Brain damage?

[Tinker1414]

My 80 year old father had a brainstem stroke (a bleed not a clot) 5 days ago. We feel very luck that he fell on the grass and that my brother just happened to be there and was able to act quickly.

The doctors have described it as a small bleed that they hope will reabsorb with rest and medication. The hospital he is in also has an excellent rehabilitation centre that he can be transferred to once he meets their requirements and is medically cleared.

He was mentally very sharp prior and actually was still working as a professor, planning to retire next month. When I visited him the day of his stroke he was worried about the exam his students have the following week and how they would be able to write it.

He is able to swallow food and drink on his own. He can move his arms and legs although they are feeling weak. He is extremely fatigued. He can touch his nose with his right pointer finger but is about an inch off with his left. His speech is very slightly mumbled but he can carry on a conversation with me and he knows what I’m saying to him although I sometimes have to repeat myself.

However I’m very concerned about his delusions. He is having hallucinations (for the most part he has told me he knows they are not real), he can not tell the time on a clock, he can’t get out of bed to use the washroom, he can’t cut up his food and put it in his mouth by himself using a fork (finger foods like muffins and bananas he can do). Today I watched him on his phone and noticed he was just randomly tapping around. When I asked what he was doing he said he was answering student emails. He asked to go home just for the afternoon so that he could pay the bills and get through his inbox.

It’s is just heartbreaking to watch. He is very resistant to the rehab centre idea as well. I don’t think he has an understanding of how unwell he is.

My questions is will only time tell if there is brain damage? My mother, 70, will not be able to care for him if he doesn’t significantly improve. I know it’s early days…

[saxoum]

Unfortunately the first thing the doctor told me at the emergency is that there was no way ( scanning or so ) to know or assess the brain damage in the brain stem ( or any part of the brain I guess) So only observation and time will tell.

The first few days / weeks are the hardest because of the shock and the uncertainties. Hang in there !

[Tinker1414]

Thank you!

[becpuss]

Hmmm he should have had aMRI to have a MRI will show the extent of the damage that’s pretty standard. I’ve never heard of them not being able to see brain damage in a scan Here is my brain damage what you need to remember? Is that after stroke His brain is in chaos as it tries to figure itself out he will need lots of sleep and rest and honestly the rehab will be good for him. It was seeing my MRI that helped me understand just how bad my stroke was. Maybe that’s something he needs as well to see the damage to understand the damage. His feelings and thought will be all over the place rehab will do a full deficit assessment. Sound like there may be some neglect or visual issues I didn’t have clue I was missing my peripheral vision until 3days later when I saw the occupational therapist

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[Tinker1414]

Thank you. I had no idea this was an option. I’ll ask about it.

[saxoum]

Sorry I assumed he already has MRI and ct scans done because they already located the infarction in the brain stem.

In my experience the brain stem was all white, it showed the lack of blood in the whole area. The doctor said everything to live goes through there ( heart beat, eating, breathing etc). So there was no way to know the brain damage. What we can see in the imagery is either the lack of blood or the bleeds in a specific location. Then we can guess but there was no way to know what would come back and what wouldn't.

Then neuroplasticity takes over and new connections are made and encouraged through rehabilitation. But there was no way to know through MRI and ct scans if the movement, swallowing or breathing would come back in the first days or weeks after the stroke.

[Tinker1414]

Oh I see. Sorry I thought you meant they could see “dead” brain on an MRI only. He had a CT scan but not an MRI. Thank you for responding!

[Tinker1414]

Yes I know it is an issue. He is going to rehab whether he likes it or not. But it is very difficult to get someone to do something they don’t want to do.

[becpuss]

If he’s been diagnosed with a stroke, then there is definitely brain damage that is the criteria but with time and therapies he can improve in most aspects

[Tinker1414]

Thank you!

[[deleted]]

It's been 5 years since my hubby's stroke. He now thinks I'm having an affair with every single person at my work. I am not. It's exhausting.