Hi Melinda,

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Sounds like a thing called hemianopia, vision loss caused by stroke. Best bet is to ask a Neurologist while your Dad is still in hospital. Knowing where the stroke was in his brain will help give answers. Btw I'm not a clinician but I've lived with hemianopia for the last 13 years. There's lots of info here in enableme about it. All the best to you and your Dad.

Adrian

Hi Melinda

Thanks for reaching out on EnableMe, there are lots of other stroke survivors who have had similar experiences to your father, so I’m sure there will be some great advice posted here.

It was good to talk yesterday but thought I could add the links we talked about that might also be helpful.  I am sorry to hear about your father’s stroke and his memory changes and vision loss, these can be very challenging issues to come to terms with. 

Many survivors experience vision problems after a stroke, and they can be challenging to manage.  Visual field loss occurs in approximately 30–40% of stroke survivors and can often affect half of the field of vision in both eyes (homonymous hemianopia).

There is currently not a great deal of evidence to make any recommendations on interventions, but it is important that your father is seen and assessed by an eye specialist such as an ophthalmologist. They would be the specialist to assess and recommend any possible options for your father.  You can request a referral from the hospital, or have your father see his GP when he gets home and get a referral to a local ophthalmologist.

You might be interested in reading this blog from Adrian who has commented above about his experience with hemianopia as it gives a good description of what your father might be experiencing. You can read it here.  Thanks for commenting as well Adrian

Guide Dogs Australia are a great organisation that can help people who have low vision, including vison loss resulting from stroke, gain freedom and independence to move safely and confidently around their communities. More information about their service can be found here. Your father would need a referral through My Aged Care for this service. You can contact My Aged care on Ph. 1800 200 422 or visit their website here.

Vision Australia can also provide assessment and management services for people who have low vision or changed vision from a stroke. More information about their service can be found here,  again your father would need a referral through My Aged Care.

It is really important to talk to his current treating team about ongoing referrals and services prior to his discharge home. It sounds like he could benefit from some ongoing rehabilitation at the local hospital outpatient department. Ask your fathers treating team about a referral prior to his discharge for Occupational Therapy. An Occupational Therapist can assist with strategies for both vision changes and memory issues.  If there is a waiting list (given the current COVID-19 situation) you can also speak to your fathers local GP about a chronic conditions management treatment plan and seek a private Occupational Therapist in the interim. If eligible for the treatment plan your father can access 5 sessions of allied health therapy at a Medicare rebated rate.  You can then ask the GP about their recommendations for a local private therapist, or find one here.

There is quite  a lot of information on EnableMe about strategies to help with memory changes, you might like to start with listening to the podcast here.  It has some great practical tips on managing memory changes in and around the home. This may include using practical supports like a diary or phone reminders, using a memory box and having a regular routine for when your father comes into or goes out of the house. You might also like to look at our page on thinking and perception after stroke here. 

You and your father are welcome to give us a call back on StrokeLine if you have any further questions. We are available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on Ph. 1800 787 653.

I hope that the transition home for your father goes smoothly and he is well supported when he returns home.

Best wishes

Siobhan (StrokeLine)

Hi Melinda,

I am very sorry to hear that your dad is having these issues. I am an Orthoptist (we work in lots of areas of vision care) and it does sound like your Dad has suffered some visual field loss, possibly a hemianopia - but there are many variations of visual field loss that can be caused by stroke. I have some more information about this in my blog 'Vision problems after stroke - prevalence and recovery'.

I would suggest having his vision assessed by an Ophthalmologist once he is in a stable condition, and also contacting Guide Dogs NSW who have a neurological department specialising in assisting people with this kind of vision loss.

In the mean time, it is best to inform the people around him (carers/ family and friends) to approach dad from his right (seeing) side. Place objects he needs to access (e.g. glasses, food) on his right side where possible. There are training exercises available to help promote compensatory eye movements to the area of loss (visual scanning training) which may be useful for him, but this is usually not appropriate in the very acute stage of recovery. Once he begins his rehabilitation and his eye condition is confirmed with an ophthalmologist, this may be something to look into. 

All the best.
Shanelle

Hi Melinda, I guess firstly I'm sorry to hear about your dad's stroke. I had a HH stroke about 3 years ago and totally lost my LH visual field. The thing you have to remember, life goes on and your dad will adapt slowly to the vision he has left. Believe me, it's not easy, but you can adapt. I've learnt to keep virtually everything on my RH side. Watch movies and live shows sitting on the LH side of the venues. Walking, I always walk on the LH side of the footpath and use the outside of the footpath as my guide, using my straight vision on the LH side. It's taken my wife and family a long time to adapt as well, but they now know to respect my distance and stay out of my blind side. I'm back playing lawn bowls and I amaze my fellow bowlers how well I can play with my vision loss. Tell your dad, his glass is always half full, never half empty. He will adapt and I wish you both good luck and a speedy recovery.

Cheers Evan 

Great advice Evan

Thank you so much for your advice and support. It is so reassuring to know the information and support is here. Especially great to hear from Evan, it sounds like you are doing really well and no doubt your great attitude has helped with your recovery. I will definitely be talking to Dad about you. Dad is doing well and the vision has improved a bit so we are grateful for that. It's still early days so we are taking it a day at a time but your feedback is so greatly appreciated. Thank you all. 

Hi Melinda I'm so pleased you managed to read my blurb. I hope your dad is progressing and starting to get used to the "new" dad. Like me, it's a learning curve of adaptation to what we now have. Life can never be the same for us, but you must always take the positives and think how much more devastating the outcome could have been. I can remember lying in the Stroke Ward after my incident and looking around me and seeing other people who were much more affected than me. I guess this was the cue I needed to move forward and be very thankful that no more damage was done. 

Please stay in touch. I'm not sure what we are allowed to do on these forums, but I'll make some enquiries and see if I'm allowed to post my phone number.

I'm the mean time, STAY POSITIVE.

Cheers Evan