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My husband had a stroke a week ago. He is still in the hospital. I would like to talk to others that had a wife or husband with a stroke.

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Certainly there is a support group. Ask at the hospital when and where it meets. Many of us here are going through the same thing.
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I have been the caregiver for 3 different people who had strokes. (At different times, of course). I am the current care giver for my Mom...she had a stroke in June.

At this point you are probably trying to understand the extent of the brain damage. The nature of the damage, and what he will get back. Many lose the ability to swallow. 62% will recover this within 9 months, meanwhile they are high risk of pneumonia due to aspirating food or drink. There could be additional damage to other internal organs...after all the brain control all the bodily functions.

The answers concerning what he has lost all depend on where the stroke was. A lot of functions in the brain can be relocated and rebuilt and relearned...but some of them are hard wired to specific locations (like the optic nerve, for example).

The single most important thing to do in the first week is to locate the reason for the stroke..blood clot..where formed..plan to prevent future clots. Hemorrhage....repair to prevent reoccurrence. After the first week, the therapy to recover functions must be under way. No delay. Find the best rehab facility in your area and get him into it. Intense rehab must include daily OT, PT, and Speech therapy. You should expect him to be in rehab for at least 4-6 weeks. He will need daily support from you. Your constant attention to him during this time will really help him move forward as fast as he can. Get him up and walking, and talk to him. Talking with him constantly will help him regain this function. The rehab can do a lot, but they cannot dedicate someone to be with him during all his waking hours...you need to prepare to fill that gap. This really needs to be intense in these first weeks.

What exactly caused the stroke?
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I think a blood clot. But they didn't see one when they checked. Later someone said the blood from his heart valve went to brain. Took him to emergency room three weeks ago. Couldn't sleep trouble breathing gaining weight fast.
Said he had heart failure. Heart valve defective. Backwash of blood back into heart i think. Blood not going where it was supposed to. Five or six hours after operation he had a stroke.
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Wow. That is a lot to deal with.

Depending on where the stroke was, you will know th extent of the loss. My first experience with a stroke victim was with a fellow who had the stroke on the left rear on his brain. He "lost" the entire right side of the world. It is called right side neglect. He just could not even conceive that there was a right side to the world. He never recovered from that. But, his speech remainder clear, and his understanding came back quickly, Always needed help walking. Could not read (eyes did not see the right side of words or sentences). Couldn't drive.

With home aides, he lived another 8 years.

Second stroke victim was a lady. Stroke was on the right side. She lost only the concept of numbers. Could not even imagine their use. Not phone numbers, no the time on a clock. She had a little left side weakness, but got stronger in time and over came that.

My mom had a stroke in June, Far front on the left, she has no right side weakness. She has no right side neglect. But her speech is very difficult. Most words coming out a jumble, Speech therapy and constant talking with her has improved it greatly! The big issue is that she lost the " automatic " swallowing functions. It has been 8 weeks, and she is still a high risk for chocking and pneumonia from aspirating food or drink. She has to be attend carefully with every meal and every drink.

So..you see, the exact location of the stroke will help to identify what he will most lose and need help with
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