Hello everyone I have another good update Emily has been issued with her ‘fit to fly’ form and we are now awaiting for the insurance company to agree with the recommendations, which actually requests that 2 family members accompany her (which I think they may not be happy about) it is a bit frustrating now because we can see a light at the end of the tunnel, and its now just the technicalities we have to get through to get her home.
Emily is now able to walk 10 metres with help, and the rehab she is receiving is excellent.
I do have a question what do you think is holding back her speech ? has she basically got to learn to speak again from scratch ? or will it gradually come back ?
First of all, I want to add to all the other messages that it is so wonderful that Emily has made the recovery that she has and things are really looking good going forward.
I note a lot of enthusiasm and excitement in your more recent posts which is understandable and to be expected - again I am so pleased for you, Emily and your whole family who have worked hard, together with the healthcare professionals to get where you are today.
If I may, I would just like to do a little reflection on what has happened and where we are today compared to where we thought we might be. I therefore quote below what was effectively your second update from 14 February (10 days ago today).
The reason for me suggesting we should reflect is that in your most recent update you report progress and ask
I just wonder if you are now wanting to “run before you can walk” with regards to the speech.
Please don’t get me wrong, but I feel it is important not to rush things especially if they are going well.
You may be aware of athletes coming back too soon from injury and ruining their careers. Indeed I myself used to be a fun runner and tried to get back to running too soon after I had picked up an injury and very much regretted it.
That’s all I want to say for now as I do not wish to impose.
Emily is an incredibly strong position and as far as I can see she is way ahead of where she might have expected to be. Her brain and body have been through a lot and they are working hard to repair the damage. As well as the physical and mental activities, the rehab MUST include appropriate rest periods to allow the body and brain to recharge.
Emily’s speech will come back when the body is ready - please do not try to rush into things. Emily is still very young and there is no need to rush - in case it needs saying, Stroke recovery is typically a marathon, not a 100m dash though the way Emily is going this theory may change
Forgive me if I am speaking out of turn.
Wishing you, Emily, Dad and boyfriend all the very best.
Thank you for your reply and of course you are not speaking out of turn, I suppose because I haven’t seen her yet it is very hard facetiming her and her lack of speech hits us hard from home, I am sure once she is back and we can see with our own eyes what she has achieved the speech will not seem so relevant
I think you will be very pleased to see what Emily has achieved when you see her in person in the not-too-distant future
One thing I would like you to do if passable is to ask Emily to see if she would like to come onto this Forum and share with is her story as she saw it. I think we have seen her story on this forum from your viewpoint and we know that Emily is communicating as best as she can and by all accounts she is totally aware of what she has been through and what she is doing right now.
It would be a wonderful and I would suggest a fairly unique story of having a stroke and how to survive it as seen from both sides.
Perhaps this is something for you and Emily to think about.
@Toystory2025 the news about Emily is just getting more positive all the time. I really hope the technicalities don’t delay her return home.
She is doing remarkably well if she is now walking 10 metres. I bet you are all really proud of her.
I echo @ManjiB re the speech. I suspect it will atart to come back and she will need to work at it but remember a stroke takes an awful lot out of someone & it won’t be able to deal with everything in one go. I’m sure you can’t wait to get her home. Be mindful that she is likely to be very fatigued after a long journey and all that goes with it so don’t be surprised or worried if she juat wants to sleep & doesn’t engage as much as you might want.
Best wishes to you all. I am so thrilled she is doing so well.
Hi Sarah, I 'm just catching up with all of the messages and I’m delighted to hear that Emily is doing amazingly well. You must be bursting with pride. She’s obviously a very determined young lady and this will stand her in good stead as her recovery journey continues.
I hope you get all of the practicalities sorted for her journey home. I bet you can’t wait to give her a big hug and to welcome everyone back home.
I wish you and your family the very best and hope that her journey home is successful
Hello Sue thank you for your kind words, we are in limbo at the moment as Emilys arrival to the Uk keeps changing due to paperwork not being completed, she was due home tomorrow now its not until Friday, her ‘fit to fly’ was completed on the 17th February !!
