A Little Background

The stroke team and the staff at the University of Virginia Hospital were wonderful to Dad and our whole family. The doctors worked hard to answer the question, "what caused the stroke?" After numerous doctor visits, several MRI's, CT scans, and more tests than we could count, it was determined that Dad had a right middle cerebral artery stroke, likely cardioembolic in etiology secondary to new onset atrial fibrillation. In people terms, he had a stroke in the right hemisphere of his brain most likely caused by a blood clot from blood pooling in his heart due to atrial fibrillation. The good news is atrial fibrillation can be treated so hopefully this won't be a problem in the future. The bad news is Dad didn't have any symptoms that could pinpoint a problem prior to the stroke.

The effects have been typical for a right hemisphere stroke. The most significant effect has been Dad's inability to swallow. If he attempts to drink or eat anything, without the ability to swallow, the food/drink will go directly into his lungs which in turn can lead to pneumonia. Dad has asked for so little throughout this whole ordeal it has been difficult to deny his simple request for a sip of water. Other effects have been left sided weakness and neglect which causes him to "forget" or "ignore" objects or people on his left side. He has more weakness in his arm and face than in his leg. Dad has shown some difficulty with short-term memory, he can be difficult to understand due to slurring his works, and he struggles with many of his activities of daily living.

Despite these struggles we have been blessed with the fact that "Dad has remained Dad." He recognizes and knows all of his family including Ingmar, Melinda's cat. The wonderful memories and stories of his life are intact and we have all had the luxury of sitting at his bedside hearing stories long forgotten of his childhood and adult life. Dad has found a new audience for some of his "worst" jokes and has brought a smile to just about every nurse, doctor, therapist, and staff member who have had the pleasure of meeting him.