Teens Of Stroke Surviors

I was 14 years old when my dad had his first stroke. Fortunately in 3 months he made a 90% recovery. But for his safety we were no longer able to go skiing and hiking like we once did. I often thought about the times when he taught me to ski around when I was 3 years old. Although I was grateful that he was able to make almost a full recovery I still felt incomplete knowing our lives were forever changed.

However, only a year after his first stroke he suffered a massive second stroke. This time was different. He spent 2 weeks in the ICU after emergency brain surgery before he was transferred to a full time care facility. Although he couldn't speak he made it clear that he didn’t like being in the care facility and wanted to return home. At first being at home was overwhelming for my mom as she had to learn how to care for a stroke recovery patient. Right about this time my brother was returning to school for his senior year of high school and I was joining him for my freshman year.

In the first few weeks, we had to learn everything from scratch: how to understand his slurred speech, how to change the feeding tube, how to use a hoyer lift and take him to the bathroom or transfer him to a wheelchair, and help him with his physical therapy exercises.

This was just the beginning as the teen of a stroke survivor. Read my blog post of my experience here.