What to expect for the future after a bad stroke??

[Beck88]

My grandad had a mini stroke just over a year ago. He was fine afterwards and no lasting damage other than slight loss of vision in one eye and a little less patience than he used to have.

Early yesterday morning he had another one, this time much worse, he has now lost all use of his right side and his speech.

I am absolutely heartbroken, he is lying in the hospital bed looking so helpless, he seems to know exactly whats going on and he got really tearful yesterday when I saw him. I think is also frustrated as he still works and is a very out and about and independant person so he must be finding it really hard.

I just wondered what were looking at long term, if anyone has experienced something simular? Will he ever get his speech back?
The hospital won't tell us anything until monday when the consulatant has been round

My mum had 2 strokes a couple of months ago. She previously had one 15 yrs before. I dont live in the same country and visted a few weeks ago. She has regained some of her speach but it is slurred and a bit of the power back in her arm. She is undergoing speach therapy and struggles with comprehension sometimes. They will need to let him see a consultant who should be able to confirm how much of a recovery he will make all you can do is hope that he will make a fairly quick recovery

alot of people are lucky and everything returns to normal quite quickly,others take a little longer and some get 99% back. Take each day slowly and dont excpect too much initially. No one will be able to tell how quickly or how much recovery he will get. With alot of love and help more and more will return with good physiotherapy and my friend who is a speech therapist has helped many stroke victims retrain their tongues and mouths.Alot of them have regained their speech...just be patient.
There are lots of things you can get from the physiotherapists...putty balls to squeeze with affected hand...tongue and mouth excercises,picking up peas and beans and smarties just to get dexterity back again

Try to get a referral to a specialist stroke unit would be my advice. If this is impossible, work with the physiotherapists and OT's and speech therapists. It is frustrating to be unable to move, think, talk or eat the way you used to be able to. Be prepared for a lot of outbursts.
Good luck.

Was just umming and aahing about whether i can manage a 15k run which is for the Stroke Association.
Will def do it now.
Have had two friends who have had strokes devastating but they have improved significantly. Physio is the way forward apparently.
Good luck with everything

Someone in my family had a severe stroke 10 years ago. She had intensive physio & speech therapy for about 6 months afterwards and still has slight trouble with her speech but otherwise is relatively healthy for her age

She has and will be on medication for the rest of her life. Her life has returned pretty much to normal, although she can no longer drive.

Good luck.

Beck88, I'm so sorry, it's such a shock. My mum had a major stroke 2 years ago, at first she couldn't speak or move at all, but with help and a strong will she managed to get herself going again, living on her own, managing with taxis etc and whilst it wasn't ideal she was in her own home and reasonably happy. It did affect her ability to reason, and the paperwork got completely out of hand, and at times she was very depressed.

BUT - it is amazing what people can and do recover from, and she has been ok. She spent a couple of months in a specialist stroke unit who were fabulous - so much better than a hospital. There should be a local Stroke Association rep, you can find out from the hospital - they do clubs, daycare etc and are good at pointing you in the right direction for help.

I think one of the most important things is to be quite forceful on your grandad's behalf, don't expect the help to come to you, it doesn't always. Ask to speak to the consultant - best to phone his secretary and make an appointment rather than getting him on the rounds, or speak to them on phone.

If you find it difficult to talk to him, I used to read the newspapers to my mum, and she had a radio as well. Write down things that have been going on to tell him about and above all be positive.