EnableMe | enableme - stroke recovery and support

I have a left thalamus infarct. I spent 4.5 months in three hospitals before they let me out. Nearly as bad as a danger to the community, they wouldn't let me out before that.

Then they wanted to make me dependent on some other person. Which I didn't want. Then they wanted me to live in some hospital homes. Which I didn't want.

I have been out, and have also left my former rental and in a new rental. Just ignore everything and try to live life normally, even though vision and balance is affected.

Presently trying to pass work related exams, and trying to maintain exercise and fitness.

I have been asking about surgery. Whether research or otherwise, to remove or to replace the dead parts of the left thalami. If the thalami were not so central in the brain it would have been easier to get to surgically. But local GP could not come up with any Aussie surgical centres that work on the left thalami. So I have to widen my search to global.

Even though I am now on Centrelink, I can probably cobble together the money for the necessary surgery (if one exists) overseas.

Hi Noumenon,

Thank you for getting in touch via EnableMe. The process of planning to leave the hospital can be a tough one. When you are in hospital many of the decisions made are about your health needs at the time, and the advice provided by the stroke team is related to this. It is good that you could advocate for what you wanted throughout this process, and that you are now at home, living independently and trying to get on with you life.

In relation to your question about surgery, surgery post stroke has a lot of risks. After a stroke the damaged brain tissue is broken down and cleared up by the body itself, leaving a cavity filled with cerebrospinal fluid. There is therefore no indication for surgery to remove the tissue affected by the stroke. No medical treatment will repair the brain damage resulting from stroke. The brain does; however, have the ability to change and adapt after a stroke. This is called neuroplasticity. Through these changes in brain pathways you may learn to use other parts of your brain to do the job of the thalamus and this may help in you recovery.

It is common to experiences physical changes following a stroke, including difficulties with vision and balance. There is support for stroke survivors who experience changes in vision following a stroke, follow this link for further information. There is also a fact sheet about mobility and exercise after stroke that is available here.

We recommend you call StrokeLine (1800 787 653) to talk about this in more detail or continue discussing this with your GP if you have any more questions.

Best wishes from the StrokeLine team

Hi ,

The StrokeLine team mentioned neuroplasticity - we have recorded a podcast all about it! Click here.