My Dad's Stroke Recovery: A step in the right direction

It has been over a couple of weeks since I last wrote an update – apologies if you have been waiting for some more news on Dad’s recovery, it’s been a busy couple of weeks.

Many of the issues at the home seem to have been resolved, although there are some ongoing. Unfortunately the Director didn't turn up to our meeting that we had arranged with him at the end of October – we were so annoyed as both Len and I had taken time off work to attend. We finally caught up with him later in the day and let him know how we felt.

He has recently confirmed that he will be refunding the money for the two weeks that Dad was in hospital – which we are very pleased about - although he wants us to sign a new contract before we get the money back...!

So anyway, more importantly – how’s Dad doing? Well I am pleased to report that Dad has had a couple of positive weeks and some improvements have been made. The UTI seems to have finally cleared from Dad’s system. He is much calmer, is smiling and joking once again and the swearing and aggression is far less frequent than before. Although there’s the occasional ‘f’ or ‘b’, overall Dad seems so much more like his old self - at last.

To keep us going, we popped out to the local McDonald's the other night to get some food and took it back to the home to eat whilst Dad was eating his tea. Dad helped himself to Mum’s fries – he really seemed to enjoy them…so much so he took the carton of fries out of Mums hand only to realise he hadn't got a spare hand to eat them with. Dad has also been eating Jaffa Cakes, which is excellent as he needs to put weight on and we’d been trying to think of what other foods we could encourage him to eat.

Unfortunately Dad’s drinking habits haven’t yet improved and he’s still not drinking enough orally, even though he is now drinking normal consistency fluids. He seems to think the more he drinks the more likely he is to have to use the toilet – and he sees this as a big job. We've tried to explain to Dad whether he drinks orally or through the PEG he still has to go to the toilet.

A solution has been found to stop Dad having to endure the weekly injections for blood tests due to him being on walfarin. A couple of new drugs have recently been approved by NICE and literally the day the walfarin clinic at Russells Hall Hospital was given the licence to use it, they contacted us to offer it to Dad. After much research on the internet and speaking to the walfarin nurse and Doctor, we have agreed that this will be a suitable alternative to prevent Dad's blood clotting. One tablet a day and an annual renal check is far better than Dad suffering his needle phobia on a weekly basis.

The physiotherapist is working wonders with Dad. His walking with the pulpit, a tall frame on wheels, has improved considerably. He has also been taking steps without the frame holding on to the edge of the raised bed with the physiotherapist on his left side for reassurance. She believes that in time Dad will be able to walk up stairs! She even got Dad to walk up the first step of the practice stairs in the gym this week – although a little shaky, he did very well - photo below. Dad is getting stronger and more determined by the day. We can now see, the only thing holding Dad back physically are his cognitive issues. The fact his short term memory is so poor, means that unfortunately he can’t remember what he has done five minutes after doing it. I show him photos and videos of the exercises he has done in the gym and he doesn't even recognise himself.

The physiotherapist and occupational therapist (OT) visited Mum and Dad’s house this week. It was encouraging to hear that they feel Dad will be able to get up the stairs to his bedroom, either in a stair lift or walking, although walking may be some months away. They explained to us how once a patient comes back to their home environment, they feel reassured and safe and recovery can improve more quickly. In the next couple of weeks Dad will be coming home for a short two hour visit. The physiotherapist and OT will assess how Dad reacts in his home environment. We did show Dad a picture of his house on Google maps recently, but unfortunately he did not recognise it. However, when he is in the surroundings of his own home, this may help trigger some memories. The next step will be to have Dad back for an overnight stay and the aim then to get Dad back home early in the New Year.

Dad went for his cast fitting at hospital yesterday, although the journey wore him out before he got there, he did very well when the orthotist was plastering his leg and moving it up and down - a few weeks ago, Dad wouldn't have let anybody get near it. He will attend another appointment in 3-4 weeks to have the new splint fitted. This should aid Dad when he places his left foot on the floor helping it to be flat rather than arched.

It has been lovely to see some of Dad's friends visiting him again over the last couple of weeks. His face lights up as he recognises a familiar face - although you shouldn't expect him to remember your name. He still gets frustrated when he hears more than one conversation at once, or if he can't keep up with the pace of the conversation - 'I can't keep it up with it I can't' he says and he has been known to snap at us to shut up too.

He has been speaking very well, although there is still lots of confusion, and he does try his best to contribute when the conversation is directed at him. Dad still has a huge chunk of his memory missing, but it is clear he feels safe when he his with Mum. He asks 'Where's Wendy gone' if she has popped to the toilet, or gone to make a drink. He also gets very emotional when Mum arrives and sometimes when we say goodbye - asking 'When will I see you again - will you make sure you come back?'

We appreciate it's a long road to recovery and that although we may have several positive days with Dad, a 'not so good' day often follows, but we have learnt to take each day as it comes.

Over the last couple of weeks we have received many texts and phone calls off family and friends asking for information on Dad's health and so we hope the photos below keep your thoughts positive. If you are thinking of visiting we would advise avoiding meal times, so not between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm or between 5 pm and 6 pm. Also, Dad has been put on a new routine where he has a sleep in the afternoon between 2 pm and 3 pm, so he's likely to be asleep - probably best to give Mum a call or drop her a text to let her know your plans; let me know if you need her number.

As always - thanks for the support and your time in reading this, we'll get there, however long it takes.

UPDATE 19/11/12: It has been confirmed that Dad has another UTI. All the signs were there again; Dad's urine has been smelling very strongly again, he has been complaining about the pain around his kidneys and feeling nauseous and the extra confusion set in yet again on Saturday evening. It was as though someone had flicked a switch - Dad started shouting and became very angry in the matter of seconds, he shouted 'I'm so confused, why am I so confused?" The nurse addressed our concerns immediately and the Doctor again faxed a prescription for antibiotics to the Midnight Chemist which we fetched straight away. I really hope this one is not as extreme as the last UTI.

Love you Dad x