Posted on behalf of Eddie Chan..

[Karen]

Hope that you guy's can help me out and then I can pass on your responses via email, thanks Karen. xx

Name: Eddie Chan

Subject: My dad is suffered from SAH

Message: I am a Chinese living in Hong Kong. My dad (aged 74) fell on the floor in the hospital 2 weeks ago and later was found to have SAH after CT scan. The doctor said he is too old and not fit enough that it is too risky to do the MRI scan with contrast agent injection and related operation. So we still don\'t know if the haemorrage is due to ruptured aneurysm or not.

Currently, He can\'t stand but his feet have strength. and he can\'t recognize our family members very well and sometimes he speaks without any logic. (but he can speak complete sentence). He likes to have his eyes closed but sometimes he can open his eyes very wide. He can read words. He can express when he is hungry / full, thirsty, pee or poo-poo. He can speak, but in the mid-way, when he forget the vocabulary, he gives up and closes his eyes and takes rest. He doesn\'t know where he is even though we told him minutes ago and he can barely find out the time from the watch.

I would like to know if he could have a chance to recover, of course not 100% but at least in cognition aspect, he can know where he is, who we are.

Would you please give me some comment and advice.

[blueday]

Eddie,

I am in England of course so in miles....we are a long way away. With your Dad, you and your family, I can assure you we are with you right now in spirit knowing what you both are going through.

Your Dad is a mature man....in life I'm sure he has seen most things too. Hopefully his strength will recover as you know he was a fighter and a strong man.

Take it a day at a time...as he will too....all will come back to him. Any memories can be forgoten at times....we all do it too, but the memories are never lost.

Keep us in touch how things develop if you get the time. As we will be with you.

[maggie]

Hi Eddie,

so sorry to hear about your father, I hope he has a good recovery. It is early days, his brain needs alot of time to recover. Keep talking to him tell him stories and let him know you love him. Even when he is not responding he will know your there and know what you say. It takes alot of hard work to recover from this,your father is a fighter he has done well to survive so don't give up, work with him. I wish you all the very best and I hope to hear that there is great improvement soon. Maggie x

[Liz D]

Hi Eddie

I'm so sorry to hear about your father. He's seems to be doing ok and can communicate with his family. You have to take this one day at a time. We all recover at different speeds. You have to try and look for small improvements and try not to compare him with how he was before he got ill. Try to look at how he was when he was admitted to hospital and what he is like today. You and the rest of your family have to give him every encouragement,be very patient and give him lots of reasurance. This can be a very frightening thing to happen to you.

Are you able to speak with the doctor in charge of his treatment? He should be able to answer any medical questions that you have. As for his age, my cousin had a SAH two years ago, she lives in Canada (I live in Scotland). She was 62 and had one of her aneurysms coiled and the other clipped. But she has been told that because of her age and health now that it would be too dangerous to treat anymore SAH's if she should be unlucky enough to suffer another one.

I wish you and your family all the best.

[eddiechan]

Thank you all. Your words and advices are truly a big help to me.

I have scanned thro' all the recent stories in the carers support section. Though all the go-through were painful, there are some progress after all, no matter it is big or small. And I hope my dad will also be like that, although it may take months or years.

Just 3 days ago, my dad had another CT scan and the result told by the nurse that it becomes a little better. But how speciafic better he doesn't mention. Sounds a positive news.

However, he recently started to make temper and start to say something more not logically, and sometimes he say something on his own imagination. He seems not able to recognize our family member, especially my mother. She sobbed when she look at him with his insane behaviour.

I am a little worried if this situation would last until the end of his day.

[Gill C]

Hi Eddie, I hope your Dad is making a good recovery.

My own father suffered a stroke when he was in his early 60's, it was quite a major one & he did suffer hallucinations in the early stages & he also lost his abiltiy to control his language so quite often came out with words he wouldn't say in polite company. He had to relearn walking again (his was a right sided bleed so affected his left side) & he quite often got confused & uanble to find the right words. He did spend a year in rehab & relearnt a lot of things including how to dress himself etc. It took a very long time but he made a full recovery from the bad times of hallucinations etc so please be assured it can happen & it can for your Dad too. It's a very hard time & he became very irritable very quickly so it felt like a chore to visit him but he came home & was able to look after himself.

