Any stroke rehab/success stories

[GBB]

My grandmother had a stroke a little over a week ago. Currently, she's in an acute care rehab hospital and is stable. She has no movement in her right side and can't speak. However, she can swallow and is feeding herself. From what I can tell she's comprehending the majority of what's happening.

Do any of you have any experience with a similar situation? If so, what can I do to complement the rehab?

Success stories are welcome as well.

[belgian]

My grandmother had a stroke a little over a week ago. Currently, she's in an acute care rehab hospital and is stable. She has no movement in her right side and can't speak. However, she can swallow and is feeding herself. From what I can tell she's comprehending the majority of what's happening.

Do any of you have any experience with a similar situation? If so, what can I do to complement the rehab?

Success stories are welcome as well.

My fiancee's step mother had a stroke a few years back while driving the kids back from a shopping trip in the city. Managed to pull over without incident. She had no movement on her left side for about a week and it slowly came back. She has since regained all physical function, lost loads of weight in an effort to get healthy and if there are any kind of lingering mental issues she masks them expertly. Took her about a year to get to where she is now but you wouldn't know if from talking to or looking at her. I suppose her stroke would have been considered a fairly mild one.

My parent's neighbor had a much more serious one about a year and a half ago while working out on the treadmill trying to get healthy - by all accounts he was in pretty bad shape health wise. Was paralysed on his right side for almost 6 months. I see him every now and then when I go home and he is doing much better every time I see him. Might not be 100% just yet but he hasn't used a cane in 6 months and doesn't have any noticeable limp/slurred speech anymore. I didn't know him well before so the mental aspect is hard to judge, but I would say that almost 2 years removed he is up to 80%. He has also lost a significant amount of weight.

It is tough, and it can be a long road to recovery, but from my experience surviving the stroke is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Good luck.

[GBB]

My parent's neighbor had a much more serious one about a year and a half ago while working out on the treadmill trying to get healthy - by all accounts he was in pretty bad shape health wise. Was paralysed on his right side for almost 6 months. I see him every now and then when I go home and he is doing much better every time I see him. Might not be 100% just yet but he hasn't used a cane in 6 months and doesn't have any noticeable limp/slurred speech anymore. I didn't know him well before so the mental aspect is hard to judge, but I would say that almost 2 years removed he is up to 80%. He has also lost a significant amount of weight.

It is tough, and it can be a long road to recovery, but from my experience surviving the stroke is the biggest hurdle to overcome. Good luck.

This is incredibly promising. Obviously it's going to take a lot of hard work and support from the family, but hearing this helps.

Prior to this she was in great shape. I just hope she can stay mentally strong.

[flyandski365]

My grandmother suffered a stroke while skiing at breck several years ago. Things were pretty grim - she was completely paralyzed on her right side and couldn't speak. After getting out of the hospital, she was started on PT and speech therapy, which initially made great progress. She could hold simple conversations and got to the point that she could move around with the walker and mostly take care of herself. Then for numerous complicated reason that I won't go into because it pisses me off, PT and ST were cut off. My family continued doing what we could to encourage progress, but without professional expertise things were slipping. It seemed that without constant work with the therapists, she deteriorated quickly. At this point she is in an assisted living facility and can't talk much or move around. This is how she will live the rest of her life.

If something is helping your grandmothers recovery, do everything you can to keep it up. It gets maddening dealing with insurance and medicaid, but fight the battle. I wish we had been able to do more for mine, and I'm sure you'll do everything you can for yours.

Good luck and +++VIBES+++

[kingdom-tele]

obviously it's early, a lot can change, and hopefully will for your grandmother. here's something you might find interesting (link below, its from 1999, but even more recent is available), it might get you looking into some options and realizations if she heads to rehab. might be interested in reading about Pedro Bach-y-Rita, his son Paul, Edward Taub and constraint therapy (its not as bad as it sounds), basically, the neuroplasticity we are blessed with needs challenging to help rewire around the damaged cortex, good luck to your gram.

http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/99/36/3/taub.htm

[cranked]

This is a perplexing thing...my father in law had a stroke last Tuesday, he walked a mile on Saturday...and it was a severe stroke (lost movement on all of his left side). He was only 60 and ma-in-law had him lay down immediately, which apparently broke the blockage. He is expected to make a full recovery, though he has to spend 3 weeks in rehab to retrain his brain...

Really makes you realize how fragile the circulatory system and brain is...good luck to your grams...hope she can recover a bit.

[GBB]

My grandmother suffered a stroke while skiing at breck several years ago. Things were pretty grim - she was completely paralyzed on her right side and couldn't speak. After getting out of the hospital, she was started on PT and speech therapy, which initially made great progress. She could hold simple conversations and got to the point that she could move around with the walker and mostly take care of herself. Then for numerous complicated reason that I won't go into because it pisses me off, PT and ST were cut off. My family continued doing what we could to encourage progress, but without professional expertise things were slipping. It seemed that without constant work with the therapists, she deteriorated quickly. At this point she is in an assisted living facility and can't talk much or move around. This is how she will live the rest of her life.

If something is helping your grandmothers recovery, do everything you can to keep it up. It gets maddening dealing with insurance and medicaid, but fight the battle. I wish we had been able to do more for mine, and I'm sure you'll do everything you can for yours.

Good luck and +++VIBES+++

Good to know. Sorry to hear that happened to your grandmother.

obviously it's early, a lot can change, and hopefully will for your grandmother. here's something you might find interesting (link below, its from 1999, but even more recent is available), it might get you looking into some options and realizations if she heads to rehab. might be interested in reading about Pedro Bach-y-Rita, his son Paul, Edward Taub and constraint therapy (its not as bad as it sounds), basically, the neuroplasticity we are blessed with needs challenging to help rewire around the damaged cortex, good luck to your gram.

http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/99/36/3/taub.htm

Awesome link! Thank you!

This is a perplexing thing...my father in law had a stroke last Tuesday, he walked a mile on Saturday...and it was a severe stroke (lost movement on all of his left side). He was only 60 and ma-in-law had him lay down immediately, which apparently broke the blockage. He is expected to make a full recovery, though he has to spend 3 weeks in rehab to retrain his brain...

Really makes you realize how fragile the circulatory system and brain is...good luck to your grams...hope she can recover a bit.

I hope everything continues to progress for your father in law. Like you said, it's crazy how quickly things can change.

[skinnyskier]

You may want to attend some therapy sessions and learn from the PT, OT and Speech Therapists. If you really want to help push things along after discharge, they can teach you. I'm guessing the physiatrist can give you a good idea of his or her goals for rehabilitation. Best wishes to your grandma!

[GBB]

Things are looking up. In the past week she's regained some movement in her right leg and is starting to make audible and coherent sounds. With the intensive therapy, we all continue to have high hopes.

The hardest part has been keeping her motivated and maintaining a positive attitude. She is a fiercely independent woman and I think she feels a little ashamed that this happened to her. However, she's seeing that if she continues to work hard she will slowly start to see a slight return to normalcy.