Dealing with Family Members who has had a Stroke

 

    

Dealing with a Family Member who has had a Stroke

    Many People have known someone close to them - as a loved one or a friend, who had suffered from a stroke.  As you guys know, some strokes can be very deadly & can kill someone.  Then you have the strokes that show signs/ paralysis.  Then you have the strokes that shows NOTHING!!!  You don't even know that you have had one until you have an MRI / CAT Scan done.  Then the doctors share the news with you.

    That is what happen with Heather and my mom.  None of us knew what was going on. Neither one had signs/ symptoms or paralysis.  So, we didn't know.  Heather had her stroke in May 2020.  She kept saying her head hurt, that's all was said.  She also kept asking where she was.  Which didn't throw up a red flag.  Then she kept acting out.  However, we didn't think anything about it.  It got harder and harder for her to explain the way she was feeling.

    So, she went to ARMC to find out what was going on.  That is where she did the MRI and found out she had a stroke (ischemic) on the right side of her brain.  Which the part of her brain where she had her stroke had died.  Then while in the hospital, she had several mini strokes.  She sometimes has trouble remembering things.  When she got back home, its day and night the way she acts.  One moment she acts like a young child and then at a flip of the switch, she is to somewhat normal.  This has been going on almost a year.  Its going to be a long recovery process for her to be able to try to get back to normal, if that happens.

    Now with Mama, it's somewhat different.  Mom had no signs/ symptoms or paralysis to show that she had a stroke.  However she went in for other reasons.  They did an MRI to see was causing her to talk out of mind.  That was when they found out that she did have a stroke.  She also was having an internal reaction to an antibiotic that was being give through a PICC Line ( that goes directly into the heart).  The antibiotic was slowly killing her and shutting everything down.  She had trouble explaining what she wanted us to do or help her with.

    Its going to be a long recovery for Mom, she has to do Physical & Occupational Therapy for her foot and then for her stroke.  As of right now, while in rehab - she shows no signs of any paralysis.  Which is great.  Mom is trying her best to start moving around, however she has to stay off her foot 4 to 6 weeks.  She loves her nurses.  She has a checkup with her foot doctor on Friday.   She is even getting pampered.  She got her nails painted.  However there is one big thing that I haven't mentioned is that she has shaved her head.  The reason she did it was she didn't have to deal with that and her foot, too. 

    I just had to write something about this.  I have been looking into this lately and seen that "the researchers found that among mothers who had a stroke, the risk for a stroke was highest among their daughters."   Which I have found to be very interesting.  Some kinds of strokes have a genetic component that can be tested.  It can be common for many people in your family to have strokes, because of the increase stroke risk.  I also didn't know that strokes can be inherited.  You learn something new everyday.  

Please take care of yourself. Take it easy.

As I found information that I find is very useful and interesting.  I will continue to post it.  Thank you for allowing me to vent and educate you at the same time.