A Caregiver's Perspective
By Karen Henderson
After
my father suffered at least two known strokes, I
came to realize that the affects of these strokes
on his functioning and quality of life were overwhelmingly
destructive. After his first stroke, he lost some
speech capability and minor use of his right side.
He was still able to eat and communicate quite well,
although when he could not find a word he insisted
that I explain to whomever he was trying to speak
that he had had a stroke and it was because of the
stroke that he sounded incompetent. He refused to
attend speech therapy classes; he said the others
in the class were all "weird".
I will never forget the time I saw my father after his first
stroke. I came to visit at lunch-time; I found him sitting alone
in a small room in his wheelchair; he needed me to help him
eat. I struggled with tears as I fed my father for the first
time — a six -foot man who had commanded all around him
now sat wearing a bib, unable to hold a spoon.
After his second stroke, however, he started losing his
ability to find words and gradually lost his ability to speak
completely. He went from short sentences to simple words to
nodding yes or no to nothing.
It is incomprehensible to me to be completely unable to
communicate. I cannot imagine the frustration and fear of
being unable to make my needs and feelings known. I cannot
describe the pain I have felt watching my father struggle
and finally give in to this terrible disease. I cry as I write
this.
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