The post above shares my husband journey of recovery from his haemorrhage stroke in spain . We were told he would never eat talk walk again he is doing all these things ( albeit different to before) dont give up the brain is a clever thing and no recovery is the same or liner
My husband has been in a cat one rehab for four weeks ans making great progress
Some days slower than others but progress is made no matter how small
Keep going and fighting she has young brain and its amazing what it can learn xx thoughts to u all
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Hello everyone I am sorry I have been quiet today, I had to travel to tell my elderly parents the news as I could not tell them over the phone, I feel so much better tonight as I did this morning, we have actually shared all these posts with our family in England and Thailand and everyone is feeling so much more positive, and following on from my post this morning and hearing what you have all said he decided to carry on as he was doing - tickling her right foot (which actually made her foot move) also talking to her constantly, to be honest disregarding the doctors gloomy prognosis we had first thing this morning !!
I will update tomorrow when she is having another scan, and I am sure we will have more questions thanks you so much everyone xx
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I am sure gentle massage of the affected side will help and gently moving both arm and leg through a range of movements that she shows no sign of pain with. I am hoping a physio has seen her. Perhaps your husband could seek advice, to make sure this is appropriate.
Wendy
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@matt_d13 thank you I have copied the link on your post to my family 
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Thank you some great advice, I will get reading now
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This is good news.
The more rehab Emily gets, the better the recovery. It is an ongoing thing and as I understand it, the more you get earlier the better. What youāre doing to talk to her and give her gentle massages is brilliant.
One thing to bear in mind is that we are all different and we all recover at a pace that suits us and our personality. So Emily will recover and her recovery will depend on amongst other things:
- How much help she needs
- How much targeted help she receives
- Her own willpower and desire to recover from her condition
With regards to help from the NHS etc. this will likely vary as has been seen from those who have shared their experiences on this forum.
Main thing is to keep going, keep asking, pushing back if you feel there is a need, challenging prognosis if appropriate.
Help may not necessarily be offered by default - this might sound strange, but in some cases help is only forthcoming if you ask for it. This means you have to know what help you require and then where you might get it. This forum will certainly help you if it can.
Wishing you all the best.
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Hello thank you for sharing your story, can I just ask you a few things ? my daughters boyfriend is concerned if she has too much stimulation she might have a seizure (we are obviously going to check this with a doctor) but just wondered what your thoughts were ?
Also who decides which rehab you get sent to ? does cat one offer the highest support ?
In these rehab places is there strict visiting hours ?
I think thats it for now, thanks for your concern x
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So rehab in uk , we were told by our hospital when back in uk is level one two or three. I am no expert so going by our own experience.
Level one most intensive and can be upto 3-6 months
The rehab for my husband was applied for by his hospital team he got rejected from one so as a temporary rehab he was taken to a rehab 3 which is 6 weeks but while there he was accepted by another category one. He has been given 3 months here then will be home and an outpatient . The way to get approved i dont know i just think we were lucky the doc seem to think he could help andy.
Re the stimulation and seizures i dont know that and would maybe see what the doctors say ?
i found that even though my husband cant remember the first two months we talked to him all the time and played music
And singing words now is easier than speaking for him . For the first month we focused on just keeping him stable and rested as he was very confused and slept most of the time and then getting him back to the uk
Rest is so important for the brain too as much as rehab the doctors tell us this all the time. The road is slow but its a road.
My husband is extremely tired and so we have to take his lead now when he needs to rest and recover to be able to do his physio and speech therapy the next day.
So hard for you all but nice your daughter has her dad there
No journey is the same thats what i found on here and you have to take it one day at a time . But yours sounds like your daughter is showing signs she is aware so just keep talking to her and we found hold hands and stroking the paralysed side helped stimulate his brain . I hope you are all together soon
I know being back in the uk with my kids and family and having that support makes you as carer stronger too . X
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I had no idea there were different levels of Rehab care. We just went along with what the main hospital said after 3 weeks there. So my husband went to a nearby Stroke Rehab Unit where most people from our large, regional hospital go to if it is considered they will benefit from therapy.
Hope your daughter continues to improve.
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Thank you so much again I have relayed all this information to my family very interesting to know all of this, if you think of anything that might be of use to us do you mind letting me know. At this point they have started feeding her liquids and started physio etc, her brain is still swelling but I donāt think they are too worried because we are in the first week, we just want them all home x
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It sounds like your daughter is already showing signs that she will be able to progress & your husband is doing the right thing tickling her foot, talking to her etc.
Iām no expert but I canāt imagine doing a little physio with her will bring on a seizure just go slow & steady. In the very early days fatigue is likely to be a big issue. Short bursts will be all she can probably tolerate. She will need lots of rest to allow her brain to start repairing.
