My husbands grandma had a stroke and can't form words??

Question

She can talk but the wrong words come out...is this permanent? I've never dealt w/ someone who had a stroke before so I don't know what to make of it. She can't write what she's thinking either...Thanks!

Answer 1

It is hard to say. A stroke involves a loss of bloodflow to part of the brain and brain damage results. Sometimes a lot of function can be regained sometimes not. It depends on how much of the brain is damaged.

Function is usually recovered by having a new part of the brain do the work that was formerly done by the damaged part. This involves relearning a lot of stuff though physical and occupational therapy. It requires a lot of effort on the part of the patient because they have to be willing to do the work.

Recovery from stroke isn't often pretty. You can play a big role in this process by encouranging his grandma and keeping up her spirits. It can be really exhausting work on their part so they need something to inspire them.

In my grandmother's case, a doctor told her she would never be able to walk again. That made her so mad she was determined to prove him wrong. Ultimately, he was right and she could never walk on her own but the hard work she did in physical therapy probably helped her recover a lot fo function she might not have if she hadn't been so motivated.

A great uncle of mine was motivated because his daughter was getting married. She hadn't gotten engaged until she was in her 40s and he was determined that he was going to walk her down the aisle at her wedding. He made some amazing recovery and they arranged the wedding so that he could walk her a short distance. I remember balling my eyes out being so impressed by how hard he had worked.