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Dementia and Stroke Patient

My 88 year old father had a stroke one month ago. He has been unable to walk since that...

Posted by chicago_son

My 88 year old father had a stroke one month ago. He has been unable to walk since that time. After a short stay in the hospital, he was transferred to a nursing home & rehabilitation center for therapy. He has severe dementia which has made it difficult to communicate with him about his condition and treatment. He successfully passed a swallow test, but had no appetitte and appeared to eat very little for a period of two weeks. His physical and occupational therapy has been hindered by a lack of energy and lack of understanding of what has happened to him, and the importance of participating in the therapy. He sleeps a majority of the day. His communication is sporadic, at best. Single words mostly.

Prior to a month ago, despite his deteriorating mental condition into advanced dementia, he was reasonably healthy, completely ambulatory, and no health complaints (of course, other than memory).

Hoping that we could reverse a downward cycle in which his lack of energy was leading to little progress with his physical therapy, we began feeding him through a feeding tube to provide more nutrition and possibly more energy. The results over the past two weeks have not been any better. He continues to sleep a good part of the day, and has made little progress with therapy.

The nursing home is preparing to stop the rehab sessions because they are not seeing measurable progress.

Essentially the staff is indicating that he will not ever walk again. This appears to be a self-fulfilling prophecy because without the therapy, there doesn't appear to be any chance of recovering the mobility he lost with the stroke.

Given that it often takes many months to recover from a stroke, particularly at his age, is it possible that his body needs more time to recover, and with persistence, and continued therapy, he could walk again? Or, are his age, his advanced dementia, and the effects of the stroke manifesting in the body being unwilling or unable to rehabilitate?

Would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.View Thread

Posted bychicago_son

1 Reply | Reply | Watch This DiscussionReport This| Share this:Dementia and Stroke Patient My 88 year old father had a stroke one month ago. He has been unable to walk since that...

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