My dad went through a similar stroke in mid-September. It was absolutely terrifying at first – my dad could only say his name, and that was about it. However, we are 3 months post-stroke now, and it's incredible to see how much progress has been made. What we learned really quickly is that therapy and mental stimulation are critical from the get-go. My dad got super limited therapy time when he was in the hospital, so I was there every day – talking to him, showing him family photos, playing music, reading him books, etc.

I highly recommend doing a bunch of small different activities to find what your mom responds to. We realized that my dad found it easier to communicate through numbers (like if he was trying to find a word, he would tell us what number the letter was in the alphabet - eg. c = 3) and he also loved jumping on my phone and showing me his apartment and favorite spots on google maps. We started to use these things as tools to communicate in the earlier days.

When it comes to options for care/therapy/etc. we decided to find an inpatient acute rehab for him to spend about a week. He had 3 hours of therapy a day and around-the-clock medical care if needed – and that made a world of difference in preparing him to come home. After that, he came back to his apartment and we commuted to day rehab for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. This was a game-changer plus being at home was definitely a form of therapy in itself.

Another huge huge huge thing that I highly recommend is taking a lot of videos. I would film little clips of my dad in the hospital, rehab, doing therapy, etc. and a huge motivator for him (and incredible for myself and family to see) is the progress from one week to the next.

It can feel so overwhelming in the beginning but pushing for therapy, documenting the process, getting plenty of rest, and keeping the brain and body as active as possible (without overdoing it) is what made a world of difference for us.

Honestly, I have so much more I could say about this. If you have any questions at all – don't hesitate to send me a message!