I hope things get better for you & your family soon

[JayKay]

Hello Eddie and I am glad you were able to find us! I had an SAH in February and luckily I didn't suffer too many cognitive problems. However, my mum was 72 when she had her stroke and we really thought she was dying. She got all the complications (pneumonia, C difficile, MRSA...) and every breath was a struggle. She couldn't speak or do anything for herself. Now, 4 years on, she is living alone with just the help of a cleaner and a home help. She speaks, although sometimes with difficulty, and physically she has improved beyond our wildest dreams.

So be positive, be patient, and just keep on loving him.

Take care !

[michelle C]

Hi Eddie

Hi sorry to to hear about your father what a shock it must have been for you and your family at this time you and your family are what he needs recovery is different for all of us and sometimes seems slow, the brain needs time to recover and it will, small steps my friend are all it takes.

It will be very confusing for your father and he will get very frustrated but time is a healer. In my own experience when in hospital and before my operation friends came to visit and i thought in my mind i was on holiday and wondered why they had come all this way to see me, one of many hallucinations..

It is very early days and i wish your father well, we are all with you in spirit keep posting and take care

Love Michelle C xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[eddiechan]

Dear All,

Thanks again for all your messages. I will try to make it as a habit to post my progress of my dad's status on regular basis.

He still doesn't know where he is and hallucinations still happens. We asked him where he is now (hospital), he said he is a special place where he doesn't need to work. He still likes to have his eyes closed most of the times. I asked him to talk o us or we would leave. His facial expression told us that he want us to stay and at last he said he doesn't know anything that is worth talking about.

To me and my mother, his brain has a tiny improvement this week.

He will have a CT scan tomorrow and I hope there is no any other big problem.

Eddie

[Karen]

Hi Eddie and thanks for the update!

In the early weeks, it is hard to keep your eyes open ...

Just keep talking around your Dad and hold his hand, he will know that you are there, but physically it may be hard for him to keep his eyes open and respond back.

I'm glad that you can see a little bit of improvement and hope that the CT scan shows positive results. Wishing you the very best ... xx

[maggie]

Hi Eddie thanks for letting us know how things are! Like Karen has said it's early days for your father he needs alot of time to heal. I hope you are looking after yourself too!He needs you. Just keep telling him about your day and that you want him home. he won't want to talk but he will want to listen and hear your voice. Hope your father soon starts to feel better. Maggie x

[JayKay]

Keep the faith! I used to love having visitors but was too tired to actually communicate with my partner and daughter - also I was in pain and I wanted peace and quiet. I just liked having them there, holding my hand or whatever. I didn't need them to speak. I hope your dad goes from strength to strength. Take care!

[eddiechan]

A good progress in this week.

He opened his eyes more. and started to look at people in focus. He can feed himself. He speaks loudly even those some of them are non-sense. Hallucinations still exists. But something funny he said,

"I found that the things I forget are more than I remember."

But he didn't lose his temper about that.

We can feel that he can sense he is in the hospital but when we asked him, he said he is in the mall or in the ship. Although we told him he is in the ward many times, he forget some time later. We showed him photos and ask him who are in the photos. Those who are very close to him can be recognized.

For walking, everyday, physio trained him to walk with walking frame, not far, but around 20 meters each time. I think he will have more strength to walk farther.

I asked him to write his own chinese name. He can read but somehow he can't write it very correctly. Just yesterday I asked him if he can remember some old chinese poems (He learnt many old chinese poems and readings at his school age). I speak the first line, and he can follow the 2nd line sometimes.

Just a minor negative news is that he has a tiny pneumonia and he needs to take injection for one week.

[laanka]

Hi

Sorry to hear about the pneumonia hopefully things will be better when the treatment for that is finished.Pneumonia can floor people without any other complications.

Take Care

[blueday]

Thanks.... Eddie for the update

Sorry about the complication with a touch of pneumonia......but as you know he's in the right place at the moment with the Doctors around him to regain his own strength with the Pneumonia before his own rehabilitation after his stroke.

I sensed you were pleased with the progress, seeing him eat himself and talking again. Even if it doesn't always make sense to you, it will improve quite quickly as he is more alert and realises his own mistakes first. He will need more time for his memory and his walking again.

I feel you know what I'm going to say.....when you were young... a small boy, your Dad kept his eye on you to keep you safe. Now he needs someone to keep an eye on him. Thankfully he had a Son like you.....Father and Son Ltd. To me it sounds like you and the family have a good strong relationship.....well done and good luck to you all.

