My father who is 53, had a stroke on December 23, 2016. They said it was in his left carotid artery. They gave us absolutely no hope and said that the whole left side of his brain was dead and that there wasn't much hope for improvement. The last any one spoke to him was 6:30 pm and then he was found at 12:00 am on the ground. He had periods of consciousness but mostly just slept. They told us that clot removal wasn't an option and obviously TPA wasn't an option because of how much time had passed. He was incontinent for around 7 days. My father received mannitol for several days. His condition improved (began to swallow, stand and respond with yes and no head shakes). He was moved from the icu to a regular floor around 5 days after admission. Two days later he was moved to an intensive inpatient rehab hospital. He was there for around 3 weeks, where he was able to walk again and started to move his right arm and had some words he could speak. He was determined to come home though and did just that. He is home now. He walks unassisted (probably needs to use a cane but doesn't) He can lift his right arm to about the height of his head. he has minimal movement in his right hand but there is some movement. He eats unassisted with a good appetite. He still doesn't speak in sentences, but is mostly able to indicate his needs/wants. He also has some spontaneous words like "what, no, yes, ok etc" He started outpatient physical therapy this week and starts outpatient occupational and speech therapy next week. we are so thankful for how far he has come. The brain is absolutely amazing! but here comes the question..... He went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor mentioned having the blockage removed. Why would the blockage be removed now??? if it won't improve his quality of life then what is the point??? It seems like if removal is an option now, then why wasn't it an option back when only a few hours had passed after the stroke.