Stroke - heartbroken

[BCBG]

Posting here because I don't want this thread to live for ever - but if anyone has anything comforting to say, please I need to hear it. My beloved brother has had a cerebellar stroke at aged 63. Sixteen days in and he's still only minimally conscious. I kid myself he knows me, he responds sometimes when nurses tell him to wake up, and he can sometimes move his right limbs on command, but his eyes seem fixed and he falls asleep almost immediately. He had an infection but he's off antibiotics and intubation now but he still won't wake up 😥😥 I am heartbroken especially because he and my other brother had a silly argument in my garden the last time I saw him - and that's somehow overwhelming now. I'm not stupid, I know the realities of a massive stroke, but if anyone has any positive recovery against the odds stories, please let me have them. I literally feel as though my own heart is about to split in two. My darling brother.

@imonlyhooman I'm sorry to hear that - how is he? My brother has had a tracheostomy and has left ICU but is still on critical list. He has been alert enough for us all to see that his cognition is reasonably unaffected, but still no sign of a swallow and of course he can't communicate.

Thinking of you and very best wishes for your brother @BCBG

@CatWarbler thanks

Glad to hear there's been a little improvement @BCBG, thoughts and prayers with you

Hi @BCBG - how is your brother? Did you see any more improvement? I really hope he is better.

My dad has had a severe stroke (the most severe type) and we are all absolutely devastated. He was fine one second and completely out of it the next. He has been alert though and yesterday he lifted his unaffected arm when I asked him to. Do you think this is a good sign?

I've just had a baby and so I'm finding it really difficult to cope. I'm heartbroken for my poor dad. 💔

@Cloud119 I hope things have improved for your father. @Bloatstoat I just wanted to update to say that brother has been in hyper acute regional rehab since Christmas. After the tracheostomy (now removed) he woke up completely and amazingly is cognitively unimpaired. He can talk quite well, still a bit raspy, and he can place calls on his mobile phone. I find this all astonishing. But he is still peg fed (as well as no mobility on left side) and 'they are still working' on him drinking. You mentioned that you work with patients some of whom do end up being able to eat again and I wondered what timescales looked like - my brother is now four and a half months post stroke...

And @imonlyhooman - I hope your husband responded to treatment. Stroke is so devastating.

Oh @BCBG that's amazing news that his cognition and speech are so good, it must be a great relief to be able to call him. Re: his swallow - he will be having regular assessments (this may be when he says they're working on him drinking) and video fluoroscopy, which is sort of like a moving x-ray, to look at his swallow. The speech and language therapists should be able to tell him exactly what the issue is and whether they expect it to improve. The majority of patients who have swallow difficulties show some improvement by six months. It may be that he is able eventually to have sips of drink and small amounts of pureed food, if they think this is safe, and this might continue to improve or it might not depending on the issue with his swallow. Unless he is able to safely eat and drink enough to meet his needs he will keep the PEG tube in place, but it doesn't have to stop him being discharged from rehab when he's ready for that, tube feeds can be managed wherever he's living and there will be a special team to help with this. He could also eat small amounts alongside the PEG if it's safe for him to do so. So it is really difficult for me to say, because so much depends on what problems each person has, but if he (or you if he's happy with that) speak to the speech therapist they should be able to give a good prediction of what is likely to happen at this stage.
Really hope he continues to improve, good wishes to you both

@Justyouwaitandseeagain i appreciate this thread is old @NoToast also, reading your posts as in identical situ with my dad. Meeting tomorrow to discuss ‘outcomes’ and options. He has been in hospital for 10 days.

i guess there are so many variables age being a big one. If you are still around, can I ask how old your parents were when they had their strokes and previous general states of health? Dad is 81 with some previous heart issues (AF seems to be the cause of the stroke) and I feel this is all against him.