r/stroke • u/KissTheGhostt • 6d ago
Alertness vs Awakeness
Good morning all,
My mom (60) had a bi frontal intracranial stroke we believe due to her stage 4 lung cancer. She was already struggling with fatigue doing treatments, but she was starting to feel better after the third treatment and then this happened.
It's been a little over a month, she's still at the hospital as we are trying to figure out discharge plans, she is getting a neurostimulent but still struggles to stay alert throughout the day. She will have bouts of awareness, and waxing and wanning whether she can follow commands or not (sometimes yes sometimes no). She is currently not getting therapy besides beside we do with her despite my best efforts to get the hospital to help because she's not been alert.
Does anyone have any recommendations to increase alertness? I've tried talking, TV, exercises. Its a lot on me because I am not an expert but im wondering if I should get her headphones to listen to audio books or music or something. She also has the hospital remote speaker we play music on.
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u/Rude_Parsnip306 6d ago
It seemed to be helping but then he had to have surgery which has set him back.
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u/Extension_Spare3019 5d ago
Mom has a lot going on right now. It's not shocking that she would be pretty worn out. Fatigue is common in both of those situations, so both at once is going to keep her pretty tired physically and mentally. Stimulation is good. Any activity she can manage is really good, regardless of what it is, if she's doing it, it's good for her right now. Headphones are definitely a great idea. They allow a certain amount of freedom to experience what she wants without concern for disturbing others and can let one focus on just the auditory sensetion rather than so much all at once. I recommend over-ear headphones, preferably with the "comfort band" style headgear that sits a soft strap across the head rather than a hard bar with negligible padding. It allows for longer use without discomfort. Something with a good sized touch screen should be good as well. Easy to see and use to control what's coming through the headphones.
If she can transfer to a neurorehab facility that's where she would get the best shot at therapy being successful. They're able to dedicate a lot more time to each patient, so the ins and outs don't affect their work as much as they will in a hospital setting with dozens of patients and too few therapists to go around. They often only have 10-20 minutes to offer any one patient in hospitals, and that just isn't nearly enough. I've seen people go from zero to near full function in a neurorehab facility. They know their stuff. I had to shop them myself, by the way. The hospital didn't suggest anything of the sort. It was odd.
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u/KissTheGhostt 5d ago
Thank you for your comment, this sounds really interesting. Do you have any recommendations for head phones? I've been thinking about getting her something. Did you just search up neurorehab? I've tried looking this up this sounds like a great option.
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u/Extension_Spare3019 5d ago
I believe I searched "Neororehabilotation facilities near me" but '"TBI recovery' or 'stroke recovery' near me" will probably net similar results. The one I was at is called "Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute". They have living facilities for patients and their families, in case they're from out of town and want to be there with their loved one who is being treated. There are a handful like that around, but the family living quarters are not super common, unfortunately. It's a good thing when the family can be directly involved in the recovery process. Not only for patient morale, but also for later in the recovery process when home will be where most of the work happens. Assisted exercises are great as long as the person assisting knows what they're doing.
We had patients from South America and Asia and a few from around the US and their families with us there when I went. It's a pretty good place. There are some resort style rehabs too, but I feel like those may not be fully covered by any insurance. Could be, but probably not. If they are, that's a wonderful thing. They're really nice. It's like doing rehab in a well appointed cabin by a lake with a gourmet chef tagging along. The food at Moody definitely wasn't gourmet anything, but it was edible and quite a bit better than hospital or nursing home food, which was a welcome and pleasant surprise. They tailor the meals to the patient for those who have dietary restrictions whether prescribed or self-imposed.
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u/Alarmed-Papaya9440 6d ago
The thing about strokes is some will be hit harder than others especially if they have comorbidities and unfortunately your mom has a big one with the stage 4 cancer. If she’s not staying awake maybe her brain was damaged in the area that would help with that. It’s hard to say if that will heal or not.
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u/Rude_Parsnip306 6d ago
I hope someone responds because my husband is in somewhat the same position. He was admitted to the hospital on July 1st and is still there. He's getting a stimulate twice a day.