My dad had his first stroke in October 2011, his stroke was caused from a blood clot that went to his brain which formed in his leg after his heart attack and triple bypass which was 10 months prior. My dad was more alert when he was first admitted but he hadn’t talked for three days. My mom stayed at the hospital using their cramped bathroom and I wanted her to relax a little. My mom and I were going back and forth about her going home to take a shower when all of a sudden we heard my dad tell her “Go home Lisa and take a shower”. We turned around and instantly started crying. He was looking at us weird because he had no recollection of not being able to talk. I had to tell him who all came to visit him because he didn’t remember the days prior. My mom went to take her shower and my dad and I watched football like we always did on Sunday. The neurologist walked in the room without looking at my dad’s bed he walked up to me and said so how is our patient today. I told him you should ask him, he looked at me confused then turned his head. He gasped because my dad was sitting up. He said “Mr. M how are you today”, my dad’s voice was low but he clearly said “I’m alright”. The doctor was elated, he asked me when did he start talking? I told him an hour ago. He said he was going to page his colleague that worked with him in the ER because she wants to see this. She had been asking for updates on him.
The doctor he was referring to was so patient, kind and caring in the ER. She asked if we were a Christian family and she prayed with us. She told my dad over and over again we are going to help you and take care of you. Maybe an hour or so later she walked into his room and she said I heard someone is talking. Do you want to talk to me? She explained to him that she had been his doctor in the ER and she was so happy to hear about his progress. She told us to hang in there and continue to lean on God like we were doing.
My mom stayed with my dad at the rehabilitation hospital for 55 days. My dad encouraged other patients at the rehab hospital during group therapy telling them how he had progressed in such a short time frame and for them to stay encouraged. I would watch him do rehab on my lunch break and I would eat dinner with my parents after work. I watched my mom take care of my dad through other health ailments and she continued to do so through his stroke. My mom was the best caregiver I know, I learned a lot from her. I watched her take care of my dad through knee surgeries, thyroid surgery, brain surgery, kidney transplant and heart attack with a triple bypass. She also took care of me after my back surgery. I pitched in around the house and at times move in temporarily to assist. I didn’t know the terms then but I saw the caregiver burnout towards the middle of 2012 affecting my mom.
Taking care of a stroke survivor takes patience. They are getting used to their new normal whether it’s limited mobility or slurred speech and they need time to get adjusted to it. I remember when the outpatient rehab wanted to stop my dad’s therapy thinking he had reached his best after the stroke but my dad told them no. He worked so hard in the house every day to exercise his right arm and leg. My dad was determined to drive again and he did just that one week after reaching the year mark of the stroke. I took him to an empty parking lot early on a Sunday morning. He asked me if I was scared and I told him I trusted him because I knew he loved me and he would never put his baby in danger. We spent maybe twenty minutes in the parking lot and he asked me if he could drive on the road. We cruised around for a little over an hour, the look on his face was priceless. He was so excited he had accomplished something they didn’t think he would be able to do. My dad continued to do his own rehab to make his arm and leg stronger. He had gotten to the point where he was back doing everything before he had the next stroke in 2014.
Learn more about stroke risk factors through the American Stroke Association at http://www.strokeassociation.org
