The first 2 months were on and off with his health. My dad had a broken ankle prior to the stroke and then while in the hospital for inpatient rehab, he developed cellulitis of the eye. One thing on top of another and it was discouraging that his pain from the ankle and sickness prevented him from really being aggressive in his therapy.

What motivated my dad, despite all these obstacles, was the love of our family and our strong commitment to God. People would wonder why we weren’t nervous wrecks and it truly was the grace of God as mom mentions several times in her blog.

It was hard not knowing all the time what to say to my dad about the stroke. I can only imagine that he felt emasculated. Having worked with his hands all his life as a builder, to lose that left side is difficult. We were concerned, like you, that the therapy wasn’t aggressive enough. But then we reminded ourselves that “they are the professionals” and God is the ultimate healer. It didn’t matter what all the reports said — that the first 6 weeks or so after the stroke usually are the most telling of recovery.

When I would talk to my dad, I would just encourage his little progresses. I tried to help him focus on setting mini goals. Like walking 75 ft. versus 50 ft. So then it seemed like he was making progress every day. And he did.

Even encouraging your dad to go an extra 2 minutes in therapy instead of the full time is progress.

Attitude is everything too. I don’t know what kind of support system you have, but I hope you have someone else to lean on/especially God. It’s important that your dad doesn’t hear you being upset or angry or down. It’s okay to feel those feelings, but it can really affect his rehab. Make sure you vent to someone other than to your dad. His emotions will be erratic and you will most definitely see him being out of it, down in the dumps and he will probably be weeping or angry. There are meds to help keep the chemical imbalance stabilized so make sure to watch out for atypical behavior. You know him more than the nurses/docs do.

It’s a long journey and we celebrate every ssuccess dad has. We don’t know what the final outcome will be – if he’ll continue to make progress or if it will plateau. We just remain strong and hope you can too.
Jennifer

One thing that helped me understand the effects of a right-brain stroke was a book that the hospital gave me published by the Natl. Stroke Assoc. It’s called Hope: The Stroke Recovery Guide. You can read it free at the following link:

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=HOPE

All of it is excellent and talks about the pain he’s working through, the lack of motivation, depression, etc. Page 31 talks about the effects of a right-brain injury. Just understanding all of this really helped me.

Steve said it was my love for him that motivated him the most…that he knew I would be there for him. I never wanted him to feel like I abandoned him. It was also important that he never lose hope for recovery, so I printed off some scripture verses on 9 x 11 paper and taped them up in his room where he could read them every day. Verses like: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” and “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Steve said it was very difficult working through the pain. He had several good neuro-trained therapists who knew exactly how to relieve the pain in his back and sciatica with a few minutes of stretching his legs before he got out of bed. But there were other pains in his shoulder, and the pins and needles he felt when I touched his arm or leg.

It’s been 4 mos. since Steve’s stroke and he’s walking with a cane, can climb stairs, and has very nice movement in his arm and hand. I think it was 8 wks. before there was any movement in his hand at all. So don’t be discouraged.

Is your father in the hospital in inpatient rehab? How old is he? Are there other family members visiting?

My daughters were a big help, and I’ve asked two of them to respond to your post as well so you can hear their point of view.

I’m glad you like the blog and I hope it helps you. Since it’s fairly new, I’m curious as to how you found it. Did you use a certain search word?

Please let me know if I can help in any other way. I’m praying for you and your father.

Kathy

he is in rehab right now but his progress has been so slow (he has been there for three weeks). he is sitting up at the edge of the bed and able to balance himself but needs 3 people for a safe transfer to the wheel chair. he has some trace movement in the left leg but nothing in the left arm or hand. he is experiencing a lot of pain.

what we are concerned about is his lack of motivation. he will participate in physical therapy for 20 minutes and then say he is too tired and his back hurts and that he wants to go back to bed. he is also saying that his family is going to take care of him but he just doesn’t realize that we can’t right now. did your husband experience lack of motivation? if so, how did you motivate him? i get worried that the stroke has effected the motivational-center of his brain and that he can’t help his response. his team however doesn’t think this and i guess we just need to rely on their expertise.

i am concerned that they are not getting my dad up onto his feet. i know that they are professionals and know what they are doing-i guess he just isn’t ready yet. thank you again for the blog. any resources or information or inspiration you could provide would be appreciated.