. Was due to retire around now aged 73 but the Stroker had other plans. Have sold house and bought bungalow now I will have to extract all those treasures builders leave under your lawn, concrete encrusted wheelbarrows, rubble, paint cans and heaven knows what else? My nephew found a car two feet down but at time scrap value was high so not too mad!

Hi , Bungalows , def in short supply, not many built by developers now. More Ā£ return on houses or flats. Builder all my life, dream, to build ourselves small bungalow . Plots so expensive & bought present bungalow , before stroke. ABSOLUTELY blessed to have it , now . Bit like a dalek , canā€™t do stairs, but good at shuffling around on one level! Yes my wife, reorganised garden, & would update me , on finding builders rubbish. Good speaking David.

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Hello David,

I like your post and it is good to share your experiences as they will no doubt help someone for sure.

I am a carer looking after someone who needs lots of support and lost ability to communicate easily and also requires physical help.

For me as carer it is so hard to know what to say or do to help the person I care for. I can never be sure if what I am saying is understood and often find it frustrating when the person I care for is clearly looking for help but I cannot work out what it is they want.

On a positive note, it will be 3 years in March since the stroke and progress has been made and the person I care for seems to remain positive. Like anyone else I guess, they have their up days and down days.

For me, the inspiration comes from their desire to carry on despite what must be hugely frustrating for them.

Regards,

ManjiB

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Hi Manji , good to hear from a carer . My wife understands me well & does not smother me , but is always there, when asked. Good speaking David.

Hi David3 live in tied cottage that goes with my job , thought ahead & bought property for retirement was just as well as when bolt from Blue zapped me October20 aged 72 all the inducements my boss promised me to keep on working for him on retirement age seem to have dwindled away. So sold property & bought bungalow. Not a religious guy but after being stroked give a lot more thought to spiritual matters & as the old self has gone have to be more forgiving and get on in a positive way to build on what Iā€™ve got left with,such as it is & a lot better than a lot of users on this platform & at my local support group. Had a wicked thought about the Darlek you !. Your a sitting duck when t he Dr. Arrives in the Tardis. Off to my Group now to play Triangular dominoes. Boy is it hard work on the old Noggin !:thinking: Pds

Hi PDS , YES bungalow great , also possibly the security of knowing this is home, must be good. Definitely with me it is . Builder all my life, viewed houses as possible way of making money, ie renovation, never did much! SO appreciate now just thinking of it as hopefully a secure home. Still like to potter though, my workouts , fixing wall light, above bed , 3rd day & back to bed , I will get there! & little achievement for me . Good speaking David.

Thanks Martin. I have just found that my husbandā€™s mobility has increased in his wheelchair rather than trying to get him to stand and walk. He didnā€™t dare get around in the chair but now is happy to sit in it for a couple of hours in the morning and can get into the kitchen for the first time in 3 years and make himself, under slow instruction, a coffee and yesterday an oxo drink!! :slight_smile: Thatā€™s great progress!

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Hi Ann, Pleased for him & you . 2.5 years on , my achievement is make myself coffee, AM only . After this find I have to ask my wife. I feel I should be able to manage this, but canā€™t? I feel I am in my red zone by then. (Green, Amber, Red. ) good talking David.

Hi David3!
Iā€™m pleased you can consider doing it. Colin wouldnā€™t just a few weeks ago let alone the past 3 years. Our physio visited and suggested he could get into the kitchen on his own on the wheelchair and he actually tried it. If she hadnā€™t come in person [first time after 15 months] he wouldnā€™t have dared. Not sure where his red amber green levels are. Red is more prominent than green!! But we have some tinges of green coming into play now he realises he can get around in the chair. Thanks for your encouragement. I trust you can keep advancing little by little too. At least you can write here? I do all the writing or reading for my husband. The stroke took his ability to read and he is half visioned in both eyes. and he is quite aphasic. He is far happier this past week though! Thanks again.

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Wow you have a hard job but you see progress. That is what keeps me going when I see my husband making an attempt to do something he hasnā€™t done before and practising it. He doesnā€™t always want to try - as this morning but we all have off days. So I didnā€™t push him. May you find patience and wisdom in all you do! Keep going. Thatā€™s what love does I guess!

