Hemorrhagic Stroke/Recovery Times OK?

[pookiemon]

My sister-in-law had a hemorrhagic stroke with a intracerebral hemorrhage. This was on May 18th. They have done a Ventriculostomy. The gas man found her in the driveway. We figure it had been somewhere between 20-35 mins. before she was found. They have her in a medically induced coma where they say she will stay for the next 3-4 weeks. Is this normal? Also, they did a cat scan on the 18th, and 19th and we were told the bleeding had stopped. They are doing another one tomorrow, and they are now talking about putting a shunt in. Once again is this normal? They say if she survives (her chances are 50/50, she is still in critical/stable condition) she will have slurred speech, minimal movement of her right arm, and a limp with her right leg. Should they be able to tell this while she is in the coma? She was concious after they flipped her over in the driveway and upon arrival at the hospital which is approx. 40 miles away.We look forward to your response. Thank you,

Lost without her hanging with us!

Barbara

[tommahwk]

Thank you so much for telling me about your wife. She sounds like a fighter who won a very difficult battle. I stop by the hospital several times everyday. I tell my mom not to give up and to fight I encourage her to try to move something everyday even if its just a little bit. I tell her that I am going to help her with everything and together we will win. Thanks again for the very encouraging story.

[sailorswife]

I greatly appreciate your stories of recovery after hemorrhagic stroke.  My 81-year-old husband had this type of stroke on 7/3.  It was a rather large bleed in the back right portion of his brain.  Many of your experiences sound exactly like mine.  He is on a ventilator and feeding tube, although he has been breathing for up to 10 hours without the vent.  He has just begun opening his eyes and blinking them, and also lifting his right arm a bit.  I see a little more "life" in his eyes than I did a few days ago, but no sign of recognition.  The doctors tell me he has good reflexive reaction in all four of his limbs.  All of his vital signs are excellent, and I think he can hear, because he seems to calm down when I play his favorite classical music through headphones on his ears.  No one can tell me what his long-term prognosis might be, or even when or if he will wake up and recognize me.  I just keep touching him and talking to him.  Some people tell me just to pull the tubes and let him go in peace, but it is so hard to know what to do.  Especially after reading some of your comments about it taking 3-4 weeks to regain consciousness, I feel like I need to give him time to fight back if he wants to.  Anyone have any advice for me?

[tommahwk]

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. I know how you feel and what you are experiencing right now. After my moms stroke the Doctors and others encouraged me to withdraw care and let her go in peace. There was one young doctor who told me to give her a chance. I thought about what she would want to do and decided that she would not want to give up so easily. She would want to exhaust all of her options before giving up, so I kept up the fight with her.

Its been six weeks and she is completely awake, alert, and responding to commands and anwering questions by shaking her head yes/no. Although she is still in serious condition, she seems to be doing well. She is breathing on her own but still on the feeding tube.

She just moved to a continuing care facility and has started occupational, speech, and physical therapy. She has swallowed several times on command and mouths words because she cannot talk yet. She is still on the Trachotomy.

She can move her right arm and leg but is not able to move her left side at all. She is even smiling although its very difficult at this point. Her therapists are saying she will need at least six months to regain more use of her body.

Don't give up hope. Stick close to your husband and encourage him. He can difinitely hear you! Also, make sure he is being turned from side to side every two hours so he does not develope any bed sores.

I found out that my mom had a basil ganglia stroke. It sounds similar to your husbands.

Best wishes for your husband and you.

[sailorswife]

Thanks "tommahwk" for the encouragement.  My husband has been moved out of intensive care into a long-term acute care facility three floors down.  He is now up to 14-16 hours breathing on his own, and he is moving his right arm quite a bit, especially when I talk to him.  The medical people say the movement is "not purposeful," but I think there is more purpose than they understand.  He is moving his eyes from side to side, and seems to stare at me intently and furrow his brow, like he is puzzled.  Sometimes I think he focuses on me, but other times he seems to have a blank stare.  His best friends came to see him today, and they said they thought he recognized them.  He moved his legs and his right arm and kept blinking his eyes when they talked to him.  His new case manager says they will not even begin to think about what is next for him for 15-20 days, waiting to see if he can breathe round-the-clock on his own and if he regains more consciousness.  Knowing how long it took your mother to wake up helps to give me hope.  Thank you again!

[tommahwk]

Hi Sailorswife!! This is such great news and it sounds so familiar. Its almost exactly the same way my mom's recovery went. I would not listen to what the nurses and doctors say about movement. Your husband is probably trying to get comfortable or is moving his arm to find your hand so he can hold it. I am really happy for you!

My mom had the same blank stare and blinking. My theory is, at that stage of the recovery, your husband (and my mom) are not in control of thier vision. He is trying to focus and look at you but the brain is still recovering so his eyes are not working. Slowly but surely they will start to work.

My mom took several weeks to get her sight back and today  it is still limited. She can see much much better on her right side and has limited peripheral vision on her left.

Hang in there and just make sure you husband is being turned from side to side in the bed, make sure his skin is moisturized and he is getting good nutrition and hydration.

Yesterday my mom talked for the first time in two months!! She sounds kind of looney but it was so exciting to hear her call my name. She has aphasia so what she wants to say doesn't come out exactly the way it should but she should improve over time.

The speech therapist is working with her everyday and she has a special valve on her trach which allows her to talk.

She is also being moved downstairs one level for the next phase of therapies which will be more intense.

Keep me posted. Don't give up hope. He will breathe on his own. It just takes time.

Keep talking to him and encouraging him. I talk to my Mom everyday and tell her how strong she is and how wonderful she is. I tell her my refrigerator is empty  and I want her to cook me some good food when she gets out of the hospital.

I am really happy that your husband is doing well!!

[sailorswife]

Dear tommahwk ~ Two pieces of good news today about my husband.  The pulmonary specialist says he is sure Rick can be weaned off the ventilator, because he is doing so well when allowed to breathe on his own.  He still has not responded to verbal commands or nodded his head, the way you say your mom did, but he is moving his right arm and both of his legs much more actively.  Today, he was looking right at me, so I puckered up my lips and made a kissing motion.  Almost immediately, he puckered up his lips and did the same thing.  I did it four times, just to make sure it wasn't involuntary on his part.  Each time, he responded with a kiss.  Made my day!!!  I guess he can understand the visual cues, even if the verbal requests to do things don't make sense to him yet.  Isn't it amazing the way the human mind works?  We can build every weapon known to man, but have very little understanding of what goes on inside our heads.

The news about your mom sounds very encouraging, too.  I'm glad she is able to talk some.  It must be very frustrating to be trapped inside yourself with very little way to communicate.  How is she doing on movement?  It sounds like you have her in a very good facility.  She'll be cooking your dinner before you know it.  Best wishes!