Cognitive Rehab - Stroke Message Board

DAniece · 01-23-2007, 03:48 PM

Does anyone out there have experience with cognitive rehab?

My aunt, age 74, had a large right brain stroke on December 1st. She was discharged to an in-hospital stroke rehab facility on Dec 7, and discharged from there to our care (me and DH) on Jan 3. She receives rehab therapy 3x per week (PT, OT, and SP).

She's actually doing quite well, she received TpA within 2 hrs of onset (she was in the hospital 2-days post-op open heart surgery) & they were able to dissolve over 50% of the clot.

Our concern is the cognitive disability, to look at her, you'd barely know she'd had a stroke or that she was disabled at all.

She can't reason very well, honestly, it's about like a 7 year old. She has trouble understanding and recognizing "safe" and "unsafe". She has all of her memory abilities, neuropsych consults indicate that she has the potential to be able to be alone 6 to 8 hrs per day at some point, and she can learn & retain new things.

It's very frustrating for her and for us. She doesn't want to use aids or cues to help her perform on the cognitive rehab tasks (she's using a computer program and we're doing 4th grade level reading comprehension and math/logic work at home). She gets very angry and defensive with us - but not with her therapists.

I'm really looking for some sort of resource to help us chart these waters. We've never had kids & aren't familiar with some of the mental behaviors and learning curves she's going through. And it's very difficult to tell whether behaviors are normal or medication-induced (we've already had a week at the rehab hospital where her pain meds were causing hallucinations, dementia, extreme combativeness, and loss of modesty).

So, just looking for some pointers in the right direction or tales that will help us keep our chins up.

DAniece

Budweiser · 01-24-2007, 09:40 AM

Hello

Sorry about the stroke. I had one almost 2 years ago at the age of 34 (car accident caused it). My stroke was in the left area (speech/language/comprehension). I can't go back to work as my language is bad and I also have aphasia. I couldn't write like this last year but I keep at it.

I look so normal also. I live alone now (separated) and I can do it now. What I had for me was my age. I still do speech therapy and i've joined an aphasia group.

I did a neuro-psych tests last summer to see my problems. My problem was that I had a stroke and a bad hit in my head. The test show me that I have receptive/expressive language/speed/short memory etc.

Other than the speech and aphasia group, I'm also on a stroke group on the computer, I do alot of games (helps my cognitive) and I have alot of stickys around my apartment (ie: stove off/taps off etc...).

I'm near 2 years and i'm still learning. Keep at it. It takes time and work.

I hope that helps in anyway.

DAniece · 01-28-2007, 08:45 AM

Thank you,
That helps. It's great to know that as long as you keep at it, you can continue to see progress.
DAniece

ZippyENG · 01-28-2007, 09:48 AM

December 1st was not that long ago. Keep hanging in there. things do get better with time. I had my stroke (Right side of brain ) October 14th. I could not walk talk eat or anything else for at least a month. The anger and frustration is normal and will subside. I have returned to work. Drive a car and you would never know i` I had a stroke unless somebody told you. I can ambulate with out any assistance from canes walkers etc. Your aunt is probably having a hard time adjusting. Don't be surprised if your aunt does better then expected. I would encourage you to keep some kind of journal so you can review the progress. It will be helpful to you. Your doing everything right.

DAniece · 01-29-2007, 10:37 AM

Thank you,
We've been keeping a journal and we try to get her to help us list "things I can do now that I couldn't do last week, or 3 weeks ago, or when I was in the hospital".

We understand that a lot of the anger is going to be directed at us (we're the family, not the professionals w/ white coats). But it is very hard for us to deal with and makes us question ourselves.

We (my husband and I) decided to simply keep our voices calm and quiet (I need to work on talking more slowly), and to keep out of it when it comes to rehab that she needs to do at home (exercises, stretches, cognitive stuff on the computer and such) UNLESS she asks. That's what is the hardest for me! I've done a lot of reading on neuroplasticity and the science behind brain-rewiring and unfortunately that makes me a bit desparate to make sure that we don't lose any opportunity for her recovery.

Over the weekend, she's said (like before the stroke) that she should stop fighting us on so many things, we've never steered her wrong before, and we've always helped her make decisions that would be the best for her in the long run. At some point, we'll have to move back home (the 3 of us now, another state) and leave her home -- I think that's what's causing a lot of her anxiety -- but there aren't any other options.

Thanks again,
DAniece