Our family has been divided now for nearly 3 weeks and we are desperate to get her back. We think Emily is now getting frustrated and was very upset when we had to tell her of the delay. On a positive note her rehab is still going very well
After leaving the hospital in Chiang Mai at around 9 AM UK time on Thursday , Emily arrived at Southmead Hospital just after 10 AM yesterday, luckily she got a bed on the acute stroke ward, they do not agree with the cause Thailand hospital gave us so they are going to do their own tests. Emily is struggling a bit with her new surroundings she is used to a five star hospital !! We have been told there will not be much physio as it is the weekend, we just hope it starts properly next week.
Now we have met her face to face we are struggling to know what she wants, she points at things and us and we try and work out what she wants, I did write the alphabet on a peice of paper hoping she could point at letters to make a word but she did not like that.
I have a few questions -
Any ideas for communication ?
Ideas for arm exercises ? (she barely has any use)
We do have exercises from Thailand but would like to know from ‘Stroke survivors’ which ones were successful ?
Thank you again everyone for your support over the past 3 weeks.
Oh i bet you are so happy to have Emily home. I am sure she’ll settle down soon. It’s been a long journey for her and she’s probably exhausted.
You could try an ipad for her to communicate on. Maybe some picture cards although she may not like them either. You might need to persevere and persist with her as she might not like it but she needs to communicate.
For my arm I just kept trying to lift it & eventually it lifted a little higher and then higher again. If she can’t lift it much then you can do it for her which will help her brain start to recognise the arm is there. Pegs on and off the side of a tub helped me get my fingers working (pegs everywhere initially but was great when I finally got one on the tub). Some putty or stress ball type thing for her to squeeze might also help. Mine had eyes that popped out & I knew I had improved a bit when I could get the eyes to pop out.
Just a few things that helped me but of course depends on her ability level.
Hospitals at weekends do tend to be on reduced staffing so I am sure physio will start on Monday. It is good they are going to do some more tests too.
Best wishes to you all. I’m so pleased Emily is back in the UK & you have been able to see her.
My husband had 3 months in hospitals, 3 weeks in main hospital then the rest in Stroke rehab unit. We were very disappointed with the physio provided and cannot understand why none takes place at weekends. If drs and nurses work weekend shifts, why can’t hospital physios?
They say any exercise is good at the beginning. Emily will need time to adjust to her new hospital. Hope she gets well soon. X
So pleased to hear that Emily is back home . It will probably take her a while to get settled in her new surroundings and different routines. Although she has very little movement in her affected arm, keep touching it, massaging it. In fact anything just to remind her brain that it’s there.
I’m sure that once the physiotherapists have assessed her, they will set out a programme and set her on the road to recovery.
Enjoy having your daughter back where she belongs .
So pleased she’s back home! To help with communication you could try using PECS cards, they use these with children and elderly adults who have communication difficulties and they can be very effective
Hi, my dad had a stroke in October and has lost his speech , in the early days he too would get annoyed with picture cards. We have found a mini white board and pen to be useful ( and we can get a laugh over the drawings) my dad lost function on the RHS so is drawing with his left. I also made a scrapbook up with photos of the things he liked to do & places he liked to go too and he will use that to highlight what he wants. It’s not perfect but we get by, it has helped having a sense of humour and laughing at our attempts to communicate. I wish your daughter well.
Hi @DBrown - Welcome to the community and thank you for sharing your experiences with us. It seems you have found an excellent way of communicating with your Dad.
Well done.
I have heard drawing caricatures or drawing is a good form of activity for the elderly and the white board and scrapbook are clearly serving you well.
Just wanted to pop along and welcome you to the community. I’m sorry to hear of your dads stroke. Thank you for sharing the ways you are communicating with him, I’m sure these tips will be helpful for our members
Wishing your dad well with his recovery. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Hi just wanted to say a big welcome to our community. Sorry to hear of Dad’s stroke, thank you for sharing your tips, I’m sure that will be useful to anyone struggling with communication and hopefully you will find this community useful to you and your Dad too. We are a merry band of stroke survivors and there is always someone here to offer information or advice. So jump on a ask away if you have any questions regarding your Dad’s recovery.
She’s obviously a very determined young lady and this will stand her in good stead as her recovery journey continues.
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