Larry's 3 year stroke anniversary and a big thank you
Entry posted by thejule1
1,019 views
Well Larry's 3rd stroke anniversary is tomorrow. I will not go into details as I have done it before, as to how, when, and why he had his stroke here at home 3 years ago. It is too painful to go back to that day. It is still a puzzle as he had no high BD, high cholesterol and was never sick. I am thankful he was able to regain his mobility after a couple of months from inpatient care. His stroke was on the right side of his brain and his left side was affected. His arm and hand are still immobile but he has improved and hopefully will continue to do so.
Well, since Larry's stroke he has had two setbacks which I call major. One is he had a blood clot in his leg in August, 2010. This slowed his therapy for a while and he was put on blood thinners, but he is taking only aspirin now and no blood clots showed up again. Also, he developed a swallowing problem which came on only last year. He passed tests from speech for swallowing and required no more speech therapy after his discharge to home in 2010. So, in addition his appetite problem we had to deal with the swallowing problem. His weight is a big problem as he has lost about 60 lbs. He does try to eat more, and his Dr. is giving him another med to try to help with his appetite.
When Larry had his stroke, it affected both of us tremendously. Larry was use to being active and had just retired. He liked to bowl in a retiree league, he like taking his granddaughter bowling and out hitting golf balls in the practice range,ect. His mood gradually went to showing no emotion or talking much to now showing more interest in things and conversing with others. I still have not seen him laugh much or even cry. No emotion seems possible but I can tell when he is happy about things. His memory is sharp and much better than mine.
I was affected as well as most caregivers here. I found out after Larry came home, I was the sole person responsible for his health and well being. I also was responsible for the home we live in, cars we drove, the cats, everything to do with Larry, etc., etc. I have help now but it still overwhelms me at times.
One thing that helped me keep my sanity is this StrokeNet family. I am so thankful to friends such as Debbie, AKA Ethyl17, who has been such a huge help to me. Who knew I would find a friend on a forum, who was a nurse, and who also was a caregiver to a stroke survivor! She has been a life saver to me, as well as others, like Sue, Fred, Sarah, and many more who are long term caregivers and surivors here. I thank God for this site, and I hope we can keep it going and help each other in this every so difficult and lonely stroke world!
Julie
7 Comments
Recommended Comments