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Posted: 9/24/2026 9:12:09 PM EDT
| Does anyone have any advice for stroke recovery? My wife, 65 years old, had a stroke last Thursday sometime during the night. They did surgery and removed the clot from the left front of the brain. She was admitted to rehab last night and doing well during her therapy today. She is having trouble using her right arm and leg and speaking. They re evaluate weekly to determine the length of her stay in rehab. Thanks |
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Have patience with the speach . Maybe make a board with common things that she can point to ie ; yes/no ... Encourage her to work her good side and bad side to anything she can muster . Lifting increases BDNF ( brain derived neurotrophic factor ) ...this keeps brain cells alive and encourages new connections . |
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I had three minor strokes between June, 2022 and May, 2024. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is critical. That was not accomplished in my case for a myriad of reasons, and the results may not ever be completely resolved. Critical to recovery is prompt treatment and rehabilitative therapy, both physical and occupational-restoration of balance is critical, daily function, speech if necessary. Two years later, and I still have difficulty maintaining balance and recall. Make sure she performs any daily exercises prescribed, and speech therapy should not be overlooked-I still slur my speech and I m embarrassed to say I still drool on occasion (although far less than before). It is a slow recovery, and I pray for you both. |
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My mother had a brain aneurysm burst while gardening in the yard at 63 years old. That caused a stroke, a heart attack, and vomiting (which was ingested and led to pneumonia). Fortunately, she was found quickly and airlifted to a good trauma center with experience in dealing with brain injuries. (Shout out to Mass. General in Boston). They didn't give any chance of survival as the prognosis was dire. After stabilization over the course of about a week, they cracked her egg and installed a splint. It took her about three months to regain speech and to become mobile, but with the help of prayer and physical therapy, so made about a 90% recovery. Downside was, she lost her sense of smell and taste (which sucked because she was always a good cook and no longer could) but - she also lost a three pack a day smoking habit. We were blessed with about ten good years (after another surgery to repair another brain aneurysm) before we was over taken with alzheimers and we ultimately lost her mental as she was a shell of the vibrant Grandmother that she was. She made it until a month before her 80th birthday and died on Halloween day, which would have made the real her laugh as she always joked about being a witch in the eyes of our father. I say all of that to say this: pray. Keep the faith. Find the best doctors that you can and stay vigilant with the physical and mental therapy. There will be good days and bad, but work through the bad. Support her mentally and physically. With your help, God's grace, a little luck, and hard work, she should make a livable recovery. With strokes, the quicker the response and treatment, usually the better the recovery. Thoughts and prayers to you both. |
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I've had one. Actually two, in rapid succession. The clot shot broke mine up, so no surgery. Do the therapy. I was paralyzed on my right side for two days, and then feeling slowly came back. My speech improved as well. It will get better. The doctors can let you know how much brain damage there is, and what the long term prognosis is. I'm lucky. I still have some weakness on my right side, and I don't have the control over my speech I once had, but overall,,,,,,,,,, I'm happy. Good luck to you and your wife! Sincerely. I Hope she recovers quickly. |
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Sorry to hear about your situation. Dad had a major one 5+years ago. Mom was in the early stages of dementia, she could not take care of him like was needed. He ended up in a rehab facility, (nursing home) for a while. He was so pissed at everything. Not being able to function is what, I believe, helped rewire his brain to overcome. He checked himself out of the facility (was kicked out ), walked as best he could to his buddy's truck for road cocktails on the way home. Shorten the story to the recovery process. Anecdotal He called me one day and said "Eating 4-5 sildenafil tabs, feels like it helps me focus". I was like OK old man. Sure enough there are papers out there showing that it does help with stroke victims. Mentioned it to his neuro. She did some research, said it was very plausible according to the papers she read. In his words, "I can think clearly, don't mentally wear out as fast. Down side, I got a boner all day". When we talk on the phone, I can tell when he is on the blue pill and when he is not. More coherent and not trying to find words as often. Almost like pre-stroke. Originally Posted By TOGVET: ...Downside was, she lost her sense of smell and taste (which sucked because she was always a good cook and no longer could).... Dad said the same thing about smell and taste. He hit up the local taco shop multiple times a week. Again, in his own words " The put a bunch of cumin in the taco meat, it's about the only thing I can taste and smell, everything else is on par with eating a wet napkin." I feel for all parties. YMMV |
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We have gone from free-doms to fee-doms.
My scars are proof that the thing that tried to kill me FAILED.
We have gone from free-doms to fee-doms.