Repetition is key to rebuilding the neuro pathways. So lots of doing similar things with her. E.g. if she canāt move her leg move it for her (gently to see what she can tolerate(. In time the brain will remember she has a leg & how to move it.
Be prepared for a long recovery journey that will be full of ups & downs. Keep a diary, video her progress so on the down days you can look back & see how far she has come.
Sending lots of positive thoughts to you, your family & especially your daughter.
Ann xx
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Iād say seizures from light physio, massages etc are pretty low risk / if they happen they will likely happen regardless.
I think what your husband is doing is great. Itās likely her boyfriend is just very worried. Please be kind to him as he has went through a significant trauma as well
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Hi Sarah, welcome to our community. So sorry to hear of your daughterās stroke at such a young age. Such a worry for all of you. As a mum of 3 myself, I canāt begin to imagine how you must be feeling, especially with her being such a long way away. Good to hear that your husband is with her now. Youth and previous good health will definitely stand her in good stead as she begins her long road to recovery and Iām sure you will feel relieved to get them back home.
Take care of yourself in the meantime and feel free to jump on here if you have any questions or need to have a rant or need a shoulder to cry on. There is always someone here to help or offer advice and information.
Another organisation you might find useful is Different Strokes, a UK charity providing a unique service to younger stroke survivors.
Regards Sue
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So early days but your daughter is showing great signs already.
My husband is on his 5th month and found so much help and information on this website and chat .
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Hi @Toystory2025 and welcome to the forum. Itās good you have had so many positive reassuranceās on here So Iāll try not to bog you down by repeating them. This must be such a distressing time for you all and with your daughter being so far away 
From all that Iāve read here today, it does sound as though she is making positive progress. Iām sure you are longing for the day she is home so you can see that for yourself. That day will come 
The first 6 months are the brains mop up period basically. The brain continually assessing the damage and repairing to get what needs fixing and up and running again where it can. So progress always feels like 2 steps forward 1 step backā¦with the occasional reboot in between 
The neuro-plasticity is the long game! And that can take years, how many years depends on the extent of the damage.
So that is the worst case scenario the doctor has given you. But only time can tell you the fact! Doctors canāt because theyāve never had the luxury of being able to follow a patientās progress long enough to monitor and document progress. Because it takes years, money and resources that they just havenāt got. Strokes are as complex as the brain itself and as individually unique as the person themselves when it comes to recovering from one. And your daughter has the huge advantage of youth on her side.
Iām 62yrs and 4 years post stroke, and I too lost my speech at the time, not even a squeak in the first few days. I think that was the most distressing part of my stroke. Purely because we were in lockdown at the time and no visitors were allowed in the hospital, so there was no family to speak for me and ask questions for me. But now I speak pretty much normally, itās a combination of both improvement in my stroke recovery and adaption. So anyone who doesnāt know me wouldnāt guess Iād had a stroke.
So yes, I can understand why that doctor said āshe will only manage short sentences in timeā, it took me a year to get that far. Iām much better than that now and I know that I have even improved further just in the last 5 months or so. So it does come back in fits and starts.
The fact that she is communicating through blinking is always a good sign. She is compos mentis, understands whatās happened, what sheās being told, whatās going on around her etc. So folk need to be mindful of that and what they in her presence.
And just for everyoneās peace of mind, she may be forgetful. Her short term memory is shot so it will be spotty! Thatās to be expected. Thatās because her brain is too busy with the mop up to take time to set anything to memory. Donāt be alarmed by that, it will get better in time.
It just takes time and patients, and you are all going to need a lot of patents because recovery is a marathon not a race. You have to be in it for the long haul to win it.
If she does require speech and language therapy, you may want to gen up on Aphasia in preparation. Hereās the Stroke Associations link to the: Types of aphasia | Stroke Association
Aphasia and Communication | Stroke Association
And if her boyfriend or your husband can get access to this forum, that might be a big help to them in understanding all that going on or being said.
Lorraine
Stroke Improvement Group
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So sorry to hear of your daughter. My son had a heart attack while island hopping on his own in Thailandā¦ We couldnāt locate him at first and to cut a very long story short we were helped by his travel insurance and the British Embassy. If I can give any help please let me know. Lilian Platt.
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The thing is the brain is so amazing, mine is till rewiring itself
am sending lots of good thoughts to you and your family.
Nicky
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Thank you so much Sue x
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@l_platt What a nightmare that must have been their next stop was the islands and we were saying what if they were there and had to get a boat to a hospital dread to think what the outcome would have been, yes so far the insurance company have been great, I have only just realised that they paid for the first hospital so need to let insurance co know tomorrow.
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Thank you so much for your informative post I am making notes now to tell my family, it must have been a nightmare for you to be by yourself due to covid, how long did it take for you to say a word ? has it taken 4 years for you to speak normally ? I will look up Aphasia now, Thank you
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