50 year old mom had stroke

[TaraTruong]

Hello everyone.  My mother suffered a stroke Monday July 2, 2007 in the afternoon.  They administered Tpa and other thinners, but she still has a blockage that is in her left side of the brain.  She has some form of aphasia, she cannot move her leg or arm on her right side.  She was released from the hospital July 6th to a stroke rehab center (they specailize in this type of brain trauma due to stoke).  She seems to get better with each passing day.  She can feed herself with her left arm and she has bladder/bowel control and if you ask her she can tell you yes or no if she has to go and if you put her on the toilet she knows to go.  One nurse told us that she cannot think and recognise, but others have said this is not the case.  When I ask her who she is she knows and she knows my dad and brother and she did not know my husband at first, but then when we taught her his name again she seemed to remember because I asked her if I was married and she said yes.  Everyday she seems more alert and aware, but with regards to her right side and her speech will she be able to gain some of that back?  She is only 50 and she has no other health issues and she has already attemped to get herself up and out of bed.  (we had to have then alarm the bed because obviousley she is a fall risk right now.  Any opinions or words of wisdom/recovery stories that you know of would be greatly appreciated.  

[theflyjd]

I had my second stroke in 1995 that left me with the same type of symtoms that is besetting your Mother right now. I was 45 when I had mine. The right side never completely returned but it did mostly. While at the time of the stroke I was paralyzed completely on the right side, within days I started to recover. I now have complete usage of my right side however, I am still pretty much numb on that side. It sounds to me that your Mother is onery and does not plan on laying around crying the blues. Thats a good thing, just don't let her do it too fast. Good luck.

[vega1318]

Your mom has likely suffered a large stroke but she is young and seems to be quite alert and aware -- I would be very hopeful for continued recovery.   She will understand better than speak at first but may start speaking soon as well.   If her right side can move at all, it can then be rehabilitated further but it is a long road.   The most recovery will happen now and for the next 3 months -- it's hard to judge day by day, but you will see improvement every week.   Things like aspiration and infections (if she is bedbound) are what might slow her down so make sure those are being prevented as much as possible.   She should have had her swallowing evaluated completely and she should now be on medicines to prevent the next stroke (depending on why she had this one).

Don't give up.