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Stroke very early Jan 2025 My speech wasnt affected but my entire left side toe to head was/is. kinda numb/tingly/feels on fire I walk a little gimpy and my left hand is a hot mess basically bob dole hand plus tremors may not be related but cant get into to see a neuro yet |
Not_in_Seattle
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I had a couple strokes one day in 2022. One at work and another in the hospital that night. lost my vision for the most part couldn't walk and had difficulty swallowing. In recovery I was told to push myself as hard as possible as the most recovery happens in the first 6 months. You need to find a reason to push yourself. For me It was my livestock. They don't care what's wrong with you. I made myself walk the fenceline as far as I could checking fence until I could make it all the way around the field over uneven ground. I did this daily and worked up to several laps around a 17-acre field. The uneven ground helped with the vertigo. It forces your body to find balance. As long as I wasn't falling down I pushed on. At first, I could barely make it across a room with a walker. My vision slowly came back on its own over a couple weeks. It took 5 months before returning to work. Took about 3 months before I attempted driving again. The hardest thing was fatigue, I would get tired very quickly. Even basic mental tasks would make me tired. I did better outdoors and found a gym to be depressing. I did do rehab 2X a week at a medical center for the first couple months. |
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Originally Posted By SandhillsHunter: Does anyone have any advice for stroke recovery? My wife, 65 years old, had a stroke last Thursday sometime during the night. They did surgery and removed the clot from the left front of the brain. She was admitted to rehab last night and doing well during her therapy today. She is having trouble using her right arm and leg and speaking. They re evaluate weekly to determine the length of her stay in rehab. Thanks You are in for a potentially long and grueling recovery process. My wife is a speech pathologist who did hospital and outpatient based stroke rehab for over half of her career. There will be some inpatient-outpatient speech rehab covered by insurance but like everything else it’s never enough so you’ll want to identify free community resources for the longer term. Your number one job as a husband is to be an unwavering source of love and support for her. |
| My grandmother had a bad stroke in the late 1970s. I don’t remember exactly what was affected, but the doctors said she’d never walk again. Grandma decided she was going to prove them wrong. She started doing some simple exercises at home. Within a year she was walking fine. You later wouldn’t know she’d had a bad stroke. I know that doesn’t help, but Grandma’s attitude was inspiring. |
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My Dad had a stroke a few years ago. Went to bed fine, woke up in the morning, felt no different, was petting the cat and went to move his right side and realized he could not move his right arm or leg. He was past the window they could administer that stroke medicine. I will say the inpatient PT center did miracles. He went in unable to move his entire right side and when he got out a month later he was able to use a walker and get in my truck. He spent the next year living with me first doing in home PT and then outpatient PT. My advise is get them into a good inpatient facility. Make sure she is doing all of the stuff they want her to do because the rule of thumb is they will recover the most functional gains in the first 6 months after the stroke. After that 6 month window the gains start to drop off and they will recover less and less. My dad was around 80 when he had his stroke. After a year he moved back to his farm and at 85 is still living alone at home. At his age he pretty much only gets around on a walker now but I never thought it possible that he would ever go home when he first had the stroke. Good luck to you and your wife! |
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Do the rehab work. Insist on a strategy for any issues she has now so that nothing is put off before rehab ends. Encouragement, patience, and a positive attitude will help from your end. My MIL and a next door neighbor had strokes and were virtually 100% w/in a years time. Also way back in the 90s a great aunt had a stroke and lost mobility on one side of her body but lived another 25 years with good quality of life. Prayers for full recovery and fast! |
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As much as possible as fast as possible. Will be expensive for top of the line work, so expect bitching and "good enough" bullshit from your insurance company. Get your Dr. involved, and get the std. stroke scoring as advantageous as possible. That number must be communicated often and early. |
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I had a stroke at 45, July 2, 2022 at 4:30 AM. My wife was there. I went to one hospital, and then I had to be airlifted to another hospital. They did a thrombectomy to get rid of my left side blood cot. I was out until July 4, 2022. When I woke up my right side was just paralyze and my speech was just blah, blah. It took four weeks to get the feeling back it my right leg, now I am walking again. I am talking about four times as slow as I once did. I am typing this out using my left hand, because my right hand is just a paper weight for me. I also don't have my right side of my face working. I cannot smile or frown on the right side of my face. I learned how to whistle again a year and a half after my stroke. |
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I had a stroke 2009 in one of my frontal lobes and don’t remember which side but it is referred to as the executive decision center. I was totally healthy but I had a hole in my heart and it opened and sent a clot into my brain. It is medically called PFO. I could not talk and could not think the simplest things. I had a surgery a month after the stroke to close the hole in my heart. I went to speech therapy several times each week. It is not really about speech. It is about reprogramming your brain to use parts of your brain that you do not use. I could not follow even one instruction because I could not remember it. My brain started to get active and I could remember one instruction but not two. It was as simple as touching your nose. Then touch your nose with your left thumb….could not do it. Six months later I found out I had a brain tumor. Had to get over my stroke before my brain surgery. My life was falling apart and I was only 60 years old. I’m 77 now and very healthy. I had some memory issues for a few years and I’m back at least 98%. My tumor was removed and I’m deaf in one ear and have vertigo 24/7. My life is fantastic. As bad as it seems right now, you are at the bottom looking up. I am praying for you, your wife and family. Speech therapy, physical therapy and faith that God can help you face this. I promise you your family love will let you rise up to face these challengers. |
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