My father in law had a stroke

[prayingforhope]

My father in law had a stroke about a month back. We are getting very little feedback from the doctor and nurses. We tried moving him to another hospital but were told we need a medical reason to move him or our medical insurance will not pay. From the onset of him being unresponsive and immediately admitted to ICU the doctors were not sure of what had happened. Then we were told it was not a stroke. All in this time he had extensive bleeding to his brain and we were told that they could not operate as the damage to the brain was extensive. We were told we will just have to wait to see if he would make it through the next week or so. They had sedated him, given the tract tube as his breathing was really bad. His blood pressure was constantly high. He then developed pneumonia and still has this for more then 3 weeks. He is not able to communicate, when they try reduce him of the life support he struggles to breath and he a reoccurrence hence the life support gets  increased. last week we were called to the hospital immediately as they said his heart is now taking a strain and he is not looking good. We are about an hours drive away from the hospital. we get and there is no doctor we wait the entire day and the doctor does not pitch, when we ask for his details we get told the doctor will be here soon.The neurologist then says it was a stroke. He is not brain dead and is responding to pain but we are not out of the woods yet. How soon can a stroke be diagnosed. Im not sure if the nurses are not knowledgeable or just have a serious attitude problem but when I had asked them how he is doing I get told, "weren't you here yesterday, he is the same" :-/ What happened to compassion and sensitivity. yesterday my mum in law visited him and noticed his feet are black and hard. She immediately asked the nurse and doctor and still has not received any answer. The doctor now says we should look at moving him to a medical rehab centre that caters for patients on life support... So please anyone that has been in this situation what does this mean. PS: we are afraid to complain - what if they stop taking care of him.

[lovingwife39]

I am very sorry to hear your FIL suffering this way.  My husband was 39 and suffered a massive  hemorrhagic stroke.  That was 10 years ago and he is with us and doing well.  He was in the hospital, rehab, skilled nursing for a year before coming home.  The ICU doctors gave us no hope.  His neurosurgeon did though, so I would encourage you to request a sit-down with all the doctors and discuss his MRIs and CT Scans to determine affected areas, determine if there is swelling, or even if a drain should be put in place to help remove excess fluid.  If you are not satisfied with what they are telling you, get a second opinion!  This is your right.  My husband still doesn't have a piece of his skull that was removed in the surgery performed 15 hours after he was first seen in an ER.  He had a massive bleed and they removed the blood clot and left back of skull removed to deal with swelling.  He later had a procedure to place a drain to remove fluids, which remains today.  Be bold, ask questions, do research, and do not let them do anything to your FIL without approval and explanation.  Be kind to the nurses, they are the main provider of care, and treats and appreciation go a long way with them.  Your FIL's feet may be black because of the poking.  My husband's nails were black and blue from the pinching and pricking they do.  It is done to test responses, and based on those responses, doctors make predictions of recovery.  I would not recommend listening to these guesses because my husband had no response outside a gag reflex, but made a truly significant recovery.  He continues to improve today, but it can take weeks, months, years.  Lots of therapy!  Make sure they have a physical therapist working with him now in the ICU, moving limbs and keeping him limber.  Learn how to do it yourself and continue to do it all the time.  I'd give my husband mani/pedis and move everything several times a day.  I wish I could be there to tell you everything I learned through my process.  Don't hesitate to reach out again if needed.  Keep on top of the doctors, they won't ignore you if you are in their face demanding answers.  If you let them give vague answers, they will continue.  Don't let them.  Your FIL may just need time to heal.  Give him that time.  There should be a case working you can talk to about skilled nursing facilities you can take him.  But please know these places can sometimes make your family sicker because they are germ infested.  My husband keep declining every time he caught infection.  Long road ahead.  I'll be praying.  

[flipper336]

First I would like to start off by saying that I am sorry for what  you are going through. The diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke should of been made by the doctors in the emergency room in less than an hour. For the best possible outcome of the person that has a stroke, medical treatment needs to happen within a hour. There is a saying about this, doctors call it the Golden Hour.

Take a look at this article:
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/26/12/2238.short

NEVER be afraid to complain about the care someone is getting in the hospital. It is someones life that is on the line.
I would like to know why they did not drill a burr hole, what took them so long to realize it was a stroke and why are his feet black and hard.