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Hi Martin just read your jan 14 post. Hope all newcomers to this site come across it. It perked me up today when about of self pity set in. Thx Pds

Hello, David3,
I am really pleased that you started this topic. It has allowed so many to contribute, talking about their own experiences and offering helpful suggestions. I appreciate them all. I have mentioned elsewhere that, soon after my stroke, in October 2018, and, unashamedly playing the sympathy card, I was allowed to spend more money than we could really afford on buying a mobility scooter. I felt I needed to do this before I ā€œgot betterā€ and would no longer need it!!! In the event I didnā€™t get round to using it for a couple of years as I didnā€™t feel motivated to do so and it had become clear that I wasnā€™t going to ā€˜get betterā€™, despite the visiting physiotherapists, in the early days, telling me how much I had ā€˜improvedā€™
The thing is I am now 87 and it is a simple fact that things are unlikely to improve before I shuffle off this mortal coil. However, reading the contributions from others, here, makes me realise I am in a much better place than so many. I still make plans for the ā€˜future,ā€™ including converting a garage into a combined workshop and photographic studio. I have assured my sceptical sons that I realise I may never get it finished and this, in itself, doesnā€™t bother me - although I would love to be able to use these facilities! The calculating and planning give me satisfaction. Obviously there are conditions I would rather be without - prior to my stroke I was due to have an arthritic hip replaced but this wonā€™t be considered now and it has contributed to at least one of my falls. But, as I said, I know I am more fortunate than many. My balance is poor but I can get around with my ā€˜rollatorā€™ or a couple of sticks, and I still have full use of my hands - though with a distinct weakness of my left - and I would prefer it if my speech were not so slow and slurred - particularly as someone whose voice was central to my work in teaching, in educational drama and in amateur theatre as both actor and director! Anyway, it will soon be spring, and I donā€™t need my voice to make photographs - my main hobby! Weā€™re still here, everybody, thatā€™s something to appreciate!

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Hi , 4 years on ! Do you suffer with fatigue? Falls, I am so wary & careful, almost to an extreme. Have wireless doorbells in rooms in case needed. I feel various, just give me peace of mind, which is OK by me . Good speaking David.

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Hello David3,

Yes I do suffer from fatigue but Iā€™m sure much of this is of my own making. I have fallen into a stupid habit of going to bed late - actually the early hours of the morning - and getting up very late the next day. I donā€™t do anything constructive during my late hours awake so it must be a bad habit I have picked up since my stroke, rather than the stroke being the cause. I do tire easily doing any physical work and have to ā€˜have a little sitā€™ before I carry on but Iā€™m not sure whether this is fatigue or an inability to concentrate for long. I like your idea of wireless doorbells in your rooms. My wife and I have these ā€˜call pendantsā€™ round our necks but I am reluctant to press mine because the first thing the Company does is to call our nearest son and he is having a hard time at work, just now, as a teacher. Your solution for ā€˜peace of mindā€™ is probably cheaper and more immediate but, like you, I try to be very careful because once down, I canā€™t get up! All the best, Ray

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Hi Ray, Noo tooo late. Bed for me 10pm . Up 6.30am . 4 hours back to bed . Nothing really to get up for much . But donā€™t want to miss out, before going into zombie mode :joy: . In my workshop are old shower seat & perching seat, low worktop to sit at & potter. I then feel, I have accomplished something, whatever that is? Good speaking David.

Hi @AnneC ,

Yes, I guess that is what love does.
Itā€™s great you find it rewarding when your husband attempts things he hasnā€™t done before and I think it is probably even more rewarding when he succeeds :smiley:

With Mum, you even see the joy on her face when she does something and succeeds. We are currently trying to help her to stand up and support her own weight. It is nearly 3 years since the stroke and she has only sat in a chair or laid in bed. With a tilt and recline chair, we can tilt it to the max and let Mum sit in a ā€œperchedā€ position and it is fantastic to see Mum sitting there un-supported and almost standing up.

Hopefully, she will stand up soon - that will be a major milestone. Nobody from the professional care team has offered any help towards this. Everytime we ask for physiotherapy they say, ā€œWhen was the last time she supported her own weight?ā€. Given she not done so since the stroke, they are not able to offer rehab!

Most bizarre. We have finally managed to get some PT and hopefully we will be able to make good progress.

Watch this space!

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Thanks for the affirmation. Yes, it is great to see little improvements and bigger ones. Did you know you can do online physiotherapy? Where are you based? Paces Sheffield looks after us but there are changes coming and they have been charging Ā£35 per part of an hour since January and that is getting a bit tricky. Individual ā€˜conductorsā€™ for Stroke and CP have their own businesses and while ours is good, she is more expensive than Paces through which we met her. My husband was excited about moving around but today it took a lot of effort for him to even motivate himself to try to move. He is nervous of travel to Sheffield [Paces] tomorrow as usual and would give up if I didnā€™t insist it was fineā€¦ so we will go come what may! but for how long we can afford it is another issue!