Top Tips on Caring for a Parent After a Stroke
According to the NHS, more than 150,000 people each year suffer with a stroke, with the majority being aged 65 or over. Unfortunately, having a stroke could almost be considered common, but despite the high numbers, very few of us know how to provide adequate care for a parent or other family member during the recovery process. This is because no two stroke sufferers are the same. In fact, it may be better to think of ‘stroke’ as an umbrella term for a condition in which the brain is starved of oxygen for a short amount of time, rather than as a specific condition itself. Two different people may present with massively different symptoms, each requiring a different type of aftercare.
Image by Stephanie Chapman.
When providing support for a loved one following a stroke, it’s important to assess their needs on an individual basis. If you’re unsure of what the primary symptoms of a parent’s stroke are, a health professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or formal caregiver will be able to explain how the stroke has affected your family member specifically. Based upon this information, you will be able to tailor your support to suit your parent.
Providing Support
One of the main issues with a stroke is that it’s the brain that is affected directly. With the brain controlling every other part of the body, almost any human function can be disturbed. This includes the bowel and bladder, eyesight, hearing, and speech, movement and mobility, memory and understanding, and so on. Based upon the most common of symptoms following a stroke (emotional symptoms and physical symptoms) here are some ways you can provide support:
1. Physical Symptoms
The brain controls how we move. Everything from moving our eyes and our fingers to our arms and our legs. Unfortunately, many people who suffer from a stroke, especially older people who may have already been prone to age-related balance problems, will present with a mobility-based disability following a stroke. While many sufferers do improve with the help of physiotherapy, in some cases mobility and agility may never be quite the same as it was before.
Adapting the home to accommodate a mobility disability can make it possible for your parent to live a day-to-day life which is more in keeping with life before the stroke. Installing grab rails in the bathroom, for example, may enable them to wash independently. Mobility aids such as stairlifts can also facilitate a quicker hospital discharge, allowing stroke sufferers to recover in the comfort of their own home rather than in a healthcare setting.
2. Emotional Symptoms
Depression and anxiety are both very common following a stroke. For some, these feeling are brought on by a worry that something similar could happen in future, while for others it’s all down to the stroke itself.
Scientifically speaking, findings are inconclusive, but there seems to be a much higher risk of depression if the stroke occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain, rather than the right. Those with depression are believed to stop partaking in around 67 percent of their day-to-day activities.
Social contact can be a huge factor in beating depression. For some parents recovering from a stroke, all they may need is support, encouragement, and a positive atmosphere supplied by their nearest and dearest. It is hoped that with a good support system and regular social contact, stroke sufferers can begin to feel more confident and start to resume their ‘normal’ life.
Image by Hamid Najafi.
Work from a Care Plan
While some stroke sufferers may feel as if they require the assistance of a professional carer (this can often be the case for more personal care which some people feel uncomfortable asking their family for help with), others may respond better to greater familiarity. Stroke sufferers who are not deemed to be high risk of injury or further attacks may opt for ‘self care’ – an opportunity to look after themselves based upon a care plan devised jointly between the patient and a doctor, nurse, or other health professional.
It’s well worth reading through this care plan and tailoring your assistance based upon this. For example, a care plan may emphasize the importance of getting out and about, so it’s important not to take over responsibility for all errands and outdoor tasks. Sometimes, we need to provide less care in order to help a parent recover to the best of their ability.
This article was supplied by Acorn Stairlifts, offering a wide range of straight, curved, and outdoor stairlifts to assist in the recovery and management of mobility issues.