Stroke recovery

[kayla12345]

My generally healthy grandma has had a stroke this week. We found her in bed, conscious but unable to move her left side and struggling to speak.
They've also found a very large growth on her breast when examining her, she had a benign growth 10 years ago which wasn't removed so we don't know if that's grown or if it's a new one. Either way she's not told anyone about it.

Any experiences or general advise would be greatly appreciated at this heart breaking time

There’s such a wide variation in stroke recovery possibilities. I recall being told by a consultant that having one stroke greatly increases the likelihood of having another in quick succession. So you spend the first few days and weeks praying that doesn’t happen.

Aside from that, it’s likely your grandmother will need weeks, maybe months of rest. I walked into a stroke recovery ward once where everyone was asleep, and the nurse (a rare sight!) said that sleep was the one thing necessary.

In the case of my family member, after about two months of hospital care - including intense physiotherapy, etc, they’d had enough of wards and were ready to go home - after adjustments and aids were fitted around the house. Carers attended for some time.

We were lucky; they had a ‘good’ recovery and gradually regained an enjoyable quality of life, albeit with additional walking stick, which they found mortifying.

In your grandmother’s case there is the added complication - only her medical team will be able to comment on what it means. Just - spend as much time with her as you can. In a hospital ward it’s the patients with regular visitors who are the happiest.