Intracerebral Hemorrhagic Stroke. Such big words, such intimidating statistics. According to the National Stroke Association, hemorrhagic strokes account for about fifteen percent of all stroke cases, but account for more than 30 percent of all stroke-related deaths. Truly, dad's recovery and progress is nothing short of miraculous. In fact, dad's doctors have said that this is a second lease on life. "Not many people survive this," Dr Javier, his attending physician, told us.
As we go into the rehabilitation phase of his recovery, Dad's needs have changed. Surprisingly, he knows everything, down to the PIN number of his ATM card, down to the last word document he typed out with regard to his latest business venture. While his internal timeline is a bit off (not surprising; if you've been lying down in the hospital for four weeks and if so much drugs are being pushed into your system, your timeline would be a bit off too), it is certainly improving. He is already aware what day it is; in fact, he remembered that it was our driver's wife's birthday tomorrow.
For now, he needs sleep--that is how the brain recovers. He also needs laughter and a stress-free environment. "There are some people I just want to kick out," he sometimes says, in jest, about certain visitors. He needs prayers, as he continues on his greatest journey yet. You will all be pleased to know that he is a cooperative patient, in terms of therapy and diet. He is truly determined to get better. His therapists, too, marvel at his daily progress: every day, he gets stronger, takes one extra step, uses more of his left (weaker) side, etc.
Of course, he may argue on what he needs for now: tapsilog; crispy pata; pretty nurses to look at; blah, blah, blah. So yes, to those who know him, you could say that he is "still Manolo."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My dear friend Dave had a stroke a year ago and had speech aphasia for most of the year. We played Scrabble together to exercise his brain, and he would have to sound out the letters each time he put a tile down. He also used a laptop to type out questions. It doesn't sound like Manolo has that problem, if he's commenting on nurse's disrobement fantasies. I don't know if you have any small dogs at home, but Dave's dogs really helped him stay alert and feel like he needed to pay attention to them -- again, exercising the brain and heart. Topics... new movies? rent lots of videos! I will ponder.
ReplyDelete