My dad took a stroke just over a month ago and his right side of his body is paralysed. He is not speaking yet and it is hard to tell how much understanding he has. Is there any hope that he will ever be able to speak again?
Hi Roisin - welcome to this site. So sorry to hear about your Dad, naturally you will be anxious, upset and keen to get some answers.
Without sounding too negative, there are no firm answers, neither, sadly, are the any magic wands. Sometimes it's a case of wait and see, which is very frustrating. Right now Dad's brain is trying to work out what has happened, and how it's going to sort itself out. It can only do so much at a time, and will need plenty of rest to allow it to get on with that single task. There are survivors on this site who experienced quite lengthy periods of incapacitation post-stroke, but now they are up and about, carrying out some day-to-day tasks. Only time will tell if your Dad will speak again - he should have speech therapy at the appropriate point in his recovery. Stroke recovery is not a linear process - it has its own journey, and this seems to be slightly different for everyone. You are clearly there for your Dad, and this will be an important source of srength for him. Trust that his brain is doing its best, it's still early days and things will move forward.
Take care of yourself too, you will both need rest as this is a long process! I'm sure you will get lots of advice from others on this lovely site, which will be motivating and reassuring in equal measures.
Best wishes, and look forward to hearing how you get along x
Loads of hope, my dad had his in may and he has gain his communication skills back. Although not as they were he has made loads of improvements slowly but every little improvement is a positive!!!
Sorry to hear about your Dad. When I woke up, I was aware that I was mute. Through the hospital's speech therapy continuing when I was discharged by NHS Community Speech Therapy, eventually I regaing my voice. Still plauged by aphasia, but I work at beating the problem that I can! Talk to him as normal, invite him to speak, and make your choices "this or that" ex. "Would you like tea or juice?" rather than "Would you like a drink?"
Good luck!
Rick