Dad Had a Stroke

Mom called me around Midnight Tuesday to let me know that Dad was on the way to the hospital after experiencing what seemed like a stroke. He was taken to UW Hospital, for which I was very grateful. It wasn't a dramatic stroke--he was mainly experiencing weakness on one side.

I visited with Josh after work the next day and Julie was there as well. Stroke is something unfamiliar in our family, so she didn't know what to expect. His writing is not very readable (but he can write!) and his leg and arm are weak (but not paralyzed!). He was able to sit up and eat right-handed, albeit slowly. There appars to be no cognitive damage--he still remembers that McCain and Palin are running mates on the Republican ticket, and he thinks that Palin was an excellent choice (that's not a sign of new brain damage--he would have thought that anyway. ;o)).

Mom was pretty concerned about how she was going to help him at home, since she's not strong enough to help him ambulate. Well, I just spoke with her this morning, and she is much relieved. Dad will be staying in the hospital for a week getting rigorous rehabilitation. She was afraid of how she was going to help him when his right side is too weak for him to walk. They're already having him sit for a couple hours at a time and walk the halls with a walker.

They determined from the CAT Scan that the stroke was caused by a small blood clot, but I think she said they said it was moving or had moved through. His brain would have to heal from that, then his body. A physical therapist suggested he'd be a lot stronger by the time they went home.

Dad really wants to go home. He's jonesin' for a cigarette. Mom is overruling him--he'll be staying for treatment. The doctor talked to Dad about smoking very likely being the cause of the stroke. He doesn't care. He's not interested in a program to help him quit. And he won't be smoking for at least another week.

I'm very grateful for his current state, and that the prognosis looks so good.