Dad has had a massive stroke - any experiences?

[Cloud119]

My lovely dad (70 yo) has had a severe stroke - the worst kind (called total anterior circulatory infarct - TACS).

We have been told he has a 50 percent chance of survival. We are beyond devastated. He was completely fine, fit and healthy one minute and totally out of it the next.

He isn't in coma and has some movement on the left - he lifted his left arm when I asked him to. He can't talk at all and can't swallow.

Has anyone had any experiences of this kind of stroke? Looking for honestly - bad as well as good experiences. Want to feel prepared for what's to come.

Thanks

Anyone..?

Mine had a massive stroke and was in intensive care and four weeks later had a heart attack and died. At that point we were relieved as there didn't seem to be any way of him recovering to anything like an enjoyable existence.

I'm so very sorry OP. So bloody tough for you all.

If your Dad is fit he has a strong chance of being in the 50%. 70 is still considered young for a stroke, so work with the doctors to get proper physio plans in place & to ensure they don’t write him off because of his chronological age. My aunt was taught how to swallow and received physio which returned enough strength into her right side she could sit up - but she was very unfit at the time of her stroke. The doctors said if she’d had just a bit more muscle mass she might have made better progress.

Hi. Not the same but similar and posting to advise really. My mum had huge blood clots on her brain and couldn’t function. She is now fine but she remembers not being able to function and was very frustrated. My advice is to spend what time you are allowed with him and talk to him, tell him stories, whatever really just in case he can hear everything going on. Wishing you all the best

Hi op, 12 months ago my dad had a massive stroke. It's been a really difficult year and recovery is a hard process but he's here and alive so don't give up hope. Some advice I can give is, even if you df can't speak it doesn't mean he can't understand, talk to him like normal. Words may come out mixed up or confused, that doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't know what he's saying, my df understands himself perfectly in his head, but it just doesn't translate into speech. He's still the same person, it's just going to be different from now on. 12 months ago my dad needed full complete care, he couldn't do anything for himself. Now he lives alone again, walks the dog, plays with the grandchildren and has a great sense of humour. Sure he may never drive again, and still requires a carer everyday, but he is still there, I hope that makes a little sense.

I really hope that things look brighter today. Intensive rehabilitation with physiotherapists, OTs, SALT is vital. Is he on a specialist stroke unit?

I’m sorry to hear this. It’s really a horrible thing to happen to your loved ones. My mum survived for three years after her stroke but was very disabled by it, she sadly didn’t regain her speech which was heartbreaking. My best friend also had a stroke last year at 59 and died the next day.There was a man locally though who had an amazing recovery after his stroke. And there’s a knitting designer called Kate Davies who forged a whole new career after her stroke. You can continue to recover from a stroke for about three years, i believe.

Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences. We're really hoping he makes a recovery soon.

DM had a massive left sided stroke (language part of her brain) nearly 8 years ago and remains paralysed on her right side. She has expressive aphasia which means she can tell you her feelings by her facial expression but can only say 1 word. She needs 24 hr care as she's peg fed and occasionally has had further mini strokes/seizures. It took her about 9-12 months to recover from the initial stroke and she has lost her ability to read and follow simple instruction so we hit a wall with physio, speech therapy, pointing charts from the stroke association etc.
She has good friends in her nursing home who pop into chat with her every day (she responds with nods and smiles) and the staff love her. She's been an absolute star, is addicted to cooking programmes - especially bake off!- loves it when we have zoom calls with the grandkids overseas so she can hear their news but its been so bloody tough for someone who was so active.