21 Year Old Brother Had Stroke

[abbybuggie]

Hi, my name's Abby. I'm 15 years old and on March 21st of this year my 21 year old brother had a stroke. It wasn't because of any health issues he had, but because of an undetected hole in his heart that he's had since birth. They cancelled out any other possibilities as everything else checked out. They found the hole by putting salt water bubbles through an IV into his heart, and saw if any of the bubbles went through to the right to the left, and surely some did. Though, by the time they did this, he had already gone through the whole stroke and couldn't give him any clot busters or anything. It affected his thalamus mainly, and a part of his cerebellum. I forgot to mention he also has high functioning autism (he was fully functional before hand, bought his own groceries and attended college.). He slept for about 4 days, with small mumbles in between like when a nurse asked him a question like, "What's your name?" or "Do you know where you are right now?". When he finally woke up, we immediately noticed one of his eyes drooping (only his eye, it wasn't the type of stroke that makes one side of your body numb). He had always had a slight, but barely noticeable lazy eye before this, but not like this. We soon found out he double vision. He could also speak. At one point, he was even saying sentences. They were dragged out, but he was speaking. He could also walk, but he did it a bit like frankenstein. He was even eating okay. He was soon discharged to a rehab center, and suddenly everything changed. He couldn't walk right, and was really wobbly in his torso. Before he was walking by himself, and then he needed people to keep him balanced. His strength was and still is there, but had a lot of issues balancing. We introduced to physical therapists and speech therapists, though only the physical therapists did any good. He couldn't swallow well at all, and still wasn't speaking. We brought him home May 2nd, and his walking and eating has drastically improved. They sent us home with a wheelchair we don't even use for him! Though, I have some questions. His vision doesn't seem to be getting any better, he suffers from dysphagia (a swallowing disorder), still needs people to balance him while walking, has to have people feed him (fork and knife wise), and still cannot speak! Will this get better over time? Does anyone have any tips on how to regain these things? Thank you!

[Cloverjo]

Very sorry to read of your brother's troubles. I'm sorry I don't know if things will improve, but it's good that he can walk with help. He needs to keep doing it to keep his muscles and bones strong. Best of luck.

[MallyJ]

I would be tempted to go back to the doctor with my concerns and ask him/her and any other therapists that are involved with his care just what you, as a family, can do to aid his recovery. You will have some thoughts among your family that you could check out with the professionals involved e.g. would a zimmer frame help his walking?...take notes and or tape you converstations (with the other persons agreement) so that you have something to refer back to... we don't ever remember all that we are told so it is good to have notes or a tap to check back on...I hope that his health improves soon....

[MallyJ]

tape not tap....tho' I am sure that you worked that out!

[woofgang]

I am now retired but used to work with people who have had strokes. Here's what I think.
First you (or your parents) have to talk to the doctors and therapists about what you can do to help him. They know your brother and will have assessed him. Same for the "will this get better over time" thing...although they may not be able to say as its very very difficult to say with any certainty about how much people who have had a stroke will improve.
I am a bit confused about how an undiagnosed hole in the heart can result in a stroke. Did the heart problem cause a clot which travelled to the brain?
Thirdly if he has got dysphagia, have you had advice about what he should be eating? Sometimes people must avoid certain textures of food as they can make the swallowing problem worse.
Has your bro seen an Occupational Therapist? They can give advice about living with disability and ways for people to become more independent.
I suspect that you are in America? I am in the UK so cannot give advice about how to access the services that your bro might need and am aware that it might depend on what health insurance he has. have you had a good talk to your parents about your questions as they may know the answers to some of them. I hope your bro makes a good recovery.

[Sqad]

Good answer by woofgang.
His stroke was caused by an embolus (clot) secondary to his hole in the heart almost certainly in the atrial septum. This causes "swirling" of the blood or even irregualr heat beats (Atrial fibrillation.)
A stroke affecting the thalamus and cerebellum is quite a sever stroke and from other symptoms that you describe, may be even more extensive.
Generally speaking the maximum recovery is within the first month, and from then on it slows down quickly and finally stops. He is now 2 months post stroke.
Neither myself or anybody else can tell you accurately about his recovery,but my gut instincts tell me that he is as good now as he ever will be........a general observation of mine.
He will need supportive physiotherapy as described above.

In a nutshell....wait and see although the prognosis for any further recovery looks doubtful.