It’s been suggested that my mum might be ready to move to Westbrook House (Margate, Kent) which is an NHS stroke rehab centre as she is now medically stable.
Mum is 66 and had an ischemic stroke 10 days ago. She has made some really positive progress in hospital - her swallowing has improved and she is doing well with physio on her right side though currently cannot move her right arm or leg.
I wondered if anyone here has any personal experience of either private or nhs stroke rehab centres as a post-hospital stage before going home? Just trying to confirm that this is the right next step for mum.
Ihad four months in an NHS rehab unit and it was so much better than the stroke ward experience, so I’d recommend you go for it. It wasn’t perfect - what is- but treatment was more detailed and personalised. and there were enough staff, whereas the hospital ward was so understaffed, people were stuck in beds with little or no treatment and a lot of stress.
Hi @Kiwimama I spent 12 weeks in an NHS rehab unit and would say that it was the best move for me. I had a timetable every week and regular physiotherapy sessions and hydrotherapy sessions. It wasn’t perfect and they were short staffed at times but I still had more physiotherapy than I would’ve had on a stroke ward.
I also went home at weekends, which was just what I needed at the time to help me prepare for being discharged.
from what I have seen, rehab is one of, if not the most important thing one can have post stroke.
if you survive a stroke then rehab is an essential, but unfortunately, it is not offered to everyone. so if you are offered it consider yourself one of the privileged.
even those who get rehab, may only get an amount less than they need.
it can be hit and miss as with many things in the world of stroke survival.
we never got the chance of any rehab. It was stroke, bed in stroke ICU, bed in stroke ward whilst awaiting discharge. Physios, OTs and PTs did token visits and concluded they cannot help us for one reason or another.
had we had some rehab, it is my belief we would have been much further down the stroke recovery road. however, we will not cry over spilt milk and do the best we can with what we’ve got.
you should absolutely grab the opportunity with both hands and make the most of it. this really is the one thing that will set you on your way to the best recovery you can achieve. you should note this no gimme. your Mum will have to work hard, show enthusiasm and show potential. these guys will not go out of their way to push you unless you are lucky, so the more you engage and work with then the better your chance of success.
this is my view, and that is all it as we were not lucky enough to get the rehab you talk about, others may well have different view and i note, both @Dexster and @Susan_Jane seem to be saying the same as me (unless I have badly misunderstood their responses).
i would suggest one thing that works in favour of your Mum is her age. at 66 she has huge potential to benefit (from the NHS perspective) from rehab and so the opportunity has been presented to you.
make the most of it, and do come back and tell us how you got on.
My husband (similar age) did a month in an nhs rehab following a month in hospital after a stroke. The rehab centre wasn’t great but better than hospital and it got him well enough and determined enough to walk up lots of stairs to a bedroom at home.
From home the community stroke team were amazing, more experienced and wise than the trainees working in the rehab centre, imo. They referred him to a privately run but nhs funded rehab two days a week which was and (a year in) still is amazing.
when my husband first had his stroke I was advised strongly against private intensive rehab facilities. With the brain it’s very much slow and steady wins the race. Anxiety is an issue with brain injury so having loved ones around is key.
Intensive facilities using machines and pushing too hard and too aggressively to reconnect to the brain can put everything into revolt and put everything into spasm (=pain). Too much rehab therapy is worse than too little.
If you have the funds privately I’d look into massage, Treger, PEMF, acupuncture, red light therapy, soft shell hyperbaric therapies (we consulted an expert in America before starting then rented a chamber), also creatine and keto diet.
Also look up Ted talk by Jill Bolte-Taylor , her book too.
There is a short period after a stroke when recovery can seem rapid, that’s as swelling goes down, after that it’s down to neuroplasticity, once thought to be short lived, now known to be permanent/whenever.