祝你好运 (Good Luck)

[Tina]

Hi thank you for your update...sorry to hear about the pneumonia...really hope this does not set your father back, as he sounds like he is doing very well Wishing you well...take care xx

[Liz D]

Hi Eddie

Sorry to hear about the pneumonia, hope it clears soon but he sounds as though he's doing well. Long it may it continue!

Take care

[Gill C]

Eddie your Dad has made tremendous improvements but sorry to hear about the pnumonia, hopefully he will fight it off soon as he is clearly a strong man. I am so pleased he is able to recognise you & talk (even if it doens't always make sense - that will come). Wishing him a continued good recovery & best wishes to you & your family

[maggie]

Father and Son Ltd.

Thanks.... Eddie for the update

Hi Eddie,wonderful news your Father is making good progress and hopefully the pneumonia will soon clear and give you peace of mind,my prayers are with him for this. Don't worry about the confusion about where he is, like blueday says this will pass.When I was in hospital I spent most of my time in a silk flowing tent made of rich brown colours on a desert with lovely golden sand. And I guess being on a ship or in a mall is a better option too!

My hopes and prayers are with you and your father for a speedy recovery.Much love.

[eddiechan]

Dear All,

Thanks for all your supportive wordings. esp the Father and Son Ltd. - haha, quite special (As I am not a native speaker in English, I can guess it is an emphasis between me and my father). Well, I am not the only son my father has. I have sister and brother who are very concerned about dad's status. I am quite lucky that the our family bonds are quite strong.

My dad still suffers from pneumonia and the status neither becomes worse or better. The doctor changed other type of injection for him. I have not mentioned to you all that my dad has fail kidneys and suffered from Vasculitis last year. He needs to take renal dialysis daily and his defensive system against bacteria or virus is definitely weaker than normal person.

Hallucinations still happens but becomes less and more logical. He asked why there is a large jar of orange juice on the wall. But in fact, it is only a large sheet of orange paper sticked on the wall. He becomes a cute kid and respond in a funny way. just like a four or five-year-old boy who can't fully express himself in words.

He becomes quite tired once he took the injection. He always gets sleepy and has his eyes closed.

All in all, no prominent progress in this week and I hope dad's pneumonia can be cured asap.

---------------------------------------------------

P.S. So surprise about the chinese message. Here I wish you all

祝大家 (I wish you all)

身體健康 (healthy)

萬事如意 (Everything comes true as you wish)

Eddie

[maggie]

Hi |Eddie yes your right about the Father and son Ltd, it means you are a very good son to your father as I am sure your brother and sister are too:-D

I hope you are looking after yourself,you are a good person Eddie and care for your family but you must get rest too.

Hope some good news in you next post soon. Keep giving us updates, thank you for letting us know how things are:-D

I send my best wishes to you and to your family.

[Mace]

Thank you for the update Eddie, I was wondering how your little family were getting on so it was good to hear from you.

I hope there is some good news soon about your father's pneumonia, and like Maggie says make sure you take good care of yourself! I have learned from experience that this is a lot harder on the family than it is for the patient, but you are being remarkably strong.

Take care and keep us updated.

Mace

[JayKay]

Keep positive, Eddie! And thank you for the lovely Chinese message

[eddiechan]

My dad is recovered from pneumonia. The doctor informed us that he will be discharged on 1st Sept. Due to the narrow living area in Hong Kong, we plan to transfer him to an elderly homes near our home until he can walk better.

My dad started to know that he is in hospital but he can't express it. He sometimes said he is in a government premises with some nurses working there. This is exactly the symptom of aphasia.

When we mentioned to him that he is going to be discharged, he was happy at first but then he shaked his head. He thinks he is not that easy to be discharged as he understand his body is not very strong. (diabetes, renal dialysis)

Anyway, a little progress that he got interested to some new things.

1. listening pocket radio (but he doesn't know how to turn it on and off)

2. learning to make a call on his mobile phone. (by pressing short-cut key).

Eddie

[Tina]

Hi really pleased your Dad has recovered from pneumonia. All sounds positive, and hope his worries about being discharged wont upset him too much. He is doing very well....using his phone and listening to pocket radio hope he settles well in the home. Take care xx