My grandmother just had a stroke that affected her left arm and leg. Is there anything we as a family can do?

Question

I mean medically. She is in a hospital and we are taking her to rehab. This has affected her left side 60%. What can we do for her to help her after rehabiltation? She is paralayed on the left side, legaric, and slurrs her words. What can we do for her as a family?

I mean what should we do for her after she goes to rehabiltation for a couple of months?

Answer 1

when she gets home get her help through home health. if you do not know how to get a hold of the one in your town, call the department of social services and ask them. the services that you can receive is homemaker, personal care, home mods. nursing services, transportation. you may think the family can do all this, but in time you will see that is taking a toll on all of you. these services are there to help the family and the grandmother.

Answer 2

If you, as a famliy, are to be her caregivers, you can all participate in family teaching. When a patient is to be discharged to home, we teach the family how to care for the loved one. You can learn to manage her ADLs (activities of daily living that include bathing, eating, grooming, dressing, toileting and oral care), how to safely transfer her from bed to chair, how to give her meds, learning to take a blood pressure or check her blood glucose if needed. You can even learn how to safely perform range of motion exercises for her.

Once she's stable and tranferred to a rehab facility, you can learn even more. For now, be patient with her. Talk to her about ordinary things and gently remind her when she forgets or gets confused. Tell her what day it is, where she is. Keep family pictures bedside for her to look at. Visit her as often as possible. The mental stimulation is important. Make sure staff gets her up in a Geri chair and out of her room if she's able to tolerate this.

There is much that you as a family can do. If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact me but only if you allow email.

The other person suggested that caring for her yourselves will take a toll on you. Families do this everyday. I'm currently at the start of family teaching for one of my patients. It will be successful because the family wants to do this. It can be done and done well. You can also arrange for respite services but the more family members involved in your grandmother's care, the less likely there will be caregiver burnout.