Stroke

Dad had a minor stroke. He had a sudden behaviour change starting Saturday night and we got worried. He wasn't his own cheery self. He became forgetful, a bit confused and slightly obsessive in his behaviour ie. he couldn't seem to snap himself out of activities he got engaged in. Otherwise physically he looked fine. Finally yesterday, we managed to persuade him to go to the doctor for an evaluation.

Dad was hard to persuade. He can be very stubborn when it comes to seeing doctors but his resistance is due to fear. We had trouble deciding which doctor to go to at first. We didn't know any and we didn't know where to start because his symptoms seem so vague. Dementia, Alzeimers and a Stroke crossed our minds. Eventually we took him to a physician for a full body check. A CT Scan of the brain confirmed he had a stroke. The physician said he was lucky. It missed the nerve areas or he could have been half paralysed.

Dad is 73 and has been on blood pressure meds for about 8 years. However this stroke was probably caused by hardening of the arteries so the doc gave him some blood thining medication.

I first noticed his changed behaviour on Saturday night when I went to visit him. On Monday morning he rang me at 6.30am to say he could not find his house and car keys. He said he did not go out at all on Sunday and did not take breakfast, lunch or tea. He was watching TV. He probably forgot to take his meals. I feel terrible. I could have at least called him on Sunday to check on him and not left him alone. Sunday's I'm normally busy with my own family routines and forgot! Thats so terrible.

I hope dad is able to recover to his old usual self. It pains me to see him walk slower, to see him quieter and agree to most of our suggestions (accept seeing the doctor) as if he has lost a bit of will or is simply too tired to think.

Dad has always been independant. At 73 he still drives around and goes everywhere on his own. He would feel very unhappy to lose his independance. I really hope dad will be able to recover to his own usual self in time. I read that once brain cells are destroyed, the damage is irreversible. However our brains are smart enough to reorganise itself so hopefully his old personality will be restored.

I want my old cheerful dad back. At the same time I'm thankful he is not physically affected.