My 50 year old husband had a major stroke on 5th January and currently is non verbal and has lost the use of his right arm and leg (although the leg is starting to regain some movement). He is also cognitively impaired. Until the stroke he had no health issues and was living a full live. After 2.5 weeks in hospital we have moved today to a Level 2 rehab clinic. He has been referred for some Level 1 rehab units, but we are waiting to find out if they accept him, and then what the wait times might be. I am struggling to find out any information on how this process works, and I was wondering if anyone has experience of timelines & process (and then being in a Level 1 rehab clinic). Many thanks
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Stroke is a horrid experience for all those who experience it. It is also subject to uncertainties especially in the early days.
The professionals will be working hard to ensure that this is something he survives. Also all sorts of damage is possible and they will try to help him to avoid or minimise that.
Because of that predictions cannot be made with any certainty.
Everyone wishes you well as you pass through this difficult and frightening time.
There are many of us have been through this. You will begin to find your way through it and we will try to answer your questions in the best way we can.
You are not alone. Eventually you will see that light at the end of the tunnel.
keep on keepin’ on
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Sorry to hear about your husband. Mine had a haemorrhagic stroke end of Nov and is still in hospital. I didn’t know there are different Rehab unit levels.
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Hi @HitchinWife and a big welcome to our community. Sorry to hear of your husband’s stroke. We are a merry band of stroke survivors who have all suffered different types of stroke and are all on very different roads to recovery. There are lots of people here who have a wealth of experience and who can offer advice and information.
Firstly, I spent 12 weeks in a rehab unit following a hemorrhagic stroke in 2017 but have no idea which level that was 
. I didn’t know rehab came at different levels. Hopefully they will tailor your husband’s therapies to meet his needs, in order to give him the best chance of a good recovery.
Stroke is always a traumatic experience and turns your life upside down. Stroke recovery is a long and tough road and no two stroke survivors recover in the same way.
I wish you both well and hope his recovery goes well. Ask away if you have any questions or just if you need to have a rant or a shoulder to cry on. You are not alone.
Regards Sue
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@HitchinWife just popping by to say hi & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your husbands stroke & hopevhe is making some progress.
How ate you too? It’s a lot to take for everyone not just your husband.
I don’t have any direct experience of rehab facilities. I believe referrals will be made by the drs & the facilities will assess whether the service they provide will be suitable for the patient & accept or decline based on that. It then relies on a bed becoming available.
It may be worth you calling the Stroke Association helpline as they may be able to offer some advice on these things.
0300 3300 740
Best wishes to you both
Ann
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Hello @HitchinWife
Welcome to this wonderful forum which we hope you and your husband will find very helpful and supportive for both your needs and those of your husband 
By now you will have had a chance to research and read about Stroke and you will have been given information and guidance by the Stroke team looking after your husband in hospital. There is a lot of information coming your way, some of which will be useful/helpful and some of which may be less so.
If I may, I’d like to choose one of my favourite pieces of information from the responses you have had to your post on this form and that comes from @Susan_Jane
This is so true and so it is important that you now tailor the care plan for your husband to suit his particular condition and needs. This might be easier said than done, but I am talking from personal experience of having been in a similar situation to you.
It will help you if you try to remain calm and clear at all times and involve your husband in decision making and creation of his personal care plan if he has the ability to communicate with you. If not, you will likely have to be his advocate unless he had a LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) in place.
It is important you (and your husband either directly or via you as his advocate):
- Know what you want as part of his ongoing care plan
- Know your rights
- Be prepared to challenge decisions or solutions offered if you are not happy
- Monitor and manage your condition especially if you are on medication, paying attention to side effects and going back to the GP
- Get plenty of sleep and rest
- Set your own pace.
Finally, I would like to say that your husband’s age is very much in favour of recovery from stroke and also the chance to get medical and re-hab support to best aid the recovery.
It is said that the first three to six months are the most important for recovery and when patients will likely see the most improvements. You have already been offered re-hab, so please make the most of it whilst it is available. In our experience, NHS resources are not infinite and support you get varies depending on where you live, how old you are etc.
It is not a race and it is not a competition, we all recover at our own pace
I hope this will be of some help and wish you and you husband all the very best.
Namaste|
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Hi @HitchinWife
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your husbands stroke.
I’m pleased to see there have been some answers already to your post. I would definitely echo what @Mrs5K has said about calling our helpline, they have a wealth of information which I sure would help you.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to contact me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
Thought I would update this post so other people can use this information in the future.
We were referred directly from our local hospital after 1.5 weeks for a Level 1 rehab facility (they applied for 3 different ones, Queens Square, Homerton and Kings College). Today, after 5 weeks of waiting we had our assessment for Queens Square and have been accepted, however they currently have a 8 week wait list. There is a chance that my husband will have recovered enough in 8 weeks time to no longer require the place at Queens Square but we won’t know until that point.
We have been at a local rehab facility while we wait for the assessment, and its actually been great - its good to be so close to home and the staff have been fantastic and supportive, it’s just that one normally only gets 5 weeks funding to stay at a unit such as this. We are now waiting to find out if we can actually stay at our local rehab unit until a place at Queens Square becomes available.
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Thanks for updating us. Good to hear that your husband has been accepted by Queens Square. I have heard good things about it. The 8 weeks will soon go. Hopefully you can stay where you are in the meantime…
If he has improved so much he doesn’t need Queens Square iñ 8 weeks then thatbis great news too.
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Thank you for the update and it’s good to hear that your husband has a couple of options to continue his rehabilitation.
Queen’s Square is an amazing hospital, I attend the FES Clinic and Orthotics Clinic at Queen’s Square as an outpatient and have always received excellent care and support. The physiotherapists and Occupational therapists are amazing and my private physiotherapist, who I see at home, did her training and qualified whilst at Queen’s Square and still sings their praises.
If your husband improves sufficiently and is able to stay closer to home, that’s great too
I wish you both well and look forward to hearing the updates as he begins the next step in his recovery.
Best wishes and regards
Sue
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