My Father had stroke on the 26/9/16. Not able to look after himself. Any assistance and guidance appreciated

Forgot to mention I'm in Western Australia if that makes a difference.  :-)

Hi Darren,

Are you able to call us on StrokeLine 1800 787 653 so that we can find our more?

We're sorry to hear about your fathers stroke.

Diana 

Hi Darren,

I’m sorry to hear about your father’s stroke and his problems with memory and confusion.  It is a very challenging time when someone you love is in this position.

At one month post stroke, it is very early days in your father’s recovery. Improvement can continue for years after a stroke, but for many people it’s quickest in the first six months. If he is still in an acute hospital, you can request that once he is medically stable, he gets transferred to a rehabilitation hospital with a neuro or stroke ward, where there is a team of medical and allied health staff who specialise in neurological recovery.

If he is already in a rehab hospital, you can ask the team who are caring for your father to organise a family meeting.  This way, you can sit down with all the different professionals who are caring for your father and ask them to explain the assessments they have done, the results, what these results mean for daily functioning and what therapy goals or course of action they have planned to address the areas of difficulty.

The occupational therapist (OT) is the person who works primarily with patients who have trouble with cognitive skills including memory, attention and problem solving.  They can assess cognitive function and give functional therapy exercises that will assist with day to day functioning. They can also suggest ways to compensate for problems if they are ongoing.

The speech pathologist may also work with your dad on memory problems related to language, for example, remembering all of the information in a long sentence.

The social worker will talk to you about the team’s recommendations for where your father should live and what support is required.

Further down the track, you may want to consider a neuropsychological assessment. This takes a more in-depth look at a person’s pattern of cognitive (thinking) strengths as well as any difficulties they may have.  It can be used to aid decision making for rehabilitation.

Here is our fact sheet on Thinking and Perception after Stroke

Please call us on StrokeLine on 1800 787 653 if you would like to talk to one of our OTs for more information. We can also supply you with a ‘My Stroke Journey’ pack that will give you information to support your father’s recovery and includes key questions to ask health professionals.

Kind regards,

Melita (StrokeLine)

Hi Darren, sorry to hear about your father and as carer you'll have plenty of up's and downs as you see your Dad work through recovery and rehabilitation.  My partner of 54 years of age had a massive strong in September 2015, he has been left with Aphasia (can't communicate clearly) and full body seizures which we're in the midst of working with a neurologist with.  We travelled extensively and both have individual successful businesses - my advice is to arm yourself with a good support network.  Recently I employed a person to cook and deliver meals for most of the week to ensure we both eat properly while I can manage his needs and manage our business' while also having a little bit of time out - it's a long road but if you spend the time in getting his recovery right he'll greatly appreciate the assistance I'm sure.  Tracey

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